The weekend before the wedding is a funny tale of a wedding and a hen party that happened 20 years before!

The hen party has an unlikely rabble of women from auntie Nancy on her mobility scooter to third cousin Chloe who is 17! As you can imagine there is a fair amount of arguments/differences of opinions. But also a fair amount of making up and learning.

A lovely tale that was predictable to the overall story line but none the less enjoyable.

Shelley is getting ready for her wedding, and her thoughts take her back to her hen night - 20years earlier. She had hoped for her friends to be with her, but, at 39, she was the only one unmarried and childless. She ends up taking her mother, cousin, cousins daughter and her best friend with her to her aunt Nancy’s villa in Majorca. Not exactly the recipe for a typical hen weekend. Add to that, she thinks she’s punching above her weight being engaged to the very wealthy Colin.

This is a really nice, gentle read, about being true to yourself, making the best of your life and not relying on other people to make you happy. There are some lovely little moments (the Spice Girls I loved), some hearty chuckles and some laugh out louds. I guessed the ending but that didn’t spoil it. The perfect antidote for the blues.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I really enjoyed reading this book, it is lighthearted fun and enjoyable easy read. Perfect for holiday reading.
This book is set in 2 timelines, almost 20 years apart. Shelley is the Bride-to-be, reminiscing on her wedding day about her hen weekend 20 years ago. Of course I wanted to find out what had happened that delayed the wedding by 20 years!
There was a great cast of characters, all very different to each other. They made a very mismatched hen party, which of course was part of the entertaining storyline.
Some of the plots were predictable, but there were plenty of surprises along the way. I didn't guess one of the plot twists until near the end of the book and then of course I had to read on to see if I was right or not.
Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for my ARC.

I loved this book from start to finish and read it in 2 days. It's full of funny, strong characters, some of which I recognised in people I knew! A real feel-good book to enjoy on the beach or to occupy a rainy day. Highly recommended.

Thank you NetGalley, Tracy Bloom and HarperCollins for the book The Weekend Before the Wedding. This is my personal review.
I had so much fun reading this book. Getting to go with them to Spain for a celebration of Shelley’s up coming wedding! The group that went was not exactly what she had in mind, but this group made for a weekend no one will ever forget.
This book has everything I wanted in it. The ups and downs- the laughter- fun and unexpected things that happen makes this a book you must read.
I am so glad I got to spend time between the pages. This is a book I will read again and again!

When your wedding day is twenty years after your hen night there’s a whole lot of life in between. When we meet Shelley she is preparing for her wedding but as she gathers her nearest and dearest together they start to think back to her hen weekend.

This book will make you laugh but also make you think about whether you have made the right choices for the right reasons in life. A great comedy, full of larger than life characters but thought provoking too and the author has the balance just right. Loved it.

The authors last novel saved the surprise to the end. Here, we know what happens, the ending is guessable, it’s the twenty years in between , that is hilarity at its best.
There are two time lines here, 1999 and present day. In 1999, Shelley meets her fiancé at a wedding. Shelley is tall, auburn haired, freckles and speaks her mind, no airs and graces, and at 38, felt left on the shelf. When she becomes engaged to Colin, she feels as though she is a little out of her depth, but accepts her new life will be different. Her hen weekend away is in Spain, is with her Mum, Peggy, her Aunt Nancy, her cousin Rosalind, and her daughter Chloe, and her best friend Becca. The age gaps create some comedic episodes, half want early nights , where the others want to party all night. Most of this unlikely group have personal issues, plus issues with the group members themselves, all find these being resolved on this hen party from hell.
A hugely entertaining read, full of a slightly warped and sarcastic humour, that this author employs so well. Laugh out loud giggles and a few tears to be shed. Spice Girls will never be seen in the same light again!! Full of very likeable and relatable characters. The perfect summer read. I throughly recommend this book as a five star read.

Is it predictable? Is it like fluffy clouds of marshmallows? The answer to both of those questions is yes……….But also does it deliver a really good message in amongst the hilarity? Again, yes it does. This is such a feel good book, I had a wonderful day on a sunbed reading this. It’s a summer must read, great characters and a real feeling for what hen dos should be about. Don’t we al, wish we had a Nancy? Sorry about all the extraneous punctuation, but this is a real hit of a book.

This book made me roar with laugh as it is so good, i like how all the friends and family went out to spain for the wedding if it was my family there be world war 3, thanks to netgalley & publishers for the arc of this book

This was an hilarious story. A mixed bag of family and friends go to Spain, staying with another relative,, for a Hens Weekend. Can you imagine what this mixed group of would be capable of over the weekend. I couldn't stop laughing, wondering what was coming next. The conclusion brought everything together beautifully.

This is a highly entertaining and laugh out loud story with a more serious and poignant side.
I laughed but I also felt for Shelley and her choices.
The characters made me laugh but also reflect as there a then and now and what changed.
Shelley is a well developed and relatable characters.
It's a compelling read that I highly recommend.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Shelley is getting married. As she prepares for the ceremony she reflects back twenty years to when her wedding should have first taken place. Her mind drifts back to her hen weekend in Spain. She recalls the motley crew, her mother, her cousin and her daughter and her best friend who accompanied her to her aunt's Spanish villa and all that happened.

This is an entertaining read full of laughter and wit. It's about the choices Shelley makes, her relationships with those close to her and how they alter. The characters are really amusing and totally believable. As you follow their escapades you see them all change in some way. This is a perfect, light, summer read.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

First off I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this e-arc.
My official star rating for this book would be a 3.5, the book is well written and enjoyable for the most part, I just felt at times the story was a little predictable, and frustrating. The storyline itself was interesting and I was happy to keep going with the book as I wanted to know what happened, to be fair I didn't expect the ending which was a good thing.
I did feel at times it was slow paced and that made some of the characters frustrating to me, but I do understand why they were portrayed as they were because again it made sense towards the end.
I wish the Author all the best with the book ☺️
Happy Reading!

I have always enjoyed Tracy Bloom's books so was thrilled to be able to read this soon to be released new book of hers.
Shelley is getting ready for her wedding. A wedding that happens around twenty years after that fated weekend, that was meant to be her Hen weekend, to mark the occasion of her going from singledom to wife.
The Weekend Before the Wedding is a story about several women, not just Shelley, who is the main focus, obviously, but also about her mother and aunt, her cousin Rosalind and daughter, and Shelley's best friend.
They all end up on this hen weekend. Not quite the guest list Shelley was hoping for, but the antics, and fallouts that occur over that few days impact a lot more than just Shelley's impending nuptials.
A good read, with some giggles and also some touching moments.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK, Harper Collins Fiction for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Harper Collins and NetGalley for the ARC, this review is my personal, unbiased opinion.

Don't read in public, you'll be laughing too much.

When given the chance to read Tracy Bloom's latest novel I jumped at the offer, her books are often thought provoking and filled with her sarcastic sense of humour.

The book opens as Shelley is dressing for her wedding while her mind wanders to her hen party in Spain nearly 20 years ago. She had planned to celebrate with her chosen friends, instead, after accepting the offer of her Aunt's villa in Mallorca, her companions became one overly stressed best friend and four relatives of wildly different ages and temperaments, each seeking entertainment that would suit themselves, 'tho no-one else. Before boarding the plane they start to argue, ending up barely talking to each other. Disasters follow.

Fast paced and hugely entertaining

Loved this!!! Shelley has met ‘the one’ and finally its her hen weeeknd…a motley crew of her ageing mum; third cousin,sullen aunt, and best friend; all flying to Spain to stay with auntie Nancy in her villa. Her fiancée Colin is going to stay the other side of the island and will be hosting a family dinner so they two families can meet. But Shelley doesn’t feel like she’s good enough to marry wealthy Colin, something else a holding her back; and events during the hen make her question whether the marriage should go ahead. This is a really funny, but emotional story to read.

All Shelly wanted on her hen weekend was to enjoy three days of sun, sea and sangria. But instead of being surrounded by the A-team of her closest friends, she somehow ends up with a Golden Girls - meets - the - Spice Girls B-list that includes her mother, a rebellious teenager, and a best mate 'on the verge'. The squabbling starts at the airport, and on arrival in Spain, Shelley barely has time to unpack her suitcase before getting an unwanted text - one that throws her wedding into doubt.

This story is told in two parts - the hen weekend that took place twenty years ago, and the wedding which takes place in the present day. The story is told mainly from Shelley's point of view. On her wedding day, Shelly spends some time reminiscing about her hen party, Although it's a little predictable, the fact that it has great characters and some laugh out loud moments more than make up for it. It also shows the importance of friends and family. This is quite an addictive and easy book to read.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #HarperCollinsUK #HarperFiction and the author #TracyBloom for my ARC of #TheWeekendBeforeTheWedding in exchange for an honest review.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this absolutely brilliant book

oh my word a book about a family going on a hen party somewhere in spain.... this is the most funniest poignant book anyone could read

there are many ups and downs on this adventure that the ladies have. there are plenty of one liners that make you laugh out loud and there are times when its nice to reflect

this one keeps you reading and engaged with each character and you begin to realise that they sound like your own family and maybe the hen party from hell will still be laughed at for years to come....

highly recommend this book to everyone, the author keeps you engaged at all times

3.5 rounded up
In the present day, Shelley regards yourself in the mirror in all her bridal glory, after all it’s only taken her 20 years to make her mind up! She met him at someone else’s wedding at the age of 38. Backtrack to May 1999 to Priory Hall in Hampshire where it really is like something out of “Four weddings… “we’ll forget about the funeral bit. Where is Hugh? Better still, in Shelley’s opinion where’s James Fleet? She nearly wimps out of going, after all she’s been to so many. To her shock, she is not lurking and peeking from the back table with the also-rans, she is near the top. There has to be a mistake, surely? But wait, who is that rather Hugh’ish chap lurching to the table and the bread rolls? That would be Colin the grooms cousin and the rest is, well, the book!

The entertaining novel is principally from Shelley‘s point of view and is mostly set twenty years ago around her hen do in Majorca. It’s a make you smile lighthearted read with really likeable characters which makes such a pleasant change. Shelley is a really nice person, she’s honest, caring and darn good friend but I’m sorry to say she’s not the standout character, that would be Aunty Nancy! What a character, I thought my aunts had personality but she is utterly fabulously larger than life. The dynamics are great such as between Shelley and her mum Peggy who doesn’t hold back and between Shelley‘s cousin Rosalind and her teenage daughter Chloe.

There are some really amusing situations at this very untypical hen-do though there is an appearance by the ‘Spice Girls’, there’s some karaoke and a foam party. Oh and some cocktails or three.

It’s fun escapist reading, it may be a tad predictable but none the worse for that. Pack this book along with your bikini/swimsuit and take it to the beach, it’s a perfect in the sun novel which matches perfectly with the great cover!!

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to HarperCollins/HarperFiction for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

As the last of her friends to get married, Shelley has waited a long time for her hen do and all she wants is three days filled with sun, sea, and sangria.

With the group made up, not by friends, but by her mother, ageing auntie, cousins, and best friend these hens are less spring chicken and more overcooked roast.

As the squabbling begins at the airport, and not long after their arrival in Spain the wedding is thrown into jeopardy by an ominous text message, Shelley begins to wonder whether she’s making a mistake.

Can her nearest and dearest put their own dramas aside and get Shelley to the alter?


This was a light-hearted read which started off on Shelley’s wedding day and sees her reminiscing over her hen do 20-years previously. The book then jumps back and forth a little before settling in the earlier time and exploring the weekends antics. There is a bit of a twist, which is fairly predictable early on but not to the detriment of the story.

Whilst I did enjoy this book, I also found myself a little disappointed. There were many larger than life characters but unfortunately Shelley wasn’t one of them, and I felt she managed to fade into the background of her own story. She certainly didn’t possess any of the gumption that I have come to expect of Bloom’s protagonists. In fact, this book felt sadly lacking Bloom’s usual traits. Although there were some funny moments the trademark sarcastic and often sweary humour was missing.

This aside, I think this will be a highly enjoyable read for most who love this genre, and I would still recommend