The Wedding Guest
By: Kathryn Croft
4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Emily is walking down the aisle to her soon to be groom. She is thrilled to leave her past behind. After the vows she is shocked to see an unwanted guest from her past!

She has tried hard to keep a secret and her past from her new husband, but this guest could undo all she has worked hard for.

A great dual timeline involving Christian and Emily. He is manipulating her every move. Can Emily escape her past? Will her husband find out?

Another wonderful book by Croft.
Thank you Bookouture for this advanced copy which is available Sept 14, 2023.
#theweddingguest, #kathryncroft, #bookreview, #booktour, #booksconnectus, #bookstagram, #stamperlady50

The Wedding Guest is a utterly gripping and compelling psychological thriller that completely gripped me from the first chapter .

It’s Emily’s big day, she is about to be married on the beautiful Greek island of Kefalonia. As she glances around at their wedding guests her heart almost stops beating when she glimpses someone from her past, a person she definitely doesn’t want to see or wants her new husband to meet . Who is this person and why is Emily so fearful of them ?

To say this book gripped me is an understatement ! From the very first page I just knew this was going to be a read in one sitting type of book for me . The author has given us some great characters in this book , some nice and others not so much . I found this book to have creepy and uncomfortable vibes at times which is to me a sign of a good author when I get these feelings. This book completely messed with my head and yes I was left speechless at times ! All the stars

Secrets and lies are the name of the game in this gripping and suspenseful psychological thriller with a jaw dropping reveal! It was supposed to be her dream wedding, but it turned into a nightmare....

Emily is happy to be marrying Jeremy and become a stepmother to his daughter. The day is perfect until she gets a blast from her past. Someone who knows the secrets she does not want her new husband to know. Emily's former boyfriend was an uninvited guest at her wedding. When he began to make an announcement, my heart rate increased. Is he going to ruin her day? Is he going to spill the beans? He makes it clear to her that he wants to destroy her picture-perfect life by telling everyone her secrets!

The book slows down a little after the gripping beginning as readers are introduced to just enough information to whet our appetites. As the book progresses, the pace ramps up. There are a few twists and turns along the way which kept me on my toes. I thought I knew where this book was going. I thought how clever I was for having figured it out - WRONG! I wasn't even close. I love it when this happens! As her former boyfriend threatens to divulge all her secrets, the tension mounts as Emily must do as he asks to keep her secrets safe.

The last part of the book becomes suspenseful, and I was shocked by the reveal. I did not see that coming at all! Total shocker! Another solid book by Croft.

Gripping, tense, and shocking!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. I am still taken aback by the ending to form thoughts....many times throughout I thought to myself, what happened ?!, but somehow kept going until finally at 80%, we find out. Christian shows up on Emily's wedding day after a decade of not seeing each other and immerses himself in her life, much to the confusion of her new husband, daughter and mother in law. The reader is lead to believe a certain story for 80% of the book, only to be steered in a completely different direction at the end. I have mixed feelings on this because the narrative that is drilled into the reader's perception is all a façade, quite unbelievable to an extent. I don't know if this is to categorize this book as a mystery or thriller, but that twisty turn didn't land with me. I skimmed the last 20% out of frustration for how the story was unfolding after investing so much time reading to get to the gist of the story.

Emily and Jeremy are being married on the beach in Kefalonia. She is a teacher and he is a pilot. Emily is now stepmother to Jeremy’s 10-year-old daughter, Lexi. They are so excited to be starting their new lives together.

But as the newlyweds turn to the congregation, Emily spots someone she hasn’t seen in many years and is terrified. Christian introduces himself to Jeremy saying he and Emily were great friends years ago. He begins working to institute himself into their lives with his smooth-talking lies to Jeremy while he tells Emily that it is time for her to pay for something she did in the past.

As the secrets build and Emily receives many threats from Christian, she is so afraid that Jeremy will want nothing to do with her. What did she do that was so horrible?

The story goes back and forth from the past when Emily and Christian were together at University to the current time.

Christian is an evil manipulator and Emily allows herself to be dictated to by him while keeping secrets from Jeremy.

The conclusion of this book was disappointing. Too well wrapped-up for me. The cruelty Christian showed Emily in the book was very off-putting. An OK read but not a favorite.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Wow, what a book! It surpassed my expectations. "The Wedding Guest" by Kathryn Croft is a page-turning psychological thriller that will have you on the edge. The saying "There are two sides to every story. And there is the truth." fits this book perfectly.

The book takes place in England and revolves around Emily, a teacher who is about to marry Jeremy, a pilot, and become the stepmother of his daughter Lexi. Emily's wedding day takes a dark turn when an uninvited guest (Christian), who knows about her shadow past, turns up unexpectedly at her wedding reception. Christian is determined to destroy her ideal life and reveal the truth about her, and nothing will stand in his way. A twisted game thus begins between the two, and each one tries to gain the upper hand.

I loved the book and couldn't stop reading it. Although the "someone threatens to reveal past deeds" trope isn't new, the execution sure was original. This is a gripping story of revenge, secrets, lies, redemption, gaslighting, hard choices, and consequences. It will make you question if people can truly change their nature and make amends.

The story draws you in with snips of information without going into so much detail all at once, and I was eager to find out what the heroine hides and what are Christian's motives. And just when I thought I had figured out what was going on, the author pulled a major twist that left me reeling and changed my mindset. I have read it twice to make sure I read it correctly.

The story alternates the past and the present from the POV of Emily. I loved that while the present was written in the first person, the past was written from the third point of view. The two main characters are well-developed with interesting backstories. I didn't like or identify with either Emily or Christian, and Jeremy was a one-dimensional character, but I still cared about the outcome.

Aside from a few minor typos, the writing in this book is excellent. The only issue I had with the book was the overuse of the word "insist" throughout the tale. Some of the actions may have seemed unbelievable, but it wasn't that big of an issue. This is the first book by the author that I've read, and I look forward to reading more of her books. I loved the book and recommend it to those of you looking for something a little different in your thrillers.

* Thank you NetGalley and (publisher) for the opportunity to read this arc. All opinions are my own.

This is such a gripping and suspenseful book. Be prepared for the fact that once you pick this book up you won’t be putting in back down. This book is an amazing psychological thriller and a very intense read.

This book is wonderful at making you feel uncomfortable and on edge. I found the beginning of the book really hard to read because I found Christian to be so uncomfortable and that is a true testament to Kathryn Croft’s writing. To be able to deliver the intensity of this book and still create that level of unease is remarkable.

I am still in shock about the twist. What a twist. I actually think I had to pick my jaw up off the flaw after the twist was revealed. Once I put the book down I felt like I needed a massage because of the level of stress I was carrying while reading this book - I cannot recommend this book enough. The amount of twists in this book is fantastic - one of my bug bears with books is when you can predict what it is going to happen but there is no way anyone could predict what happened, I definitely didn’t.

The only thing for me was that I didn’t like Emily - I found there were many times where I was shouting at her in my head. I know some people will argue that’s the point but I found her a very frustrating character especially during the beginning of the book.

Thank you to Net Galley and Bookouture for providing me with an advanced readers copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

THAT TWIST? OMG! Never in a million years did I see that coming 👏🏻

Imagine you are enjoying your perfect wedding day and then you look up and see your ex standing there. You thought you’d got away with it, but there it is. Your past. And it wants revenge!

Christian and Emily’s relationship was toxic and abusive, and he’s back, with your secret.

Emily can’t tell her new husband Jeremy what Christian wants, as that would mean telling him everything.

I was completely hooked into the suspense from the start and as the book switches timelines, the tension builds as the author drip feeds details of what happened years before. I was intrigued as to what Christian wanted and how he would reveal his hand.

Nothing is what it seems!

4 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, Kathryn Croft and Bookouture for an ARC in return for an honest review.

OMG omg omg omg
I was not expecting that twist! It fits, kind of.
WTF!

Okay so our girl has just said her vows to her kind and wonderful husband. She is now a stepmom and takes it seriously.
At the reception an old friend from college shows up and he is like "do everything I say or I will destroy you."
She met him when she was 19 and he was in his 20s. It was an extremely toxic relationship.
Anyway, we explore that and he keeps showing up at her house and dragging her around and locking her in his house and just doing horrifying things. He integrates himself into her life and literally no one is like "whoa don't be showing up at my house." because they are British and I guess don't have the same boundaries.
He ends up crashing their family vacation and then the twist happens.
I was shocked.

Whoa, this one messes with my mind. I was on high alert wondering what information and control Christian had over Emily. The author had me fooled for most of the book until it all began to unravel.
It’s a good psychological thriller, although an intense read.
My shoulders were hunched over as I read because I was absorbing the stress I believed Emily to be under.
The book is a good reminder that sometimes our senses deceive us and things are not always as they appear.

Emily is getting married to Jeremy and becoming the stepmother to Lexi and she couldn’t be happier so win the nuptials are done and she turned around to see Christian a man from her past and someone she could’ve lived the rest of her life without seeing needless to say she is shocked. She is relieved when Christian pretends they’re just old friends and that he’s just there to surprise her at her wedding but that doesn’t mean she believes her troubles are behind her because when he asked to meet alone later she knows he is out for revenge. What did she do to Christian and why is he so sad on ruining her life? This book is told in duel timelines current day and back and university where she met the big jerk Christian. I don’t know if I am just over these types of tropes or because I would never allow someone to have the upper hand the way she allows Christian to but I was not overly enthralled with this book. having said that I would still pay to read another great ending like the one in this book I don’t want to give anything away but trust me when I say they are twist interns of plenty. I have read other books by this author that I really liked but felt like this one was only OK with the exception of the ending. I want to thank Bookoucher and Net Galley for my free arc copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

I devoured this book, going to find it really hard to write a review without spoilers so here goes. I liked the main characters, found some of the plot devices a bit strange but they were needed for the story so I just went with it and enjoyed it for what it was and so devoured it in an afternoon.

The relationship with the mother in law was so good and so well described.

I was given an advance copy by bookouture and netgalley but the review is entirely my own.

I loved this book so much but I found the main character, Emily, a bit insufferable. I was also caught off guard by a few spelling mistakes, such as the character Niko’s name being misspelled on page 174 (Nico) and I spotted a couple additional typos throughout. However, the author did a wonderful job depicting abuse in a way that was sensitive and gives great insight into how it develops and feels to be stuck in the ‘before’ timeline. The ‘after’ timeline is written more like a typical thriller and kept me on my toes, wanting to know what was going on and what secret Emily was hiding and what proof Christian could possibly have. The talk that Christian had with Tyler had me feeling all the emotions. I couldn’t believe I missed the signs leading up to it. This author is incredibly talented! Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest feedback.

The Wedding Guest by Kathryn Croft is a gripping and compelling page turner from start to finish and I enjoyed every single minute of it!
This was an entertaining thriller with interesting characters as the threads were woven into place to a satisfying end.
I was completely entranced with how this story would end. I could not get enough.
This turned out to be a great read and I’m looking forward to reading more books from Croft.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank You NetGalley and Bookouture for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

This book definitely had my attention the whole time. You know it’s a good book when you can’t look away and are tense reading what will happen next. An exciting book with a clever ending .

My perfect day...his chance for revenge...

An ivory dress. A bouquet of pink peonies. A handful of guests. A wedding on the beach to the perfect man. Emily can finally close the chapter on her past and welcome the new life that's ahead of her by Jeremy's side and his ten year old daughter Lexi. Their wedding in Kefalonia is like a dream come true. it is perfect. Until Emily sees a face from her past amongst the guests.

Christian Holmes knew Emily back in their university days when they dated for two years. And he knows things about Emily that she won't want anyone from her new life to know about. Ever. So why is he back after fifteen years of silence? And why now? It seems the secrets of her past are about to come back to haunt her unless she does his bidding. But what exactly does he want from her? And how far is he willing to go to get it?

As the uninvited wedding guest, Christian's role is central to the entire plot. But boy what an irritant he was! This is one book where I couldn't wait to finish just to wash myself of him whilst at the same time being unable to put it down. And the whole way through, you don't know who is gaslighting who...or if the author is even gaslighting YOU! A bit of clever plotting there by Ms Croft.

The entire drama was played out over the course of dual timelines of BEFORE and NOW and you just want to scream at Emily for some of the stupid and naive decisions she made. I mean, you want to escape, take your keys with you. Not put them in your bag and then leave it hanging for all and sundry to rummage through it. And then you're surprised when the keys have somehow disappeared? That's only one of her stupid decisions. She makes worse, believe me. The culmination of events plays out in the Lake District where they are seemingly trapped and what? Suddenly two other people just turn up out of nowhere. I didn't understand how that happened. I also didn't understand what really went on with Emily roommates from uni.

The ending was a little confusing where everything was turned A-about, leaving me a little puzzled. How did that happen? I mean I could see it but it didn't seem to make a lot of sense. What it did appear to be was a tangled mess. And I couldn't quite unpick it.

A promising start, an intriguing plot but the ending I felt let it down. That aside, this one is filled with plenty of secrets and lies and deception throughout, tinged with gaslighting and coercive control. Cleverly done, though, even if the ending left me feeling adrift.

I would like to thank #KathrynCroft, #Netgalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheWeddingGuest in exchange for an honest review.

This review appears on my blog at https://stinathebookaholic.blogspot.com/.

Well, that was a wild ride! 

We follow our MC, Emily. The book starts out on her wedding day. She is getting married to a man named Jeremy. Jeremy has a daughter named Lexi, who will be Emily's stepdaughter. There ends up being an unexpected guest that shows up at her wedding, Christian. Christian is someone from Emily's past whom she doesn't seem all that happy allowing back into her life. After the wedding, Christain keeps popping up and infiltrating himself into Emily's new life. He keeps threatening to expose something horrible from her past and ruin the new, happy life she has built for herself. 

We follow Emily's POV, alternating between the past and present. The past is when she was in university, and the present is post-marriage to Jeremy.

This was a fast-paced and easy read for me. I enjoyed the writing style. I will be honest; at first, I didn't really have too high expectations. I have read so many thrillers, and so few plot twists surprise me anymore. But let me tell you, WOW. I did not see this plot twist coming at all. It truly shows that there are two sides to every story and how wrong you can be when you only hear one side's perspective.

The author did an excellent job with this one; it was extremely well written, and I'm excited to read her other books!

Thank you Kathryn Croft, Bookouture, and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

The beginning was so good! It grabbed me immediately!!!
The twist was so good. I didn’t see it coming.
I didn’t love the ending.

I’d like to thank Bookouture and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Wedding Guest’ written by Kathryn Croft in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

When Emily and Jeremy get married on a sandy beach overlooking a blue ocean it’s the happiest day of Emily’s life but as she turns to their guests she’s shocked to see Christian Holmes, a man she had a relationship with at university and who she’d hoped never to see again. Emily has a secret that she’s kept from Jeremy and when Christian says he’s going to expose it and make her pay she knows he means it.

‘The Wedding Guest’ is a psychological thriller that’s told from two perspectives, that of the past when Emily was at university, and the present as Emily starts a new life with her husband and ten-year-old stepdaughter Lexi. I was involved with the first part of the story despite not liking Christian and Emily who I couldn’t empathise with. There were twists and turns throughout with the final twist taking me by surprise as it wasn’t how I’d expected the story to end. I always enjoy Kathryn Croft’s novels and look forward to reading them but although this one was a good solid read I found it disappointing as it didn’t do a lot for me. This is my own personal opinion and I’m sure there are many readers who’ve thoroughly enjoyed it.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for access to this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Well, I'm a bit torn. I absolutely loved the first part fo the book, I loved hating Christian for what he did and what he was doing. Then the huge twist I didn't see coming and I feel a bit cheated. I kind of like the way it ended though, just a little bit sad about it.