Tracy Bloom's new book - The Weekend Before the Wedding - is a laugh-out-loud, face aching from all of the smiling, utter joy to read.

The book veers between Shelley and her 'almost' wedding and Shelley's upcoming wedding - lots of to and fro from past to present - but the writing is so clever - that there is no confusion over the time period.
Shelley wants a quiet hen weekend - but her mum, aunties, and cousin have other ideas. The story primarily plays out in Spain where Shelley and her fiance - are spending their last days (with respective families) as single people - before they get married.
The escapades Shelley and her family get into are both raucous but at times, quite sad - each character has their own story and each character plays a pivotal part in Shelley's weekend.

This is a perfect escape read, wonderfully written too.

A strange book but it was funny in parts. A story of woman called Shelley who finally got her wedding. The book worked backwards. It was cleverly written but just not sure at times. The hen weekend was funny at times and on trend. A lazy Saturday afternoon weekend read. The ending was neat.

The Weekend Before The Wedding
I really liked Tracy’s last book (The Wife Who Got A Life) and with the phrase ‘Mamma Mia meets Bridesmaids’ being thrown around before it’s release, I couldn’t resist this one. Shelley is getting married, at long last. To Colin - the perfect groom on paper. Shelley heads off to her Aunty’s villa in Majorca for her hen do - with her straight laced cousin, her rebellious teenage third cousin, her best friend and her Mum. They make a motley crew. It was such a funny book, the characters were each really fabulous and as the book goes on you learn they all have their own reasons for wanting to escape to the sun. This would make a perfect beach read, such a fun story.

I loved this book, thank you for the advanced copy. I must admit Shelly was a bit weak to start with but as time went on she got stronger and grew into herself. Her hen weekend really made me laugh. A good story line with a great ending

I adore Tracy Bloom books, I always know that my mood will be instantly lifted from a Tracy book. I don’t even need to read the synopsis anymore.

This is entertaining and light hearted. This is a book guaranteed to make you smile. Shelley is a great character and this is told from her perspective.

I love love love the Spice Girls appearance in this one. It was unexpected and fun. This is a book which will easily take you back twenty years. I have loved how fun and light hearted this is.

This is a perfect summer read. It is filled with entertainment and fun. This is a book guaranteed lift the mood of the reader.

I have read most of Bloom’s books and this is a definite favourite. An absolute must for the TBR and a book I will definitely be recommending.

The entertaining novel is principally from Shelley‘s point of view and is mostly set twenty years ago around her hen do in Majorca. It’s a make you smile lighthearted read with really likeable characters.
There are some really amusing situations at this very untypical hen-do though there is an appearance by the ‘Spice Girls’, there’s some karaoke, a foam party and an arrest!
It’s fun escapist reading. Pack this book along with your bikini/swimsuit and take it to the beach, it’s a perfect in the sun novel. Some hearty chuckles and laugh out loud moments
This is novel about being true to yourself, making the best of your life and not relying on other people to make you happy. . I guessed the ending but that didn’t spoil it. The perfect antidote for the blues.

A fun holiday read, with a cast of family members who manage to sort out
their problems with a good dose of wit and wisdom along the way. The expected conclusion is reached and the reader left feeling positive about life and love!
Thank you to netgalley and HarperCollins for an advance copy of this book

I loved this book, I thought it was hilarious and it reminded me of Benidorm, the TV comedy but with mainly women characters. A bit like Benidorm, it’s the family dynamics that makes this book so funny, a multi-generational group of women who are related as well, come together for a hen weekend in Spain, staying at Shelley’s auntie Nancy’s Spanish villa.

The story starts out in the present, getting ready for a wedding that should have happened 20 years ago. And it’s thinking about that fateful hen party that takes the reader back to that time to tell the story of why it all went so horribly wrong.

Shelley is marrying Colin who she met at a wedding. One of the many weddings Shelley has attended over the years, and this time it’s her turn. But Shelley can’t help having doubts. Colin comes from a well off family and Shelley worries sometimes that maybe she’s not good enough.

So the hen party consists of Nancy, auntie of Shelley and sister to Shelley’s mum Peggy. Peggy and Nancy have become somewhat estranged over the years and the antagonism Peggy feels towards her sister plays out most of the way through the weekend. There’s Nancy’s daughter Rosalind, cousin of Shelley and mum to teenage daughter Chloe. There is friction again between both Rosalind and her mum and Rosalind and her daughter. Caught in the middle of it all and just wanting a good time and a break away from her twin babies is Shelley’s best friend Becca. Becca just wants them all to have a good time, especially Shelley since it’s her hen-do.

It’s a funny book, full of hen party type situations, misunderstandings, rows and general conflicts. I thought it was very realistic, when you put a bunch of women together who don’t necessarily see eye to eye on what a good time actually is, it’s a recipe for disaster and I thought it was a wonderful observation by the author of family friction and what happens when people don’t talk to each other. Brilliant, a definite 5 star read I thought.


**Review to be posted to blog in time for paperback publication**

“Her long awaited wedding day. ‘And who are you wearing?’ she said into her bouquet, as if she were being interviewed on the red carpet. ‘Today I’m wearing “happy”,’ she replied to the mirror. ‘It’s my favourite designer.’”

My thanks to HarperCollins Fiction for an invitation via NetGalley to read ‘The Weekend Before the Wedding’ by Tracy Bloom.

While I only read the occasional romantic comedy, Tracy Bloom is an author that I find is always on point and her latest continued the trend.

A few mentions of ‘Four Weddings and a Funeral’ in the opening chapters set the mood for this entertaining novel. It featured an ensemble cast of characters, plenty of comic situations, posh locations, and even a Hugh Grant-like suitor.

It opens in the present day as Shelley is looking at herself in her bridal gown and wonders if she would be feeling so happy if she had got married when she was first supposed to have, nearly twenty years ago. Flashback to 1999 when she attends the wedding of a friend and meets Colin, described as ‘good looking in a fashionable floppy-haired, Hugh Grant kind of way’.

A year later and Shelley is about to embark on a three day hen weekend in Spain. As most of her friends have politely declined, she ends up with a B-list described by the publishers as ‘Golden Girls-meets-the-Spice Girls’.

Aside from her best friend, Becca, there is her mum, Peggy, her cousin, Rosalind, who has her rebellious teenage daughter, Chloe, in tow. They have been invited by her eccentric Aunt Nancy to stay at her villa in Majorca. So something of a family hen party.

Things are chaotic from the start and the antics, especially of Peggy and Nancy, the older members of the group, were laugh out loud funny. Then Shelley receives an anonymous text that casts doubt on her wedding. No spoilers!

‘The Weekend Before the Wedding’ was entertaining and a perfect light summer read with plenty of nostalgia for the heady days of the new millennium.

This book had a really good start and I was hooked, but it did "go off" a bit in the middle third and then pickup again towards the end, it was very strange as I nearly gave up, but glad I didn't in the end.
I did guess the twist!

This is a humorous, lighthearted book which also includes some poignant moments which makes for an enjoyable read.
Shelley is getting married and whilst preparing for the wedding with her family she reminisces about her hen party which was held 20 years earlier but is she marrying the same person?
The hen party takes place in Spain at her aunt’s villla and the guests are a motley assortment of family members and her best friend Becca.
All have their own issues- Becca is happy to get away from her baby twins for the weekend; Peggy, Shelly’s mother, is still mourning her late husband who died many years earlier; Cousin Rosalind and her teenage daughter Chloe do not get on and are constantly bickering and Aunt Nancy just wants everyone to have a good time.
Shelley met Colin at a colleague’s wedding and he seems extremely eligible- wealthy, handsome and kind. When he proposes on the millennium eve she says yes and then the wedding preparations begin.
The final weekend before the marriage is reserved for the Hen party and Colin suggests that her family meet his in Spain too as they have a business meeting to attend nearby.
However things do not get off to a good start. The women all have their own agendas and Shelley is just an afterthought throughout much of the weekend. When she receives a strange text she begins to have doubts about her future plans and egged on by her family she tries to get to the bottom of what is happening.
I loved all the characters in this book, particularly Shelley who has had a difficult life with a mother who seems to be so mired in grief that she has little time for her daughter. There is one particular scene when the group go out on the town in fancy dress which had me laughing out loud! Becca is a caring friend but she has her own problems trying to be a good mother to her babies and her feelings of inadequacy pervade her life, even on holiday in Spain.
The main questions of the novel are who is the bridegroom in the present day and why did he wedding get called off 20 years previously?
This was an enjoyable and fun read which also managed to examine some major life issues such as grief, motherhood and family relationships.
I skipped through it in the course of day and it definitely gave me a feel good factor when I got to the end.
I’ve not read any other books by Tracy Bloom but I shall definitely look out for them in the future.
Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for my advance copy.

The time delay between Shelley's hen weekend and her wedding has to be a record - 20 years! Most of the action in this story takes place on the hen do - not your typical group of young women - 2 pensioners, a cousin, a best friend and a moody teenager. There is so much humour in this well written romp.
But there is also a great deal of serious advice and this adds to the story and would make an excellent reading group discussion as well.
Many thanks to Netgalley/Tracy Bloom/HarperCollins UK for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

I absolutely loved this book and am so grateful to have been able to read an advanced copy. The story dips between two time lines as we follow the story of Shelley, how's she meets her fiance, the hen do and the wedding! This book will be quite relatable for some readers. It's funny, entertaining & a page turner. I definitely recommend reading this one.

Just love Tracy blooms books, and this one didn't disappoint, a great story with some wonderful characters, a real feel good read, whizzed through it as didnt want to put it down

I enjoyed this book - a family plus friends in a range of different relationships none particularly happy.
At the expense of a wedding they sort themselves out in Spain and have a much brighter future to live for

Actual rating 4.5 stars

Perfect poolside reading. That’s what I think of The Weekend Before The Wedding. And I mean that as a compliment. Inside the gorgeous cover you’ll find some wonderful characters all celebrating Shelley’s marriage which has been twenty years in the making! Moments away from taking her vows Shelley is reminiscing about the day in May 1999 when she met her future husband, both of them guests at a wedding being held at Priory Hall, Hampshire. Still single at 38, Shelley is convinced she’ll never be a bride herself when Colin literally stumbles his way into her life, the pair chatting nineteen to the dozen as they consume their bodyweight in bread rolls! The mainstay of this hilarious and heartwarming novel is Shelley’s hen weekend, a few days spent soaking up the Spanish sun as well as hangover inducing amounts of alcohol. It’s an eventful weekend to say the least, memorable for all the wrong reasons! I’m sure the majority of those reading this will have images of the film Four Weddings flashing through their minds which may then quickly morph into images from the tv show Benidorm. What a combination! At least those were the vibes I was getting! The storyline sparkles with silliness, fizzes with mischief and bubbles over with loveliness. All in all it is a glorious giggle!

The storyline may be cheesy and predictable but who cares when you’re in the company of such fabulous characters?? Tracy Bloom triumphs with this cast who shine so bright that in my opinion they tend to overshadow Shelley who just wants to please everyone as well as get down that aisle pronto before the groom has a change of heart.The group dynamic is absolutely delightful as young and old bicker over what constitutes typical hen weekend entertainment. When you can visualise each individual character then you know the author has done a stellar job in breathing life into these figments of her imagination. The oh so sensible Peggy, Shelley’s mum, is the complete opposite of her older sister Nancy who with her mobility scooter (almost a character in its own right) is simply PRICELESS! Despite her age, this geriatric gal just wants to have fun and by golly she steals the show hands down. No contest. I bloomin loved this woman. But I also enjoyed the dynamic between Shelley’s cousin Rosalind and her 18 year old daughter Chloe who are forever at loggerheads whilst the bride to be’s best friend Becca is intent on drowning her sorrows in a bid to forget she’s the world’s worst mother. A real mish mash of personalities but somehow they fit together perfectly, providing Shelley with a weird but wonderful family of loyal supporters.

The dialogue between the hens is full of good hearted banter, a few cruel and nasty jibes, some words of wisdom and a copious amount of love. There are, naturally, several stand out scenes that are off the scale hilarious. You’ll be left with visions of the Spice Girls as you’ve never seen them before!! There’s a great deal of singing, a whole lot of cocktail drinking, a fair bit of gyrating and a modicum of meddling and manipulation, not to mention a run in with the law. It’s always the quiet ones you need to watch but I blame the booze for that particular incident!

I loved every minute of this book. It’s just so joyful. This novel is pure sunshine. It made me smile, it made me laugh, it made me happy and it left me with a warm contented glow. As someone who hasn’t been abroad for a number of years it even made me want to go on holiday! For great summer escapist reading The Weekend Before The Wedding is hard to beat. Highly recommend.

My thanks as always to the publisher HarperCollins and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read in exchange for an honest review.

A very enjoyable read. Shelley is about to get married, so we are transported back 20 years to her hen weekend in Majorca when life changed for everyone there. A great read.

As usual in my reviews, I will not rehash the plot! You'll find plenty of reviews like that out there already...

This is a hugely enjoyable light and fun read, that would be perfect for a holiday or even a rainy day! Parts of it made me laugh out loud.

The characters are very well written, I could picture them - in fact I could imagine the whole book making a fun movie or short tv series. I liked the mix of ages, natures, and the supporting characters were fun (I actually know a guy exactly like Ray, which made me smile all the more!)

The book is partly set in Derbyshire and partly in Spain, which added another dimension to the story.

Looking forward to reading more from this talented, humorous author.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC. All opinions my own.

A lighthearted, enjoyable, if fairly predictable book. Great for reading on your holidays around a pool.
It started quite like Shelley (the bride to be) herself), a little uncertain and awkward times but it soon began to flow once we got into the actual hen party.
An eclectic mix of characters make for some humorous moments that are so well described the reader could almost be there.

A simply delicious read....perfect holiday book! Shelley is the bride on her wedding day thinking back to her hen party 20 yearrs ago! Full of funny, interesting characters and plenty of laughs , hilarious escapades that will make you roar but equally some very touching, warm moments. This was one of those books that I wanted to savour, but it was so good I read it in a couple of sittings!