This was a sweet, amusing romance, which I did enjoy reading. The Secret Bridesmaid is a story about exactly that, a secret bridesmaid who is hired to be there for the bride on her big day, no matter what they desire or how badly behaved they are; and believe me, there is some pretty bad behaviour in this book. It is well written and highly entertaining, it certainly had me laughing at times. I did find the added text messages and emails about other weddings detracted a little from the story, but not enough to spoil my enjoyment.

The characters were great, Sophie was lovely, funny, kind and very patient. Cordelia is such a prima donna that I was amazed Sophie put up with her, but some of her antics are hilarious. Then there are all the others who played an intrinsic part in the story, none of them surplus to requirements. There really were a wealth of characters in this story, I particularly liked Tom and Jonathon.

I would recommend reading this story, it's light, entertaining and an easy romance read. I will be checking out others by this author.

What a perfect take you away from it all read, a fab easy read, with a great story and great charecters, loved it

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for this ARC.

I thought this was a feel good, uplifting read. It had a slow start in my opinion and it took a while for me to really get into it. I liked Sophie and after initially not liking Cordelia found she started to slowly grow on me as the book progressed. I loved the humour in this book and was laughing out loud at times, and thought this was a funny, mostly engaging and light hearted read more about friendships and loyalty with the romance side taking a back seat. At times though I felt the book was a bit too long and my interest did dip slightly and I found myself skimming some of the pages. Overall a very easy going light read and a refreshing change from what I normally read. 3.5 stars

This is Katy Birchall's first book written for an adult audience and all I can say is: "Write more!". I really enjoyed the way the relationship between the two main female characters was developed. The bride was "flawed" but Birchall managed to ensure that the reader still rooted for her to be redeemed. I honestly couldn't put this book down, that's how much I enjoyed it and I haven't felt that way about this type of novel for a long time. The story is more about the importance of real friendships and self-belief than it is about romance. I will be looking out for future titles now that I've discovered Katy Birchall.

A secret bridesmaid! I wish I had been able to hire a professional bridesmaid like Sophie to ease the stress of planning my wedding!
This novel is a humourous approach to wedding planning, with many references which anyone who has been a bride, bridesmaid, guest at a hen party will recognise and enjoy. Sophie has encountered the full range of brides in her job, (which actually sounds really interesting, anyone fancy a career change?!) but when she is hired as a secret bridesmaid for a huge society wedding by the obnoxious Lady Cordelia’s mother, things get much more complicated...not to mention the bride’s handsome brother...
I ADORED this book! It was charming, funny and such a happy read! Highly recommended for escapist reading as lockdown continues. I will be buying as gifts for friends when published.

As a professional bridesmaid, Sophie is secretly hired by brides to be their right-hand woman, ensuring their big day goes off without a hitch. From wrangling rowdy hen dos to navigating last minute portaloo cancellations, there's no problem she can't solve.
So when she's employed by an actual Marchioness to help plan the society wedding of the year, it should be a chance for Sophie to prove just how talented she is.
Of course, it's not ideal that the bride, Cordelia, is rude, difficult and determined to make Sophie's life a nightmare. It's also a bit inconvenient when Sophie finds herself drawn to Cordelia's posh older brother, who is absolutely off limits. And when a rival society wedding is announced, things get even more complicated . . .
This book is billed as a laugh out loud comedy and it certainly delivers. I loved the concept of a secret bridesmaid and this is my first book from Katy Birchall but it wont be my last if she carries on writing in this style. I demolished it within about 24 hours. Thoroughly recommend

A bubbly and charismatic romance that kept me hooked from page 1! Perfect for fans of Lia Louis and Emily Martin

Here we meet Sophie. Professional bridesmaid. Professional friend. She’ll make sure your big day goes off without a hitch.

After a recommendation Sophie finds herself working for a very high profile family and bride. Cordelia is a very demanding and high maintenance client and Sophie is constantly trying to prove herself. Add to mix a gorgeous, down to earth brother and Sophie’s job just got a lot more interesting.

This is a fun and easy to read story that flows very well. A little far fetched at times but that’s just the escape we need, especially at the moment. This would be a fabulous holiday read (or sat in the garden with a cold drink at the moment).

Thank you to Hodder and Stoughton and Netgalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a pick me up and really brightened up my day! It's humorous and heartwarming and thoroughly immersive. I'd finished it before I knew It! I read it in one sitting and am on catch up now !
This is escapist fun and the characters really do make you laugh out loud at times! Sophie is such a lovely character and gets herself into some scrapes , all in the name of pleasing the bride.
Even the entitled characters are relatable , Cordelia is prickly at first and puts Sophie through the ringer in an effort to encourage her to quit.Tom is swoony as the love interest . It's a constant will they won't they scenario as Sophie thinks the attraction is one sided . I thoroughly recommend this book and think it will appeal to readers who enjoy Zara stonely

I am afraid this book did not catch my imagination at all. I found it unbelievably.
Just not for me.
I am not saying it is a bad book but I need a book that could be real life and this book did not deliver.
Sorry

Secret bridesmaid Sophie meets one of her toughest client yet can she deliver as promised and help make her big day go ahead without any hiccups? Will ugly secrets from the past stay in past? Is a nee love blossoming? A very funny laugh out loud read which I enjoyed from start to finish thank you Netgalley for the chance to read this.

I've just read The Secret Bridesmaid by Katy Birchall and it had me hooked within the first couple of pages. I enjoyed the storyline and liked that it was about a 30 something year old. The main character is likeable with a sense of humour I could relate to. It made me emotional in a couple of places because I bought into how the character must have been feeling. I would definitely read a sequel should Katy Birchall write one.

“My name is Sophie Breeze and I’m a professional bridesmaid.”

Sophie Breeze LOVES weddings. She even loves being a bridesmaid, she’s good at it- so much so,she’s made it her full-time job. She gets to pose as a friend,help behind the scenes and plan the perfect weddings.

Until she’s hired to plan the society wedding of the year. Sophie can finally prove just how talented she is.If only the bride (Cordelia) wasn’t the aristocratic equivalent of Miranda Priestly.On top of all the Herculean tasks she’s been set, Sophie becomes drawn to the brides’ very off-limits older brother, Lord Swann.

With rival weddings and swan shenanigans Sophie must keep her identity a secret and her dignity intact.

The Devil Wears Prada meets The wedding Ringer in this hilariously funny Contemporary Romance.

I absolutely loved everything about it, there were soo many comical laugh out loud moments I couldn’t put it down. Sophie as a character was incredibly likeable (always important in a protagonist) and her interactions with Cordelia (the bride) were marvelous.

Although Cordelia is introduced as the archetypical self-centered mean girl- with outrageously diva-ish demands,she becomes a really interesting and dare I say- loveable character.

Overall, this was an incredibly funny and enjoyable read- I cannot express how much I loved it. If you love Contemporary Romance or Rom-Coms (especially the wedding related kind) then I’d absolutely recommend giving this a read.

Also a huge thank you to Hodder & Stoughton and Net Galley for the digital ARC.

Sophie is a professional bridesmaid, hired by brides to help their wedding day and preparations run smoothly. She loves her job, until she is hired by a socialite's mother. ... Laugh out loud moments, a well written, feel good story.

I loved this book, in fact, I devoured it! Really easy to read, light hearted.. Sophie is a professional bridesmaid and has worked with some challenging brides but the latest one is a real challenge.. A charming brother too, how lovely. A really enjoyable book, well written with a good plot line which made me smile and cheer Sophie on and hate her ex boyfriend too.

A really funny book that I thoroughly enjoyed and didn't want to put down!
Sophie is a professional bridesmaid, hired to make every wedding run smoothly and to plan! There are numerous problems she has to solve and the emails that you see throughout the book from her to suppliers are hilarious! Also some of the things she is asked to do made me laugh out loud!
She is asked to be the professional bridesmaid to Lady Cordelia Swann by her mother, however Cordelia has other ideas! Cordelia goes out of her way to make ridiculous demands for Sophie to meet!
I did think reading this that I would quite like to be a professional bridesmaid but I am not sure i would deal with events as calmly as Sophie! Definitely one of my favourite books!

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I really loved this story! The entire time I felt like I was watching a movie play out, it was amazing!! I loved the characters and the romance that slowly sneaked into the story. Overall a really fantastic read. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

Sophie is a professional bridesmaid. She secretly makes sure the hen party and the wedding goes to plan. When she gets a job as Lady Cordelia bridesmaid she makes life as difficult as she can for Sophie.

This is such a fun, light-hearted read. I found it so funny and entertaining. I enjoyed all the characters and getting to know them. The bridezilla moments were hilarious. I loved it, it was a much needed escape

A good idea but a bit too far fetched to be believable. I finished the book and it was an ok read but not the best or worst that I read this year.

Sophie loves weddings so much so she has made it her job. Sophie is a professional bridesmaid. She is a bride's right-hand woman and is there to make sure that the dream wedding goes off without a hitch. When Sophie get hired by rich socialite Lady Victoria Swan to be her daughter's bridemaid, what can go wrong? Only dealing with bridezilla but also her brother Lord Swann is rather attractive too.

This was a really sweet book and really had what was need to make it a good and heartwarming book. Sophie was a lovely charcter but I think that Lady Cordelia was the standout character. She was not only a bridezilla but a three dimensional character who had her own issue to deal with.

My only issue with this book was I felt that it had a rather slow start. I thought that once it actually got going it was good but I found myself very close to not being very interested. But I am glad that I pushed on because this not only took me by suprise I really grew to like it.

This book is less of a romance and more a story of about friendship and what makes a true friend with just a hint of romance sprinkled in. But please don't let that put you off reading it because I did enjoy it and would recommend to anyone looking for a sweet and heartwarming story.