This was a decent story, but it was not my favorite. Some good parts kept me engaged, but overall I had difficulty staying engaged. I had a hard time connecting. I also sometimes got confused about who was talking because of the switching of the different points of view. THe narrator was a good narrator.

This novel was approximately named in my opinion because “the stranger” was the central character in the story. This thriller was definitely different in writing style and format and I do appreciate this sort of creativity. The story is told from three POVs; Annie, the bride, Hope, the first wife and Cameron, the stranger and in back and forth timelines. I was engaged and interested in the story throughout the book but found the flow to be rough and distracting. The transitions between characters and timelines was confusing and it took a few sentences to figure out which character was speaking and whether the timeline was before or after the wedding. This made the book less enjoyable for me. I really never did understand the motives behind the crime.
I listened to the audio version of the book and I think this made the transitions even more difficult to follow. The narrator did a good job in spite of the author’s confusing writing style.

What you think you are getting from this book based on the title is not what you actually get. So forget the title and start thinking about the plot - Annie is marrying her love Mark, but the fact that Mark's first wife, Hope, disappeared is hanging over their heads. And then after the wedding, things between them start to become tense.

Told in alternating timelines of Annie's relationship with Mark and Hope's diary, you start to finally learn how these things are connected. The story with predictable, but still enjoyable. There's really not much to say about it. There is a proper amount of lead up, hints, and a big reveal that is meant to be intense. The audio narration is high quality, with enough difference between Annie's and Hope's perspectives that it is clear whose story you are in the middle of. I also did really enjoy the nods to Greek Mythology.

However, by the end I'm left with lingering questions and I still don't understand what happened to Jessica and the significance of that.

I liked this book. Definitely a good addition to the domestic noir genre. Good for fans of Girl on the Train or Behind Her Eyes. I sometimes got confused between the narratives of the "old" vs. "new" wife, but in general, I enjoyed the book.

Thank you NetGalley and MacMiilan Audio for the AAC for my honest opinion.

Talk about time hoping, this book was a bit confusion to stay committed to the plot.
A glance meeting on the morning commute Annie meets Mark and are quickly engaged and married. At the wedding and reception and stranger shows his face claiming to be friend of Mark’’s father. Marks first wife went missing with no trace. You think Mark has a hidden agenda to the quick marriage to cover the real reason the first wife went missing. The stranger Cameron never gave up looking for Marks wife and it’s not the twist you think we need. The twist is predictable but leaves you with questions of Why!

I didn’t find either Mark or Annie to be enjoyable characters and feel both acted poorly in the grand scheme of things.

The narrator did a good job trying to distinguish each character and really giving them the best emotions possible.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. Annie is standing at the alter when she looks out into the crowd and sees a man that she didn't invite. She shakes her head and marries Mark, even though he has been married before and his wife vanished without a trace.... This is a slow burn that I felt was just okay.

I enjoyed listening to an audiobook version of this book. The story had some twist and turns that I did not expect, and I always enjoy that. I would recommend reading/listening to this book if you like a good story with twists and turns.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to listen to an early copy of this.

Decent quick thriller. I found it a little predictable but still enjoyed the ride. Narrator paced it well but was hoping for more considering the multiple POV

In The Stranger at the Wedding, the bride notices a stranger at her wedding and as his identity is revealed, things begin to unravel and the secrets start to come out. This book was a bit bonkers. It has many timelines bouncing around and multiple narrators. None of which are reliable. The details are slowly leaked out that the groom’s first wife left him and is nowhere to be found, the bride lost her sister tragically, a man was hired to look for the missing first wife, and the first wife’s story from her marriage. As little clues start to get dropped, things get nuts and the description psychological thriller becomes very appropriate. I did the audio thanks to @macmillan.audio and it was like watching a stressful movie that had me hooked.

The Stranger at the Wedding was unfortunately not very well fleshed out. For the most part, the characters were flat and unlikable. The plots predictable. I think there was supposed to be a "twist" (because all books seem to need them instead of working harder on the story) but it wasn't very twisty.

I enjoyed this one and it reminded me of The Silent Patient. I did think some areas of the book drug on but overall it was suspenseful and interesting. I wouldn’t say that I liked any characters and there were some points where it was all so confusing. Even the title is a bit confusing, it doesn’t really match too well with the content of the book. Overall, I thought it was an easy suspenseful read and would recommend to anyone looking for a quick one! 3.5/5

3 stars for me…this book was entertaining but fell flat for me. The multiple timelines were confusing and messy.

Genre: Thriller

Annie and Mark meet in a counseling session for survivors of trauma. They are both trying to hide things from their past while in a relationship with each other. Mark has been married before…she disappeared. At least that is what he says happened.
Annie never thought she would make it to her wedding day, but here she is. The best day of her life….or is it. While standing at the altar, she sees a stranger amongst the guests. Who is the stranger? What really happened to Mark’s first wife? Was their meeting by chance like she thought?

This book references mythology, which I really enjoyed. I found this to be a decent read. It definitely wasn’t one of my favorites and is unmemorable for me. But, I also wouldn’t discourage reading it.

Posting on 8/18/2024
I went in completely blind with this one and enjoyed it from beginning to end. It starts out at the wedding of Annie and Mark and tells their love story, their secrets, past lives and careers, and then dives into their not-so-great marriage. All twists and turns unveiled a small clue to the truth. Annie does not seem that much into the fairytale romance, so to listen to her find a man that she likes and the way she goes about making him hers was crazy. Through most of the book I was convinced I knew who the problem was in the relationship and then the author surprised me with another twist in her story and I could not believe the ending. Definitely recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan audio for this audiobook. In this book we follow Annie and Mark as their story begins together. Annie noticed Mark on the train and he peaks her interest. She starts to see him there often and when she gets the courage to speak to him, he disappears. She finds him later and they begin to date. Fast forward in this book and they are at their wedding. Annie notices a stranger at the wedding. She asks around to see if anyone knows who this stranger is and no one does. The story begins from there. I know this sounds like the ending to a story but it is the beginning. I enjoyed where the story went. I found it to be a fun and enjoyable read.

The pacing was also good. This is a thriller/ mystery so there is time spent where you are learning the background knowledge, but I found it to be interesting. I will say there are multiple points of views and time jumps. It was hard to follow at first but I understood soon after. I would have been nice to get some different voices to help distinguish this but I know that can be quite expensive. I have no issues with the narrator. She did a great job. This book would be great for a book club so you can hear many peoples thoughts because I feel like people could come to many different conclusions. I recommend reading it and finding out for yourself!

This book was a simple thriller. I was engaged for a bit, but then it started losing me. But I wanted to know how it ended, so I stuck it out. The pacing was a bit slow but the characters we good and well built. I would even say they were a bit unhinged. Overall, I would recommend this book for those looking for a popcorn thriller.

What a messed up, wild ride. I really enjoyed the twists. I loved the velveteen rabbit tie in and now I want to run and read that to my kids ha! I really enjoyed the narrator but how the book was written the flashbacks were a little confusing to hear, it took me a while to catch on to what was going on.

Thanks to Henry Holt for an ARC and Macmillan Audio for an ALC of this book which published Tuesday. All opinions are my own.
Annie and Mark are getting married, after meeting in a trauma support group. But there is someone neither of them know at the wedding, who leaves them both feeling a bit upset. Even after the wedding on the honeymoon, things aren’t great between them. There are lingering questions about Mark’s previous wife, Hope, who disappeared two years earlier, as well as Annie’s younger sister who passed away when she was very young. Since Annie is a classics professor, there is some mythology sprinkled in, and there are also some diary entries and flashbacks to fill in more of the backstory. This twisty thriller had an ending I didn’t see coming!
I usually love audiobooks, but I found it was hard to keep track of whether I was getting the current or the past storyline from the audio, whereas the past was italicized in the book. I tried listening and following along in the book, but I then switched over to reading it. While the narration by Sophie Rundle was good (I loved her accent!), unfortunately I don’t think audio is the best way to read this one.

I really liked the narrator for this quick and easy listen! This slow burn suspense held my interest all the way to the crazy twist at the end - a twist I did not see coming! The characters weren't terribly likeable in this book but for a thriller, I don't mind that! Overall I enjoyed this audiobook!

Thank you for the copy of this audiobook!

This had some twists and turns I was not expecting which was good. However I found the layout of the story choppy and hard to follow. Something would happen present time and then they would go back in time, then back to present time which was hard to follow at times. If you like twists and turns and are able to focus on an audiobook, I’d recommend you listen to it. If you have some challenges focusing and keeping track of various characters but still love a twist, I’d recommend reading it.