Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for sending me an early copy of this audiobook! All opinions are my own!

I don't even know where to start with this book. It was a wild trip to say the least, and I am left speechless at the end of it.

It felt very slow for most of the book, but then once the twist is revealed, I was absolutely hooked and shocked. I needed to fully understand right then and there. And it did not disappoint in its revelations!

I liked the way that the book switches POVs and timelines, it makes everything fall into place so much easier, and it really helps with the big reveal making more sense.

I can't say much more without revealing too much, but if you're looking for a thriller that will shock your socks off, look no further!

Twisty, domestic thriller/drama! This started out feeling all over the place due to changing POV without indicating the narrator and a nonlinear timeline. However once pieces came together it was twisty and unexpected!

4.25/5

The Stranger at the Wedding is A.E. Gauntlett's debut novel and DANG! It had a couple of twists that made my mouth drop open, as well as being a book I could not put down. I saw readers saying there was nothing groundbreaking here, and while I agree to some extent, it still threw me for a loop, and I loved the deviousness of one of these characters. I don't think I actually liked a single person in the story, but that was fine by me and definitely kept things interesting.

I loved the audiobook and thought Sophie Rundle did a fantastic job. There are a few different viewpoints with quite a few characters, and I will admit it was sometimes hard for me to keep track of them all while I was listening. However, once we were introduced to each of them I found it a bit easier though it may be helpful to keep a list if you go the audiobook route. Overall, I was incredibly satisfied with this domestic suspense (I wouldn't call it a thriller) novel, and I will be looking forward to seeing what else Gauntlett writes!

I want to start by saying I enjoyed this book and the storyline. It had an intriguing plot and good bones to it. However I listened to this one and I found it difficult to keep up with who the chapters were about and characters straight. I’m wondering if by physically reading this one I would be able to follow that better. Nevertheless I did enjoy it.
I gave it 3.5 stars partly due to following of characters/timeline and partly due to certain parts being drawn out and others I felt were skimmed over.

I love books with multiple POVs but this one was not my fave. It was hard to follow at times but it was interesting. 3.5 stars!

I really did not enjoy this one. It was all over the place and hard to follow. I didn't think the ending had the impact the author was hoping for. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This one was very hard for me to get into. The narrator was great, but the story was just a little boring to me. By about the middle of the book it started to get more interesting, but I felt like it lacked the wow factor. I also kept getting confused by the different point of views. Thank you for the ARC!

This was a decent thriller—here’s what I loved and here’s what didn’t work.

Loved—the characters were mysterious and weird. They both had backgrounds that were talked around instead of noting anything suspicious head-on. The premise of a prior wife always fascinates me in the most sinister of ways. The narrator brought these completely unhinged characters to life!

Didn’t—the timeline was both nonlinear (not a drawback on its own) but also jumped around without any indication of where we were from basically birth to wedding. Piecing together the timeline was a true source of frustration while listening. I also got super tired of the book not addressing the characters’ background holes and continually talking around them. It was repetitive and annoying. Treat the readers like adults and tell us *something* new!

Would I recommend this? The end was abrupt but good, so…maybe? If you’re in the mood for a quick thriller and go into it with low expectations? Sure.

I really enjoyed this one! Thank you netgalley for the advanced audiobook copy. I will be telling my friends!

I walked into this one thinking it would be centered more around a wedding, but found multiple timelines surrounding the wedding instead. The title is a bit misleading, but the plot is captivating. Plenty of unlikeable characters, but no one who is particularly memorable. The audiobook is well narrated and makes for an entertaining listen!

An enjoyable psychological thriller that kept me guessing until the end! Kind of stretched the limits of believability, but a fun escapist read.

I wanted to love this one so much, I really did. I love a thriller, and I typically enjoy multiple timelines and POV's which this book has. But I had such a hard time getting into this one as (I hate saying this) the writing just didn't hold my interest and it took me most of the book to care at all about the storyline. The writing just didn't seem to flow smoothly, but it was disjointed to me. At first I thought, "Wow! This should be good!" because Mark and Annie were at their wedding when she spotted a man that obviously disturbed her.

Soon thereafter we find out that Mark had a wife named Hope but somehow she's missing. She did, however, leave a diary that I hoped was going to pick up the pace for me. As I read, I began to suspect that perhaps Mark had done something to her. Picking up another place in the book when I thought, "Here it is," and I had hopes that I was going to now gain more interest. Sadly, I really didn't even though the "stranger at the wedding" showed up at their home after Mark and Annie got married. We learn that Annie has some secrets.

I had both the audiobook and e-book but I had a difficult time listening to the narrator. Most of the time if I have a hard time reading a book if I have the audiobook too it helps me get into it; however, in this case I had a difficult time understanding the narrator so it didn't give me that extra pickup.

I will say that there was a good twist and I enjoyed that. Plus, I thought the premise was promising and I think it will be a pleaser to others, but not me.

I was completely hooked by this thriller! The blend of romance and suspense had me on edge from the start. Annie's whirlwind romance with Mark seemed perfect, but things take a dark turn when a mysterious stranger appears at their wedding.

The suspense builds as Annie uncovers unsettling truths about Mark’s past and the strange coincidences surrounding their meeting. The tension between their seemingly perfect relationship and the hidden secrets made for a riveting read. The twists kept me guessing, and the dramatic finale was both unexpected and satisfying. If you enjoy a thrilling mix of romance and intrigue, this book is definitely worth diving into!

I don't feel the title totally fits the book.

I had the audio and I thought the narrator did a good job, but I still got confused in timelines because they weren't always clear.

Annie is our main and she didn't believe in love at first sight. Then she met Mark. This book takes place around their wedding. But there's so much more to the story.

This one was predictable and okay, but nothing stellar.

Many thanks to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for an ALC.

DNF -- Didn't like the narrator and couldn't get past it. Disappointed because the premise sounded great!

I found it very difficult to get through the narration of this book. I was excited because I know the narrator from her tv work, but there was something about the tone and cadence that did not resonate with me, but may with others.

Over all, it was fine. I believe that the story and the motivations of the main characters was very jumbled. That, along with the narration made it hard for me to be interested in the story.

I look forward to reading more from the author because I thought there was promise there.

I thank NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to express my thoughts.

As always, massive thanks to both NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC copy!

This one was just okay for me. There were some pieces that I got slightly confused by and others that I wasn't sure we really needed, but overall it was a decent listen. I also feel like at times it was hard to keep up with what POV I was getting, so some clarity would have likely helped this!

This was a fairly boilerplate thriller/mystery novel. The characters were not very in depth, but I was interested enough in the story to finish fairly quickly.

The twists and turns were not very surprising, I had a few inklings beforehand. I did enjoy reading it as it did fill all of the checkmarks I generally look for in a thriller. I can often be very hard on them in reviews, but this one was a fun ride even if it wasn't anything breaking the mold.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Henry Holt and Co and Macmillan Audio for the copies to review.

I love a good domestic suspense, especially ones with twisty endings like these! The audio for this was also great, I thought the narrator did a wonderful job. However with the audio it was hard to track which timeline I was on unfortunately and it confused things throughout the book. The twist at the end was excellent which made up for it, and I enjoyed this one. I do think though the physical book is the way to read this and I probably should have switched from audio.

Reading challenge category - 2024 Flourish and Blotts: Transfiguration - Animagus: Includes a shapeshifter

Thanks to #NetGalley for the ARC audio of this work.

Annie and Mark are getting married after a very quick courtship. They met after continuously crossing paths on the train during their morning commutes. At their wedding, Annie spots a stranger in the crowd who changes everything in her life. Very quickly after their wedding, secrets begin unfolding and the facades that were built begin to unravel.

For me, this was very predictable and boring. I was able to quickly deduce that <spoiler> Annie had manipulated the meetings wtih Mark and basically stalked him until they were together. There are many clues pointing to the fact that she isn't who she says she is in her personality </spoiler>. I feel like this is a type of story that has been told many times before and that there wasn't anything new in this variant to make it stand out from the masses. I also feel like the author has to be a man writing a main female character, because there are some 'icks' that a woman wouldn't do. 2/5 stars.