If you're looking for an easy read, this book is for you. The Secret Bridesmaid by Katy Birchall is a relaxing, low stress read that gives insight to some of the craziness that can occur during the process of planning a wedding, royal or not.
This book has a bit of a slow start, but starts to "rev" up around 35% in. The relationship between Cordelia and Sophie is unlike many. While it was a bit dramatic and out there, you have to believe there are some people that actually act like this when planning a wedding. Watching their relationship develop through the book was heartwarming, but a little predictable. I found many of the relationship dynamics to be a bit predictable once you were introduced to the characters.
I would recommend this book to someone who is looking for a "feel-good" read to breeze through.
Thank you NetGalley & St. Martin's Publishing Group for allowing me the opportunity to read this ARC and provide feedback on this book.

What a delightful read!
I was rooting for the hate to love friendship between Sophie and Cordelia. Even though Cordelia starts off acting like a spoiled brat with very few redeeming qualities, you start to like her little by very little, despite her determination to push Sophie away.

Secret Bridesmaid was not a romcom in my opinion, at least not in the way I expected it to be, but that was ok it was so much more than that. It was a comedy and there was some romance but it was more about the friendship between Sophie and Cordelia and the drama around it.

The romantic buildup between Sophie and Cordelia’s dreamy big bro, Tom was a lovely side note to the main storyline. I’m normally all about the sexy, centerstage romance but I didn’t really miss it in this case.

If you’re looking for a witty, female friendship comedy with a side of romance and man swooning, you will absolutely love this.

This review will be posted to The Romantiquarian book blog and Goodreads

Cute, Cute, Cute book! Loved this heartwarming, sweet and very funny story! The characters are lovable, relatable, and will keep you turning page after page. Highly recommend and perfect for a beach read!
Thank you to netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review!

I really enjoyed this book. I loved the romance and the shenanigans, but I really enjoyed that this was deeper than a typical romance book. The characters were well developed and the plot did not just focus on the cute boy and girl, but on all aspects of what was going on in the girl's life. This book was an easy, cute read. A perfect book to take to the beach this summer. The Secret Bridesmaid touches on the love and support of family, the importance of having the right kind of friends in your life and that Titles do not mean much past introduction. Creative and fun, with a perfect ending. I definitely recommend this book.

LOVE! LOVE! LOVE!

Well this was a heck of a lot of fun! I couldn’t put it down! Between the antics and banter and secrets and royalty angle, I was engulfed completely in this oh-so-fun read! It has the right amount of heart, self-journey, friendship, love, family, and scandal. Gah. I just can’t stop smiling.

What a joy! I highly recommend to everyone that loves weddings and banter! Pick this up! Pre-order now! Do whatever you need to to read this awesome book.

Weeeeeeee! I feel like I’m floating and this story is the reason.

It’s the perfect book.

Thank you netgalley for the advance copy.

The Secret Bridesmaid was a cute, funny (um, Chewbacca!), easy read, and has great substance. This was my first Katy Birchall book, but I will be sure to check out her others!

The main character, Sophie, loves weddings and loves helping those around her. One day it's suggested that she combine those two things, and she becomes a professional bridesmaid, such a fun and interesting idea! This story makes me want to look into becoming a professional bridesmaid myself (who doesn't want to be someone else and go to lots of weddings!?!)!

I loved the characters, and felt they were well developed. The story focused on one specific wedding, but I loved seeing the shananagans of the other weddings she helped with through text messages and emails throughout the book.

I love that this book didn't just focus on love relationships, but also friendships. I highly recommend this book for those looking for a fun read that's romance, but focuses on relationships in general more than just romance.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book.

A Great fun rom.com great characters a unique story about a professional bridesmaid helping brides and finding love.

What a fun laugh out loud romantic comedy! I loved reading Sophie and her adventures as a professional bridesmaid. I was a bit thrown off at first by how much I disliked Cordelia, but as the novel went on she grew on me. I enjoyed Sophie and Tom’s relationship and would have liked to have even more of that in the book, but overall I greatly enjoyed The Secret Bridesmaid!

The Secret Bridesmaid is about Sophie, a professional bridesmaid (aka wedding planner/emotional support), who gets hired to work her magic on Lady Cordelia Swann's wedding, which would be great... if Cordelia didn't resent Sophie's presence. Hijinks ensue, some miscommunications, and lots of character development. While this is a romance, I think the best parts are the platonic love between Cordelia and Sophie as they push each other to become better people.

There were some confusing time jumps, but overall the book was light and really enjoyable to read.

Overall, I'd give it a 3.75/5.

I really enjoyed The Secret Bridesmaid. I love the idea of a bridesmaid for hire and the main character Sophie has taken her skills at planning and talking down bridezillas and turned it into a profession. If you love weddings and wedding planning, you will really love this book. The story follows Sophie as she lands the biggest and meanest bride of her career. She is determined to make it work and does whatever it takes to win her over, including a very funny scene where she tries to learn to be a swan whisperer. The Secret Bridesmaid made me laugh and cry and it is a perfect beach read.rs I love,

A thoroughly enjoyable British rom-com with an engaging premise. It made me laugh out loud a few times. The perfect pandemic read (if you can pretend that it's taking place in an alternate 2020/2021.

*Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'm a sucker for a good rom-com, weddings, and anything London. This book had all threes! I fell in love with all the characters as the book progressed. I found myself laughing out loud at parts and smiling at others. This is certainly a feel good book if you need it.

The one thing I could do without are the little email and text exchanges regarding Sophie's other business as a hired bridesmaid. I think some people will love that aspect and seeing more into what crazy tasks someone might have to deal with, I just felt that they weren't necessary to the story and so I skipped most of them.

Overall I was a big fan of this book, and loved Sophia, Cordelia, Tom, and Jonathan. Safe to say this is a solid, happy romance if you're looking for one.

I didn’t expect to enjoy this book, but actually found it easy reading. Wedding planners would be very interested in this portrayal of a classy do. I don’t think there was a need to pepper it with bad language, but that seems to be acceptable in most adult literature. I think this book is aimed at 18-40 age group. A classic Chick Literature offering.

A female main character running her own business, a female friendship as the center focus of the story, plus some amusing wedding premises (Chewbacca bridesmaid anyone?) and it's a recipe for an entertaining read. I loved all of the funny wedding bits for all of the brides Sophie works for and I enjoyed the friendship that developed with her and Cordelia. The Tom storyline felt like a bit of an afterthought, and I got really tired of the Daniel arc.

Overall, really entertaining, and definitely reads like it should be a movie!

Disclaimer: I received the ARC from the publisher through Net Galley. All opinions are my own.

I requested to read and review this book for free from St. Martin's Publishing. The setting for this story is in Europe. It has romance, comedy, mystery. The characters Sophie, Cara, Tom, Cordelia and a few others are great. You can feel the chemistry through the book. So many emotions felt in this book in a good way. This is for any type of reader! Who can trust? What is real and what isn't? What a unique position Sophie has! This is a great book to remember to be true to yourself and what you want in life!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book; I very much appreciate it.

Professional bridesmaid is such an interesting concept === and I was amazed to Google and find out they really do exist! I enjoyed this story, but it really was more of a story about friendship and personal growth rather than the rom-com I expected. The story had a fun premise and was nicely paced, but I didn't feel the romance between the hero and heroine. However, the friendship angle was exceptionally well done and nicely transitioned from almost-enemies (and very unlikeable) to friends and sympathetic characters.

I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more from this author.

This was a fun read! Enough drama and tension to keep you hooked, enough lightheartedness and sweet moments to soften it. It did go a bit beyond the realm of believability in a few instances (the Chewbacca incident, the swans), but overall it was an enjoyable contemporary romance. I do wish there had been an epilogue though!

This book was brilliant. It was what I didn't know I wanted and needed in a rom com/general fiction book. I think I was expecting just a predictable rom com, more focus on the rom, and it wasn't that, but also I'm glad that it wasn't. This book was funny, it had me laughing out loud, and gasping at some parts. It was engaging, entertaining, and in some parts deep (ok, semi-deep, but still). I loved it. I really enjoyed the friendship between Coredelia and Sophie and enjoyed Cara has a secondary character. Also, the asides about Sophie's other brides were hysterical. It was the right amount of smushy-ness.

The highlight of my reading this year so far, and I can't wait for others to get to enjoy it. It was such a gem, turning the classic haters to lovers trope on its head. I'm sad that I've finished it, but now thinking about starting a new shelf of books that I should re-read in a few years to get to re-experience as if new.

4 stars

After interacting with several bridezillas - or at least extremely stressed out brides - in her own life, Sophie makes the wild choice to become a secret bridesmaid. Only the bride and Sophie know the truth; that they are not long-time friends but instead in an employer/employee relationship. Drunk uncle? Torn dress? Missing portaloos? Sophie has it covered for you. When Sophie is hired to do an extremely high profile job for a well known but extra difficult client, she meets her greatest challenge yet.

Where is the romance in this description, you wonder? Exactly. I really enjoyed this read, but you should come to it because you want to know more about Sophie, her hilarious interactions with these various brides and weddings, and her growth over time. Yes, there's a dash of romance in here, and it's pretty cute, but it's absolutely a side dish.

Recommended with the caveat that you're getting, in my opinion, women's fiction versus a more traditional romance (which for me is a bonus). Save the date on this one!

Cute, funny and a perfect weekend read! This book is lighthearted and fun the whole way through. It will make you laugh at some of the situations the characters get into.