The Good Bride by Jen Marie Wiggins, a hurricane has devastated blue compass Florida so when Ruth and Tayo decide they’re getting married her mother and Instagram influencer sister Sophie, convince them to do it at their summer home in blue compass. Charlotte, Joe, Sophie, and Ruth make up the Bancroft family a.k.a. the richest residence in blue compass. It’s so having their wedding there after such a devastation and locally sourcing everything will make it even bigger than it would’ve been. Ruth would be happy running off to get married with the love of her life, but she acquiesces and plans to have it in the devastated panhandle. soon strange things start to happen the expensive necklace. Ruth was going to wear gets stolen, her and Sophie start getting strange and threatening messages, her dad who has been sober a year goes missing and presume dead and the black wedding coordinator/dressmaker is accused of ruining the wedding and possibly stealing the necklace. Before the book is over, everyone’s secrets will come out, and I thought this made for such an interesting read. I love to read about rich people and I’m glad I am not one of those who is jealous of the rich or anyone for that matter because I totally enjoy living in their world for the time I am able thanks to stories like this. there’s so much more to this book than what I put in my review and wish I could’ve put more about Kayla the wedding coordinator/dressmaker her dad Marcus the sheriff the balding mayor that Charlotte started dating how much I love Tayo, but you’ll have to read the book to learn for yourself this is a great book with lots of craziness secrets, and drama that I definitely recommend.#NetGalley, #CrookedLaneBooks, #JenMarieWiggins, #TheGoodBride,

Normally I love stories with different narratives from characters involved but this book just drops the mark. I didn’t get into any of the characters, so it was hard to get behind what was happening. Nothing of note happens till much later in the book, so you don’t have the normal tension I would expect from this genre. Overall, this book just was flat. Both with characters and writing style.
Thank you to Crooked Lane Books and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this title.

The Good Bride by Jen Marie Wiggins was drama filled story full of secrets, lies and twists and turns.
I was hooked from the first few chapters. Just when I thought I knew what was going on, there was another curveball. It’s an easy-to-follow story that had me reading it quickly. I could not wait to pick my Kindle up and find out what happened next!

A Tangled Web..
What a tangled web we weave. Secrets and lies will out in this familial drama littered with twists. Ruth Bancroft prepares to marry her groom, following a devastating hurricane, and all is planned to a tee including social media curation. Tensions, however, are soon to rise and not everything will proceed as planned. Compelling drama with a well crafted cast of characters, a well imagined backdrop and a slow burn, tension building plot.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #CrookedLaneBooks for the book #TheGoodBride by #JenMarieWiggins. The social media wedding of the year in a small town that was devastated by a hurricane a year earlier. From a bar fight at the bachelor party to a missing person at the dinner, it seems there are secrets everywhere. Is someone trying to stop the wedding or is something else going on?

The synopsis really drew me in, a wedding which goes horribly wrong and based in my favourite holiday location of Florida but for me the pacing was too slow and I struggled to connect with the main characters. I DNF'd at 30% i'm afraid.
Thank you NetGalley, Jen Marie Wiggins and Crooked Lane Books for this ARC, all opinions expressed are my own.

Main Characters:

-- Ruth – grew up with her mother and two sisters, left home after college when she took a teaching job in Savannah, returned to Blue Compass for her wedding at the family vacation house on the Gulf Coast
-- Teo – Ruth’s fiancé, works as an attorney in Savannah
-- Caroline – Ruth’s wealthy mother, their vacation home was unaffected by a recent hurricane and is the location for Ruth’s wedding
-- Sophia – Ruth’s oldest sister, works as a social media influencer @sophiasez, contracted with sponsors for some of the wedding decor
-- Jo – Ruth’s older sister, works as an attorney, married with twins
-- Thaddeus – Ruth’s estranged alcoholic father, Ruth invited him to her wedding
-- Kayla – owner of a bridal planning shop started by her mother, organizing Ruth and Teo’s wedding
-- Marcus – Kayla’s father, Blue Compass sheriff

The town of Blue Compass has a long way to go to recover from Hurricane Charlie, which hit the small town a year ago. Spared from the hurricane’s destruction is Summerhouse, the Bancroft vacation home and the site of Ruth’s upcoming wedding. As family and friends invade the town, protesters picket the town council, which is being wooed by developers that want to rebuild the area into a tourist destination. Add to that the people who are only interested in Savannah’s “wedding of the year” and the disappearance of one of Ruth’s family members, and calling it chaos is quite the understatement.

That’s the gist of the story. The description appealed to me as a fan of Big Little Lies, but this book really fell flat for me. Told from the perspectives of multiple characters, irrelevant secrets abound here. We get hints throughout the beginning of the book about the “long-buried secrets” mentioned in the book’s description. When they’re finally revealed, however, they have little to do with the present day. And the protest of the town council is completely unnecessary in my opinion because it adds nothing to the story.

Nothing really exciting happens until almost halfway through the book when the high-profile wedding guest vanishes. Even after, we don’t really see much of the investigation. When you read a whodunit, you want to suspect everyone. But there are so many minor characters in this book that I couldn’t keep them straight.

The author introduces every single character by their full name, with a description of who they are and what they do. Honestly, I don’t care what the name of the bartender is or Ruth’s old crush who is a suspect for only a millisecond because he has an alibi. It almost feels like the author throws in so many characters because she doesn’t want you to figure out too early what happened, but all she did was confuse me…and that makes me not care very much. I also didn’t like most of the characters anyway.

Aside from the characters, the names of the businesses (and homes) in the town made me roll my eyes…a lot. They are odd and awkward and sound like names you would find in a children’s book or television show. The name of the town is Blue Compass, which sounds more like a business than a town. The Bancroft vacation home is called Summerhouse. It’s literally a summer house so weird that it would be named Summerhouse. Kayla’s wedding planning business is Two Be Wed. There’s LookSee Lounge, the neighborhood Nautilus Cove, the Sunny Side Up Cafe, Coastal Catering. You get the idea. It makes me feel like we’re in Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood Land of Make Believe or something.

To top it off, there are 23 references to Hurricane Charlie, so every dozen pages or so. I get it. The town was decimated by Hurricane Charlie. It’s taking the residents a long time to repair things, and that’s why there’s the conflict with the town council. But that conflict doesn’t do anything to drive the story forward. The wedding could be the revenue generator for the town without the protests or the developers.

This book was confusing on the best days and tough to finish. I would not recommend it.

I made it to 35% before I put this book down. I was not invested in the story and felt bored. I see how the story could have potential because the synopsis drew me in, but it wasn’t executed in a thrilling way for me.

I am tired of pre wedding plots. Oh no the secrets are coming out and accusations are being made. Overall the story was well written and engaging i just feel this storyline has saturated the book industry.

good mystery about a couple and staying in a house and the other couple there. kept me on my toes . good mystery and figuring stuff out.

What is it about weddings that brings out the worst in some families? This is as much as family drama as it is a thriller. Told through multiple POVs, it's centered on Ruth's wedding to Teo, a wedding that has already been postponed once and will be delayed again because of events at the rehearsal dinner. Ruth's sister, a social media star, is the driving force behind some of the chaos. There are toxic secrets, old enmity- all the feels. While this is a little slow to start, it picks up until you find yourself turning the pages looking for answers. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

Ruth and Teo are hoping to start their lives together with a beautiful wedding that can revitalize the little Gulf Coast town where Ruth and her sisters grew up. Kayla is happy for her wedding planning business to get a boost after a hurricane has nearly destroyed the town.

This book is packed with plenty of family drama! From the obvious wedding, to a divorce, a pregnancy, and teen shenanigans coming back to cause complications, everyone has their own chaos to navigate even before a family member goes missing and is presumed dead.

Several of the characters know of each other since childhood, as happens a lot in a small town. While the current family drama of one of three sisters getting married in their hometown—which is still rebuilding after a hurricane—would be action enough, there’s also back-story with their estranged father, their wedding planner, and oh yeah, protests and politics surrounding the post-hurricane rebuilding.

The story is told from the perspective of each of the sisters, Ruth’s fiance, the sheriff, and the wedding planner. The varied viewpoints really show how everyone’s focus is different, and their secrets are coloring everything that is happening.

This was a fun story to untangle, and the epilogue was especially appreciated to tie things up. The book would be recommended for those who enjoy family dramas, small coastal town stories, and wedding planning. It earned 3 out of 5 stars.

The cover of this book had me requesting from Netgalley and the Publisher, Crooked Lane Books.
Sweet in nature, always willing to offer and give second chances, Ruth is getting married. Is she having the wedding of her dreams? No. From family drama, a missing necklace, a gunshot and a missing guest everything is in chaos. More drama than thriller, the plot twists help carry the book. Based on the cover and description, I was expecting more mystery or suspense.
This review is my honest opinion.

The Good Bride. Is a fast paced story filled with many surprises. I really enjoyed it and can definitely recommend buying a copy..

Many thanks fir my gifted copy

The synopsis of this one was good but sadly the execution was just okay. There were a lot of characters to keep track of and it was a lot slower than I usually like my thrillers to be. I'm sure there will be plenty of others that love this book though so don't let my review put you off. The writing was good. I would definitely try something else by this author.

The Good Bride was too slow for my liking. There are lots of characters and it took awhile to get all the characters straight. The characters aren't memoriable and the the major plot reveals weren't exciting.

Great book cover though! Thanks for the ARC

Thank you Netgalley for giving me the privilege of reading and reviewing this book. All opinions are completely my own and in my own words.

I really enjoyed the pace and writing of The Good Bride. The entire story flows seamlessly through the drama and surprises build around Ruth's and Theo's wedding. Lots of twists and character development that keeps you on your toes
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Sorry this one doesn't work for me. I don't understand what's going on in the story to many characters. I don't like the stories with too many characters and stories in a story.. thanx netgalley for approving my request.

I didn’t really enjoy this book. Too many characters and it took too long to get anywhere. Thank you to NetGalley for letting me read this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

I had to DNF this as it seemed to drag so much that I just wasn't super interested in it. I appreciate getting the opportunity to read but the writing style and storyline just wasn't for me.