Family Drama, Bridesmaids, and Social Media

The Bridesmaids Union excels in its portrayal of the complexities of modern relationships and the often absurd world of weddings. Jonathan Vatner’s humorous take on these subjects makes for an entertaining read. However, the book’s reliance on certain clichés and its somewhat unrealistic conclusion may detract from its overall impact. Despite these flaws, it remains a worthwhile read for those interested in family dramas and social satires.

Iris is frustrated with weddings all that comes with them. Setting up on online site, The Bridesmaid Union grows quickly out of her control. While trying to handle that, Iriss sister announces her engagement and recruits her sister to wedding party. Iris questions her sisters intentions and her feelings for the groom. Quick and fun read. The bridesmaid stories were so fun!!

This was okay. It was a fast paced story and the stories were funny. The election stuff I could honestly do without. Overall I had fun.

Thank you to the publisher for allowing me advance access to this title. I really enjoyed reading this story and look forward to reading more from this author. As a reader, I am really motivated by character driven stories and I found myself quickly becoming immersed in these characters’ lives. Full review to come.

DNFd; maybe I'll go back and give this a shot one day but even the first few pages were an immediate turnoff. The writing felt stilted and like it was going to be misogynistic. maybe I'm completely reading it wrong but I just can't bring myself to keep going.

3.5/5
This story made me laugh at a time when every few things did. For that, I liked it. The story is easy to follow and enjoy, though there are some actions and responses that make you wonder if people really do/say those things.

The storyline is memorable but not the characters.

Give it a shot if you’re looking for something fairly light to read.

I previously gave 5-stars to Carnegie Hill and really loved the ensemble of flawed characters, so I was excited to read this one. But this book did not hit in the same way. It had some great moments, and I debated giving it 4-stars, but I didn't love it and I did not "really like" it.

This ensemble of flawed characters was more unlikable than flawed. There are parents who may love their children but are still pretty nightmarish. There is a sister who may have some good parts and loves her sisters in ways we only understand at the end, but she is still a nightmare human overall. I'm still not ready to be thrust back to 2018, and though the president is just a backdrop here, the hurt, divisiveness, and ripping apart of families is front and center. But the biggest issue is the main character, Iris. First presenting as just not smart and quite naïve, she ends up making bad decisions at every turn and it's soon clear that she is very selfish.

I think a book about nightmare brides would be hilarious, and there are hilarious parts here. But when everyone involved is a nightmare, it loses the element of comedy and becomes a cringy trudge. The story also sometimes jumped around, with Iris understanding or knowing situations without any lead up, or explanation to the reader.

This sounds like I hated the book, but I did not, and I think people who have been in Iris's awful bridesmaid situations might enjoy it more than I did. My bridesmaid times were pre-internet, so I never had to deal with IG-crazy brides, or the expectation that you have to shell out thousands of dollars as a bridesmaid. I can't relate to that situation so all I see is awful people.

Do better, Brides, and Bridesmaids too.

Thank you to NetGalley for the copy in exchange for an honest review. I mostly enjoyed this, and my love of Carnegie Hill will ensure that I'll still look forward to the next Jonathan Vatner book.

I had high hopes for The Bridesmaids Union by Jonathan Vatner due to the premise of bridesmaids hating their duty. I was intrigued reading this book to discover how Iris’s hatred would unravel as her community grew and grew. However; I later found the family drama to be petty and not worth the excitement that was painted throughout.

Phew! Drama, drama drama! This is a beach read with a heavy dose of extra chaos. It was overall enjoyable and I liked all of the family dysfunction that came about. Definitely worth the read!

The premise of this book is good. I love the idea of like a messenger board being updated. This book did have some funny parts. Mostly I feel like it just dragged at too many parts. I also found Iris and many of the characters to be unlikable. There was one part of the plot I just couldn't stand. I liked some of this book but wanted a bit more from it.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and St. Martin's Press for the gifted e-book ❤️

This was less about the actual "Bridesmaid's Union" than I was expecting and would have liked. There are a lot of descriptions and moments of dialog that really grated - the talk about women's bodies was stilted and ham-fisted, and their internal narratives didn't seem super natural - but in the end the writing carried me along and I did feel compelled to find out what was going to happen next.

Wanted to like this one more than I did. Couldn't really understand what the plot was. Thanks to St Martins for the arc for my honest review.

This one was so much fun. There’s something to be said for having a social media outlet to vent to and that’s exactly what Iris does. As a seasoned bridesmaid she somehow becomes the moderator of a Facebook group where fellow bridesmaids vent. Honestly I was so entertained reading those posts! This was a fun one but the highlight for me was that group and the posts!
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Thank you #StMartinsPress and #NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

3 for neutral, was unable to access my netgalley account for months, until today. Because of this, I was unable to see which books I needed to read. I apologize for the inconvenience and hopefully will not have any more issues in future.

Thank you netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review. I loved this bridesmaids tale, probably because I have been a bridesmaid but luckily not with such horrible brides as described in this book!

Great for those who have been subjected to a bridezilla or have been a bridesmaid too many times this will make you laugh out loud!

This book was a mess. Everyone in this book is petty & unlikeable. The third person perspective is weird & doesn’t fit well. The romance comes out of nowhere more than halfway through the book. Those characters repeatedly say they have a “special connection” but there’s no evidence of this anywhere in the story.

Weddings, jealousy and family dynamics take center stage in the fun read. Points for originally on some crazy wedding scenarios.

This book is a quirky chaotic comedy/romance/drama combo. The main character Iris, while a good committed friend, was also pretty negative. Trust me, I get that weddings and being a bridesmaid can be stressful and at times just not fun...but she is a bit over the top.
Things get crazier when what is supposed to be a private Facebook group for disgruntled bridesmaids becomes public. This is a big glaring warning sign of the dangers of airing your dirty laundry on social media. Be warned people. I also didn't love how political this book got at times. I was looking for some fun easy breezy reading not a reminder of how in shambles the status of the country is.
The plot had great potential but just seemed to fall short for me. There were so many subplots that everything got sort of lost here.

If you’ve ever been a bridesmaid to a horrible bridezilla, this novel will make you laugh out loud! Iris is tired of going above and beyond for her friends as brides without even so much as a thank you. When her spoiled younger sister gets engaged, she turns to Facebook and creates a group to air her grievances. As we all know, once it’s on social media, you can’t take it back.

I thoroughly enjoyed the Bridesmaid Union. I laughed and cried at the horrors she endured, and could relate to even the family drama caused when she is found out, because of course she is! It’s a great book that dives into much more than just grumpy , difficult brides, and gets to the meat of what it means to be a family.

How many bridesmaids have been tempted to spill the tea and to vent their real feelings about the "honor" of being in the wedding? Iris the main character uses the age of social media to do just that and of course issues ensue. Through in some reflections about family struggles during the age of 45 and you have a topical, current day novel. While many didn't care for politics being included in a light novel, I enjoyed that part probably more than the bridesmaid angle. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange of an honest review.