Always a Bridesmaid was a fluffy, sweet, and easy listen that fit perfectly in the steamy rom-com category. I had a delightful time listening to it! 😍

Plot-wise, the story includes all the classic dynamics you'd expect from a rom-com, but the author did a fantastic job of using clever twists to keep things fresh.
For example, the book has a significant miscommunication element, but it’s handled much better than usual. The female main character (FMC), Jane, is an undercover bridesmaid who has signed a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) and is legally bound not to share certain aspects of her life. This context makes the miscommunication more understandable and less frustrating than in most books.

Jane was a fierce, sexy, and loyal protagonist. I liked her a lot! 🔥 Harry Norris was the perfect book boyfriend—charming, attractive, and British. 🇬🇧 And let's not forget that he’s named Harry and is a Formula 1 driver with the surname Norris—double check! ✔️✔️ His vibe was consistently spot-on, and I was really disappointed that the audiobook didn’t have a male voice actor to represent him.

However, the book is written in the third person, and while I generally enjoy a multiple POV narrative and don’t mind third-person chapters, this time I would have preferred it to be solely from Jane’s perspective. At least that way, the voice would feel more fitting. 🤔
The voice actress did an excellent job, delivering a splendid British accent, but I really wished there had been a male narrator for Harry’s chapters to bring his character to life more vividly. 🎧

Overall, Always a Bridesmaid was a fun and lighthearted listen, perfect for fans of steamy romantic comedies who are looking for an easy and enjoyable story! 💕

I understand some people enjoy a little romance or "behind closed door" activity (actually I don't and it is sad to see how the moral compass of the world is pointing) But this book was just straight up tasteless inappropriate filth.
I would highly suggest reading this article: https://michellelesley.com/2020/05/11...
I wish I had completely shelved this book, because the plot was so elementary and predictable.
There were many flaws with the actual story, but I guess the author and her intended audience are looking for a "classy" way to satisfy their adult content addiction...so who cares I believe was the authors approach when outlining this book.
For the reader, let alone the characters, to make the plot believable it would have been nice to actually have Jane interact with her fake best friend. It was utterly ridiculous of the actual "clean" parts of the book were completely ignored. I will save you time (Don't you love when I do this?)
Read the first 20 pages to get the set up: Sarah (See I don't even know her name because she shows up 3 times in the book...seriously) hires jane to be "Ella". Ella is her supposed best friend but did a total unbest friend thing and Sara dropped her and needs a bridesmaid. Sara's brother Henry has a meet cute with Jane.

Skip the next 200 pages- all you will miss is the parties leading up to the wedding where Henry and Jane hook up over and over again. [Graphically] *There was a "touching"--I actually mean emotions this time not physical touching which you get plenty of--moment where Jane doesn't allow Sara's dad to be a jerk

Read 5 pages Henry was going to have Jane sign an NDA about their little escapades, but decides against it. Jane sees it. Typical conflict situation. The reconcile......and you guessed it, back in the bed.

They GET ENGAGED 1 month later. Like what? Really?
Uhhhh the cheeseballs you have to dodge are insurmountable.

Seriously, don't read this one.
NetGalley PLEASE do not grant my request to read another book by this author, although I do thank you for allowing me to review this book, (All my thoughts, not influenced)

First of all, Thanks once again to the Netgalley and publishers for the Advanced audiobook granted to me. And it was so special becuse it was my first exprience here on the site with an audiobook, and it was a delightful one! The bridesmaid vibe reminded me about "27 Dresses " movie (which I loooove!) and I had a lot fun listening to it. The narrator was incredible doing differentvoices for each character, altough I wished I had two narrators(a male and a female) so it would intercalate the POVS with so much intensity and would' ve add some depth to the story to the listener. aNYWAY, IT WAS A GREAT START for me in the world of audiobooks!

This was a very middle of the road book for me. It was fluffy and cute but I didn’t love the voice used for the MMC at all which annoyed me a bit. It was fine but nothing too special 🤷🏼‍♀️

Always a Bridesmaid: A Revved-Up Romance #1
Marina Adair
Genre: Romance Comedy
Rated: R
Jane Drisdol has a unique business, bridesmaid for hire. She attends hundreds of weddings a year as a bridesmaid, of course that means attending engagement parties, bridal showers and dress fittings. She’s good at what she does; she knows how to not bring attention to herself and yet assist the bride by making sure everything goes smoothly. However, her latest project is a bit of a challenge, she has been hired to play the part of a particular woman, Elle Vaughn. Elle is a childhood friend of the bride. Jane is used to playing the role and doesn’t think she will have much problem with this one but that was before she met an irritating man in the airport. Little did she know it was the brother of the bride, Henry Norris a Formula 1 celebrity.
Henry had no idea his sister had hired a bridesmaid. He knows something is off but can’t figure out what. He knows “Elle” is beautiful, but she isn’t the type of woman his sister would associate with. “Elle” was shrewd, opinionated, pig-headed, patronizing and smart-alecky.
Jane “Elle” is attracted to Henry but considers him off limits because the bride made her promise to not fraternize with him. Henry is determined and won’t take no for an answer.
What a wonderful summer read. I could really see this type of business taking off. My granddaughter is a wedding planner, and I intend to tell her about this, who knows…
This book is a fast read. The sparks were flying every time Henry and Jane were in the same room. I liked Jane/Elle a lot; she was fun and yet tender. Henry was brash, controlling and need a comeuppance. All in all this is a delightful book.
Thank you NetGalley for the review copy.

I read the ARC copy of this book in April, and now I have had the pleasure of listening to the audiobook version of it.

My first review went like this…Marina Adair has another winner on her hands!

I LOVE the “meet cute” at the beginning of this story! Henry may be famous, but he can’t get one over on Jane. She’s come to London with a job to do and she would never dream of not putting her all into a role. This story is all kinds of fun! From the push/pull of the relationship between Jane and Henry to the mistakes Henry makes with thinking everything is all about him and his celebrity status. Will he ever figure out who Jane really is?

Now, I’d like to add that I still enjoyed the story, but I was especially impressed with the narrator and her ability to switch between multiple characters and accents effortlessly! I usually dread listening to a book because I get upset when the narrator does a crappy job with male or female voices, but I will definitely be looking for more stories read by Rachel L. Jacobs.

*♡Thank you to NetGalley and Marina Adair for the ARC of this audiobook in exchange for my honest opinion♡*

First of all, Rachel L Jacobs was an excellent choice of narrator, made the book such an easy and enjoyable listen ♡
Always a Bridesmaid is a cute, emotional rom-com, with just the right amount of spice, that follows the romance equation perfectly :)
From the get go you can feel the chemistry between Jane and Henry. The natural way they progress from major dislike to playful insults to straight out flirting was a delight to read.
As much as I enjoy an epilogue, I felt the timings of where they were at seemed very rushed and it badly made me want to deduct a star. The one downside to the entire book!!

****Spoiler****



Props to the airport declaration of love, always a winner in my eyes!!

This book really hit the sweet spot of being not only a light, fun, rom-com read, but it also had a lot of heart and depth to it. I had been having really bad luck recently with rom-coms being terrible reads and this one came out of nowhere for me! Really blew me away! The narration was great and the chemistry between the two main characters was OFF THE CHARTS! So so good!

My friend and I were just talking about how the world needs an F1 romcom book. We googled and googled and found one about NASCAR but that is arguably not as sexy as Formula One. When I saw this on NetGalley I squealed! This is a classic bridesmaid for hire story but what made this book stand out for me was how naturally and effortlessly the story flowed. It never felt overly dramatic or over the top. It was very believable and incredibly satisfying to read. Even the spice was great. It felt natural and not overly complicated, while still being plenty spicy. Overall it was a great read.
The audiobook was done very nicely as well. My only complaint is that there was only one narrator and the chapters were sometimes from the MMC perspective. It would have been nice to have two narrators.

Everyone seemed like a pompous celebrity and’s no character development. Wasn’t a big fan of the storyline or the narrator was okay.

I absolutely loved this audiobook! The story was awesome and the narration was on point! Loved the fun storyline. Jane aka Elle, has been a bridesmaid for hire in more than one occasion, it is her business after all. But this time is completely different including the fact that she is pretending to be someone else. She never expected to fall for the bride’s brother Henry, the incredibly hot Formula One race car driver with the sexy smooth British accent. In fact, she tries not to especially because she is in character but it happens anyway. Things certainly do get complicated as you would expect them to but this is an HEA worth getting to. Love Henry and Jane and their story !!

Thank you to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for a free copy of this Audiobook in exchange for my honest thoughts.

I think that this book would have been better with a duet Narration instead of just a female narrator, but I did think that this was handled very well. I think the narrator was a great pick for the genre/ style of the book and that she embodied the characters well. Her female voices were immersive and it felt like I was with the characters along the way.

This story isn't really a standout piece in any major way, as it felt like a story I have read before many times. I did like the authors spin on it with the famous F1 Racer family member being the love interest though as I thought it was a cool way to bring a twist into the story. However, a bridesmaid for hire who falls in love with someone she shouldn't under false pretenses, is pretty straight forward.

I did not like the constant references to Pop Culture. I do understand that this is set in Modern day London, and that yes, its based on real life, but having those nods into the story felt so disconnected. When I read, I do it to escape reality, not have it constantly thrown back into my face. Now this is a personal compliant as I am sure that many others might like these nods to real life, Taylor Swift Included, but for me it had me scrunching my nose.

I loved the chemistry between Jane (Elle) and Henry. I thought that Jane's spitfire worked perfectly against a man who is used to getting what he wants.... and he wants her. Their back and forth of a will-they-won't-they was so cute and despite knowing it was going to happen, I did root for them when they finally came together.... Until the freaking Miscommunication moment. Look, I get that this entire plot is somewhat of a giant miscommunication trope but people really need to learn how to have a five minute conversation.

The audiobook is really quick! I had it finished in 3 hours in 2x speed so it would be done in 6ish hours at regular speed! Perfect for a day spent cleaning with a cute rom-com in the background!

Thank you Dreamscape Media & Netgalley for the opportunity to review this ALC!

Always a Bridesmaid was a quick and fun read/listen! The narrator did a great job at bringing all the characters to life.

This book follows Jane (professional bridesmaid) and Henry (successful F1 driver and brother of the bride) during his sister's wedding week. Jane has to pretend to be someone shes not and tries to avoid getting too involved with the brides family - but things quickly get out of hand!

Recommend reading this is you enjoy :
- F1
- secret identity
- forbidden romance
- instant chemistry

This title was a fun read. I loved the premise of the book, a bridesmaid for hire falling in love with the brother of the bride. I wish I saw a deeper exploration of the storyline, connecting the characters beyond the physical elements in the book. I read and enjoy both open and closed door romances, but with open door, there is a risk of not including enough of the intimacy outside of the bedroom, such as foreplay and other forms of emotional and intellectual connection. I felt there were elements of this in the book where they connect deeply by sharing private and deep feelings, but for me the physical portions dominated a bit too much in the story making it a bit harder to believe the true fall for each other over a lustful dalliance. However, despite this the book was a fun read with an interesting cast of characters and a plot line that hasn't been over explored. I liked each of the main characters and rooted for them to find a way to be together. I also enjoyed the dual POV and overall writing style of the author. On the audio side, the narrator was easy to listen to and didn't take away from the title. I enjoyed listening to the book.

Always a Bridesmaid is about a Jane who runs a bridesmaid for hire to help put out fires and make the day the best for the bride. This job for Jane is going to be huge for her company and she will be able to hire a full staff if she can pull this off. The only problem is the one person she can't get close to Henry the brides brother. As she juggles the real life person she's pretending to be and herself she lets her real self bleed into the act and slowly starts showing herself to Henry. Can se keep it under wraps or will she blow her cover?


The bridesmaid for hire is a cute book (I'm always a fan of them) Its a cute fast read. Some parts were skippable but over all it was a real cute story. I hope we see them again in other books in the series to soo what's been going on.


Thank you NetGalley for this Audio-Arc in exchange for my honest thoughts!

This book was super cute but did fall a little flat for me. While I loved the premise of the book (bridesmaid for hire, older brother) the characters were very cliche and it felt VERY insta-lovey for me. I didn't really buy the love between the characters and didn't think they had much chemistry. I wish there had been more of a wrap-up between the MC and his family and the FMC and her relationship to the bride. Overall though, it was a cute listen and was paced really well, moved quickly and was easy to keep up with.

Thank you Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the early listen!

Posted to @evelynlainebooks (https://www.instagram.com/evelynlainebooks/) on Instagram 8/27 and GoodReads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/143684987-evelyn) 8/27.

4.5 I loved this book. I’ve read bridesmaid for hired books before but this one was unique and I listened to it in one go. The narrator Rachel L. Jacobs was perfect for this book.

Always a Bridesmaid is a F1 romance involving a secret identity and plenty of wedding shenanigans. This is an extremely quick read where everything is fine. The characters are fine. The plot is fine. The romance is fine. It's all just...fine. There is nothing really memorable about this novel, but it's cute enough especially given its short length. The third act happens in hyperdrive and the epilogue doesn't feel earned, but it's all wrapped up by the end.

Rachel Jacobs does a great job narrating, especially with the different accents.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Bridesmaid for hire Jane Drisdol has managed to be hired for an exclusive wedding in England. Henry Norris a Formula 1 winner sister is getting married she hires Jane to play the part of her American friend Elle Vaughn a rich socialite. Upon arriving at the airport in Texas she runs into a rude man that cuts in front of her in the line to check in. They get into an argument and pictures are being taken of the encounter. Of course, it turns out to be Henry. Jane is not allowed to let anyone know she is playing Elle for the wedding. Henry has never meet Elle and thinks she is probably a stuck-up socialite. As they have to spend time together Jane is falling for Henry, and he is falling for Elle.
Of course, the cat is let out of the bag before the big wedding and before Jane can confess to Henry who she really is.
This is the audio version the narrator was really good, but the language for very foul and due to it being and audio I could not just skip over it. The story line was good, but why all the foul language?

Narrator: The narrator chosen to tell this story was a good fit. She fit the female character well and did a good job bringing the story to life.

Story: I enjoyed the beginning of the story and was excited to see where this would go, but I lost interest after the two main characters quickly hooked up. I had hoped for more of a slow burn. I did think certain scenes should have come before others. The story flowed well, but could have been better.

This switches between Jane and Henry's voice and because of this I wish it had more more of a dual POV to include two narrators. The narrator did well voicing Henry, but having the two distinct POV's would have given a smoother transition between the characters.

I did enjoy the characters and the story has the elements for making a good story.

I would recommend this audiobook to anyone who wants a short and steamy book.

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook.