I really enjoyed this book and if your looking to escape real life for a day I would recommend this book, This Book is the 1st Book that I have read by the author and I will definitely be reading more by the author.

This book tells the story of Sophie who's a professional Bridesmaid who's employed either directly by the bride or the bride's family to act as best friend bridesmaid at the wedding of the bride , Sophie pretends to be different people at each wedding but gets to know everything to do with the bride and her family etc so know one at the wedding would ever find out that she was employed at professional bridesmaid.

One day Sophie gets a call from a mother of a Bride that she had been a bridesmaid for her daughter recommend sophie service for her friends daughter, but this friend is a well know celebrity will all go to plan for this wedding ?

I really loved all the characters of this book especially the relationship between sophie and her cousin Carla who are very close .

With thanks to Netgalley & The publishers for the arc of this book in exchange for this honest review.

I absolutely loved this book from start to finish. It was a lovely light easy read, the storyline was fantastic, I loved how the friendship blossomed between Sophie/Emily and Cordelia it was heartwarming.

But oh my word please let there be a follow up book about Sophie and Tom!
I need to know about their wedding, there has to be one!

Fantastic book!

Sophie is a bridesmaid and it’s her job! Full of funny sweet moments. A perfect book for a Sunday afternoon and some escapism. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me review this book.

I enjoyed this story about a professional bridesmaid helping brides dreams come true and being a great friend to them all. Until she meets the bridezilla of them all, rude and with impossible demands. There are funny moments galore but I was disappointed with this book, which was billed as a rom-com, when there was only a hint of a romance; it therefore lost a star for me. Genre seemed more chick-lit/women’s fiction to me.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Great book. At the start I thought it was going to be too much like the film of 27 Dresses but, even though there are similarities in the beginning, this book is so much more. Sophie is a professional bridesmaid who is hired by a society Lady to help her daughter, Cordelia, prepare for her wedding which is where some of the best comedy writing I’ve read in a while starts. The story follows bridezilla Cordelia, and her ludicrous demands, in the run up to the wedding. Without giving any spoilers the book romps through the pages towards the end with some, quite frankly, hilarious chapters. The book is a great feel good read with lots of comedy. A wonderful book to cheer up any dreary day!

This book was delightful! It’s rare that I give a 5-star ratings to chick-lit, but this one was exactly what I needed. It was funny and smart with lots of laugh-out-loud moments and a cast of charming characters. I especially enjoyed that that the book was more focused on friendship and loyalty than a sappy romance. It was fun and smushy in all the right places - the perfect escape book.

I really enjoyed this book. Sophie is a professional bridesmaid, hired secretly to help organise the wedding and make sure everything runs smoothly. So when she is asked to help Lady Cordelia Swann, she is delighted and hopes it will lead to other society weddings. However, Cordelia is very difficult to work with and doesn't think she needs Sophie's help. This is a really fun, light hearted read with some great characters. Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.
Copied to Goodreads.

I've lost count of the numbers of times I've been laughing out loud while reading this book. There is so much that just hit my funny bone and had me giggling at times close to hysterically.

This is especially true of some of Sophie's email exchanges with other bridesmaids or companies she is working with. They are so ridiculous that you can actually believe they are real!

And this is such a fabulous concept, a professional bridesmaid, I loved how Sophie describes her role in weddings, and the way she has all her bride's backs is really clever - and the lengths she will go to are varied and impressive and on occasion funny too!

Well until she is hired to work on the society wedding of the year, only the bride, Cordelia doesn't want Sophie's help and is determined to be so outrageous in her demands that it will force Sophie to quit.

I was completely enjoying part of Sophie's world, seeing just how she worked, and also some character development too. But for me it was all about the various weddings and the immensely entertaining scenarios that were presented.

It was a quick and easy read which I always love and when I wasn't reading I was trying to find excuses to ignore work and move back to the book. Perfect holiday / garden reading, when you just want to lose yourself in something that's hilarious.

This is the first book I've read by Katy Birchall, and it definitely won't be the last. If she always puts this level of humour in her books then I'll be first in line to read them all! A wonderful tonic to the past year and a bit, and we can all do with more laughter in our lives.

Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

Loved the concept of the professional bridesmaid almost as much as I enjoyed the story. The relationship between Emily and Cordeila is funny and real. Don't want to spoil the story but hoping there is a second book for Sophie and Tom

I really loved this book. Really well written and very funny. I look forward to reading more of her stuff.

When I started reading this book, I thought it was going to be a typical chic-lit. Boy meets girl, they get married scenario. There was so much more to this than that.
The characters are developed so well that you can really imagine what is happening and you can feel how they are feeling.
It’s a rollercoaster of emotions and really takes you on a journey of friendship and what it truly means. As well as the stresses and intricacies of planning a wedding.
I really enjoyed this book and by quarter of the way through I struggled to put it down.

The Secret Bridesmaid was a surprise hit for me! It sounded like it could have been a book that was a bit too dramatic for my taste but I ended up really enjoying it and getting surprisingly emotional! If you want a light-hearted read set in the UK that doesn’t get too over the top, this is the book for you

Sophie Breeze is a professional bridesmaid – hired to take the pressure off of the bride without them giving control over to a wedding planner. A successful wedding leads to a former client recommending her to the mother of Lady Cordelia Swann, handing Sophie her biggest job yet. As Emily Taylor, she becomes Cordelia’s only bridesmaid, though Cordelia herself is less than impressed with the idea. Her time as Emily is filled with ridiculous requests, fending off bullies and trying to be a bridesmaid to someone who is just not interested, but can Emily crack Cordelia’s hard exterior to help her have the perfect wedding?

My favourite thing about this book was the dynamic between Sophie and Cordelia. Cordelia has been through a lot – some of it typical rich girl in the limelight stuff which was a bit cliché but I didn’t dislike it. Also the characters felt a bit on the young side for their age of 30ish. The bond between them develops perfectly throughout the book and I really enjoyed all of their interactions, which were part funny, part emotional. I don’t think Cordelia had ever had real friends before so it was kind of sweet to see her realise what that entailed.

The romance between Sophie and Cordelia’s brother Tom was a small part of the book – it was a little bit insta love and could have had more development, but I generally enjoyed it even if Tom only knew her as Emily. Again, predictable, but the kind of smushy that makes me smile.

Overall I actually had a really good time reading this book despite some of the friendship drama and predictable nature. It made me smile in all the right places and I even got a bit emotional. Definitely a good, fast read if you want a pick-me-up with love and humour.

This is a light and fun read. Sophie makes her living as a professional bridesmaid, one who will help you choose your dress, organise the flowers, placate family, book the venue etc. She pretends to be a friend of the bride and just makes sure her special day is perfect from start to finish.

When she gets asked by Lady Meade to be a secret bridesmaid for the society wedding of the year Sophie is thrilled, this could be the boost her business needs. Unfortunately, the bride-to-be is surly, rude and wants to fire Sophie as soon as she meets her. This could be her most challenging wedding yet.

I also loved the comic element of the interactions between Sophie and her different brides.

I think this is more focused on the girls' friendship, Sophie and Cordelia, than the romance between Sophie and Tom but I didn't mind it as I still enjoyed reading Sophie and Cordelia turned from enemies to best friends.
Although I found this book to be incredibly predictable, I still really enjoyed it. It was a light-hearted "chick-lit" book with some romance sprinkled in. I would recommend it to anyone who wants a quick read and can relate to being a bridesmaid
I would like to thank Hodder and Stoughton and Netgalley for an advance review copy of The Secret bridesmaid in return for an honest review.

Sophie is a professional bridesmaid. Not a wedding planner, a secret bridesmaid. Only she and the bride know that she is being paid to make sure that everything runs smoothly. A fun and light hearted read. Laugh out loud funny. Romantic comedy and friendship. Pure escapism.

I was kindly gifted an electronic ARC of this book from NetGalley. It will be released on the 13th May and you can preorder it here.

Sophie started her own business to help brides in need, however, unlike a wedding planner, she’s not there to help make decisions or encourage brides to do certain things, instead she is a professional bridesmaid. Essentially brides/grooms/families, hire her to pretend she is the brides friend who has been chosen to be a bridesmaid, she then helps the bride with any tasks they need her to do; planning the hen party, arranging photographers, picking out gifts etc. Her business is going well, but when she is hired by the Marchioness to aid her daughter in arranging her marriage, it could be the big break she needs to start attaining more high profile weddings.

There is one problem, Lady Cordelia; the bride, doesn’t want Sophie around. Aware she can’t fire her since her mother actually did the hiring, Cordelia is determined to make Sophie quit and quickly morphs into a bridezilla. Really Sophie didn’t expect anything else as the socialite has a reputation for being a brat, however, it does require her to adapt her usual management skills.

I thought this was a really interesting concept. And to be fair it’s really easy to think ‘the family and friends would surely know that this bridesmaid hasn’t actually been friends with the bride before now.’ However, if I think to my own group of friends, I am the only link between then, they aren’t actually friends with each other so I could totally get away with this idea! It obviously wasn’t totally realistic but it was such a lovely fun, easy read romance. I can actually totally imagine this being adapted into a chick flick!

I gave it 4 out of 5 stars because it was easy to read, loveable, funny at times and overall just a good chick lit. Definitely a good summer read! And who doesn’t love a wedding???

Katy Birchall is a new author for me and I adored The Secret Bridesmaid. It’s funny and heartwarming with all manner of mayhem throughout. I thought it had some great characters and overall was hard to put down. Thank you to NetGalley, Hodder and Stoughton and the author for the chance to review

Sophie Breeze is a professional bridesmaid - or a wedding planner so that brides can have a Pinterest perfect, Instagrammable wedding without admitting that they needed to hire someone to help with the details.

Then, she gets a referral that could make or break her career - she is hired by a Marchioness to plan her daughter's wedding.

A few years ago, Lady Cordelia Swann was an English socialite and London IT Girl when she suddenly disappeared from the front pages of tabloids. Now, she is engaged to a middle-class finance guy from Norfolk and insists on planning her wedding - with zero bridesmaids.

Sophie is welcomed into the Swann family as Lady Cordelia's unknown - so unknown her fiance and brother have never heard of her - friend Emily and no one except Lady Meade and Lady Cordelia are away true identity or role.

While Lady Cordelia's requests get more and more outlandish as she hopes Sophie will quit, her older brother, Tom - a Viscount - is smitten for his sister's "friend."

I so enjoyed this book. The outrageous exploits of Cordelia and Sophie from their tender moments of understanding from the adorable relationship with Tom and even Sophie's relationship with Cordelia's fiance and Lord and Lady Meade is heartwarming. From the beginning, this very media-conscious, insular family lets a relative unknown into their family bubble and Sophie in turn worms her way into their hearts. It's why the third act conflict elicits such a heart-wrenching reaction from everyone.

While Cordelia is a total bridezilla, her behaviour is a symptom of something else; hurt people hurt people. Meanwhile, Sophie uses her job to avoid her own life by pretending to be other people. These young women both need a friend to push them outside of their comfort zones.

I gave the book a 4 rather than a 5 because Cordelia was a bit too bitchy for my liking, and pushing the wedding up by four months to such a tight time frame was cruel to Sophie. I also spent a lot of time wanting to punch Sophie's ex and felt we could have used a lot more Sophie/Tom rather than Sophie/Ex.

All in all, it was a fantastic read, and I will be recommending it to all of my friends who love rom-coms.

Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for an e-ARC of the book.

I’ve been a bridesmaid twice in my life, and to be honest, they were the two most stressful in my life, so why anyone would want to do it for a living is beyond me!!! However, Sophie Breeze loves it…posing as a friend of the bride she goes undercover to make sure that the day goes to plan, averting all problems and making sure that everything runs like clockwork.

When a member of the aristocracy approaches her to act as a bridesmaid for her daughter, former model and IT Girl, Lady Victoria Swann, Sophie knows that this will open more doors for her and is a great career opportunity. However, I didn’t feel comfortable with this – to say that Lady Vicki was a minx is putting it mildly, and the bullying and hateful things that she made Sophie do made me feel really uncomfortable, and I wanted Sophie to grow a backbone and tell her “No”!

Sophie was a likable character but, I felt instead of giving in to every demand, swans walking up the aisle of the church, peacocks above the guests at dinner, and borrowing a tiara owned by the Queen (Really?!) she should have managed the bride’s expectations – I know business is business, but trying to convince Oasis to reform for the reception was just a bit too much for me!!

This was a lovely, pleasant read, with some real laugh out loud moments and if you love being a bridesmaid-this is definitely the book for you!

Sophie is a bridesmaid. Not because she's a friend of the bride but because that's her job.
She helps unobtrusively with the pre-wedding planning and sorts the hen do and assists the bride on the big day. To do this she assumed a fake name and a fake back story so only the bride knows she's not a close friend.

When she is commissioned by the matriarch of a titled family to assist the stroppy daughter it doesn't go to plan.

Although that's it in a nutshell, it's a really funny romp.
I was sold when Sophie exasperatedly emails a t-shirt company for a hen night with "I really …" preceding the ordered text only to get the whole lot as her order!

The bridesmaid is quite likeable, has a decent code of conduct and tries to help rather bring down.

It is said the author has previously only written YA fiction but this seems to be from an d hand.

I really recommend it. It would make a fun film too

Awesome read that I zipped through in a day.

I really enjoyed this book. Some great funny moments. You know books are sometimes promoted as laugh out loud? The you read them, and t is more slight bemusement? Well this is definitely laugh out loud.

Sophie is a professional bridesmaid, and her new client is wealth and part of the British aristocracy. The wedding is going to be big, but the client is not the one who hired her. This makes her demanding, and TBH sometimes quite mean, Sophie though is experienced and brilliant and at her job, and so follows funny stories relating to wedding planning, as well as a little love story to make the reader smile.

It's hard in this genre to be original, but I think this hits the mark well. It provides relatable stories of wedding planning (I loved the hen do story where no-one was reading the messages), whilst also demonstrating the meaning of friendship, trust, and needing support.

It's not quite 5 stars for me, as I thought the swan 'bit' was over the top. However overall a really good read, and perfect for the beach, or of you are looking to get into the Christmas spirit (not often both are relevant to the same book!)

Thanks to Net Galley for providing a free ARC in exchange for an honest review