I’m normally a fan of thrillers and forgot how much I enjoy a romantic book until I picked up ‘The Secret Bridesmaid’!
I absolutely loved it, such a heartwarming read and such a novel idea for Sophie’s career to be a professional bridesmaid!
I will definitely be looking out for other books by Katy Birchall.
Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for letting me review this book.

What a fab book. I loved how Sophie’s job is to to be hired as a secret bridesmaid. A crafty way to hire a wedding helper rather than planner. Sophie’s job comes before anything else and she goes above and beyond to ensure her brides have the perfect day. However Sophie isn’t at at all confident in her personal life, she tends to be walked all over, pushed to one side and begins to feel totally alone. She thinks she has landed the job of her dreams but little does she realise what a nightmare this bride truly is.

The Secret Bridesmaid was an enjoyable read following Sophie as she tries to assist Lady Cordelia with her wedding. I particularly liked the growth of the relationship between the pair as the book progresses, from Cordelia being rude and reluctant to have Sophie around, to becoming good friends.

Cute, cute, cute! I enjoyed this book so much, the wit, humour and romance was perfection. A true page-turner that I couldn't put down.

What a brilliant book. And what an amazing job Sophie has! Lots of ups and downs and close shaves. And an excellent plot

5* is not enough for this book! Absolutely loved every word. Such an engaging read with romantic and proper belly laugh moments. I really hope this isn’t the end of Sophie’s exploits! It’s absolutely brilliant and a definite must read! I didn’t want it to end!

Thank you Netgalley

I expected an easy diverting rom-com here, and was delighted to get more than this. The main character Sophie was engaging and easy to root for. The real surprise for me was the antagonist, Cordelia. She was initially an absolutely vile character and treated Sophie terribly. What skill then, that the author so cleverly changed my opinion.

This novel explored friendship and family in a thoughtful way.

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is the perfect holiday or weekend read, ideal if you're lazing in the sun with a glass of something bubbly.

Sophie Breeze is a professional bridesmaid, whose job is to organise and manage other people's wedding days whilst posing as a friend or family member of the bride. She is so good at her job that she is hired by a titled family to manage their daughter's upcoming nuptials; however, the bride-to-be, Lady Cordelia Swann, is Bridezilla with a list of outrageous demands and initially treats Sophie like dirt.

As things progress, however, Sophie begins to see that Cordelia's behaviour is a screen for who she really is - she is actually insecure and nervous about letting people get close to her because of an incident involving her former best friend, Annabel.

Also, Sophie is beginning to fall for Cordelia's rather dishy brother, Tom.

As the wedding day draws closer, Sophie and Cordelia begin to actually like each other. Until...

This is a great read, frothy and fun, and I love the details of other weddings and outrageous email exchanges, especially the fake vintage suitcases and bagel walls (yes, really!) and my absolute favourite moment of Sophie wearing a Chewbacca costume - the episode where she dashes out on a mission of mercy whilst wearing it still has me chuckling. The bit where she gives the ghastly Annabel a reality check near the end is perfect, as is the ending itself.

Katy Birchall has written books for younger audiences and this is her first adult novel, but I hope she will be writing more.

I was sent an advance review copy of this book by Hodder & Stoughton, in return for an honest appraisal.

This was an okay story! An easy read, a quick one as well. This was the kind of book that got you out of a slump.

Hilarious read with amazing laugh out loud moments. Such a feel good read. Just what we all need. My first read by Katy Birchall and it certainly won't be my last!

This is a bit of bubble gum reading which can sometimes be a welcome break from the heavier stuff. Single girl carves a career for herself out of wedding planning and actually rocking up as a bridesmaid so she can be there as more of a helper to the bride. No, she doesn't fall for one of the grooms but instead the brother of one of her prospective brides... sorry for the spoiler but quite frankly you could see it coming a mile off so not much of a surprise.

That's about it... but of course it takes a whole book to tell that story. It definitely hasn't changed my life or made me particularly want to know what happened next.

I LOVED THIS BOOK!
Such an original idea, with understated humour mixed in with laugh out loud moments. (Spoiler, but seriously, Chewbacca the Bridesmaid?) Another writer might have made the characters over the top, but Katy handled hers with empathy and a good dose of reality. I highly recommend this as a terrific read at any time of the year.

Just the light hearted, easy read that I needed after finishing a heavy book.

This is the kind of book that I pick up to read a couple of pages and all of a sudden my Kindle is telling me that I've read 30%.

I liked that this book didn't follow the usual bridesmaid themed story. Instead the main character is a 'secret' bridesmaid, hired to help brides prepare for their big day.

Sophie is hired by the mother of a very wealthy and well known family for her daughter's wedding. A daughter who dispises Sophie's role and makes it her mission to make life difficult for her.

Full of laughs and mishaps. I particularly enjoyed the email and phone call inserts between Sophie and her brides - VERY realistic and gave me.a good giggle. Would love to read more by this author.

A really cute story, with a fun easy plot. This book was truly charming to read and made the task itself light work.

This is the first book I have read by Katy Birchall and after reading The Secret Bridesmaid, it definitely won't be the last book I read by Katy. The story is about Sophie, a professional bridesmaid who is secretly hired by brides to help them with their weddings, appearing as their friend but secretly helping organise their weddings. The emails between Sophie and some of the wedding event suppliers she deals with are are laugh out loud hilarious. She is hired by the Marchioness of Meade, Lady Victoria Swann to help her daughter Cordelia with her wedding who from the start does not want Sophie involved and goes out of her way to make life difficult for Sophie with very crazy demands. This was a wonderful rom-com and I thoroughly enjoyed every page of it, I would love to see this as a movie.
Thanks to Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this arc.

I loved reading the story of Sophie, the wedding expert, and how she survived the bride from hell.
It's a huge challenge and an amusing read.. the little stories of the other brides she is working with don't add a lot to the story but it is still an escapist read and is funny.
Cordelia's character is well written and it's lovely how you manage to understand her behavior by the end of the book.. I gave this a 4, but it would be 5 without the short interludes

I couldn’t put this book down and read it in one day. Funny, romantic and heartwarming. I’d live there to be a follow up to Sophie’s story.

This was a really fun summer read - entirely predictable, but with lots of wit and genuine friendships behind the celeb/rich people setting. Sophie is a ‘professional bridesmaid’ hired to help her most demanding client ever. Cordelia is a wealthy, prickly bride with a notorious reputation, a difficult past, and a surprisingly lovely family. This has a little romance and family drama, but it’s really a story of friendship, and I really enjoyed it!

Reminiscent of Kinsella's Shopaholic Series, this was a delightful little rom-com, perfect for the beach or just time out! Take it at face value (realise what a great idea "a secret bridesmaid" would be) and enjoy!

The perfect beach read - plenty to keep you interested and want to keep reading but not too difficult to pick up again between distractions! I enjoyed the book and liked the characters, especially the ripe-for-redemption Cordelia. The characters and settings were brought to life well and I’d say this would be ideal for fans of Sophie Kinsella and Jilly Cooper. I’d definitely like to read more from this author.