This was bonkers but I loved it! A complete page turner which pulled me in from the start. Both main characters were difficult to like but that didn't seem to matter, I was swept away by the intensity of the story. Would definitely recommend to others and read more by this author.

"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."

Robin is so happy for her sort-of best friend, Ellie. She's getting married and has asked Robin to take up the title of Maid of Honour. So now she's trying her best to keep smiling through the talk of traditional weddings (which she hates), dealing with her fiancé (who she hates even more), trying to navigate the constant bridal disasters (like unmatching nail polish!) and even the bizarre and dangerous pre-wedding rituals that have become common since the government have been pushing heterosexual marriages to combat their dramatic decline.

Ellie was there for Robin through everything, so it's her turn - but as the big day draws closer, Ellie gets desperate and frantic to make sure her marriage will be perfect - and Robin can't help but think there isn't so much to be happy about anymore …

So Happy For You is a dark, curiously twisted parallel of modern life - one where the crushing pressure placed upon women has reached new levels and the cracks are starting to spread across everything. The entire story is strikingly otherworldly - everything feels familiar, but in a world where the governments control over women's bodies has become even more sinister - further controlling access to abortion and egg freezing, creating tax breaks and loans exclusively for married couples to leave them with no other options.

This book will strike a chord with anyone who feels like they're not following the timeline society, family, or even you had planned. Ellie is trying to faithfully follow the standard and climb the ladder, whereas Robin, a gay vegan feminist doesn't quite fit into the story everyone wanted her to follow and I adored her. She was electrifying, bold and undeniably human.

Their friendship was complex - Laskey masterfully uses them to explore the compelling intricacies of female friendship, the darkest reaches of obsession and compulsion, and the lasting destructive force that love can be.

From the first line, we know something explosive is on the horizon - but Laskey takes her time, taking us back to the first spark of friendship between Robin and Ellie and showing us how their relationship grew, building a rich history between two girls, two women - and flowing between their past and present seamlessly. This spark slowly starts to burn out of control page by page, and even when there's nothing left but ashes as we reach the conclusion, I was desperately hoping for just a few more pages.

This is a book you need to read - and you'll be so happy you did.

From the first line of Celia Laskey’s Wish You Were Here I was hooked, that and the fact it’s being it’s being billed as a mash up between Bridesmaids and an episode of Black Mirror. It’s a pretty weird (in the best way) dystopian take on wedding-mania that is also darkly funny.

So Happy For You is the story of childhood friends Robin and Ellie. Together they’ve been through a lot, though as they’ve grown up they’ve also grown apart in many ways. When Ellie asks Robin to be her maid of honour, Robin is rather reluctant. Whilst she might be happy for Ellie (maybe), she hates everything about weddings and isn’t even keen on the groom. There is also the matter of the crazy (and often dangerous) wedding charms and rituals couples are resorting to to try and guarantee an everlasting union. Despite her unease Robin agrees, but as the wedding nears Robin begins to fear that Ellie has darker motives behind choosing her. After all Ellie will do anything for a perfect wedding and marriage is about sacrifice…

So Happy For You is set in a version of our own world. It shares enough similar history and pop culture references to our own to make it feel familiar and yet the most significant difference is the invention of The National Organisation for Marriage, a body that is forcibly pushing the heteronormative marriage agenda, leading to people to rush to marry before they are declared ‘rotten’ - that is if you are a woman. The patriarchy is strong in this world. Given the satirical nature of this novel Laskey, through Robin, is very derisive of the wedding industry that she sees as pushing out carbon copy identikit weddings. Dare I say, some of these criticisms come across as rather mean rather than also making a point.

Told in two parts, the first part of the novel explores the relationships between Robin and Ellie in the present day and through flashbacks to their shared history. Whilst we know from the start that the women will try to kill each other - that first line sure hooks you in - it is not until the second half that the action really ramps up. Without spoiling the ending, I’d agree with others and say I wanted the sacrifice set up to be more well, sacrificial, especially given the foreshadowing that seemed to be building up to it with the previous missing maid of honour and the ominous scrubbing of the dark stain from the patio outside.

None of the main characters are especially likeable in So Happy For You, that is aside from Robin’s partner Aimee who seems genuinely nice. Given that we see everyone through Robin’s view we are meeting them with her prejudices towards them, yet we are able to see snippets, and indeed different sides of, them outside of her view throughout the novel. There are many different ‘types’ of character that are there to make a point given the novels satirical dystopian nature. We have the ‘rabid feminist’ (Robin’s own words), the bridezilla, the anti vaxxer, the male gay best friend, the ‘hippy’ in laws and the tech bro fiancée. Laskey uses these characters to make some really astute points across the novel that are mixed in amongst the darker humour.

Overall this was an entertaining read. It’s not perfect, but it kept me hooked throughout.

I picked up So Happy for You pretty much solely on the basis of liking Celia Laskey’s debut novel. And I did like this one too. Just. I never got really beyond liking.

So Happy for You is a satirical novel poking fun at the marriage industry. It is, really, heterosexual marriage concerns taken to the extremes: think the marriageable ages of Austen characters, or “bridezillas”. It becomes almost dystopic, I think.

Just generally, we follow Robin, a lesbian who disdains these marriage practices, and her maybe ex-best friend Ellie, whose entire existence has seemed to revolve around her marriage. Ellie asks Robin to be her maid of honour and, against her better judgement, Robin accepts.

The first half of the book is dedicated to this decision, and flashbacks on Robin’s part showing their relationship, its beginning and the ups-and-downs they’ve gone through. It’s an important part because it sets up just why Robin still agrees to become Ellie’s maid of honour despite her misgivings (which are, as part two shows, wholly reasonable in the end).

And then there’s the second half.

Part two is a wild ride. You’re told from the first page that, somehow, everything comes to the point of Robin and Ellie trying to kill one another. How that happens is another matter entirely, and that second half is what sucked me into the book further. Once it all starts happening, it becomes a harder book to put down. Again, trying to avoid spoilers here, but let me just say it’s wild. Not entirely unexpected because there are clues that you, as the reader, put together quicker than Robin but still. Wild.

All of which to say, please read this one. It’ll take you on a ride.

This was a quick read, but I don’t quite know what to make of it, it was pretty weird. Probably not the best book to read when I’m wedding planning 😂

The book is told from Robin’s perspective; a woman who has been asked to be maid of honour for her high school best friend Ellie. I didn’t like Robin, she was so argumentative, what’s wrong with just letting people have their own opinions? And Ellie, well she was just bridezilla to the max.

Some of the wedding charms were just whacky, I didn’t see the issue with the sage and garlic bouquet though since herbal bouquets were used before flowers became more romanticised.

Overall, interesting, almost dystopian read.

A world where brides would do anything to make sure their marriage will last. This dystopian reality felt so close to actual reality that it made the creepy factor of this novel reach another level! Weird and queer... I have never read anything like this. Loved it!

I'm very creeped out because I literally discussed a plot like this with a university lecturer for over an hour for an assignment..... Celia Laskey were you hiding in a cupboard and spying on me.

I wish this book had been marketed as dystopian/sci-fi fiction because uhhhh just randomly dropping a bombshell about the marriage charms, and yet everything else is "normal"? It came out of the blue and I feel like the author didn't know where to go with it especially as everything reverts in 'the end'.

Also the fight scenes were SO BADLY WRITTEN. I wish a different author had taken a crack at this, because it was very x meets y with no dialogue/inner monologue to break up the paragraphs? I felt let down by how rushed the second half seemed to be.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley, Celia Laskey and the publisher for sending me an advanced copy to read in exchange for an honest review.

This Novel had me completely gripped from the start! It’s a dark and satirical thriller, and I can honestly say I’ve never read a book like it, but in the best way. I could never predict what was going to happen next, but the ending left me so confused. Without giving spoilers I would not act the same way at the end. I can see why it’s marketed as a cross between bridesmaids and black mirror. I would definitely recommend!

Like a particularly offbeat episode of Black Mirror, this book is funny, dystopian, and almost believable. I liked the time skips and insights into a friendship too close for comfort and although it occasionally made the plot feel disjointed and rushed (I would have liked to have spent more time at the wedding in question) it never got boring.

Rating: 3.5/5 stars (rounded up)

Content Warnings: homophobia, violence, attempted murder, animal death, abortion (mentioned)

Robin's childhood best friend asks her to be her maid of honour. Though their society is marriage-obsessed, and Ellie, the bride-to-be feels similarly, Robin's ideological opposition to the institution of marriage makes it a difficult decision. Despite her reservations, Robin agrees to be the maid of honour, but when the bridal party festivities begin, things begin to take a sinister, dangerous tone.

What an absolute wild ride this book was. It was a quick read for me, and I did really enjoy it, despite (maybe because?) it was so off the wall. Though the novel is a thriller, the narrative for most of the book bounces between the day-to-day of the lead up to Ellie's wedding and flashbacks to other points in Robin's life to give the reader more context. This definitely slows the pace of the book down, which I think was a smart decision - and when its time for us to be in the fast-paced finale, this is dropped, which makes sense. I was a little confused about the setting for most of the book (modern times of a near future dystopia inspired in part by recent abortion restrictions in some US states?). However, as talk of wedding charms ramped up, it became clear it was the latter, but I thought the plentiful modern pop culture/political references confused this a little bit. I also thought some of the political points which are made throughout the novel (despite fully agreeing with them) to be a tad on-the-nose, but this wasn't too majorly off-putting or anything. I'm also notoriously nitpicky about how lesbian characters' sexualities are portrayed, and I really liked this aspect of the book.

All in all, this was a really interesting read. Equal parts funny and series at times, I think it's a really solid novel, and I'd definitely recommend it to fans of unhinged women being unhinged.

Thanks to Celia Laskey, NetGalley, and HQ for the eARC of So Happy For You.

The Unfolding Is Glorious…
Weddings. Love them or hate them. They exist. Robin and Ellie have been best friends since school but when Ellie asks Robin to be her maid of honour things go…slightly pear shaped. There are so many reasons for Robin to hate this. Ellie, however, is absolutely determined to have her perfect day. Darkly amusing and with many insightful asides, this is a satirical take on the wedding industry but with a friendship at it’s heart. The characters are well crafted, like them or not, and the narrative immersive. Much like another reviewer, I was expecting this tale to go much darker as it progressed, but the unfolding was still somewhat glorious.

So Happy For You is a Darkly funny, addictive, and a fantastically original plot. I'd definitely recommend to friends..

What's described as Bridesmaids meets Black Mirror and "the most twisted and entertaining thriller of 2022" fell a little short of the mark for me...

You know I love a thriller and so I went into this really excited. As you can probably tell, the cover really grabbed me as did the electrifying sounding plot. But I just didn't really vibe with it as much as I thought I would.

I found the characters to be unlikeable and not in a cool Boy Parts or My Year of Rest and Relaxation kind of way. Although the storyline got better once the action started it felt like loads and loads of build up for a couple of chapters of what the reviews and storyline promised.

Don't get me wrong there were some parts that had me a little thrilled but for the most part I just felt a bit disappointed.

I'd definitely recommend making your own assumptions of this because the reviews are sparkling, but for me? I didn't vibe with it as much.

Wow, this was one of the craziest thrillers I have read recently! The world of bridezillas and some highly odd rituals collide in this excellent book. Couldn’t recommend it more!

I adored this book, feel good and romantic and completely unique. A really well written book, with great characters. Wonderful.

Well written with a dark and compelling plot and well developed characters all wrapped up in a chilly envelope. I really enjoyed this read and I couldn't put it down. A totally gripping read.

Dark, thrilling, wicked.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for letting me access an advance copy of this book in exchange for my feedback.

This book was so much fun. I loved the idea of wedding charms and the character arcs worked really well. The setting was cool and the dystopia was well imagined. Funny and prescient.

So Happy For You is a darkly comic novel about a maid of honour who has to try and survive the wedding—literally. When Robin's childhood best friend Ellie asks her to be maid of honour, she wants to say no. She doesn't believe in marriage, which has become a desperate industry in America due to hugely declining rates of marriage and skyrocketing divorce, and doesn't want to deal with straight-people rubbish when she could be at home with her partner, Aimee. When Robin says yes, she hopes this will mean Ellie won't go in for any of the strange rituals that have become part of weddings, but as celebrations begin, it seems that Ellie will do anything to get her perfect day.

I wasn't a fan of Laskey's previous novel Under The Rainbow, but the wild summary of this book made me want to read it, and it certainly was quite a ride. Told from Robin's first person perspective, you immediately know that she and Ellie will try to kill each other. A lot of the book is building up the characters, telling the story of Robin and Ellie's friendship intercut with the journey to the actual wedding ceremony, including a bridal shower and bachelorette that show Ellie might be taking things a little far, and meeting the other members of the bridal party (though by the end, they fade into the background). This all means that by the end, with a few moments of tension (like Robin's nut allergy that suddenly appeared as a plot point), you know something is going to happen, and the book is just drawing out getting there.

The big centre of the book is the idea of weddings, and what would happen in a slightly alternate version of America in which weddings starting going out of control as people become desperate for marriages to work out (think gender reveal parties that start wildfires or cause deaths, but for weddings, basically). Robin is writing a thesis on this whole turn of events, which provides motivation for actually going to Ellie's wedding, and also has opinions on weddings and marriage that will chime with a lot of queer people, even without this somewhat-extra version of what weddings might become. The whole concept of wedding traditions and what they mean to a marriage is satirised, though marriage itself comes out okay, with a sense that maybe Robin hasn't given Ellie's fiancé a chance, and her self-righteousness and anger maybe doesn't always come from a good place. Despite being a satire of wedding culture in many ways, So Happy For You isn't really saying anything new about weddings, other than pitting two extremes of idea against each other, but it presents a funny picture of what people might do and offers an entertaining ride that feels like a fairly regular comedy up until the parts when it becomes darker.

If I'm honest, I might've expected the book to go a little darker or weirder (probably saying something about my taste in literature), or to have sustained the threat for a bit longer (the ending feels like a ridiculous thriller, with the kind of drama I used to like in Point Horror books as a child, but much of the rest of it is build up without danger). However, I like the ridiculousness of the premise and the flaws of both Robin and Ellie, and this is a fun, trashy read that asks what if instead of mocking bizarre traditions involved with life events that society deems worthy, you were drawn into a deadly version of them?