Lots of past drama, hurt, family issues and secrets to unpack in this book. Starts with a runaway bride and slowly backfills, to fill you in on all the drama, saga and storyline

I've read several enjoyable books by this author but found this one not a favorite. The story opens with runaway bride, Amy and then goes back to slowly reveals the backstory. Secrets from the past,a blended family and unknown narrator drives the story.

Intriguing domestic suspenser! There are well developed characters with lots of intrigue and ugly past secrets which holds back what should have been a lovely wedding after a whirlwind romance. Lots of danger lurking!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC!

After being single for many years Amy met William on an Internet dating site and fell hard and fast. They both have 15-year-old children her a daughter named Tess, him a son name HAL he is from the upper middle class and she is from the gritty streets of London and the working class. She does her best to fit in with his lifestyle but there are things from his past that will haunt them what does it have to do with the baby Amy keeps hearing cry throughout her new home. She makes new friends, as does her daughter Tess but it will be Hal’s childhood friend who causes the most problems and that includes getting Tess kidnapped. And it will be the way William wants to handle it that may cause problems but this too will come back to haunt him. There were many things I didn’t agree with in this book like the way Amy was so overly emotionally attached to her daughter I really believe the relationship look more like codependency on Amy’s part then just a normal mother daughter relationship in the whole ending with Sophie just really pissed me off. I know everything that happened with her but it’s still in braids with me and that would’ve made me more angry than everything else with William but I digress I don’t want to give any spoilers away but she should’ve been stopped long before her appearance with the bailed hat. This is a good book and it kept me glued to the pages it wasn’t until the end that I felt disappointed in what happened but that may just be me as I am usually an outlier when it comes to book reviews but if you’re looking for a good thriller you will probably like this one I couldn’t put it down in this includes the disappointing ending as well I also think they really overdo it with mourning and grieving the loss of someone so many years later especially when as humans we are built to move on resign ourselves and keep trucking along but in these books it seems like their grief is as acute 30 years later as it was the day it happened and that always gets me when it comes to thrillers. I am still giving this book for stars because if I cannot put a book down then it must be a good one because I read thrillers almost every day of my life and after reading this one I do believe it has earned every one of them. I received this book from NetGalley and Bookoucher but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

I would like to thank Bookouture and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Wedding Night’ written by Clare Boyd in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Amy and William have fallen in love and on their wedding day she’s dressed in her bridal gown and walking towards him through the bluebells of Summerfield House when she realises her daughter Tess isn’t there, nor is William’s son Hal. Amy turns in the opposite direction and runs away knowing she can’t even think of getting married until she finds them.

‘The Wedding Night’ is the story of Amy and William who’ve both gone through unhappy marriages and divorces. Their children Tess and Hal have become the best of friends but when they get involved with drug-dealing individuals all four lives are turned upside down. I’ve not yet read a novel by Clare Boyd that I haven’t enjoyed and this is no exception as the story is beautifully written with captivating characters that’ve pulled me in from page one. It’s no surprise that I’ve become completely hooked and couldn’t stop reading, and as I neared the final chapters I admit to having moist eyes. I can thoroughly recommend this novel that I’ve loved and has been an absolute joy to read.

I found this book difficult to immerse myself in to and found that it dragged out in lots of areas. A good storyline that does hold promise.

When I opened this to read on my Kindle I noted there were 88 chapters. It was clearly a very large book and i wondered whether it would hold my interest for the whole read. I need not have worried. The Wedding Night is a compulsive read, cleverly constructed with characters that will have you onside from the moment you meet them to the final paragraph.
After a contentious divorce and time as a single parent, Amy meets William. She never imagined she could fall in love again, but he seems perfect in every way. A divorcee himself, with a sixteen year old son (Hal), he lives in a beautiful house in the Surrey countryside. As their relationship progresses, he persuades Amy to up sticks from Purley with daughter Tess, and move in with him.
The story is narrated from several viewpoints and there are two focal points: Amy and William’s relationship as she settles in and meets new friends, and Hal’s protectiveness of Tess, who he quickly comes to regard as a surrogate sister. William runs his own company and is wealthy, bringing Amy into a new world of ladies’ lunches, gym membership and spa trips. It’s during these get-togethers that things are mentioned about William’s past which makes Amy wonder if he is keeping secrets from her. Tess, meanwhile, has settled into school with Hal and made friends, including his charismatic best friend Rory, someone she is instantly attracted to and who is definitely bad news. And in amongst all this is a mystery voice, someone whose presence holds the key to the secrecy which surrounds William’s past life.
This is a great story. Family issues, secrets, lies and mystery, it’s all there wrapped up in a plot which moves steadily towards an edge of the seat finale which takes place on Amy and William's wedding day. Definitely deserving of five stars. Highly recommended.

I really enjoyed this and found it hard to put down. All the characters had great back stories and it was really intriguing. I will certainly look for more Clare Boyd books, love it when I find a new author to read!!

This story highlights the aftermath of a tug-of-war between the heart and the head!

You know that little voice that wants you to slow down and think rationally? Listen to it. Amy is begging you.

Amy and her daughter can’t believe their luck when Amy gets a second chance at love. Summerfield House has welcomed them and the blended family seems to be well-meshed at first, until the infatuation wears off and Amy starts to have doubts.

This suspense-filled story highlights the ugly side of keeping secrets and the struggle to parent teens when the pull of friends and empty promises is stronger.

With wedding season upon us, don’t forget to ask yourself the question: ‘How well do I really know my fiance?’

This family drama is one you’ll want to pop in your beach bag this summer.

I was gifted this copy by Bookouture and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

Another great family drama I loved following Amy and William, such a great unputdownable storyline which had me engrossed from the very first page.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for this ARC which I can certainly recommend.

When life has been hard and you have the chance to find love again, you are over the moon. A wedding in on the horizon and you are exited. 

You can get to know a partner while you are dating, but living together is another kettle of fish altogether. When you are 24/7 in each other's company, that's when you realise how well you really know someone. In Amy's case, the answer is: not very well. She discovers some things she wants clarified and even though William is willing to answer all her questions. The problem is: Amy has the feeling he is not completely honest, but she loves him, wants to spend the rest of her life with him, so she decides to give him the benefit of the doubt.

She can't ignore that little voice in her head telling her all is not well...

And then on her wedding night, when she should be on cloud nine, her world comes crashing down... 

Money still makes the world go round and it allows you to get away with everything. 

This is a story about two broken families on the verge of forming a whole. Simple and straightforward, right? Well, if only it was that easy.

It's great to have friends in your life, but some only consider you a friend when they can use and abuse you without taking the consequences in consideration.

I enjoyed the story a lot. Using lies and being dishonest can result in you losing the best thing that ever happened to you. Can bridges be mended or have the two parts drifted to far apart for that? 5 stars

Thank you

I read this book thanks to Netgalley! Amy and William are all set to be me married until Amy's daughter Tess goes missing. But what lead to this happening and what secret is William hiding? I really enjoyed this book. I believe the plot is way bigger then Tess missing on the wedding day. It's a mystery but it's also really about finding yourself, being true, and not letting secrets hold us back. I wish the ending gave us just a little bit more but overall I really liked the story told. However, I feel like at its core this is not a thriller but a romance!

Absolutely could not put it down. Amazing book. Great writing. Became very invested in the characters from page one!

A great family drama with plenty of suspense.
Who can you trust?
Not quite the thriller i was expecting but overall an enjoyable read.
My thanks to netgalley and the publisher for my copy.

I really enjoyed this book which starts with a bride running away from her wedding through the woods. As we skip back to the story of how we got to this wedding and meet this whole group of characters we find a couple who are blending their two families and moving in together. As the new family dynamics try to form a new family secrets and lies start to spill out and new friendships prove dangerous we start to question does anyone really know the person sleeping next to them and how do they get to a bride running through the forest. I can’t say much more without ruining the book but it’s a great read and not to be missed.

This is another great read by Clare Boyd. It’s an engaging domestic thriller about a blended family that has enough twists and turns to keep me guessing throughout. An easy but enjoyable read and one that I’d recommend.

A character based book about blended families. I found it more of a drama but there were still some twists that I found enjoyable. It had a good pace and whilst I often get bored with character based stories, this one kept me invested and wanting to see how it all played out. It's well written and the characters are 3d and well rounded, even if they are a bit unlikeable at times. Lol but then again, who isnt

The wedding night

Amy and her teen daughter Tess, move in with William and his teen son Hal. Amy and William met on line and have finally decided that Amy should sell her place in London and move in with William at his mansion at Surrey.

William proposes on moving night and from then on it's a roller coaster for Amy and Tess. While they try to fit in their new surroundings, there are a few secrets from William's past that hangs over them.
There is a right amount of twists and turns and drama.
Lots of teen issues have been bought forth.

The author has managed to keep me hooked from the first page. Only thing that felt slightly misplaced is the title.

Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC

Amy and her daughter Tess have been struggling to make ends meet in London, but when they move into the stately Surrey home of Amy’s new fiancé, William, their lives change overnight. Amy and Tess are eager to start off on a new foot in their new, blended family. Tess, whose own father is distant, gets along well with William, and with her new, teenage “brother”, Hal.

But as Amy and Tess settle into their new life, doubts begin to emerge. William appears to be keeping secrets, and why does Amy always hear a baby’s cries when none of their neighbors have young children? And while Tess appreciates her new, expensive school and a wider circle of friends, are her privileged classmates truly better off?

This novel had a lot of enjoyable elements: William’s complicated past and his ties to the old home, Amy and Tess’ hopes for their new lives, Amy’s determination to dig up long buried secrets, and the difficulties in forging strong ties in a blended family. These all worked well for me and I enjoyed following these storylines. But the overall story felt a bit cluttered. The chapters by an (initially) unknown narrator and the plotline of Hal’s best friend didn’t work as well for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy - all thoughts are my own.

THE WEDDING NIGHT had an interesting plot. Amy and her daughter, Tess, move into Summerfield House with Amy's boyfriend, William, and his son, Hal. Everything thing seems to be going great, until Amy learns some interesting information from her neighbor, Olivia, about Summerfield House. When Amy digs deeper, she finds photos of a baby and of a girl named, Sophie, that once lived there. Tess and Hal get involved with a boy named Rory, who is nothing but trouble and it leads to problems between Tess and William. Overall, this was a slow-burn novel that picked up the pace about halfway through. I was determined to learn all of the secrets of Summerfield House and in the end, I found the mystery behind the house to be shocking!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This review will be shared to my Instagram (@coffee.break.book.review) closer to the publication date.