Very thrilling and so SUSPENSEFUL! Took me on. wild ride that was fun and full of butt-clenching suspense! LOVED! Fast listen/read. Ya'll do not want to miss this one!

This is worth a listen/read...unlikeable characters but can't help but to want to know what happens next. Good narration.

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the ARC of this audiobook for my honest review

I really liked the characters in this mystery, they were very interesting and it gave good things to think about with who it could possibly be. I just think the actual mystery itself and what happened was a bit boring.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for an audio copy in exchange for an honest review.

2.5 Stars

Ruth Bancroft is the youngest daughter of the wealthy Caroline Bancroft, and she is about to have the "wedding of the year" in her favorite place, the small town of Blue Crossing. Blue Crossing is slowly starting to reemerge after a devastating hurricane nearly flattened the area and could use the money from the wedding to boost the economy. The family dynamics are strained as Ruth and her two sisters have been estranged from their father, her mother is acting more like a bridezilla and her sister is trying to builder her social media platform. Everyone is keeping secrets and as tensions mount the evening of the rehearsal dinner finally arrives but by the end of the night someone will be missing.

This one was a very slow start for me and being a mystery thriller I wanted to connect to it more so the buildup kept me on my toes and this one didn't. There are some twist that come at the end but by that time I was so bored it didn't matter. It is told from the POV of four characters which I found to be hard to distinguish between and a couple felt unnecessary. There are a lot of characters and they are all pretty generic. The tensions we basis, the typical rich clueless family over powers the small town and less wealthy family. I wanted to like this more but really did not connect with it.

The audio book was narrated by Marni Penning, who does a decent job. Overall she does a good narration but since there were four POVs to cover it would have been more helpful if she had changed up her voice more. Sometimes I got lost as to who was supposed to be speaking.

This one was definitely more of a mystery than a suspense/thriller, and unfortunately the plot just didn’t resonate with me at all. It took a very long time for the build up to occur, and the characters felt very one dimensional. There was a “hidden secret” that didn’t really relate to the plot in a significant way at all, the end twist and “who-dun-it” moment felt rushed and I was left wondering “what?”, and the overall drama was a bit less “high stakes” and more “rich family struggles” that quite frankly I found it a little difficult to care about.

Also, one minor issue I had was the family being uber famous to the point that hashtags were trending about them and the press was all over, but the sister only had 600k followers on social media. It just didn’t make a ton of sense to me and I was left wanting a bit. Or just confused bc were these people “famous” or not!

Even though this was a miss for me, I am appreciative to Netgalley, Dreamscape Media, and the author for an audio arc of this book & love the opportunity to try out new stories!

Full of drama, this was a society wedding turned deadly with family secrets, lies and gunshots as a couple tries to get married while promoting the venue at the same time. This was good on audio and perfect for fans of authors like Ruth Ware or Liane Moriarity. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you to the author, narrator, publisher and Net Galley for providing a free e-audio version of this title in exchange for this review.

Sadly, this wasn't the book for me. It is categorized as a mystery thriller, but sadly, I found it rather boring. If you like family drama, and multiple POV's, this would be the book for you. I found it all really confusing.

2 stars for Didn't Like It

I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity to listen to this audiobook in exchange for my thoughts/opinions/review of it, but unfortunately I did not enjoy it. Honestly, I’m not really sure what happened in this story, there were so many characters and so many subplots that I couldn’t really explain to someone what this is about. Maybe it would be a better read than listen? I’m not sure. I’m sorry to the author and publisher but this was not for me.

This book was a bit wackadoodle but in a good way! It was not the wedding that was anticipated - great narration and lots of suspense!

4 Stars!

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced reader copy

Thank you @NetGalley and @Dreamscapemedia for the ARC. I was really looking forward to this audio but it fell short for me. There were to many characters and backstories to keep up with. I felt lost at times. It was a good listen but easily forgettable.

Not my cup of tea, too involved. Too boring. Not interested in the story at all. Would not recommend.

The wedding became a nightmare! I could totally see a trainwreck a'comin'! This was a wild ride and I was totally here for it! This was my 1st book by Jen Marie Wiggins but it won't be my last!

#TheGoodBride
#NetGalley

This one was a quick read and I enjoyed most of it. I wish there was a bit more mystery that want predictable though

⭐️⭐️⭐️ (2.5 rounded up)

I was immediately drawn to The Good Bride by its striking cover and promising description—weddings, family drama, hidden secrets, and a twisty Gulf Coast setting seemed like the perfect ingredients for a compelling read. Unfortunately, while the premise was intriguing, the execution fell flat for me.

The story unfolds as bride-to-be Ruth Bancroft prepares for her meticulously curated wedding, intended to reunite her estranged family and promote the hurricane-stricken community. As tensions rise, long-buried secrets and betrayals come to light, leading to a shocking rehearsal dinner rocked by gunfire. The setup was strong, but the pacing and focus on excessive detail dampened my overall enjoyment.

This is a slow burn that requires patience and attention to detail—not inherently bad, but there were too many characters and subplots to track. While I can appreciate atmospheric writing, the over description of settings and inconsequential details made the story feel bloated. Additionally, the lack of character depth made it hard to connect with anyone other than Ruth, who was the only member of the privileged Bancroft family to show real substance. The rest of the characters felt shallow and self-absorbed, which might have been intentional but made it harder to root for them.

There were moments where the story hinted at greatness—a few well-executed twists and glimpses of tension—but these were overshadowed by a lack of narrative focus. The backstories were too scattered, and the buildup to key moments often fell short of delivering the promised emotional or dramatic payoff.

Ultimately, The Good Bride wasn’t my cup of tea. While the concept had potential, the execution left me disconnected. Fans of highly detailed, character-driven slow burns may find this more engaging, but I found it hard to stay invested in the story.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and author for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I could not have cared less about the characters in this book, the wealthy family who are all a pain in the butt....ugh. Some of it was predictable as well.

2.5 stars

The entire town of Blue Compass is abuzz with talk of Ruth Bancroft's upcoming wedding. Little did she know that the events leading up to her big day would leave her confused and fearful.

I was excited to read this book, and I found the premise intriguing. However, it ultimately fell short of my expectations. With a large cast of characters, it became difficult for me to keep track of them. Additionally, not much happened during a significant portion of the story, leaving me feeling bored and disinterested.

Thanks, NetGalley and Dreamscape Media, for the free audio copy of the book.

Ruth is finally about to marry the love of her life. Things have been a little crazy since the devastating hurricane many are still trying to recover from. Ruth hopes that her big day will bring everyone together. Her big day is very extravagant and planned to the tee! Unfortunately, this family bring lies, secrets and lots of tension. Chaos breaks out during the rehearsal dinner, and it is all downhill from there.

This is a VERY slow burn. In addition, this has dual perspectives throughout the entire book.
I found the way it was written made it difficult to keep up with the who and the what.
I found myself bored from the very beginning and unfortunately had a hard time getting into it at all.
The pace does pick up; however it takes time.
There are many twists and turns, and the deception is very much so there. Mystery was there, I just wish it didn't take so long to get to the point.

The narration was not my favorite as it all seemed really flat and perhaps that is why my attention was never truly captured.

Thank you. Jen Marie Wiggins, Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This had the potential to be a good audiobook but I found the narrator off-putting and had to DNF partway through.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The good bride by Jen Marie Wiggins

The audio was fine. It was acceptable.


Bride-to-be Ruth Bancroft is marrying her perfect groom. Trouble is all the family coming together in the same place. Family drama, gunshots and a missing guest… The investigation brings together the kind of secrets no one needs to hear.
Yeah it was ok. Bit busy. Too many POVs. Too many unlikeable characters. Too much going on and the writing wasn’t good enough to hold all the pieces together. It was a bit monotonal. The twists were the only things worth finishing the book for and the ending as just ok.

I felt a bit underwhelmed.

3 stars

Coming to my rating : out of 5 stars
Title :⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ the title is very good, deceptive and also elusive.
Cover :⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ i did like the cover, it’s very nice
Character development :⭐️⭐️⭐️ the various situations and how the characters manage and mingle them is well displayed. I did love the descriptions and struggles in the interpersonal relationship of the various characters and the ML.
Writing style :⭐️⭐️⭐️ the style in simple and understandable and also very imaginative
Originality :⭐️⭐️⭐️ the mystery element of the book seemed somewhat the usual kind.
Plot :⭐️⭐️⭐️ plot is okayish
Overall :⭐️⭐️⭐️ overall I give this book a 3.25 rating. I did love the conversational and relationship part of the book, but the mystery part is so guessable and not that enjoying, and so is the rating.

Audio rating : out of 5 🎶
Narration Quality :🎶🎶🎶 I did like the voice of the narrator
Pacing :🎶🎶🎶 the pacing is good
Production Quality :🎶🎶🎶 there is not much of the various voice elements in the narration, so it’s somewhat maybe okay
Engagement : 🎶🎶🎶 I did feel there was something lacking in the narration, so i was not that engaged
Overall Enjoyment : 🎶🎶🎶 the narration seemed a bit monotonous in the start, I had to take some time to get used to the narration and get engaged in the story. And the starting was also a lot confusing, I had to hear few parts again so that I could get the hang, I can’t totally blame the narrator for this, as this could also be the fault in the writing.