The title of the book and the editor blurb drew me in. It was a twisted creepy story about mostly creepy twisted people. I liked that it was told from multiple perspectives, but it took a bit to determine who was “speaking/narrating” each chapter as all the characters sounded the same. Additionally, I found it a bit long winded. Interesting listen, but I think it may be a better read than listen.

Told in dual timelines and multiple POVs I found this one a bit difficult to follow. For me, the narration voice was subtle when the POV changed between the characters. I had to pay close attention. I wasn't able to connect with the characters, I didn't feel like they were very complex characters. While, I did find two of the characters to be deranged. The pacing was very slow for me but eventually it picked up pace. The plot twist was good, but I found the ending left me wanting a bit more.

This audio was big disappointment for me. I have been in my thriller era recently reading several amazing five star thrillers. So it was a no brainer to request this for one of my Macmillan Audio August picks. The premise did sound great. However, I tried my best but I was so bored. I felt like nothing happened to classify it as a thriller. I didn’t care for the characters. Unfortunately, I was glad when it was over. I usually do review posts for every alc, but won’t for this one as I hate to trounce books and can’t think of many positive things to say about this one. Sorry.

I tried multiple times to get into this, and I couldn't. It comes down to one word: boring. Nothing grasped me and made me want to listen to the story. The final time I listened, I zoned out so many times that I felt like I hadn't missed anything. I liked the narrator, but they were wasted on this book because the actual story was B-O-R-I-N-G.

Thank you to MacMillan Audio and NetGalley for providing an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I approached this audiobook with some reservations, but overall, I genuinely enjoyed the experience. While the plot didn’t hold many surprises, the story was engaging, and I found myself immersed in the listen. Sophie Rundle’s smooth voice made the narration pleasant, though I did find it occasionally challenging to distinguish between characters and timelines, as the story shifts frequently. Despite this, I was able to follow the changing timelines fairly well. Overall, this psychological thriller was an enjoyable listen with a few storyline gaps. I look forward to more works from this author and narrator in the future!

A wedding day is supposed to be one of the happiest days of a person's life, but what happens when a stranger shows up and he has been assigned to find out what happened to the groom's first bride?

I wanted to like this book so much more than I did. It's got a missing wife who's been quickly replaced by another woman, a private investigator who is always around the corner, and trauma on all sides. The book is laid out in three perspectives, but the author fails to specify who is who at the beginning of each chapter. Needless to say, this created a lot of confusion for me as I listened to the audiobook. Very poorly executed...too bad. It was also a bit too predictable for me, and there was a lot of background information on the PI that I found unnecessary.

The narration was well done.

Content warnings for suicide, pregnancy loss, and infertility.

It was just ok for me.

The story was just ok.
The title is a bit misleading.
It's kinda predictable.
Characters are all unlikeable.
Plot gets a tad muddled.

Real shame 3 stars

The Stranger at the Wedding is a recent audiobook by A. E. Gauntlett and narrated by Sophie Rundle.

"Annie first sees Mark on her commuter train. Before she can speak to him, he disappears. They later reconnect in a trauma recovery meeting. They begin dating and eventually marry. At the wedding there is a stranger in the crowd, staring eerily at her. He looks like he knows something. What really happened to Mark's wife? Does this stranger know her secrets?"

Excellent audiobook performance from Sophis Rundle. She makes you dislike so many characters.

Nothing groundbreaking in this story. The timeline feels jumbled sometimes and that may be because of audio speed. Everybody has secrets and there are plenty of unlikable characters. Gauntlett adds some deception in the story so at a certain point you wonder just whose storyline you're listening. Some crazy parts at the end.

Just okay story from Gauntlett.

The Stranger at the Wedding was a fun thriller that kept me guessing. I found the multiple POVs enjoyable, and they added to the suspense and my interest. I felt like the end dragged on a little bit, and I was confused by one thing that happened that didn’t seem to get addressed. I think a little more editing with the pacing could have fixed that. However, this was definitely a fun read, and I thought the overall reveal was satisfying.

The narrator was great, and I recommend the audiobook version!

ARC received from Macmillan Audio via Netgalley.

Rating: 3/5 Stars
Pub Date: 8/13
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The Stranger at the Wedding is essentially not about a stranger at the wedding at all. Well, I mean there is a stranger, which sets the ball rolling, but said stranger isn’t the main focus. Makes the title a bit misleading.
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This story is told in multiple POV and multiple timelines which is usually fine, but for whatever reason I really struggled with the changing of timelines and characters. The entire format just felt disjointed and difficult to follow. I also really didn’t find any of the characters too likable, which again usually isn’t a problem, but for some reason I wasn’t invested.
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This is a slow burn for most of the story. Again, not usually a problem for me, but the ending wasn’t as thrilling or as shocking as I was hoping for. It’s interesting enough but not a favorite of mine.
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I listened to this one via audiobook. I wonder if reading it with my eyeballs instead of my earholes would make it flow better… Anyway, it was narrated by Sophie Rundle, I think that she did great narrating what I would consider to be a tough book to narrate. I think that this would be better produced with a full cast in order to differentiate all of the different POVs.
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Overall, this wasnt terrible, it was a quick bingeable read, but this was not my favorite. I think psychological thriller fans may enjoy this one. Check it out! Huge thank you to NetGalley, A. E. Gauntlett and MacMillan Audio for the ALC in exchange for my honest review.

The Stranger At The Wedding is a twisty psychological thriller !
It opens at Annie and Mark's wedding. The reader is quickly made aware that there's a mystery regarding what happened to Mark's first wife and Cameron, a detective investigating her disappearance arrives at the wedding reception - he's an uninvited guest and possibly the stranger in the book title, as an other option the title may be a lot more philosophical even bride and groom may still be strangers to each other at the wedding, keeping some secrets tightly wrapped... only to have them unravel in the ordinariness of married life.
I found the beginning slow, but once Annie's and Mark's pasts begin to be revealed, and Hope, the first wife gets her perspective in, I became hooked.
The book is heavy on the character background and the potential toll of childhood trauma, so be careful if that's not for you.
I listened to the audio for this one, narrated by Sophie Rundle and loved how the narration added to the suspenseful atmosphere and the accent placed me firmly in England.

Thanks Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for this ALC! I unfortunately wasn’t a huge fan of the narrator. There were times when I was bored and had trouble not DNFing the audio. I think I would have enjoyed it more if someone else did the narration or if I read it physically. The twist for me was quite predictable. I also found some of the characters to be extremely unlikable.

This book was a deliciously twisty thriller and I didn't see the reveal coming! I love it when that happens. The characters are not at all what they appear to be, there is more than one timeline, and there are no reliable narrators. The stranger himself wasn't the focus of the book, I agree with others who have said the book title didn't seem fitting. Something about a missing wife or a new wife would have been better, but hey... no one asked me. But I did enjoy listening to it as an easy and fun domestic thriller!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC audiobook in exchange for this review.

The Stranger at the Wedding had all the things I love in my thrillers - unhinged characters, dual timelines, and multiple POVs. But this one fell short for me. While enjoyable, it started off slow. It was also difficult to keep up with which timeline or whose POV I was listening to due to no clear cut differentiation between the switches. While the plot lines fell a little flat for me, there were parts that I did enjoy. The ending shocked me and caught me completely off guard. Sophie Rundle did a good job bringing the story to life.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC in exchange for my honest review.

This book wasn’t exactly what I was expecting from the title but it was an interesting suspense story. I listened to the audiobook and the narrator did a good job, but the story shifts narrators and timelines without any indication which made it very hard to follow the story. This wasn’t the narrator’s fault and I do think they brought the main character to life well. Before she saw Mark Annie didn’t believe in love at first sight. The story centers around Annie and Mark’s wedding but it goes before and after as well. A man no one recognizes does show up at the wedding (but this wasn’t exactly the lynch pin to the story I thought it was). There was one very small thing that surprised me as I read this one, but mostly I found the story to be predictable. The writing was ok, but the characters were all either flat or unlikeable so it was hard to get engaged in the story. Overall I gave this one 2.5 stars which I rounded up because it did reach an appropriate level of creepy. Some of the foreshadowing (which I thought was a little strong) was well and truly creepy.

Thank you Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for chance to listen to this audiobook.

I felt like I had absolutely no idea what was going on for 90% of this book and honestly, the characters were just so unlikable that if not for the really well done audio narration I would have DNFed this one. That said, the ending was a turning point and was better than I expected. Not my favorite but someone else would likely enjoy it.

For a psychological thriller, I wasn't overly intrigued by this one. I think for me - it was how it was laid out. It had a slower build up and I got lost on some occasions with the multiple timelines. It fell a little flat for me. I think it's still a solid story - just not a favorite for me. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Slow pace but stay with it. The end might just surprise you. I went in blind but was hooked quickly with its twist and turns. Give it a chance.

Thanks netgalley & Macmillan Audio

This one had me hooked! An absolute page turner (or binge listen in this case since I did the audiobook version 🎧).

Thriller/mystery taking you between two POVs of leading women of the story.

My mind was semi blown by this one, and I think you’re going to love it as much as I did!. This one is a total win in my book!

I listened to the audio version narrated by Sophie Rundle. I think the audio really suffered because there were not distinct voices for the different characters. It was very confusing. I would almost like to go back and read the e book to see if it is any clearer.

The story itself was a thriller. There were twists and turns that kept me going throughout. I really had no idea who had done what until the very end. It was also very hard to feel for any of the characters because it was hard to find any redeeming qualities in them. This story kept me listening through the struggles with the narration and the final jab was unexpected.

Thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the copy of this audiobook. All thoughts are my own.