My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

This was a LOVELY read! I always have a lot of fun with books that are wedding-themed, and this one did not disappoint!

Sophie has THE COOLEST JOB: she’s a professional bridesmaid. She works with brides all over London to be their right-hand woman, posing as a friend but truly working behind the scenes to help them plan their perfect wedding.

Sophie gets the chance of a lifetime when she’s hired by Lady Victoria Swann for her daughter, to plan the society wedding of the year. Unfortunately, Cordelia Swann has no intention of working with Sophie and will do her best to get her to quit. Add to that her very handsome, very off-limits brother, and a rival society wedding announced for the very same day, and Sophie has her work cut out for her.

As I said, this book was a lovely read. The pacing was a bit off in the beginning, but all in all very enjoyable! I would say it’s rather Women’s Fiction than romance, since the story focuses mainly on Sophie and Cordelia’s relationship, as well as on Sophie finding her true self. Still, the book is brilliantly funny and entertaining, and you should definitely read it if you want something light and uplifting.

This was a new author for me, and I’m definitely looking forward to reading more of her works!

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Title: The Secret Bridesmaid
Author: Katy Birchall
Type: romantic comedy
Tropes: wedding planner, insta-love, best friend’s brother
Content Warnings: cheating
My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5
Steam: 1

Enjoyable, escapist story set mostly in London. Had both funny and touching moments, and in the end was an uplifing story of female friendship against the odds.

Really enjoyed this book and found it very entertaining right from the start. The perfect read for a sunny afternoon In the garden. Thoroughly recommend this book to escape into for a few hours of relaxation.

Aw, this was perfectly charming, hilarious, heartwarming, romantic, not-cheesy story. I giggled and I swooned.

The concept is straight out of a hallmark movie but it's absolutely adorable. Brilliantly paced and sentimental.

Sophie has all the right words and I loved seeing her wear Cordelia down. I loved the twist on kill 'em with kindness. Nope, we do not need more doormats. Kill 'em with kicking ass at your job is more like it! There was just enough detail in Cordelia's backstory to make you absolutely love her character arc and I never ever felt like we were dragging. Hot brother, this is a romance but I love that this romance didn't take centre stage.

There were different types of love explored in this story, and each got just the right amount of screen time in my opinion. Love of friends, lovers, family. Forgiveness and also putting people in their place...ness. Truly, it was great, I loved it and am excited to see more from this author.

Such a funny read. If I was ever to get married, I think I’d like to hire Sophie Breeze as my Secret Bridesmaid!

The characters are brilliantly written in this book and it's such a lovely light hearted read, super easy to breeze through!

Secret Bridesmaid is a fun and fabulous read. I couldn’t put it down.

Sophie is the secret bridesmaid, helping the bride with all the stresses of a wedding. She loves weddings and as a secret bridesmaid she becomes the best friend/helper/confident/fixer for the bride.

She is employed by the mother of the most challenging bride, with a past and an ice outer.

Such a great read.

I got the opportunity an early read in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and Katy Birchall.

Sophie has always loved weddings and supporting brides before their special days and decided to become a 'secret bridesmaid' helping women plan their weddings without anyone knowing. Sophie is approached by a wealthy socialite and can't believe her luck, until the bride becomes a nightmare and is determined to make Sophie quit.

This is a really good contemporary read. It was so light hearted and fun that I couldn't help but laugh out loud and race through it. I found the protagonist Sophie very likeable and enjoyed seeing her character develop throughout the book. The plot was quite predictable but this didn't stop me from enjoying it. I liked how Birchall included some difficult topics such as drug use and overdose but did feel these could have been explored in more detail to add more depth to the characters.

I definitely recommend this for anyone who enjoys contemporary chick lit that is fun and easy to read!

A huge thank you to Netgalley and Hodder and Stoughton for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest and unedited review!

Absolutely loved this book! It was such a great concept and although it is a long time since I got married, I can really see the value of having a "Sophie" at your side! Cordelia was such a character - you could see what she was trying to do but Sophie just wouldn't let her. The pace of the story was great - it kept moving and I just kept turning the pages as I really got hooked into it! Although you hope you know the direction the story is heading, I can't say I was ever certain it would get there. There were plenty of twists and turns along the way to keep things interesting.

If you are looking for a feel good, easy reading book that is highly enjoyable, try this! I loved it and was actually sad to get to the end.

Thank you to Net Galley & the publishers for allowing me to read this book in exchange for a honest review, which is what I have given.

Sophie has an unusual job in that she is a professional bridesmaid where she does everything she can to help make the bride's day go as smoothly as possible and when she gets asked by a Marchioness to be a bridesmaid at her daughter's wedding she hopes it will help her career.Lady Cordelia ,the bride has other ideas and instantly does everything to make things difficult for Sophie. A funny quirky story that has you laughing out loud and had some great characters. A good read

I couldn’t put this book down, I really wanted to find out how it all ended and if she did end up quitting. A great feel good book. .

a fab book, really funny, loved following Sophie journey with her job and life in general. a fell good easy read

This book was fantastic and very insightful on weddings, and what do you need or what do you actually want?

Emily/Sophie was a really loveable character and you really want to be by her side as she goes through everything she does.

Organising the wedding of the year is both a challenge and the dream to happen to Sophie, who becomes Emily. Lady Cordelia is a very interesting character and the ending makes you realise exactly why she is how she is.

Sophie has to be very cryptic in everything she does for the weddings, and is still able to be true to herself (albeit as someone else). I loved how we got communication about the other weddings in the middle of the (almost) royal wedding.

This is a must-read. It is funny and cringey at the same time.

This is a funny, cute and a light, quick novel with funny references and comical scenes that would probably translate well onto the big screen. This would make a great film
Excellent light and humourous novel .
Thanks to#NetGalley for the advance copy in return for an honest review

Very funny read. If I was ever to get married, I think I’d like to hire Sophie Breeze as my Secret Bridesmaid.

The characters are brilliantly written in this book and it was a joy to read.

I started reading this book just before I was asked to be a bridesmaid myself, so I feel like I got very swept up in this one!

Sophie Breeze is a professional bridesmaid. Brides all over London hire her to be their secret right-hand woman on the biggest day of their lives and so, she has learned to take on many guises. But then she gets a call from Lady Victoria Swann, socialite and Marchioness of Meade. Lady Victoria wants to hire Sophie for her diva daughter Cordelia’s wedding and Sophie knows that a job of this status could do wonders for her career. So, Sophie says yes but things are about to get very complicated.

Sophie poses as a friend or cousin at every wedding she goes to because her role is completely secret from everyone apart from the brides who hire her. I think it sounds like an incredibly fun way to make money and I actually began thinking about ways to become a professional bridesmaid myself! I love the idea of giving myself a different backstory every time too -enormous fun!

At the beginning of the book, Sophie receives a wedding invitation from her ex Daniel and of course, a plethora of emotions come rolling in for her. She starts fantasising about what excuse she is going to give for not attending his wedding. Her thought spirals were so relatable and I found myself smiling at the way her mind works.

Cordelia is initially annoyed at her mother for hiring Sophie, who is known as Emily to the rest of the family and wedding party. Therefore it takes a while for Cordelia to warm up to Sophie and for their friendship to really blossom. However, Cordelia’s brother Jonathan takes an instant liking to Sophie and she immediately realises how handsome he is. Of course, no rom-com would be complete without an awkward budding romance. I knew that Sophie would try her hardest not to fall for Jonathan because of course, he knows her as Emily and doesn’t actually know anything about her true self. They are a very easy couple to root for and I wanted things to work out for them eventually.

The Swanns’ ancestral home is in the beautiful rural village of Paxton. It’s exactly the kind of place I could spend forever in, aimlessly strolling around the quiet streets. It is a bookworm’s dream and it fits into this kooky, predictable rom-com perfectly. Finding pockets of the world that still revolve around local businesses and cosy community life fill my heart with joy, so the scenes in Paxton were definitely some of my favourites.

There are some really hilarious scenes in the book. Sophie is also working at a Star Wars-themed wedding and the bride requires her to embody Chewbacca. I laughed out loud a lot during these brief interludes. There is also a scene where Sophie finds herself making loud swan noises in the middle of St James’ Park that had me cackling. It’s certainly a very funny book and the perfect pick-me-up if you need a good giggle session.

The Secret Bridesmaid is a funny, quirky romance with an enemies to friends storyline and plenty of charm. It explores female friendships, celebrates kindness and hard work and champions love in all its forms. This is a winner if you’re looking for a heartwarming, unique, feel-good read this summer.

Katy Birchall's The Secret Bridesmaid is a hilarious wedding tale that will not want to be missed! "Alwags a bridesmaid never the bride" is a quote oftentimes used in classic romantic comedies. Sophie, the main protagonist, matches this quote perfectly. Her job: a bridesmaid/wedding planner to those who require her services. 99 percent if the time clients appreciate her. That is until she meets Lady Cordelia who despises Sophie. Yet landing and keeping this job will skyrocket Sophie to financial success. Trials and tribulations ensure as Sophie fights for Cordelia's approval and tries not to fail for Tom, her handsome brother. Will Sophie succeed or trip on her heels? Can she find love in the middle of wedding madness?
The Secret Bridesmaid is Katy's debut but one would never know. The characters placed throughout are meaningful and provide laughs. The plot, although somewhat long, is a refreshing take on the wedding comedy novel subgenre. Short chapters, with memorable end notes and relatable characters, make this is a HIT!
Don your wedding gear and dive into a journey with Sophie. You won't regret this!

One-line review: Professional secret bridesmaid caters to bridezilla and along the way finds true friendship, love and a little bit of spine.

All jokes aside, this was an adorable, funny and light book. Ideal for the upcoming summer weather, in case you're in this hemisphere, and you just want to relax and enjoy a quick, entertaining read.

What I loved:

- Cara, her best friend, and a side character. She made every conversation hilarious. And now I notice this seems to be true for a lot of side characters in general.
- All of the emails that Sophie, our MC, had with customer service people, and with her clients made me really laugh out loud. This is something you can't take away from the book - it will really make you laugh, and if not out loud... Well, I dare you to try and NOT at least chuckle.
- Obviously, the wedding planning aspect is something I enjoyed, though the focus isn't as much on this, as it is on the relationships.
- I actually enjoyed that this wasn't a full-on romance, but the romance was rather a sub-plot. Maybe it shouldn't necessarily be marketed as a romance, because this to me was more a story of friendship.
- The book was fast-paced, easy to read. I could almost hear the narrators voice in my head, because at times the narration reminded me of something I would hear in a cute romcom.

What I didn't like:
- This is one of those books where I can't say I really disliked anything. Yeah, maybe the writing could have been a little less simple at times, and maybe, the hysterical antics and mean girl behaviour of bridezilla was a bit dramatic. Or maybe, Sophie could have been a bit more ballsy and not so meh. But it's not as if it's a big ole minus in my book.

Though, I've already cheated and read a couple of other people's reviews and honestly... If you think that bridezilla is unrealistic and her behaviour is unnecessary then you were one of the lucky people who never met people like that in real life. and tho they can be absurdly infuriating, I cannot fault the writer for presenting us a character like that.

Overall, it's funny, cute and a light, quick read with cute references and comical scenes that would probably translate well onto the big screen.

Who would like it: if you like wedding stories, romance as a sub-plot, stories about friendship, comical events and banter.

This is a great book, fun to read with quite a few laugh out loud moments.

Sophie is a professional bridesmaid hired by brides to assist them with everything and anything to ensure that their big day goes smoothly. Normally the brides want her assistance but when she is hired for Lady Cordelia's wedding, who doesn't want her help, has she taken on an impossible job.

The characters are well written and likeable and the story has an easy flow to it, a perfectly written romantic comedy.

Total escapism, one you don't want to put down.

Thank you to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the ARC

An outrageously funny and poignant romantic comedy.

This laugh-out-loud romance is about a real Bridesmaid for hire - Sophie Breeze.
Sophie's life is already ridiculously complicated when she is offered a chance in a lifetime with a celebrity aristocratic wedding. The only problem is the future bride who goes out of her way to prove that the last thing she needs is a paid-for friend.
Perfect summer reading.

This really is a laugh a minute book. Perfect for a holiday read when you are ready to relax and catch some rays, when we are able to. You are sure to enjoy this as I have done and is well worth 4 stars