Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC.

This was a quick fun read for me, I thought it was entertaining and well written, so I enjoyed it a lot

Despite having quite a good intrigue at its core, I found the twist quite easy to predict from the start and the disjointed narrative unfortunately made it easy to disengage from the storyline and its characters. I did not get the Pandora’s box reference at all in relation to the events of this story other than the name of the disappeared wife being Hope.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy of this book.

This is the debut book for A E Gauntlett so I feel bad for not enjoying it, but I felt that the author has tried to throw too much at it, with yet another twist at the end, which is really just yet another idea that doesn’t tie into anything else. I felt like the author had read a lot of books in this genre and taken ideas from each, leaving it disjointed but with no depth or character development. A disappointing one star from me.

Two years ago, Mark’s wife, Hope, disappeared. Eighteen months later she was declared “presumed dead”. A few months later Mark marries Annie. Annie met Mark on their daily commuter train and it was love at first sight for her, less so for him since he appears to be still in the grief stage. However, love will find a way (so they say). However, at the wedding a strange man is spotted in the crowd, who turns out to be Cameron an old friend of Mark’s father, a former police officer and part-time private detective. He has been hired to try and trace Hope. He hasn’t solved the mystery yet, but intends to continue investigating.
The story is related mainly from Annie’s point of view, and involves flashbacks to her traumatic childhood. We also learn about Hope’s life with Mark (declining due to his drunkenness ) and Cameron’s investigation (a bit sketchy). None of the main characters is very likeable, and everyone seems to be behaving irrationally and inconsistently. The initial problem seems to me to be the precipitate haste with which Hope was presumed dead because, under English Law, the period before presumption should be seven years unless there are exceptional circumstances. A suicide note would be such a circumstance and a note was found, but it seems she was leaving Mark with her great friend, Charlotte. However, the note is equivocal and Charlotte is untraceable which, I think, would make the ‘death’ suspicious. If you can ignore the holes in the plot then it’s a psychological thriller, or a domestic drama, but not a great example of either. I can just about scrape 2.5 stars, rounded to 3.
I would like to thank NetGalley, the publishers and the author for providing me with a draft proof copy for the purpose of this review.

A mixed bag of a book.
The author gives a masterclass in unease in this novel.
The protagonist is very easy to relate to in the beginning. The dating life is initially identical to that of most 20-something Londoners. A story of love in London so relatable it wallops you in the head with how samey most experiences of London are.
Initially the reading pace was good, it felt like a quick read, with the story progressing in a flurry of pages. But the multiple timelines did feel a little clunky, and caused me to withdraw from the story somewhat.
Some of the characters felt a bit underdeveloped, not having developed personalities, just present as plot devices.
I usually enjoy the inclusion of Greek mythology in stories but it seemed ill fitting here.
This book moved from love story to thriller in an okay manner.
The first half seemed a bit more well thought out than the second. But I did find the protagonist worryingly relatable for half the book.

My first book by this author and I really enjoyed it.
A gripping story full of intrigue, lies, obsession, thought provoking themes and with complex characters and a brilliant plot full of good twists that keep you guessing till the end.

Annie is about to marry her fiancé Mark, who she met on a train while commuting to work one morning. She’s totally in love with him, that is until a stranger appears at their wedding and questions start to arise, especially surrounding the disappearance of Mark’s first wife.

I liked the authors writing style and that the story was told through different timelines which adds to the suspense. I also enjoyed the Greek mythology parts which just adds something extra to the story. Well written characters and most are likeable.

Overall, Its a tense, engaging and easy to read thriller I found hard to put down. Well worth a read. Just brilliant.
If you love gripping thrillers then you’ll enjoy this book.

With thanks to #NetGallery @BloomsburyPublishing for an arc of #TheStrangerAtTheWedding in exchange for a honest review.
Book publishes 25 April 2024.

The Stranger at the Wedding by AE Gaunlett

Whilst I really enjoyed the writing style, I found the plot and constant back and forth too confusing.

Although I found it hard to settle into this book initially with alot of moving between timelines, I did settle in and was glad I'd persevered. It was dark and twisted and just a bit different. I liked the two different viewpoints (though would also have liked to hear from Mark - although that may just have made the confusion initially worse) and the endings came as a complete surprise.

But of a disjointed, meandering book that I can't say I got a lot of enjoyment from. Not enough of a story for me and a thin plot. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to ARC this book.

Description sounded good but the book didnt live up to it . Sorry this one wasnt for me
Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC

I wanted to like this book more, and I enjoyed the writing, but, sadly it felt quite disjointed and I found I didn't really care enough about any of the characters to wonder what happened to them. I also found the mythology trope quite clunky.
Thank you to netgalley and Bloomsbury for an advance copy of this book
2.5 rounded up to 3

Thank you NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for the opportunity read this eARC

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This story follows Annie and Mark who have a whirlwind romance, on their wedding day a stranger comes to their wedding who dredges up secrets from the past


I really enjoyed this book, it felt quite unique. At first I was confused because there is a lot of chopping and changing between timelines however this became easier over time. I loved how this told the story from Annie and the stranger’s point of views and so the twists and turns at the end were not really on my radar at all
I would highly recommend if you want to read something a bit dark and twisted

Annie fell in love with Mark from the first moment she saw him on her train commute to work. He looks sad and she wants to make him happy so engineer's a meeting. She finds that his wife disappeared two years ago and has never been found and Mark hasn't got closure yet.
Told by various characters we begin to understand the story of Mark and Hope, his first wife., about their problems and how their marriage problems started. We learn that Annie, the new wife, has tragedy in her life as well. When a stranger turns up at the wedding, he sets wheels turning to solve the mystery of where Hope went.
I found the idea a good one, but it was a little clunky, as if the cogs didn't quite fit. We never heard the story through Mark's eyes so had to guess his feelings about both marriages.

I’m not entirely sure I loved this book. Annie appears to have it all, house, career, but after a chance meeting on a train, realises that she doesn’t have love.

We learn of Annie’s sister Karen and of their relationship with their mother. The books takes us back to the early life of Annie & K, well before their father dies then through her courtship with Mark and to their wedding and beyond.

Although the book was interesting and had a few interesting turns, it left plenty of unanswered questions. I felt that although there were some revelations I was left wanting to find out what happened.

I would have given this a 3.5 stars but rounded up to 4

This book was a DNF for me,I did enjoy some parts at the beginning but it all seemed slower than a slow burner of a read and I didn’t like any of the characters which never helps,apologies

1.5 stars rounded up - this wasn't for me.

Positives - an easy read and I think if you like slightly dark domestic tales, you may find this entertaining..

Unfortunately, I wasn't invested and I felt like I was reading another rehash of the same typical domestic suspense tropes - nothing seemed original and it wasn't executed in a fun or exciting way. The plot was predictable, with a few big holes that had me rolling my eyes.

I found reading from the female main character's perspective boring - this involved occasional superficial musings on womanhood and random tidbits of greek mythology, all very on the nose.
There is very little suspense - the timeline skips about and there is some animal cruelty used as a plot device. I strongly disliked this aspect - whilst it wasn't a large part of the story, I found it distatesful and a cheap trick to bolster the weak suspense.

I wouldn't recommend this.

Annie marries Mark after a whirlwind romance. As she stands at the alter she spots a stranger in the crowd and soon learns everything is not as perfect as it seems.

The story is told in different point of views and has interesting elements, such as the mythological sections, although overall I found it all a bit disjointed. The characters were not likeable at all and I found it hard to connect to them as well as the story, as it felt quite slow paced throughout most of the book. There was an air of mystery running throughout and some twists and turns which helped to keep it a bit more engaging. This was definitely not a bad book but not one I was wowed by. 2.5 stars raised to 3. Thanks to NetGalley for this copy in return for an honest review.

It is really quite hard to enjoy a book where none of the characters are particularly nice or even relatable. I found the characters in this book all a little too one dimensional to really enjoy it.

The action sort of starts in the middle and apart from one or two forays into the past it stays there. I felt like I was forever grasping for something that turned out not to be there. The story revolves around Annie and Mark. Annie falls in love with Mark at first sight but it isn't until later that they become a couple.

We then wander about in their past loves and lives for a bit before the conclusion which, for me, was somewhat silly. Also, quite oddly for me, I was paying attention at the start so there were no surprises later down the line.

A decent story with forgettable characters. I did like the bits of Greek myth which were parachuted into the narrative to make a point.

Thankyou to Netgalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for the advance review copy.

I am afraid this novel was not my cup of tea at all. Very slow burner. Disjointed style of writing. Unlikeable characters.. Took me all my time to read it to the end. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review it.

From the premise, I really wanted to enjoy this book however it took me quite a while to get into this novel as I found the plot was initially fairly slow. Neither of the characters were particularly likeable and the twist was predictable but I was still compelled to keep reading. Thank you to NetGalley, Bloomsbury Publishing and the author for the chance to review.