This book isn't going to do well in the middle of America. I'm calling it now. Jonathan Vatner is clearly not a Republican, and neither am I, but I think taking a hard stance on the 2016 election, in a fictional book, is a bit severe. It's going to hurt book sales, and maybe he doesn't care about it. Good for him.

That said, this still isn't a good book. Every single person is a self-righteous jerk. EVERY SINGLE ONE. Iris most of all.

I can not recommend this book. In any regard.

Thank to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity.

This is an interesting book. Iris is a frequent bridesmaid and, after the latest wedding, she feel like she has reached her limit. She creates an online group for others who have had negative, or funny, time as bridesmaids to share their experiences and provide support to each other. When Iris's sister surprises her by announcing she is getting married and wants Iris to be her bridesmaid, Iris finds herself with much more material for her online group. As she struggles to be the perfect bridesmaid for her sister, Iris finds herself turning more and more to her online friends -- and maybe shares more than she should.

This book has an intriguing and funny protagonist and a creative and well written story.

Highly recommended!

Thank you, @netgalley, and @stmartinspress, for the eARC and in return, an honest review.

“As much as she loved weddings - the comforting formality, the beauty, the joy of the betrothed - being a bridesmaid was sucking her dry.”

My Thoughts:
Have you ever been a bridesmaid? Was it a positive experience? So far, it was for me. This was in the 90’s and Bridezilla was not a thing yet. And we didn’t have social media either.

Iris Hagarty started a members only Facebook group where they share horror stories of being a bridesmaid. But as the story goes on, I found Iris, irritating and bitter. It’s like she adds fuel to the fire and critical of people’s choices instead of being helpful. She’s hypocritical and in constant need for validation. She also has her own internal monologue.

Eventually she became bearable in the later chapters. Even the story got better. The whole family dynamics was toxic especially the parents.
I did love the other bridesmaid, Electra, and Iris’s older sister, Rose.

I don’t know how to rate this. I don’t like the MC but the premise is unique. Trigger warnings: misogyny, sexual harassment. The genre says romance but it had barely. And no spice either. Politics and religion conversion comes up periodically.

This book was purely funny, and I enjoyed it more then I thought I would! Have you ever been a bridesmaid/maid of honour and have horror stories to tell about the experience and the bride? (Or maybe you don’t want to spill the beans!) In this book, the MC finds ways to air out her grievances by forming private Facebook group and inviting ppl and doesn’t know to share their stories and support one another. All while she is in her sisters wedding. What could go wrong?! While I don’t think the constant talk of the US 2016 election was needed, and how it’s very divisive, it did provide some comic relief? Maybe that was the author’s intention. Overall, this one was a lighthearted romcom that is a perfect book to read “in between” genres you might need a break from!

The Bridesmaids Union was a relatable adventure for 20 and 30 something women who have been through the gauntlet of weddings and wedding related events. Most people can relate to going through a period of time where it feels like all of your activities are wedding adjacent. The Bridesmaids Union takes the strained relationships and stresses of this time combined with the perils of posting raw opinions on the internet. I enjoyed this book immensely and would recommend it to fans of Jonathan Vatner.

Thank you to Jonathan Vatner, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Set Up: Iris Hagarty is sick of feeling like she is always a bridesmaid, never a bride. She’s spent years going all-out to ensure her friends have their perfect days, even after being left by her fiancé years ago. So when her little sister, Jasmine, gets suddenly engaged and Iris is (unwittingly) enlisted to be Maid of Honor, Iris creates seeks out and eventually creates her own forum to vent: “The Bridesmaids Union”, a Facebook group for bridesmaids struggling with the demands of being in the wedding party to vent and get support from others… and maybe snark a little bit. Throw in the Hagarty’s conservative parents, the ups and downs of Iris trying to raise her son on her own, and a diverse cast of characters, and you have the recipe for an fun contemporary novel.

What Worked: I love contemporary fiction, especially those that involve social media, so I had a great time reading through all of the snarky Facebook posts. Unlike a lot of folks on Reddit reviewing this ARC, I like an unlikeable main character – and truthfully, I don’t think Iris is completely unlikable. She is just multidimensional, but she does repeatedly attempt to deal with and acknowledge her flaws. This premise is also just very fun; very up my alley.

What Didn’t Work: We are asked by the author to give characters that, honestly, have done nothing to be redeemed. When a character at the end makes a “Me Too” joke, we just… let it go? Because #forgiveness? That seems to be the opposite of our main character’s arc, which centered a lot around finding her voice about what matters. And jokes about movements about sexual assault awareness absolutely matter. Some of the writing is also very clunky and “tell not show”, specifically at the end of this book. Characters make sudden, rash decisions without their thought process being laid out whatsoever.

Overall: A premise I liked and genuinely enjoyed reading, but with some major flaws that really can’t be overlooked when evaluating this novel. 3.5 stars.

I liked the story in general and love how it all came together at the end. The political barb’s throughout the book did not enhance the story for me as I prefer my entertainment to be politics free. This story really shows precarious nature of social media and the need to be careful.

I received a free copy of this book to review through NetGalley.

Twentysomething single mom Iris Hagarty is a regular on the bridesmaid circuit, frequently spending more than she can afford for hideous dresses, drunken bachelorette parties, and wedding travel. When she isn't racking up more credit card debt in support of another friend-turned-bridezilla, Iris is avoiding the advances of her creepy married boss and avoiding her parents' evangelical opinions.

When her younger sister and parents' favorite Jasmine gets engaged, Iris isn't sure whether she yearns to be involved or craves detachment. Jasmine is an entrepreneur, hell-bent on using her upcoming nuptials to grow her IG likes and followers. In desperation, Iris forms a secret Facebook group called The Bridesmaids Union, where bridesmaids can share their horror stories and commiserate. Soon, Iris gets drawn into the drama of the group, one member in particular, while trying to deal with her own family drama.

Sometimes hilarious, sometimes cringey, and sometimes heartbreaking, THE BRIDESMAIDS UNION is a chronicle of this time in history, where people become famous for being famous and appearances can count more than reality. As Iris seemingly hits rock bottom, she climbs her way back to a more content existence. #TheBridesmaidsUnion #NetGalley

Jonathan Varner's THE BRIDESMAIDS UNION tells the story of Iris, frustrated and overwhelmed serial bridesmaid to friends and family relying on her to fete their special day, support their every whim, and indulge their self-centered, outrageous behavior. Yes, it's bridesmaids united against preposterous Bridezillas. As a bridesmaid who long ago shredded an egregiously ugly bridesmaid gown for a Halloween party and got to encounter the outraged bride, I totally empathized with and supported Iris on her journeys to genuine friendship and connections as well as a rewarding work life. I received an advance copy of this book and these opinions are my own, unbiased thoughts.

Iris created the Bridesmaids Union on Facebook to allow herself and others to vent about their experiences as, well, bridesmaid but she didn't think about the consequences. Who does? It's 2018 and her family is split by religious and political differences and then....her sister Jasmine announces her engagement to a tech mogul. And down the rabbit hole Iris goes. She's lucky to have her older sister Rose. who has a calm head, and her son Mason, who is a steadying influence even when everyone else is losing it. This has a fair amount of snark (fair enough) about bridezillas and about politics. While I appreciate how Vatner has worked those into his novel (we can't ignore the 2016-2020 period and how it affected family dynamics), the inclusion might annoy some and it does change the tone of the narrative a bit. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. There are some very funny moments in this quick read.

Bridesmaids gone rogue is a very apt description lol

Thank you so much for allowing me to read and review your titles. I really not the opportunity!

I do appreciate it and continue to review books that I get the chance to read.
Thanks again!

To be or not to be a bridesmaid? Iris says yes to all the requests she receives, which brings a lot of overspending and frustrations with the brides-to-be as they are not always thankful. As Iris needs to vent, she starts using social media and creates the “Bridesmaids union” page on Facebook. As things heat up, everything blows up in Iris’ face. She must then face many decisions about her wants and her needs.

This story is a testament to the adventures lived by bridesmaids around the world. Adding the social medias made it very actual.

Note: I read the book as an eBook on my small phone, so I had to change the size of the font every time there was texts. As it was an ARC, maybe this will be fixed for the final eBook version or it may be related to my small screen. The Facebook posts are well identified and have emojis and all the extras you can put in a post and there is no need to change the size of the font. Having both in this novel made the reading enjoyable.

A good story.

Thank you to the publisher, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for an Advanced Reader Copy.

This book was okay. I loved the idea of it but I found it a bit too all over the place and frazzled. I never connected to the characters and it was hard for me to get into the storyline.

This book was a quick read but wasn't quite what I thought going into reading it. For my taste there was a bit too much mention about politics and religion. If I realized it before I started I may have felt differently about the book. I also had a hard time connecting with the main character Iris. I also really didn't like Iris' parents which made it difficult to read the book at times.
I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley and St. Martin's Press which I appreciate the opportunity.

I loved the idea of this book- however I found the writing so poor, that the book itself was difficult to get through.

Excellent and sharply observed book engaging with family politics in and around the institution of -- and the events of -- weddings.

I wanted to like this book & I did like the concept. However, I could never get on board with Iris (or any of the other characters for that matter). I felt like she was ridiculous with her grudge holding & very ugly with her bridesmaids posts. I get that the brides weren't fantastic, but that is a high stress sitch & you gotta have some grace. I think when she says late in the book that she felt like an island in her family sums up her attitude...she's all about herself & how she feels (at least that's how I felt about her). I almost didn't finish this book but I needed to see if anything good comes of it. It was okay I guess.

Thanks to the publisher & NetGalley for advanced copy in exchange for my honest review

Cute story. I enjoyed the main characters arc and growth as she learned to fully appreciate herself. .

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced copy for review. All opinions are my own.

I was pleasantly surprised by this one. I was slow to get into it, but once I did I couldn't put it down. The drama unfolds and you just can't stop reading.

Iris has been a bridesmaid at many weddings and she has no outlet to release her frustrations with the brides. She has the idea to create a private group where others can join in and commiserate. Is this a good idea or a completely insane one?

I wasn't the biggest fan of Iris in the beginning. She makes some choices that I'm not sure that I would and she will not speak her mind. It's frustrating! I just wanted her to stop holding everything in.

Her family is terrible. Except Rose. Rose is great, but the rest of them are just awful! I wouldn't be able to handle all of that like Iris did. Oof.

Even with all of that, this one ended up being really good. Some wild twists and turns, but tied up in the end.

The book was well written. I enjoyed the humor of the posts when Iris first started the Bridesmaids Union. But about halfway through the book, the humor seemed not to be as funny. I'm not sure if it was because it went on too long or if the humor seemed forced. I didn't dislike Iris, but I can't say she was a character that made me feel sympathetic. After a while, it seemed like she was whining too much. The storyline was entertaining, but I think it missed the mark a little. Too much politics were interjected, and they weren't smoothly done. They were way too obvious and disruptive. I'm surprised the editors left them in the book. The religious views are okay to include this if it flows with the story, but these seem to have been jammed in when convenient. Overall, the book was okay, but it missed the mark of being great. I received an advance copy from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.