Ready for the next romance listen? Always a Bridesmaid was a great bridesmaid for hire listen. I always enjoy this trope.

Always a Bridesmaid is not a new concept for the fiction world. A woman whose job is to play a bridesmaid in a wedding without anyone other than the bride knowing. Woman falling for someone related to the bride and trying to keep them from falling out.
The only new concept that this one brings to the table is that the man in question is a famous Formula 1 driver and there’s paparazzi and money at play.

It’s a cute and easy to read (or in my case listen to) story but unfortunately I think is going to be extremely forgettable. The characters were cute and the plot was funny and it definitely got steamy in a couple scenes. The ending wrapped up extremely quickly and the epilogue bugged me a little.

Overall I’m glad I listened to it but I have other books I’d recommend with this plot before this one!

Always A Bridesmaid
A Revved-Up Romance Book One
by Marina Adair
narrated by Rachel L. Jacobs

Five Fast Racing Stars

My first auto racing sports romance! I loved it. It starts off fast and keeps going, I was never bored and didn't want it to end when it was over. I'm really looking forward to more from this series.

Jane is a bridesmaid for hire, she steps in to help streamline the bride's big day when someone is needed to keep everyone in line. This time she has been hired for her biggest role EVER, she's going to be playing the bride's former friend so the family doesn't have to find out about the friend's betrayal. A week-long event that Jane has planned meticulously for, what she doesn't plan for is the bride's brother and their attraction to each other. Jane cannot tell him the truth about who she is and he is going to be SO FREAKING mad when he finds out.

I definitely recommend this book to those who like the secret relationship with secrets in the relationship thing. Marina writes a great story that keeps you engaged throughout.

Thank you to NetGalley, Dreamscape Media, and the author for the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

#AlwaysABridesmaid #MarinaAdair
#RachelLJacobsNarrator #Audiobook
#ALCReview #NetGalley #DreamscapeMedia
#FormulaOneRacing #BridesmaidForHire
#SecretRelationship #FallingFast
#SlightlySpicy #ReadThisBook #ReadAllTheBooks

Bridesmaid for hire
secret identity
F1 driver
Forbidden romance
Wedding
3rd person

As someone who is firmly in my Formula 1 era and getting married in September this book was exactly what I needed. I loved Jane (Ella) and Henry's relationship. My interest was piqued at their very first encounter, regardless of it not being the best first impression.

Jane is a bridesmaid for hire, but this time her gig is a little different. She is not just pretending to be a friend to the bride, she is actually required to impersonate a real person. A socialite no less. And the bride? She has one rule. Her brother, Henry, the F1 driver, is off limits. The problem is, Henry is making his intentions very clear to Jane - who he thinks is Elle - and she is struggling to resist his charms.

Does it seem realistic that a bridesmaid for hire could legitimately impersonate a socialite who probably spends copious amount of time plastering themselves all over social media? Nope, BUT it made for a very fun concept in this book!

I was completely sold on the chemistry and tension between these characters. No matter how badly Jane didn't want to want Henry, she did.

This was a very fast listen, it's a short 6 hours and 13 minutes if you actually listen at 1x speed.
I really enjoyed the narrator's performance, however in books written in 3rd person, I recognize the POV can change more frequently, but I still feel those books would benefit from dual narration.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape media for the advanced listener copy.

This was fun, cute. I really like the premises and Jane is such a cool chat actually, Henry as well was fun. I really enjoy their relationship grow. Fun and easy definitely a sweet read

Jane Drisdol is a professional bridesmaid. She runs her business out of Dallas and loves helping brides have their perfect day. Their fee from her latest client has the potential to help her grow and expand her business to the next level. She will be in London for a full week of wedding festivities. This time her job is a little tougher as she is playing a real person from the bride's past that her family hasn’t met. And of course the one thing she should never do is get involved with the bride's brother, Formula 1 driver Henry Norris.

This is fun, fast and entertaining. Jane has the right amount of professionalism and does handle wedding obstacles professionally. I was surprised at the amount of heart in the story. Jane opens up about her real past to Henry even while playing a role. Of course you know there is going to come the moment when he finds out about the ruse but until then I enjoyed the outings together and the passion between them. I requested the book because of the blurb and the cover and didn’t realize I’d read and given 4 and 5 stars to two of the authors previous books. The ending seems to be setting up another book and I will be on the lookout for it.

I listened to the audio book and enjoyed Rachel L. Jacobs narration which had to switch between male and female voices as well as English and American accents.

Fake bridesmaid and F1 driver as lead 🤌 and the fake bridesmaid is in the marriage celebration of F1 diver's sister now that's a great mischief which will definitely lead to massive things and i was super excited to listen to this audiobook as soon as I read the blurb of this book. I am glad that i requested this cuz this was cute, hilarious and brilliant, all at the same time.
I enjoyed thoroughly listening to this audiobook.

3 stars
Jane/Elle is a professional bridesmaid who is hired by the sister of Henry, a famous race car driver.

Likes: The beginning is strong and Elle is a very likable character. While the premise of a paid bridesmaid is a bit overdone, it’s still a cute trope.

Dislikes: Henry. I just don’t jive with his character. Even though he financially supports his family and wants the best for his sister, he kind of sucks overall. The chemistry isn’t amazing either. I think I need more characterization of everybody, beyond Elle’s hair color and fake freckles. I just don’t know who these folks really are. The steaminess addition feels unnatural and unnecessary. This easily could be a clean romance, because there are only a couple/few short scenes and they aren’t very good.

Narrator- I think she does a good job trying to voice every part. She has to do some accents, male voices, and female voices, which is tough to accomplish.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Dreamscape Media for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Wow this was so cute, short, and sweet. It was exactly what I needed coming out of a long series. There’s sports. There’s romance. And there’s drama. What else can a girl ask for. I was honestly so nervous for Jane. I knew it was all going to blow up but I didn’t want it to. I was her biggest cheerleader all throughout because she is a boss babe. And Henry… Swoon. Please I’m already so obsessed I need the rest of the series on audio immediately.

A wonderfully narrated intro to a new series. This was a really fun and enjoyable listen. Smart, sweet, funny, and love filled. Jane is doing everything she can to grow her bridesmaid for hire business and takes it very seriously. She loves all of the challenges and joy of helping to make every brides day be the best it can be and will do any and everything to keep who she really is under wraps. On her way to curate a wedding that is her highest profile yet, while undisguised, she bumps into the brother of the bride, a very famous Formula 1 driver that is more than a little full of himself and seriously hot. Their chemistry is off the charts, but she never gets involved with anyone at any of her events. Ever. Until Henry. She wants to tell him who she really is, but can’t so she tries to thread the needle so carefully of a fun romp with Henry (as she is leaving and they live across the world from each other) things get complicated. Their feelings are becoming deeper until she is outed. Then things get real and it hits the fan for Henry will never ever let anyone hurt his family again and very clearly lets her know what he thinks of her. I loved every moment of reading this truly fun, light, emotional story that is about family, love and what we will do for it. I am now anxiously awaiting the next in the series. It can’t get here soon enough!

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for providing me with an ALC of this novel!

This was a super quick listen, but was a cute rom-com! Where sister's "best friend" falls for the older brother. There's some antics in between and a little bit of spice. A nice, quick romance palate cleanser.

Loved this one! Short, sweet and funny- the characters were interesting and the story was entertaining. I listened to the audiobook and the narrator was perfect!

Jane is a bridesmaid for hire. She gets a call for a very large, prolific wedding and she is excited for the opportunities that type of payday that could bring. Except she runs into the brother of the groom on the way to the wedding- out of disguise. Henry, the brother, is the whole reason she is there. Elle, the childhood friend, betrayed Henry's sister by sharing secrets about him to the tabloids. Henry absolutely cannot know that Jane isn't really Elle. Except there is instant attraction. As they spend more time together, Jane is feeling very guilty about the lies she has to tell Henry.

Overall, the book was too short to really tell the story. It was set up to be somewhat deeper than a surface, fluffy romance. But there wasn't time. My biggest issue- <spoiler>I can deal with falling fast, but engaged in a month and married in four is utterly ridiculous.</spoiler>

I read both clean and spicy romances. This is not a clean romance. However, the 'spice' was very forced. I feel like some words/phrases were used in an effort to be spicy, but I felt like it was more icky.

Rachel L. Jacobs narrates the audiobook and does a very good job. I only with there were two narrators since it is a dual POV.

I received an advance audio copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for providing me with the audiobook in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.

Jane is a bridesmaid for hire and she is about to start her biggest job yet: pretend to be Elle, the childhood best friend of Sarah, sister of Formula One driver Henry Norris. Elle cannot be at the wedding because she leaked private information about Henry to the press. Jane is determined to be the best bridesmaid Sarah could wish for when her attraction to Henry seems to get in the way. Especially when it is reciprocated... 👀

The audiobook had a really good narrator. Normally, I prefer two narrators whenever there is a dual POV but Rachel L. Jacobs did such a good job. I always knew when we were in either Jane's or Henry's point of view. (Which is also due to the writing!) Jacobs also did good American and British accents. This really added to the audiobook.

The story was a really nice romance. I flew through the audiobook. The setting around a wedding was really nice. I just like that vibe. The two love interests had a really nice tension which lead to even better smut 🌶🌶 The third act I saw coming but I felt like it was nicely done, not overly dramatic which I liked.

I felt that Henry's last name Norris was really on the nose, since there is a F1 driver, Lando Norris. I just don't know why the name stayed? Personally, I would have changed it. Also, there wasn't a lot of Formula One stuff besides some references. Which I thought was fine. I watch F1 with my family but I am not a huge fan. If you really want it to be surrounded by a circuit then this might not be the book for you. <spoiler>And I found it a little funny/ridiculous that he proposed after a month. And they hadn't even had a talk about whether or not they wanted children. But oh well it's a romance.</spoiler>

I would recommend this audiobook to anyone who wants a nice spicy romance surrounded by a wedding and secrets with nice tension between the love interests.

Always a Bridesmaid
by Marina Adair
Narrated by Rachel L. Jacobs

I received an ARC of this audiobook through netgalley.

First - The narrator, Rachel L. Jacobs, did a fantastic job!

Second - Marina Adair wrote a very good book.

You know those escort services people can hire to be their plus one? Well, Jane, decided to take that idea and tweak it into a bridesmaid service. Do you need a hassle-free, drama-free, always helpful bridesmaid? Then Jane’s your girl!

She can be a bridesmaid as herself or if you need her to fill in for a childhood best friend or college roommate, etc she can do that too.

Sarah wants the wedding of her dreams. She has known what she wanted her wedding to be since she was a small girl. But, there’s a problem, in the form of a childhood frenemy that has turned into an adult nightmare, her friend Elle (well, ex friend). Elle went to the media and blabbed some super secret info to the media after Sarah trusted her with the top secret info on her famous older brother, a formula one race car driver.

Sarah and her hubby-to-be, Wayne, hire Jane to stand in as Elle so that her brother won’t have to find out about the betrayal until after the wedding.

All could have gone right…. If Henry didn’t meet Jane before she was playing the role of Elle in the airport. The moment he met her as Elle his red-flag-o-meter started waving flags left and right.

This is one of those romance books that you don’t want to listen to out loud, especially not at work. I enjoyed it and I’m sure you will too!!

Definitely recommend!

This was ok. I loved the main male character but I did not like Jane. She seemed shallow and the story was pretty cheesy. The smut scenes were ok but it wasn't the greatest book I've ever read. Not bad just not great.

This was a super cute, fun, and easy read with a good amount of spice. The London vibes were great and the F1 references very cute. I think the ending wrapped it all up too quickly but I didn't mind the ending, it was still very cute. My main ick was that the main character called the love interest "Hank" (his name is Henry) as a joke but then she also sometimes called him that when they were being serious/lovey and I really just needed her to switch back to Henry.

Marina Adair is my go to author for stories with humor and heart. Her books are an automatic read for me! This one did not disappoint. I read this book when it first came out, but it’s even better in audio! The narrator, Rachel L Jacob’s, did a fantastic job of bringing this story to life. I kept forgetting it was only narrated by one person. This book had great writing, a hot hero, oodles of wonderful emotion and the best kind of conflict that keeps me listening all day! Jane had so much character growth. I can’t wait for the next one. Huge thanks to Dreamscape Media and Netgalley for allowing me to listen and review this story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the ARC

This was a cute and fun romance novel. The book was short and easy to devouor within a day. I liked the concept and enemies to lovers trope. I really liked how caring our MMC was when it came to his family. He willingly sat aside his own feelings in order to please his sister. Our FMC has a bit of an unusual job as a bridesmaid for hire but I liked her reasoning behind it. Since the book has a bit of a hidden identity a third act miscommunication break out was to be expected, but I think it was solved rather swiftly. A good, quick palate cleanser

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC of this audiobook. I loved this book. I’ve been looking for some kind of driver sport type book but make it classy and this was it. I thought both of the characters were very personable. He was famous but not full of himself which is way I connected well to the two. The story was fast and very entertaining.