This is a light and easy read, while it may not be anything spectacular it's funny and just a nice time in general.
However, I did find it a bit too heavy on the movie references, and honestly I don't think there is any excuse for a book in this day and age to even be mentioning calories and sporting the "guilty foods" narrative. Unless the topic and objective is adressing fatphobia and the societal issues around "good vs bad" food (which in this particular book wasn't the case) I just find it completely unnecessary and quite ignorant, and because of it I will be rating this 2 instead of 3 stars.
Apart from this it was all in all a perfectly okay book.

I didn't love this book at first. It was hard to connect with the characters, and I was struggling to read with all the British slang. BUT once I started to pick up on some of it and got to know the characters better, I really started to enjoy the story. It was sweet to watch Sarah and Charlie spend time with each other exploring London. Lowkey that would be my dream: meeting someone while I'm traveling in a different country.

Sarah and Charlie are two people who, at first glance, seem like an unlikely match. Their story kicks off on the journey to a wedding, where Sarah is the matron of honor and Charlie is one of the ushers. Their first meeting isn't exactly a meet-cute; in fact, it sets the stage for a rocky start to their relationship.

As you dive into the book, you'll notice the ups and downs of Sarah and Charlie's connection. There are heartwarming, sweet moments that make you root for them, but there are also some clashes that add a real rollercoaster feel to their relationship. While these extremes add depth, they can occasionally make it a bit hard to fully invest in their love story.

One aspect that left me wanting more was the clarity of character relationships. The story introduces characters from previous books in the series without giving much context, and it left me feeling a tad confused. If you haven't read the earlier books, you might find it challenging to connect with these characters.

It takes you on a journey with two seemingly ordinary people. If you're into slow-burn romances with relatable lead characters and don't mind a more measured pace, this book is worth a read. It offers a unique twist on the typical love story and will appeal to those who enjoy taking their time with a romance.

I hate to say it but I really did not like this book. To be fair to the author, I had no clue that it was part of a series when I first started reading, so I won’t blame her for my confusion over the sudden introduction to lots of characters. I’d just say it definitely doesn’t work as a standalone!

I didn’t love the writing style or plot structure, it just felt a bit meandering and pointless. There were also frequent small writing errors which really began to irk me as the book went on (for example, on p.12 Sarah states that she’s often resented being nearly six foot tall because she has “a personal preference that women should always be taller than their partners” and states that this meant she was dealing with a smaller dating pool of men when she was single - surely the opposite would be true?).

However, my main issues with this book all revolved around the character of Charlie. I’ll try not to go on about it too much, but basically I was gobsmacked that I was supposed to like this man?! He refers to his sweaty “moobs” in the first sentence we read of his POV and this really sets the tone for the rest of his POV. He is a comedian and he is not funny in the slightest; within the first comedy set we see him do in the book he makes a misogynistic comment and then asks the audience in a tongue-in-cheek way “is that too much in this age of post-Me Too apocalypse?”. Yikes. He blames a lot of his unfunniness on being British, at one point lamenting that “British jokes so often don’t land with our neighbours from across the pond” and, as a Brit, I feel well within my right to say that no, he’s just unfunny.

I’ll cut myself off here before I go on a multi-page rant but basically, this book was not for me. I’ve had a look at some reviews of the previous books in the series and they seem to have similar issues with misogyny from the male characters and so I (unsurprisingly) will not be reading them.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for letting me read an e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

Always the Bridesmaid is the 4th book in Laura Carter’s Brits in Manhattan series. It features Sarah, who has appeared in the 3 previous books, and Charlie, who made a brief appearance in Friends With Benefits. It’s really not necessary to read the other books in the series to enjoy this book, though I have enjoyed following the stories of this group of characters across the series.

Always the Bridesmaid mostly takes place in England, divided between Surrey and London. The characters from the previous books have gathered together for Jess and Jake’s wedding, which is how Sarah and Charlie meet. These two characters have a bit of a rough introduction though since they are both dealing with some feelings brought up by the marriage of their friends (Sarah is a widow and misses her late husband, while Charlie never feels good enough after years in the foster system). It takes a while for both characters to break down their walls, so this is definitely a very slow-burn romance, but there’s plenty of funny and sweet moments along the way.

I think some of my favorite parts were touring through London, since it’s one of my favorite cities in the world, and many of the destinations in the book were ones I visited there myself. I enjoyed both of the main characters as well as seeing the other couples again from the previous books. It was another quick read, and I think the series has only gotten better as it’s continued.

Great romcom read! A slow burn but a quick read. Charlie was so relatable using comedy to hide pain from his past. Him and Sarah had a beautiful story!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!

I really wish I could have enjoyed this book. What drew me in from the synopsis was that the characters are supposed to have great chemistry and banter. I spent the whole book waiting for the moment I would feel something between the characters... nothing.

I understand that it was a slow burn romance, but this was a snail's pace. Some may find that enjoyable, but it got a bit too slow for my liking.

Now this book is part of a series so I understood that the MC's from the other books would make appearances, but it wasn't executed well in my opinion. I did like that this book can be read as a standalone though.

The MC's in this book were not likeable, I unfortunately was looking forward to the book ending.

I think this author's writing style is just not for me, it initially made it hard to read the book, but I found a way to look past it while reading.

Unfortunately, this book really was not for me, and I wish that wasn't the case because the book had a lot of potential.

Thank you to NetGalley for the arc eBook in exchange for an honest review.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. So thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this opportunity!

A new fav of the year!
Amazing love story with hilarious characters that have great banter and genuine love and interest towards one another.
I love this cover by the way.
5/5

This isn't the first book in the series, but that does not detract from the story itself - it worked perfectly as a standalone. This is a slowburn romance between Sarah, a young American widow, and Charlie, an up-and-coming British comedian. They both hit it off on a bad foot to begin with so it was interesting to read how they ended up seeing their 'real' personalities and falling for each other. Their backgrounds - losing a husband too soon, and for Charlie, growing up in the care system - were both dealt with sensitively and it certainly made you root for both characters.
The only thing I wasn't keen on was the book's title - I'm not sure it completely fits the story it tells?

**Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read an advanced e-copy of this book. All opinions are my own **

Really enjoyable read. I’ve read a few from this series but they could easily be read as standalone books. A slow burning romance with two characters who seem totally opposites to each other when first meeting but they both have back stories which being them closer. I enjoyed it. I liked the movie references at the end and I loved the happy ending!!

Overall impression: A pleasant, closed door, slow-burn romance between an early-in-life widow and an awkward yet charming comedian. I found myself rooting for both characters fairly early on, and my curiosity as to how they ended up together was the thing that kept me reading.

Pros: I love a slow-burn, found myself invested in Sarah’s story, and genuinely enjoyed the good chemistry between the lead characters. Charlie grows on both the audience and Sarah. The plot itself is also strong — it’s the kind of story we should hear more about.

Cons: There was a bit too much internal dialogue (distracted a bit from the tension in the story), and I was similarly distracted by the awkward British phrasing on the part of the American narrator (Sarah). Randomly, I also found the title to be a bit inconsistent with the premise of the story, but maybe that’s just me.

A beautiful story that had me in tears; both from laughing and crying. It's the fourth book in a series (that I haven't read any of the other books from), but it works wonderfully as its own stand alone book. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it. There are many tender moments within, and refreshingly they quite openly talk about losing a loved one, the grief that comes along with that and how it often stays for a very long time. It really pulls on your heart strings and I think it will stay with me forever. A truly lovely story, full of special moments, love and laughter.

This author is not for me. I read the previous book in the series and it's the same vibe, nothing really exciting. Also I really hate when books make reference to things in the real world like tiktok, or Facebook, or real people, gives me the ick

I enjoyed this book even though it is the 3rd in a series but i read it as a standalone. The cover is nice and goes well with the book. I look forward to reading more by this Author.

First off, I LOVE that the author has given us the image of two very average-looking main characters! I mean, it isn’t often you read about a male main character who is chubby, with sweat running down between his moobs!! ;) I mean, how NORMAL for a man in his 30s (?) to have a soft body!

Also, in the first meeting, there was none of the “he’s so hot, but he’s being a jerk. But still I can’t help but be attracted to him” schtick. She doesn’t find him attractive at first, only annoying! (The feeling was mutual!)

Both the main characters are real people, with real trauma that is holding them back from truly living well. When they both get the kind of closure and affirmation they need, they are able to find their way back to one another.

All the supporting characters are fun, and have compelling stories of their own. This is the first book I’ve read by Laura Carter, but I am interested enough in these other characters that I will be happy to read other books in this series!

This is a REALLY slow burn! It wasn’t until I was about 75% into the book that the FMC realized she had feelings for the MMC! For a bit, through about 85-90%, I was beginning to think it was going to end up unfinished, and I’d need to read a second book to get the rest of the story!

Ultimately, of course, we get our happily ever after…or at least the beginnings of it.

Oh, also wanted to mention that this was completely closed-door!

Always the Bridesmaid is about the two singles of an international friend group: the people-pleasing widow and the anxiety-ridden comedian. This book was a tough read for me. I was thrown off by the writing style at first but eventually I was able to get into the book. I wanted to buy this love story so bad, but I can't understand why either of them would want to pursue this, especially Charlie. I'm sad to say this simply wasn't the book for me.

I was so excited for Sarah's story, the series as a whole has been great (1 and 3 were my favs) but this one fell flat. Sarah's the matron of honor in Jake and Jess's wedding and Charlie is one of the ushers. The have a meet not cute in the airport pick up line and really started off in the wrong foot. Between wedding festivities and her staying an extra week to see the London sites an animosity then friendship then lovers starts to develop.

I loved the scenery, having just returned from London a few days ago it was quite easy to immerse myself back in the food and site seeing that was going on and I for sure did not hate it 😀.

We've had glimpses of Sarah through the other books and what we saw was very suits/Donna-esque, this story showed the heavier side of her backstory and being a young widow. She's set to bunk with Charlie, a comedian and friend of Jake/Jess, for the week leading up to the wedding. Charlie said at one point that the group was a tad incestuous, and while he technically isn't wrong, because of that I would have loved to see more of his friendship with Jake/Jess. Sarah and Charlie run hot and cold the entire story. Sweet moments and loathing moments and because the extremes were so drastic, it was ultimately hard to root for them as a couple. (Though the third act grand gesture was pretty epic). Granted the reconciliation was very abrupt and then the book ended! Not sure if this was the last book in the series but I wish things would have been summed up a bit (re: A LOT) more.

While this could be a series of standalones, I highly reccomend reading all 4 together and in order to fully immerse in one heck of a found family 🥰. All in all a fun read and good series.


Thank you Netgalley and Boldwood Books for the ARC in exchange for my review!

I found Always the Bridesmaid by Laura Carter a perplexing book. I wish it had been better edited and better written. The tenses were all over the place (and it was written in the present continuous for the most part, a trend I deplore), some vocabulary was used incorrectly, and supposedly British colloquialisms were used willy-nilly regardless of the dialect to which they belong).

Secondly, it read like two entirely different books. The first part, dealing with a group trip to England for an extravagant wedding, was banal and tedious in my opinion. I was also completely confused by the characters and their relationships. I'm still not sure how Charlie, one of the leads, knew the bride and groom. The set up for him and Sarah (oh, there are too many people for the rooms available in the house we've rented) was unconvincing. Why couldn't she have shared a room with the other single woman, rather than Charlie? Who knows. I almost gave up reading at this point but I am glad I persevered. The second part of the book, detailing Sarah's holiday in London when Charlie acts as tour guide was funny and entertaining and page-turning. And the conclusion was cleverly left open.

Always the Bridesmaid is the fourth book in the Brits in Manhattan series by Laura Carter. It centers around Sarah, a legal assistant (I think) and Charlie, a comedian, who meet at their mutual friends' wedding.

To me, this book deserves a good 3.5/5, that I'll round up to 4/5, because I want to and because I can.

I liked both MCs whom I found endearing, their backstories were moving -Sarah is a widower and Charlie grew up in foster care. Writing about those topics can be a tricky business given their sensitive nature, but I find that the author addressed them the right way, making sure it wasn't over-dramatic or pathetic. The dynamics between Sarah and Charlie was really interesting, I found them quite mature and I liked all the efforts they made to understand each other better.

I have a weakness for emotionally insecure (but not toxic in any way) MMCs, and also for stories where the protagonists don't make their feelings obvious, so this book was made for me !

I found however that some parts of the book were unnecessarily long and boring, especially the London tour.
Also, the MCs of the previous books in the series (Jake, Jess, Becky blah blah blah) took too much space and made it difficult for me to follow who was who (I didn't read the other books), or to care quite frankly (... this "cameo" trend has to stop).
Also ... I HAVE TO say it : Charlie wasn’t funny at all :'D

In conclusion, I'll say that I enjoyed this book very much. It made my heart ache and I was invested in it. Would totally recommend.

Thank you NetGalley and Boldwood Books for giving me access to this e-ARC for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

This book is a captivating journey through the depths of imagination. Its rich storytelling and well-developed characters kept me engaged from start to finish. With its thought-provoking themes, it transcends genres and offers something for every reader. A must-read for anyone seeking a literary adventure.