4.75 stars!

When Annie’s big day is shaken up by a mystery wedding guest, the perfect life that she’s planned for herself begins to spiral…. This book was honestly a wild and shocking ride. It is definitely one of my favorite suspense books that I’ve read in quite a while - A.E. Gauntlet was able to sneak in so many clues that I am now questioning my media literacy. All throughout the story, I never knew who to believe or trust. Unreliable flashbacks and stories made for such a well rounded game of clue! Every single character made me suspicious and could have motive for trying to disrupt Annie’s happily ever after.

The main characters in this book were very interesting and had complex backstories, which I did not expect for a run of a mill mystery novel. However, this novel was so far beyond others that I’ve recently due to it’s major attention to detail and gripping storytelling. This was such a fast listen for me! I literally finished it in a day, sparing no second and listening while at work. The narrator was great and I liked her cadence for this book. I would definitely recommend to all!

Thank you so much Netgalley and Macmillan Audio (y’all are my favorite) for this audiobook arc!

I love a good “who the fuck did I marry?” trope! Watching this story unfold was very entertaining and I didn’t see the ending coming. 😊

This is a twist of a book with sophisticated deeper meanings and love worth killing for. Think deep, think hard, and love harder. I enjoyed every detail this book had to offer. It was different from a usual mystery thriller, but in this case a refreshing different. This work is exquisite and complicated but beautiful at the same time.

Thank you to NetGalley for the audio ARC! This is a great one to listen to - the narration is great. I really the beginning of the book but the story did turn kind of weird. If you like the kind of book where you wonder what you just read - I recommend giving this one a try.

This is an interesting thriller in that it doesn’t really go where you think it will go. It is ostensibly about the marriage of Annie and Mark, and the man who crashes their wedding. This stranger has some unsettling conversations with the key players, and the story moves backwards and forwards from there. We learn about the pasts of bride and groom, as well as what happens after the wedding. There were a number of things that I liked, including the unpredictable twists and the mythological stories woven into the book. I listened to this on audiobook and the narration was wonderful—it definitely kept me interested. Ultimately, I found that there were a few unresolved or unbelievable elements that prevented me from giving this five stars, but it was very good. Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this audiobook.

This is a pretty good little mystery, but a little slow at times. It didn’t have quite the suspense it should have had and none of the characters are very likable. I didn’t feel that urgency to keep reading that is key to me truly loving a book.

Synopsis:

Annie never much believed in love. That is, until meeting Mark. It’s a whirlwind romance that propels Annie through their courtship, all the way to her wedding day—a day she couldn’t have predicted for herself once upon a time yet now feels surer about than anything in her life.

But as Annie stands at the altar, casting her eyes over the rows of well-wishers, she spots a stranger in the crowd, and she soon learns that her new life isn’t going to be the happily ever after that she had planned. Who is the stranger at the wedding? 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?

Review:

I enjoyed the twists in “The Stranger at the Wedding”! 🤯 It was a solid thriller with enough suspense to keep me hooked. The storyline was gripping, and the mysterious guest’s revelations added a lot of intrigue. However, I felt it didn’t bring anything particularly new to the table, which is why I’m giving it a three-star rating. ⭐⭐⭐ Despite that, it was still an enjoyable read, and I’d definitely recommend it to anyone in the mood for a dependable thriller with some good twists. 👍📚

I love the narration. I loved hating Mark. He was super hateable. Otherwise I don't have a lot to share about this one. .

2024 is the year of thrillers apparently because I’ve read so many this year! When I saw this book, I was immediately intrigued by both the premise and the narrator! Ada Shelby from Peaky Blinders and I was totally sold!

So let’s talk about that, I LOVED the narration. Sophie Rundle is a phenomenal actress and I love that she’s narrating books. She gave these characters, but especially the main character, life! I would definitely listen to any future audiobooks she’s a part of.

Now on to the story. Not going to lie, I guessed the ending almost immediately. Perhaps I’ve read too many unhinged thrillers but I saw right through the red herrings here.

That being said, the suspense and the drama build up was very well done. I was engaged and even somewhat surprised with some of the smaller twists in such a good way.

I would definitely read more from this author. One star taken away because of the predictability.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I wouldn’t have expected to find this was a debut novel. Well done A.E. Gauntlett.

The wedding day is a day for celebration. It also may be the last day Mark really feels like he knows his bride. It starts with the appearance of a stranger. A few quick conversations with the invited wedding guests and the hairs on Annie’s neck have become bristled.

The story is told alternating between multiple perspectives, a diary and flashbacks. The only reason this isn’t getting a 5 from me is that the audiobook didn’t make it immediately clear which character was telling their part. It may have been clearer in the book with a title or otherwise, but the narrator didn’t make it easier to know who was speaking. All I could go on were context clues. I had to listen to this book twice because I was incredibly confused the first time around. I am still unsure if Annie was telling the truth or if she was an unreliable narrator.

There are questions that I didn’t feel were answered. Hope, the box. Where it came from, how it was built and where it was stored. What happened to her ultimately.

I really enjoyed the story being told in conjunction with Greek mythology and tying it in with Annie’s job.

Thank you to A.E. Gauntlett, NetGalley and McMillan Audio for the ARC of this very interesting read.

Rating: 3.5 stars!

Imma be honest.. I did not see that one coming. The story of Annie and Mark, how they fell in love despite that fact that his wife mysterious disappeared before was a hook for this book! The background investigation that is running simultaneously with the primary plot line is an interested addition. The flip in the chapters between past and current timelines gets a bit blurry at points which brought my overall feeling on the book down.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review.

ARC Review

The stranger at the wedding
By A.E Gauntlett
Publish date: August 13, 2024

⭐️⭐️⭐️


Thank you to NetGalley and Henry Holt and co for allowing me to read and give an honest review on this book.

This was a decent thriller about Annie and mark who meet while both on way to a counselling session. Less than a year later they are getting married but that’s when their secrets start to come out. When a mystery guess attends there is wedding to reveal secrets.

I received this book as an audiobook. I found it very hard with the multiple POVs to follow the story through the audiobook.

I found the book jumped around a-bit from the past and present and left me confused at times.

I however did enjoy the ending and I was not expecting that.

The Stranger at the Wedding by A.E. Gaunlett is the type of book that once you pick it up you will not want to put it down. From a chance encountor on a train to a support group with other people suffering from grief Annie wanted to be in Mark's life. Annie has finally meet her one true love and just exhcanged her vows with Mark when she notices that someone that she has no idea of who or why they are at the wedding. Mark and Annie think it is just a wedding crasher until upon leaving the wedding for their honeymoon, Annie spots the uninvited guest talking to Mark. From the moment Mark gets into the car his whole personality changes for the worst. The real question is how well do you know the person you are going to spend the rest of your life with? Does anyone actually know the answer to that question? Annie must now try to figure why Mark is acting this way. Could it do with his wife Hope, that went missing over a year ago? This book had me on the edge of my seat til the very last chapter. A.E. Gauntlett is an author that everyone should be watching out for. For fans of Ruth Ware , Claire Douglas, Peter Swanson, Lisa Jewell, and Michael Robotham.

I was given an ARC copy of the audiobook from NetGalley.

I love thrillers, and usually fly through them - especially on audio. However, this was painful for me to get through - and I didn’t even make it to the end.

This was my first ever DNF - I made it to 35% before calling it quits…and I only held on that long because I wanted to honor the privilege of having an ARC copy.


Here are the things I didn’t like and some reasons I couldn’t make it to the end:

1) The narrator made no effort to change their voice for the different characters. So you often had no idea who was talking until the end of what they were saying - when the “said {name}” came.

2) The storytelling wasn’t linear, which is totally fine…HOWEVER, there was absolutely no indication on when it was changing, what timeline it was, etc.
*With the lack of voice change for characters, it was even more confusing because you had no idea what was going on, when in the timeline you were, or whose POV it was. I still don’t know how many timelines there were. This was one of the primary reasons for me DNFing this book.

3) The writing didn’t capture my attention - I didn’t care about the characters, there was no feeling or emotion coming through, and it felt super formal. I just couldn’t connect to anything.
*This was the other reason for me DNFing this book.


I never want to dislike a book so I feel bad…but it just didn’t do it for me. 😕

I even went to the last couple chapters to listen since it’s a thriller and I wanted to know the twist…but it was confusing so I only have an overall idea of what happened. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I have been dreading writing this review just about as much as I dread going to weddings....haha just kidding I do like weddings as long as I can be back at my house by 7pm in my PJs.
I am having a hard time expressing how I feel/thought about this book. Wait, no I am not:

It Was Boring

I found myself having to rewind the audio a few times because my mind would totally wander and I could not stay focused on the story. Maybe its because the characters were as flat as pancake polly and the conversations the characters had were something akin to a program you would find on your local PBS station at 1:30 pm. (Don't you remember being home sick....that seemed to always be the worst time for TV, BUT think about that....and this book was more dull than that).
I believe part of the reason it was so boring was because the writing was so bad, in that the author never got my attention. He would go down all these various side stories in the past, present and future. All the time hoping made for a very confusing read.

I admit I sort of checked out at some point, and when we get to the big shocker I was totally not phased.

The big did not really even hold potential and the motivation behind the "crime" was so lack luster and ludicrus.
This was my first and last. book by this author.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to review this advanced copy of The Stranger at the Wedding. I was not influenced or paid in exchange for this honest review.

I received an early release audio version of this book. The narrator was easy to listen to and the production did a great job. This book has all the components for a great thriller. Lots of plot twists and character development throughout. I just couldn’t find myself really relating to the characters or feeling to invested in them. I think this might have been easier to follow as a read instead of audio

3.5⭐️ for the audio book
I am thankful to have gotten the audioARC for free from Netgalley and Macmillan audio so I can leave my voluntary and honest review.

This one is tough for me as I expect that I may like the physical book and that the audio is what is creating the neutral experience I had.

The narrator Sophie Rundle has a nice speaking voice with good pacing in her natural voice. But that’s the problem, we only got 1 voice. The book is multiple POV but it becomes confusing of who is talking as she uses the same voice for everything, even male voices. While I don’t think readers have to go overboard, it does make listening hard when there is little difference between characters. She did try to have some subtle differences between voices but it just wasn’t enough to make the book understandable easily.

The book also didn’t flow between those POV and time changes. But that could be because it is the audio version. So I think I may get the book when it’s published on August 13 2024 and reread. If I do I will amend my review.

I think overall my issue is that I didn’t find it suspenseful. Part of that could be the disjointed time jumps that aren’t labeled (maybe they are in the physical book?). Having the quick reference of where you are in place and time under the chapter heading along with the POV is needed so much in a book like this.

My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars and I rarely round up.

⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again

I had the chance to preview an advanced copy of "A Stranger at the Wedding" provided by NetGalley. It chronicles the journey of Annie and Mark, who are on the brink of marriage when a mysterious stranger enters their lives, unveiling numerous secrets. Although the narrative took its time to reach its climax, the conclusion was quite satisfying. I found the plot absorbing but felt it could have benefited from additional twists to maintain momentum. My feelings toward the character Mark fluctuated throughout, which occasionally left me unsettled in my perception of him. Nevertheless, the finale was rewarding, and despite some unusual elements in the tale, I believe the read is ultimately worthwhile.

I think this book could have some great discussions. I am torn on how I feel about it though. It is hard to like a book when the characters are unlikeable and hard to relate to. That might be what makes the book good for discussion too. It was a nice easy read but also a little forgettable.

This book seems to start out as a typical romance: woman attracted to a man on a commuter train. One begins to imagine how it will progress. But soon we learn that things are more complicated. The story weaves back and forth between the present and former lives of the main characters, Annie and Mark. We learn Mark was married before, but his wife disappeared (somehow he is able to get her declared dead within a year?) Annie has had a lot of loss in her life, her father and younger sister, though we don't learn details about their deaths until much later in the book. Let's just say that there is indeed a wedding and an uninvited guest (no, not Mark's first wife!), but from there, the plot twists! It was an interesting book to listen to because of the unexpected turns.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing an advance review copy of this audiobook. My opinions are my own.