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.

A quick, twisted popcorn thriller told in dual timelines. As Annie is set to Marry Mark, a stranger appears at the church and cast unease. The bride and groom both harbor secrets and Mark’s previously wife is missing. Who is responsible for her disappearance? Twist and turns, and a shocking ending! Great audio narration. Thank you @macmillan.audio for the ALC

📚 #BOOKREVIEW 📚
Stranger at the Wedding by A.E. Gauntlett
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / Pages: 288 / Genre: Psychological Thriller
Audiobook Narrator: Sophie Rundle
Duration: 9 hours

Annie and Mark are getting married! This story opens on their wedding day and moves back and forth between before and after the wedding. The wedding where a stranger appears dredging up the past for both the bride and groom. Why? And what are they both hiding?

I enjoyed this thriller. There was always something that’s being kept from you. A lot of hinting and mysterious happenings. Characters that slowly tarnished before your eyes. And a sudden and fabulous twist!

The only thing I didn’t care for were the boring and unnecessary mythological tales in the chapters before each new Part started. I guess it’s foreshadowing but they seemed out of place and broke the flow of the story. Other than that though, I found this to be a really good thriller.

Sophie Rundle did a great job narrating the audiobook.

Thank you, @NetGalley, @HenryHoltBook, and @MacmillanAudio for my gifted copies.

I listened to the audio of this book and it was great. The distinct narrators had lovely voices that didn’t put me to sleep—excellent voice acting! Plot-wise it was filled with just the right amount of twists, turns, and confusion (it’s ultimately resolved! Don’t worry) to keep me invested! It took me a while to finish because I have a newborn but I kept coming back to it religiously until I finished and I loved it.

What a thrill ride. I was on the edge of my seat with this one. So strange and wild. Different from what I usually read, but glad I did.

The Stranger at the Wedding by A.E. Gauntlett. Thank you Netgalley, Macmillan Audio and Macmillan Publishers for my #gifted copy in exchange for my honest review!

Annie and Mark had a whirlwind romance that quickly leads them to the alter. As survivors of trauma, Mark and Annie have had their fair share of heartbreak. Mark’s 1st wife disappeared without a trace. He was left with so many unanswered questions. He thought they had the perfect marriage.

Unfortunately, Mark starts to change. The stranger at their wedding whispered in his ear. A secret that Annie did not want revealed. Mark becomes standoffish. He doesn’t consummate their marriage, he becomes distant until Annie can’t take it anymore and confronts him.

So many secrets between the two of them. They both have a secret past, but whose is worse.

My thoughts:
☁️☁️☁️
I was NOT expecting that ending! It was a complete SHOCKER! I want to say so much about this book but it would give it away! If you was a fast-paced domestic thriller that will leave you saying “WTF”, then this is the one for you! Freida McFadden and Kiersten Modglin fans should run to go grab their copy!

Short synopsis: At Annie and Mark’s wedding, a stranger shows up. Who is he and what really happened to Mark’s first wife.

My thoughts: While the premise wasn’t hugely unique, but a fun ride overall.
I did have a bit of a struggle with the multiple POV and time changes, but once I got the hang of it the I couldn’t help but be sucked into this story. I just had to know the secrets each character was hiding.

It’s really hard to root for characters when they are all completely unlikable, but I think in this instance that was the point.

The audio was really well done, the narrator told the story in a way I couldn’t stop listening. I think with the multiple pov it would have been helpful to have multiple narrators.

Read if you love:
- Unlikable characters
- Wedding settings
- Missing people
- Multiple pov

Get ready for a slow burn with this one, and once it got going, it definitely got going! I enjoyed this story, even was surprised of the route the author took and surprisingly I enjoyed it. I hate when authors twist and turn a character for the sake of wanting us to squirm and be surprised, but I was glad this author did this with this story.

The odd thing about this book, however, was that there was not one likable character for me. Yet, I liked the book overall, which was odd to me. Typically I wouldn't care of what happened by midway through the book if I didn't care for any of the characters, but I wanted to know what happened in this one. So this was an outlier for me. The characters weren't so deep; there were lack of explanations plenty of time (i.e. husband Mark) and even less explanations or explorations to the outcome of some of the characters. Without giving away most of the plot, this was an enjoyable read for a typical domestic thriller. Too bad the characters were just so forgettable.

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for an audio copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Such a twisty turny story! Listening to the audiobook, it was sometimes hard to know who was speaking as the narrator didn’t change the tone of her voice throughout. Maybe that was purposeful, but I like my audiobooks to have a little more personality from the narrator. Overall the story was good- I was able to guess it fairly early on but enjoyed listening to it play out.

May I kindly suggest a different title for this. To me it just didn't fit with the story.

So Annie marries Mark, but Mark has been married before, his wife vanished! We don't know what happened to her, till someone starts digging around into her disappearance and uncovers that Annie may have a few questions about her past that need to be answered!

Good attempt at a mystery, but it does fall flat with a few of its plots. yes I would recommend this.

Solid 3 stars!!!
Thanks to NetGalley and MacMillian Audio for this ARC! Beyond humbled
The Stranger at the Wedding out Aug 13th 2024!!!

👰🏼‍♀️Book Review👰🏼‍♀️
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Summary-
Annie never believed in true love. Not until she caught sight of Mark on a crowded commuter train. It wasn't until months later that they finally had their picture-perfect first date and after a whirlwind romance, they are now about to tie the knot.

Both Annie and Mark have suffered tragedy – their shared experience of sorrow has brought them together, but at times the pressure of those losses has also threatened their happiness. Today they will leave all of that in the past, and forge a new life. But not everyone gathered here has come to toast the new couple.

And Annie quickly realises that her new life isn't going to be the happily ever after she had planned.
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Rating- ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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My thoughts- thank you @henryholt for the advanced copy, this one released today. I really enjoyed this and flew through this book. I had a hard time putting this down and I really found the twists to be insane. It’s not often that a book surprised me, but this was such a fun ride. This one switches perspectives between Annie in the past/present as well as the stranger. This was highly enjoyable, I definitely recommend it as a solid thriller!
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QOTD- in this book, Annie and Mark met at a bereavement group. how did you meet your significant other if you have one? My husband and I met in middle school and high school, we were always friends but started dating after college 🥰.

On Annie’s wedding day everything should be perfect, but there’s a stranger in attendance who might change everything. Annie and Mark had a whirlwind courtship after the disappearance of his first wife, and some think their decision to marry was too quick. Your wedding day isn’t the time to question everything, but Annie can’t help wondering about the stranger who opens up a whole hive of questions. Like what really happened to Mark’s first wife? And was Annie and Mark’s meeting as random as it first appeared, or is something more sinister at work?

This story is told in a back and forth timeline (it moves around a lot so it’s not just dual) from multiple points of view, and I was very engaged in the story. I was dying to get to the end to find out what happened. The author did a great job building tension and making me suspect everyone. And there was definitely an explosive ending, but after finishing the book I wasn’t completely sure what had happened. I definitely got the main plot points, but there were a lot of stray story line threads that left me confused. This definitely could have been a me problem. I didn’t have a physical copy of the book to refer back to and I might have missed some details I didn’t realize were important, but I definitely ended the book with a lot of unanswered questions.

Sophie Rundle does a great job with the narration for the book. She definitely pulled me into setting and mindset of the characters and I really enjoyed the cadence of her voice so listening was a delight. It might be good to have access to a physical copy along with the audio in case you, like me, want to go back and reread sections after you get to the end.

I don't know where this one was going. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC. Had a hard time knowing what was going on and following the storyline. The foreshaddowing is odd.

Thank you to Henry Holt and Co., Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for the free e-copy/audiobook for review.

I must admit, this book threw a curveball I didn’t see coming.

Listening to the audiobook, I was effortlessly drawn into the lives of Annie, Mark, and Hope. Sophie Rundle's narration, masterfully capturing both Annie and Hope, ensured I never mistook one for the other, making for an effortless listening experience.

The question posed in the title—“Who is the Stranger at the Wedding?”—kept me turning the pages. Even after the stranger's identity is revealed, the final twist is genuinely surprising.

As a domestic thriller, Gauntlett delves deeply into the characters' relationships. Annie carries a tragic past and a guilt that has haunted her throughout her life, alongside the dark secrets she keeps hidden. Meanwhile, Hope grapples with her fragile state, her strained marriage, and the heartbreak of being unable to conceive.

Despite its somber moments, the story remains entertaining, filled with twists and red herrings that build toward an ending where the villain meets their well-deserved comeuppance.