All I can say is Ms Stoneley and her books never fail to make me smile. I loved being surrounded by Jane and her friends. I loved I knew exactly where this story was going to go for each character but having them discover their own path. I loved Louie the most though lol. And allllllllllll the secrets!!

I wanted to read this in one sitting because I was thinking about this book when I wasn’t reading it. I started it Monday evening and made a dent before I fell asleep so early because of a hectic week, and then Tuesday I stayed up until just before midnight finishing it. I then took to Twitter just to let Zara know she totally knocked it out of the park with Bridesmaids.

The story was cute and one that was so easy to lose yourself in. It is a book, to read in sun savouring the words written in front of you. I must say that wedding sounds like the best ever! I wish I had an invite and it had me cackling when I read it.

This is Janes’ story as we watch her grow from someone who has been cruelly dumped on her hen party, with no self-worth, dictated too by an “influencer” to a woman who was self-assured, albeit a little bit dappy at times. In some cases, she reminded me of…Well me! Slightly dappy, quick to go off on a tangent in her head, not always letting people finish their sentences and jump to the wrong conclusions as they can’t finish their sentences!! However, when I was reading this, I was so quick to tell her to stop and slow down. She did make me chuckle and I also had hair envy, I just loved her. All the women were so down to earth and likeable in their own way, yes even Sal!

I found myself smiling at my kindle a lot especially at how down to earth and real this book truly was. The friendship of the girls, despite not living in each other's pockets was lovely. And did I mention the secrets, it was funny that everyone turned to Jane and she got herself in a right old tizz about it all. Plus where can I meet a man like Freddie???

I would love there to be a sequel to this book as I don’t think we are quite done with all these ladies. Plus I need to know what happens on the honeymoon!! And I need more Louie!

Bridesmaids is definitely a story that will make you smile and make you love a little bit more and it has left me with all the feels for sure! I stand by my statement that Ms Stoneley has so knocked this out of the park. That’s three in three for me. Loved them all!

Rachel gets engaged and asks her best friends to be her bridesmaids, as one usually does. Jane, her chief bridesmaid and narrator of the story, hasn't seen the other three since school days.
The three bridesmaids plus the one who doesn't want to be a bridesmaid all have a history with each other from school days and are hiding various secrets from each other and of course the bride-to-be.
Sally is now married to Madison's high school sweetheart, Jack, who may or may not still be in love with Madison but neither Sally nor Jack are happy in their marriage and neither will admit it or do anything about it.
Beth, doesn't want to be a bridesmaid, has a baby whose father is kept a secret from everyone.
Madison, still in love with her ex, knows who the father of the baby is.
And then Jane. Who is keeping a massive secret about the groom from the bride. Thinks she knows who Beth's baby's father is and who is secretly in love with her roommate, Freddie.
Oh and her ex, who dumped her via text message during her hen party, is an usher at the wedding and may still have the hots for her.
What could possibly go wrong??

I found this an hilarious story. I particularly loved the confusion and chaos when the hen-do and the stay-do inadvertently meet up - poor Jack!

"Act Three - The Big Day" is the best section of this book. Its a hilarious culmination of events and the revelation of secrets. The scenes described in it are wonderful - as you read you see the events playing out in your mind's eye. And Rachel and Jane's mums are priceless. I just loved them to bits even though they are minor characters.

All is well that ends well in the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me the opportunity to read this wonderful book. I really enjoyed every moment of it.

Who doesn't love a wedding drama?

This book is packed full of secrets, bombshells and fun, and I was reading all of the cringe through my fingers at some points because Jane (the main perspective this whole tale is told from) makes many errors and brings a lot of the ensuing frenzy on herself. She spends a lot of time *thinking* she knows what is happening a lot more than she actually does ascertaining facts, or really listening. This brings much hilarity but also frustration at her immaturity at times, but we were all young and daft once eh?


This is definitely a story about young adults still in the grips of school/college friendships and dilemmas, and still finding their place in life etc, which if I'm honest is now an era I'm long departed from so I possibly didn't connect with the characters as much as I would have in my 20's but anyone who has been part of or planned a big wedding will relate to the tension and ensuing chaos of bringing so many friends all together.

I loved the friendship and developing story between Jane and Freddie. They definitely both have baggage and complications which seem to threaten their happiness together, but that supportive relationship was beautiful to read.

This book is light-hearted, entertaining and an easy read to enjoy... and probably a good lesson in clearing all of your secrets out BEFORE your wedding.

Hilarious, romantic, and highly entertaining!

Bridesmaids is a spirited, deliciously scandalous tale that takes us into the life of Jane and some of her mates from school as the preparations for the upcoming nuptials of one of their own will cause revelations to be revealed, secrets to be exposed, and true love to be found.

The writing is witty and light. The characters are quirky, vibrant, and endearing. And the plot is an engaging, funny tale full of secrets, misgivings, friendship, chemistry, humorous mishaps, tricky moments, awkward situations, romantic drama, and self-reflection.

Overall, Bridesmaids is an uplifting, comical, refreshing read by Stoneley that I think would be perfect for fans of chaotically charming, contemporary romance novels.

Lies, betrayal, heartbreak on the one hand, love, friendship, happiness on the other are the base for this absolutely ace of a book. Add to that mixture secrets, lots of secrets and a main character who sometimes thinks 3 is the result of 1 plus one and you are in for misunderstandings galore. The author sprinkles the story with funny bits that make you laugh out loud.

I do understand that people deserve a second chance and some grab it with both hands. Others are more the leopard doesn't change its spots kind of persons but even though leopards are fast, the truth travels faster.

I loved this book. The writing style is wonderful and fluent and you just want to keep on reading.This author has gained a fan for life. 5 stars.

Thank you, Zara Stoneley and Rachel's Random Resources.

Bridesmaids was a fun, quick read that I really enjoyed. I’m going to go the list route on this one.

-Based on the synopsis I thought this was going to be more of an ensemble story with multiple POVs. However, it’s told from the first person POV of Jane, the bride-to-be’s best friend. I had to adjust my expectations a bit, but it worked for me. Jane was a little hard to like at first. She came across pretty self-absorbed and kind of snotty, but as the story went on I liked her a lot more.

-Rachel, the bride, is always described as being so nice and caring and selfless, but I didn’t always get that. I mean, she was nice, but she did lots of selfish things. Jane had recently gone through a pretty terrible break-up right before she was supposed to be married and did not handle it well and is pretty skittish about the whole wedding idea. But, Rachel 100% expects her to be there as a bridesmaid and to even plan her hen party (or bachelorette party to us, Americans), which is where she was dumped by her fiance. Rachel also asks two other women to be bridesmaids even though one of them is now married to the other one’s ex-boyfriend, who is definitely not over the break-up. It was kind of a train wreck sometimes, but I couldn’t look away.

-I think my favorite thing about the book was Freddie, Rachel’s flatmate. He was so funny and sweet and wonderful. I loved every scene he was in. I loved his friendship with Rachel and I loved how their relationship turned to more than friends. I shipped them so hard.

-There are are several secrets and scandals between the wedding party. I’ll admit one of my pet peeves in books is when one honest conversation could solve all the problems. But, it didn’t really bother me here. As I said earlier, sometimes when they all got together it was kind of like a train wreck, but it was an entertaining one I had to keep reading. I thought the identity of Beth’s baby’s father was kind of obvious, but it added to the soap-opera like drama and I was here for it.

Overall, I really enjoyed Bridesmaids. While I did have some issues with some of the characters’ behavior, the story was full of Lifetime level drama and was exactly the type of read I was in the mood for. I also absolutely loved Freddie and his relationship with Jane. This was my first book by Stoneley, but I plan on checking out more of her books when I’m in the mood for some good Chick Lit.

Overall Rating (out of 5): 4 Stars

This was the first book of Zara Stoneley’s that I have read and it certainly won’t be the last. I loved this story from the first chapter.
Friendship can be hard enough and becomes even more difficult for lead character Jane as she finds herself keeping secrets from those she loves. I would definitely recommend reading this it’s such a heartfelt book which will have you laughing out loud. Perfect for a summer read.

Fun to read story. I enjoyed the premise and the bridesmaids secrets. The only problem I really had was the main character Jane seems a bit overly dramatic and emotional about her wedding and being dumped. Then she gets a little dramatic about the guy she’s living with and their whole relationship. Otherwise an enjoyable story to read.

This book was a lot of fun to read, I laughed out loud more than once.
It's entertaining, enjoyable and well written.
Even if it's a light and fast read it manages to handle complex theme in a very good way.
I liked the well written and likable characters, quite realistic and relatable.
I look forward to reading other books by this author.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to HarperImpulse and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

UK setting of 30 something friends who reconnect when one gets engaged. The usual set up - past relationships, career mishaps/under performing, friend/lover. It was okay - the usual story line - I read about half.

Bridesmaids - just the title lets you know that you're in for some interesting times in the lead up to a wedding. No wedding has no drama and this book definitely brings the drama when 5 friends reunite to help their friend walk down the aisle to Mr. Right... or is he?

Jane, who was recently dumped by her fiance during her hen party, is trying to rally and stand behind Rachel who asks her to be a bridesmaid in her upcoming wedding. She knows that not all weddings are bad luck and hopes that Michael really is ready to settle down. Meanwhile her career is at a standstill and she may be falling for her flatmate and everywhere Jane turns, secrets seem to find her.

This was such a fun read! There was enough drama to keep the pages turning but nothing too deep that you felt super depressed after reading it. Light enough to be fun, deep enough to not feel sugary. It was a perfect balance! I buzzed through this book really quickly and think others will be delighted with it as well.

Recommended to those that are looking for a good book to get into on the beach, at the pool or just on the couch!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Impulse for an eARC copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

An enjoyable Chick Lit with some humour. There was a tad too much going on and it did seem like a long book, could have done with some condensing.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing a copy.

This is a new author to me, the cover and description sounded fun. I feel like the first half is pretty boring, I pushed myself to finish it to do my netgalley review. But once I got to the middle and as the reader, you know some of the secrets and how tangled this group of friends are, you have to finish to see how it all plays out. And wow, does it go out with a bang. The author is British and its written for a UK audience, some references I didn't get but it was fun. I wasn't sure about the timeline of events, was this whole thing within a few weeks? It was predictable, a few small typos (and that's after accounting for British spelling).

I loved Jane, she's pretty annoying at the beginning, but as you follow the wedding planning, you see her grow. And I loved Freddie, the book needed more of him but he kept running off, which was getting weird. Some of Jane's issues at the beginning don't seem very important that she holds onto, like Coral. I loved Rachel's character from the start and how the wedding played out. Read it, push through and the ending is highly satisfying. I'll need to check out other books from this author. I received this book in exchange for an honest review via Netgalley.

I started to write this review yesterday when I hadn't finished Bridesmaids. At that time I was only half way through this book and was really enjoying it. After finishing to book I revised my review as the book was pretty slow except for a few chapters in the middle. The one potential life saver? Super relatable characters. We all have a friend like each of the bridesmaids: the stuck up girl, the super sweet girl, the one with an "oops" baby, the one with a tragic breakup story, and the one that has been cheated on many times, but declares he's changed. But as I kept reading, despite it having characters that reminded me of people I knew, this book was not a hit for me. It was slow and you knew what was going to happen, but it took a while to get there. I high hopes for this book being the next recommendable beach read, but it fell flat.

Jane is devastated when she is dumped at her hen party. With the help of best friend Rachel and flatmate Freddie, she picks herself up and carries on. When Rachel announces she is getting married Jane is not sure how she feels about it. It’s not marriage she’s against; rather, she knows something about the groom and is unsure how to tell Rachel.

As Rachel begins to plan her big day, Jane and her fellow bridesmaids, Sally, Maddie and Beth are caught in a maelstrom of secrets and lies. As the wedding draws near, will everything go according to plan or will obstacles get in the way?

A lighthearted fun story with a great cast of characters. A tale of love and friendship which was enjoyable and entertaining to read.

I haven't read too many novels by Zara Stoneley, but I have to admit the blurb of this one caught my eye. It sounded full of drama, funny and I just love reading about weddings anyway so thought I would give it a go. The cover isn't the sort of book I would usually pick to read (I know - you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover!), but I was pleasantly surprised.

Straight from the off, there was humour, drama and I couldn't put it down! I loved the characters, they all had something about them that was likeable and funny. It's funny throughout, a perfect summery read. It's lighthearted and enjoyable and easy to read.

Would recommend you give this a read.

Oh, I am just a big old sucker for these kinds of books!!

Jane has recently been dumped on her hen night no less, as if your fiancé binning you isn’t bad enough, and now her very best friend is getting married and she has to relive the whole experience!

Jane’s life isn’t a bad one. But her job is, and so is her ex. Then suddenly she’s thrown back into high school drama when she’s reunited with her fellow bridesmaids from way back when. Each of them have their own story to tell, and I appreciate that Zara Stoneley allowed is as readers to explore each of them thoroughly enough to avoid dissatisfaction.

You’ve got Rachel, the best friend who’s marrying the cheating prick (not that she knows, yet). Maddie, the too nice and polite girl who is pining after her ex after she mistakenly pushed him away. Sally the bitch, there’s always one, who is now married to Maddie’s ex. And Beth, who has a baby and a secret baby daddy. The drama is intense and it all unravels before your eyes.

While the book is notably lighthearted and a nice easy read, it doesn’t shy away from the messiness that is sex, love and marriage. Especially when they’re all keeping it in the friendship group! However, the lack of swearing grated on me after a while. I mean, what self-respecting adults use the words ‘crumbs!’ and ‘sugar!’ without the presence of a small child? Also, referring to ‘frig’ as the F-word... I digress.

Jane’s personal journey through her own struggles to break out on her own as a photographer and get over being jilted by the man you thought you loved, is truly heartwarming. Watching her relationships with others and herself, I felt proud of her. I just love when the author gives me characters I can know and invest in, I have so many book friends!

So yeah, I enjoyed it. Definitely my type. Enough to give it a generous 4 stars.

This is a great funny story of a group of friends who have known each other from schooldays and have kept in touch to varying degrees within the group; some are still close, others have drifted a little. The story is told from jilted bride Jane's point of view after fiancée Andy ditches her by text in the middle of her hen night. It has taken a while, but the emotional scars are beginning to heal and she is tentatively getting her confidence back, flat-sharing with another lad, Freddie from her school days - it's all totally platonic, purely for financial reasons as they are able to tolerate each other sufficiently to share a living space.
Best friend Rach has helped nurse Jane back to normality alongside Freddie, but suddenly drops the bombshell that she is getting married! It's the first dalliance with weddings since Jane and Andy's non-event and Rach is cautiously excited in making her announcement. Of course, the girls have many friends in common who will be invited to the ceremony including the infamous Andy so Jane has to get herself sorted emotionally quick-smart in order to be Rach's chief bridesmaid.
This is where Zara Stoneley's ability to write fabulous humour really starts to kick in. By the time I had reached halfway through the book I had wiped tears of both amusement and upset from my eyes. There seem to be a multitude of secrets hidden between the various members of the group, and with the addition of cocktails and other alcoholic beverages the truth seems to get tangled in a mass of misunderstanding.
By the time the wedding day rolls around Jane's head is in a complete spin regarding who knows what about whom and whether the beans should be spilt before or after the ceremony - if indeed at all.
I really enjoyed this book which throws up some interesting moral dilemmas and demonstrates just how difficult it is - or not - to find Your One.
If you like a good rom com which will have you spilling tears one minute and your drink the next (from a fit of the giggles) this is definitely one for you. Because at the end of the day, girl friends are always there for one another aren't they?
This review will be posted at www.sandiesbookshelves.blogspot.co.uk as part of the blog tour 2nd May.

I'm a fan of Zara Stoneley, so if you've read other of her works, you'll enjoy this. I thought this book was very funny and the perfect light read to enjoy on holiday. I'll be recommending it to the 'chicklit' bookclubs in my library, as I think they will love it.

Unfortunately, I was quite disappointed by this read.
It starts off good and I was intrigued by all of the bridesmaids‘ secrets. However, it was really predictable and it was obvious that the main character Jane jumped to conclusions again and again. The romance was cute but overly dramatic and predictable as well. In the end I skipped most of the descriptions because I really wasn’t enjoying it anymore. It also really doesn’t stand out: after putting it down for two days it took me quite a lot of pages to even remember half of what had happened.