I’m normally not the type to give 5 stars to a chick lit/romance book, but this one deserves it. It’s so cute, funny, and exactly what I needed.

Sophie Breeze is a professional bridesmaid. She’s hired by brides to play the role of a close friend while keeping all wedding things in check. She handles everything from toilet situations to dressing up as ridiculous characters for her brides’ themed weddings. Sophie meets her match when she’s offered a huge opportunity for the Marchioness of Meade — Lady Victoria’s daughter Cordelia, whose having the biggest wedding of the year in just two months. Cordelia wants nothing to do with Sophie and proclaims it her mission to make her job a living hell. Throw a hot, older brother into the mix and you’ve got yourself a story!

Let me start by saying this book is heavy on the British verbiage, but not enough to where it’s difficult for Americans to read. I did learn that people in the UK call a bachelorette party a “hen.” You learn something new every day!

This is an entertaining, fun, laugh out loud read. I don’t laugh at books very often but this one did it for me. I also found myself checking to make sure no one was looking at me smiling ridiculously for these characters. I love Sophie’s personal development as she learns to take some chances and be “out there.” I even came to love Cordelia and the way she brought Sophie out of her shell. I think these two make up a perfect friendship and really loved that the book focused more on this than the romance side. Their banter is great and I can personally relate to Cordelia’s reactions as being the more unemotional friend. Is it predictable? Yes. Did I care? Nope! I would love to see a sequel with these two. Moral of the story is — 1. Everyone needs a Sophie in their life and 2. Don’t hesitate to add this book to your #tbr.

Thank you Net Galley & St. Martin's for providing a copy to review!

This interesting read is light when you aren’t looking for something too serious. Katy Birchall did a great job of creating relatable characters and a fun storyline (Professional secret bridesmaid? Definitely a job I couldn’t do!). It was a humorous not your typical rom-com novel. An enjoyable and entertaining read!

The Secret Bridesmaid took me by complete surprise. A laugh out loud, women’s fictions I loved the glimpses at all the bridezillas (Star Wars wedding an absolute favorite) and watching the friendships blossom between Sophie and Cordelia. I will definitely be recommending this book to friends and family.

This book dragged on for so long and was honestly one of the blandest romances. No chemistry whatsoever and no swoons. Quite disappointing.

This book follows a professional bridesmaid as she plans the wedding of the season in England. I found it funny and loved how the main character grew through out the book. I really disliked the bride at the beginning of the book but by the end loved her. I really enjoyed this book.

This was delightful! Very funny and light. My only critique - there were parts that were longer than necessary and the last 10% was super rushed. I loved the main character Sophie and thought the book was well done!

Thank you to the author, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for providing a copy to review!

British rom-coms are my kryptonite and this book killed me! There were so many funny moments, endearing moments, and frustrating moments and Sophie persevered through it all. Sophie is the friend you want to have by your side, and Cara is the friend you need to get through the awkward situations. I can’t imagine being a professional bridesmaid but Sophie is a trooper and the conversations with the different brides were hysterical. I’m so happy I got to read this book; it definitely reminded me of the Shopaholic series and that’s a great thing. This is the book you need to read during these crazy times or when you just need a good laugh.

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin’s for the arc.

this was a blast!!!! I really enjoyed the romantic elements, but more than that I appreciated that it was so much MORE than a romance. The plot was super fun and I loved the setting the author built for us. I wish some side characters had been fleshed out just a tiny bit more, but it really didn't impact my enjoyment at all! It really had Sophie Kinsella vibes which is a huge compliment in my eyes :)

A professional bridesmaid hired to work the biggest wedding of the year, which just so happens to be that of a high society snob. Everything can't possibly go on seamlessly, can it?

I very much enjoyed this read. The subject matter is genius, although being a professional bridesmaid sounds like my worst nightmare. The characters are enjoyable and the added portions of the storyline are great. What I did not like was the "texting" and emailing portions of the story, they were kinda scattered and I could have probably done without most. I would recommend this book.

Thank Katy Birchall, St. Martin's Publishing and Netgalley for this ARC.

Loved it, I love the concept of a secret bridesmaid. I loved the setting and the royal aspect of it all. I fell in love with the characters and the storyline great read!

OMG I loved this book!

Sophie is a "professional" bridesmaid, hired by brides to assist them with wedding details and make sure things go smoothly on their "special day".
The mother of a royal society bride-to-be hires Sophie to work with and for her daughter Cordelia, who is newly engaged. Lady Cordelia is completely against the idea and as a result, incredibly nasty to Sophie, hoping to run her off.
But Sophie wants to keep her client since it would be beneficial for future business so she has to find a way to work with her and eventually agrees to do whatever Cordelia asks, or she has to quit.
The resulting story is really fun, well-written and so engrossing I read it in a day because I couldn't put it down. Birchall does a great job of fleshing out the characters and creating a story so amusing and compelling, I guarantee you'll fall in love with it too!
This book is a do not miss for any rom com lover's book tbr list!

In this classic British rom-com, readers are introduced to serial bridesmaid Sophie Breeze. In fact, Sophie is so good at being a bridesmaid that she has made a successful career out of it. After all, why hire a wedding planner when you can hire Sophie to take care of all your details while posing as your best friend that no one has ever met? In fact, Sophie is so good that she finds herself posing as the friend/bridesmaid of a bride from one of Great Britain's most aristocratic families. Too bad the bride is an utter nightmare, her brother is fabulous but...um, an actual aristocrat, and things are never quite what they seem, even for Sophie. What ensues is a fast-paced, beautifully written story to warm every heart and to prove that love is often unexpected and that friendship can come out of the strangest circumstances. Author Katy Birchall has created a scrumptious read worth picking up again and again.

What a fun book! The Secret Bridesmaid is the tale of Sophie, a bridesmaid for hire, who is working for the royal wedding of the season....and the bride from hell. This book is much more about friendship and personal growth than it is about romance, though it still has that light romantic comedy feel. The characters are all well-written and hilarious. This is the perfect vacation read!

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

Very witty and engaging! I love that the story was more about friendship than romance for the main character. Of course, having a hunky romantic interest didn't hurt!

In a word, this book is charming. It was a quick read that I finished in one sitting, and the royalty aspect isn't overdone or stuffed down your throat. The bridezilla issues that Sophie handles are humorous and well-written.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book, I really did! I will say that reading through some of the text messages was confusing on who was saying what and I wish that was more clear!

I’m pretty sure I found my favorite read #2 for this month!🥰

Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for an advance readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

Sophie is a professional bridesmaid - the girl who is hired by brides to be their right-hand woman, posing as a friend but also working behind the scenes to help plan the perfect wedding. When Sophie is hired by Lady Victoria Marsh for her daughters upcoming wedding, it should be the chance for Sophie to show how talented she is. But Cordelia Swan isn’t an easy bride and Sophie finds herself attracted to Cordelias off limits brother. Many challenges face Sophie as she helps pull off one of the biggest weddings of the year. Can she do it?

I loved this book y’all🥰 I wasn’t really sure about it going in, but I actually really enjoyed it! It wasn’t a straight up romance, but more about friendships, growing and learning what you want. I enjoyed watching Sophie’s journey and the friendship grow between her and Cordelia. When you find your tribe, you know they’ll be there for you no matter what.

This book will be published May 4, 2021 and I think will make the perfect summer (or really any time of year) read! 💙

Rating: 🧪🧪🧪🧪🧪 / 5

First, I would like to thank the publishers and netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read The Secret Bridesmaid! I hadn't heard much hype about this one previously and it sounded so cute! I really liked it a lot and currently British rom-com is my jam! This had me cracking up and Sophie makes me want to be her best friend! My heart was happy and yours will be too!!

"The Secret Bridesmaid", by Katy Birchall, centers around Sophie, whose job is to be the perfect bridesmaid for overwhelmed brides, She's good at her job because she's able to calm frazzled brides and even become close to them in the process. As her popularity rises, she gets her dream job: a bridesmaid for the Marchioness of Meade. However, while she is excited, the Marchioness (Cordelia) is not. Cordelia intends to make her live a living nightmare. But there are a few upsides: Sophie learns to stand up for herself, and she meets Cordelia's handsome and charming brother.

Overall, I thought this was a pretty good book. I would have enjoyed a little more time spent on Sophie and Cordelia's brother and their growing relationship. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

This novel is an engaging rom-com with perfect pace, a lot of humour, and appealing characters. The heroine, Sophie, is a professional bridesmaid--basically an undercover wedding planner who poses as the bride's friend while coordinating events behind the scenes. She has recently been dumped by her longtime boyfriend, but her business is thriving, so much so that her services are requested by the Marchioness of Meade for the wedding of her daughter Cordelia, a well-known socialite. The problem is that Cordelia doesn't want Sophie on the scene, and does everything in her power to make the "bridesmaid" quit. The ridiculous adventures that follow are entertaining and the romance that develops with Cordelia's brother is sweet, but the heart of the story is the friendship that develops between Sophie and Cordelia as the novel progresses. A misunderstanding late in the story leads to a final crisis and endangers that friendship, along with the fond relationships developing between Sophie and the rest of Cordelia's family. The epiphanies that both Sophie and Cordelia experience as the story progresses are believable and touching, the narrative moves along swiftly, the writing sparkles, and the happy ending is satisfying in true rom-com style. The Secret Bridesmaid is romantic comedy at its frothy best.

The Secret Bridesmaid is a laugh out loud romantic comedy by Katy Birchall. It centers around Sophie, who is so good at being a bridesmaid that she has made it her profession. Brides hire her to assume the role of a bridesmaid and Sophie adopts a new name and fake story of how she knows the bride so that no one (even the groom) knows that Sophie is a professional bridesmaid. When she is hired to work a huge society wedding, she thinks this could be the opportunity she needs to push her career to the next level. However, the bride wants nothing to do with Sophie and is determined to make her quit.

I really enjoyed this book! Sophie is an extremely organized type-A protagonist but it was demonstrative of how much she cared about her brides and doing her work well. The tête-à-tête between her and Cordelia was absolutely hilarious and I legitimately laughed out loud during several passages (there's a scene involving swans that was *chefs kiss*).

The romance was sweet but not the focus of the book. The Secret Bridesmaid had more depth than simply following the meet cute, driven apart by a misunderstanding, then reconciling because they can't live without each other rom-com trope.

I loved Sophie's group of friends/support system. They were very relatable characters and I appreciated how genuine these friendships felt. Sophie's cousin Cara was one of my favorite side characters and her consistent presence throughout the book as someone Sophie leans on was reminiscent of close relationships in my own life.

This is a heartwarming story and I give it four stars! I think fans of sweet romantic comedies will love this book. I will definitely read Birchall's future books and I can't wait to see what she writes next!

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/St. Martin’s Griffin for a copy of The Secret Bridesmaid in exchange for my honest opinion.