if you want to know the story of how my best friend and I ended up trying to kill each other, I should probably start with the night she asked me to be her maid of honour.
What an opener!
Full of twists and turns and very black mirror esqe, So Happy For You leaves you questioning society and repeating WTF throughout.

I have reviewed this book as part of my monthly reading wrap-up upn my YouTube channel. My full thoughts can be found in this video https://youtu.be/1KHzjIO0HvQ?si=OsEWu49BfztMnH9L

Started well and lost interest halfway. Just felt the characters were very flat and superficial, also the story just didn’t progress so well.

I really wanted to enjoy this one, however i just don't think this was the genre for me.
I couldn't get to grips with whether this was a mystery or just bizarre.

An crazy and entertaining read, friendships, weddings and the pressure on women. Reading this definitely makes you feel part of Robin's world which is written in 2 parts.

When I heard the concept of SO HAPPY FOR YOU by @celia.laskey I was so excited to read it. A twisted ‘bridezilla’ thriller featuring social commentary on the wedding industry with a lesbian MC (on page use of the lesbian label!)? Yes please! And man, was this one a wild ride. If you are looking for the WILDEST, most unhinged book to add to your summer reading list, this is absolutely the one to go for.

↠ SO HAPPY FOR YOU prompted me to unpack the wedding traditions of our society, both from a capitalism and heteronormativity standpoint. Laskey uses this near future, wedding obsessed setting to put forward a commentary on the wedding industry and traditions we all see as normal.

↠ Main character was a flawed, opinionated, angry POV to read from, but one that really added to this social critique. Yes, she wasn’t super likeable but I don’t think she needed to be - she’s had a lot of trauma, she’s got flaws, but she’s more willing to think critically and not downplay her queerness to conform to a heteronormative society and to make others more comfortable.

↠ The central friendship is a master class in writing toxicity and codependency.

↠ Whilst we get a queer character, unwilling to conform and the impact that has on her, we also see the impact of this society on a woman trying to fit the mould of perfect femininity, and how this unattainable pressure can impact a person.

Overall, this was a super fun read with social commentary on capitalism, feminism and heteronormativity at its core. It’s super unique and I’m sure I’ll be thinking about it for a long time!

Thanks so much to @hqstories for sending me a copy!

“If you want to know the story of how my best friend and I ended up trying to kill each other, I should probably start with the night she asked me to be her maid of honor." Now that’s an opening line that draws you in!

Part thriller, part dystopian fiction, this was bleak, funny, shocking, witty and just completely nuts. A story centred around friendship, the societal pressure on women, feminism, and of course marriage; this was a wildly original plot (also kinda completely unbelievable) but who cares — it was so much fun to listen to!

Let’s brush past the fact that every single character was awful. I think it was intentional? It doesn’t matter, it was such a fun ride! The witch-like marriage rituals were disturbing, the social commentary interesting, and the humorous, quirky narration from Robin was entertaining and fresh.

I’m excited to read more from this author! 🙌🏼

📍 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗿, 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿 + 𝗡𝗲𝘁𝗚𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝗰𝗼𝗽𝘆. 𝗔𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝘆 𝗼𝘄𝗻. 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 @𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗴𝗶𝗿𝗹 (𝗜𝗚), 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵.

𝑬𝒇𝒇𝒚 @ 𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒈𝒊𝒓𝒍 🥀

A fantastic, fun read full of complex characters and complex situations. It's a dark saltire, it's written in Robins point of view. This is the first book that I have read by Celia and I will certainly read her other books. This one was a real page turner.

So Happy For You is an interesting story focused on friendship, weddings and the pressure placed by society on women.

The story is told in two parts and both are told from the perspective of Robin. It begins with a story about the day she was asked to be Maid of Honor, and continues from there documenting her journey.

Split up between Robin reminiscing about the true details of her friendship in the past and the current build up to the wedding, you are truly a part of her world. Her thoughts are well articulated and there is never any second guessing her emotions. I took to her straight away and felt fully invested in the scenario from the outset.

Robin’s past is spoken of in a no hold-barred kind of fashion and I feel like we get to know her extremely well through the course of the book. This helped to further peak my interest and made her feel more three-dimensional. Her life is articulated in such detail that you feel a part of it. Her friendship group, opinions and relationship are all talked of in a no-holds-barred fashion. I found myself drinking in the details and even the obscure discussions, eager to learn more of Robin and her somewhat unorthodox situation.

The bridal party gone bad scenario instantly drew me in and the unusual friendship and continual slight tension and off behaviour between Robin and Ellie was fascinating. The friendship is discussed and analysed in minute detail and the good, the bad and the ugly is fair game, discussed in candid detail.

The raw unacceptance and honest conversations surrounding Robin’s sexuality were quite emotional. Especially the situation with her sister, it definitely made me feel for Robin. A portrayal that felt realistic and honest.

The facts about weddings that were dotted throughout, alongside various traditions were a fab addition and I enjoyed learning some trivia along the way.

There was some animal cruelty involved which was a bit graphic. I found it a bit hard to stomach, so just an F.Y.I to watch out for that, or avoid it entirely if you feel it may be too much for you.

Completely mad. Brilliant, but completely mad. This book was not at all what I expected it to be and I wasn't in the slightest disappointed by that. Such a fun read.

This book was a very dark look at the wedding industry and the pressure on women to marry. I didn't find either of our main characters particularly likeable but that did not detract from my enjoyment of the book.

Following two women who were best friends in high school you know early on that this book is not going to end well. Seeing the escalation and revelations in this book was entertaining.

I appreciated the ending and the things that each woman learned about themselves. I would recommend this book.

This was a wild, rollercoaster of a read that I'm sure many readers will enjoy. It's a dark and satirical take on the wedding industry, a good premise but unfortunately I didn't connect with the humour or the characters.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.

Wedding rituals have swept the nation and when Robin's best friend from childhood asks her to be her maid of honour she dubious but accepts. As Robin must spend more money and become part of increasingly strange and dangerous tests of friendship she realises that all is not as it seems.

This was a dark but very funny look novel with the obsession over wedding details and the typical 'Bridezilla' along with friendship and all that goes along with it. This was a very entertaining and funny read; 4 stars.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for a copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review

Well, this is a book that decided to go absolutely nuts...and then went beyond! I feel like if you're doing a plotline this satirical and blackly funny, you really have to go for it, and the author certainly did that with this novel. The characters were awful, the plot turns gasp-out-loud, and the wedding shenanigans absolutely bizarre.

I can understand the mixed reviews for this, it;s going to be like Marmite. I personally really enjoyed this one, once I embraced the fact that I disliked all the characters (go into it with that perspective and you'll enjoy it a lot more from the get-go, I think!)

Bleak, funny, and shocking - this is a commentary on social conventions, marriage, feminism, etc, but it's also just a wild and original read.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for granting me a free ARC copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

This was a very easy, page-turning read, which is so relatable, despite how dark it becomes! The world of weddings has got so out of hand, and this shows just how bad it could become. I certainly didn't want to put it down and highly enjoyed reading it.

This is a total marmite book, you will either love it or hate it. That being said I fell right in the middle. I didn't mind the snarkiness of the main character, which a lot of the reviews I read said was the reason for disliking it, but I saw a lot of myself in Robyn (not sure that's a good thing). The end was very underwhelming and lost all sense of pace. I wouldn't read this if you are planning a wedding though, it may tip you over the edge.

Despite hating the main characters I loved this bonkers dystopia.

At 300 pages it was just the right length to explore this crazy world of wedding culture, where brides will go to extreme lengths to protect their longevity.

You’ve got to leave your sense of reality for a short time but it had me hooked!

This was a very good read, I wasn't sure what to expect however it blew me away. I would highly recommend.

I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher in return for an honest review. This review is based entirely on my own thoughts and feelings.

Overall rating : 2*
Writing skill : 3*
Plot: 4*
Pace: 2*
Characters: 1*

This will be a short review because I don't like doing overly negative reviews. I hated the characters, how awful can a group of people be? Nothing really happened until the very end, and when it did it was unrealistic and unnecessary. Her writing style however was good and the premise of the story was really exciting but it fell completely flat. I realise this should be taken as a black comedy but I unfortunately found nothing to laugh at. Disappointed.

Absolutely bonkers!
Leave your sense of reality at the door embrace the unlikeable characters & go enjoy the ride.