I felt that this book wasn’t a thriller but more of a mystery. The pacing was a bit off and the story was a bit boring.

A mind-blowingly dark thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat, Nina Manning’s The Bridesmaid is so addictive, you won’t get any sleep until you reach the final page.

Sasha and Caitlin had met as children and became fast friends. The girls might have grown up and got older, but their friendship changed and matured along with them. There is absolutely nothing that Sasha will not do for her confident, beautiful and wealthy friend Caitlin. Her friend’s happiness is of paramount importance to Sasha and she would move mountains for her childhood companion, who means the world to her. When Caitlin announces that she’s getting married, there is absolutely no question as to who will be her bridesmaid. Sasha is absolutely thrilled for her friend and she vows that she will do absolutely anything to ensure that Caitlin’s wedding day is absolutely perfect. But will this wedding end up driving a wedge between these old friends?

Sasha is doing whatever she possibly can to make sure that Caitlin’s wedding day goes off without a hitch. But nothing she does seems to satisfy Caitlin. Their friendship used to be rock-solid, but cracks soon begin to show and the chasm between the two women grows larger and larger with each passing day. Sasha and Caitlin had once been bound by powerful secrets, but will those secrets end up tearing them apart for good? Can they find a way to repair their friendship? Or will these two women end up wrenched apart for good in the most unexpected and shocking of ways?

A chilling, creepy and claustrophobic thriller that will have you wondering just how well you know your best friends, The Bridesmaid is a tense rollercoaster ride with so many twists and turns your jaw will end up taking permanent residency on the floor.

Nina Manning certainly knows how to grab her readers’ attention and keep them completely and utterly riveted to the page and in The Bridesmaid she has penned a stellar thriller readers will thoroughly enjoy.

Loved this book , first book by this author was such a dark and twisty read ,would definitely recommend

This was my first time reading a Nina Manning book and I think it was a good starting place!

Sasha moves to the grand estate of Saxby Hall with her parents where they have recently been employed. Not long after moving in Sasha meets Caitlin, the privileged, wealthy, and mercurial daughter of the Clemonte family. The pair become fast friends and Sasha finds herself doing anything to maintain her friendship with Caitlin and to keep her happy. Fast forward about twenty years and Sasha, still the supportive friend, is meticulously planning Caitlin’s wedding to their childhood friend Chuck. As the wedding approaches, things start veering off course.

The story is told from Sasha’s perspective during two timelines: when the girls are teens; and later, in their thirties. The chapters are short, which makes it easy to keep flipping the pages.

This was a solid thriller, a bit slow at times, but one that I was still compelled to stay up late reading. I don’t know how I feel about the ending. I guess I was hoping for something more explosive to the tension that had been building. It did resolve things nicely, so there’s that. And it certainly changed my perception of some of the characters!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me this book to review

I felt this book was really good and a different take on the view of the brides maid which I really enjoyed

Well, I’m glad that’s over - what a dull book. All the way through, it felt like we were constantly building up to something exciting and then it just never came. The twists weren’t really twists to be honest. Whilst I never guessed what was going to happen, nothing ever really surprised me. I don’t think I’ll be reading another book by Nina.

This was my first book by this author, It was pretty enjoyable. I would give this book a 3.5 star rating! It was a pretty Quick and easy read!

This book was sent to me as an ARC on NetGalley. However all opinions are of my own.
Unfortunately I didn’t enjoy this one as much as I thought I would..
i just couldn’t seem to gel with it

I didn’t know too much about it because I prefer it that way, but I was hooked right from the first page, through until the very last! One to definitely add to your TBR.

Thanks to NetGalley for my gifted copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
DNF @25%. Sorry, I just couldn’t get into it.

The Bridesmaid is a fantastic novel that moves between the present day and the past when Sasha and Caitlin meet as children and develop a friendship that lasts into adulthood.
Caitlin comes from a wealthy family and spends the school holidays at her grandmother’s country estate where Sasha’s parents work. Their toxic relationship is controlled by Caitlin and when Sasha discovers a family secret, she vows to get her revenge on her ‘friend’.
I really enjoyed this novel and found the characters to be believable and the storyline gripping. I wasn’t blown away by the ending, but the pace was good and I would recommend the novel.

This is a book about secrets between 2 best friends. The book is told by Sasha in 2 different timelines. It involves a wedding and two best friends. The ending was different not what I expected . It was slow at times but it still had me turning the pages.

This was a fun read where it was more of a easy-breezy kinda chick lit with mystery and drama in it. The writing was smooth, I could finish it in mere hours. So I would put it as entertaining

I loved how the book would jump from childhood to adulthood. I was honestly expecting something bigger for the end. I feel the build up and the reveal was disappointing but i did love the book

ALwsays the bridesmaid never the bride - a story of an unequal friendship and dark secrets.

Set in Dorset over multiple timelines. I like the characters Caitlinia an unbalanced, narcissist, and just so damn mean. AS with any good htriller - there are secrets and lies a plenty. When Sasha uncovers one secret there’s a shift in the balance of power in her favour but the toxic relationship has skewed her understamding of this . I loved the tantalising uncovery of the why behind the toxicity.

An enjoyable if not memoerable thriller that started slow but gathered pace thorughout.

When Caitlin announces that she’s getting married, Sasha is the choice of Bridesmaid. However, secrets that have been buried for years are just bubbling below the surface and Sasha doesn’t know how much longer she can keep things to herself.

When I read the blurb for this novel, it sounded right up my street and I couldn’t wait to get started. It is a slow burner to begin with. I think this sort of start adds to the tension and pulls you right in.

Caitlin and Sasha’s relationship was one I found both fascinating and frustrating in equal measure. They are a good example of how two people, who wouldn’t have chosen each other otherwise, are thrown together as friends simply because they were in the same place at the same time. Even though they are supposed to be friends, social status, class and background play huge parts, even when they reach adulthood.

The book is set in the months leading up to the wedding and also, through a series of flashbacks, detailing the girl’s childhood. Although it does jump around, I really liked how it was structured. It all added to the tension that is not only building in the plot but between the characters. I kept saying to myself ‘one more chapter’ and this led to me reading into the early hours. I needed and wanted to know what happened.

I really liked the fact that part of the novel was based in Dorset. Being from that county, I could really imagine myself in this novel. Saxby House is described so well that it almost becomes its own character and it really built the suspense.

There is not much else I can say without spoiling the story and I really hope you give this novel a read.

The Bridesmaid is a compelling, intriguing psychological thriller that really gets under your skin. I loved it.

Thank you to Boldwood Books, Netgalley and Nina for the review copy in exchange for an honest review.

I think I'd go with 3.5 stars based on the fact that this was a compelling read that kept me wondering what the heck was going on. I expected more of a thriller and what I got was a study in some very dysfunctional relationships. And it all wrapped up a way that I found somewhat disappointing and deflating. When you go in with a mindset that you are reading a thriller, some of the things that happen make your spine tingle. There is quite a bit of misdirection attempted by the author, but I quickly realized that what I was being shown was what I was intended to see and not what was really happening. All in all, I think if you don't go in with a preconceived notion of what genre this story fits in, you will enjoy yourself.

I haven't read much by Ms Manning before, so didn't know what to expect. What I didn't expect was to be gripped by this book and finishing it in one go! It was very well written and I will read some more by her in future.

This book was a page turner from beginning to end. Your best friend is sometimes not always what you remember growing up. When bridesmaids seem like natural choices and then turn into nightmares… I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I enjoyed this book, which was not really a thriller, but was more of a mystery book. I found it a bit slow to begin with, but the second half of the book was more exciting.

The story is about a woman called Sasha who is friends with Caitlin. They grew up together, as Sasha's parents worked for Caitlin's parents at Saxby House, a wealthy mansion. Caitlin is now getting married and Sasha will be her bridesmaid, but what will happen on the wedding day? The book is full of secrets, suspense, twists and turns, which kept me guessing.

I loved the flashbacks to the girls past, when they were teenagers and I loved the setting of Saxby House, as it reminded me of an Agatha Christie novel. Overall, it is a good book and it is enjoyable, but it is not my favourite work from this author.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.