First of all, thank you boldwood books and netgalley for this pretty arc! The story of Charlie and Sarah is a story of fear, dilemma, confusion and love. Sarah is a widow wedding planner and Charlie is a comedian. Meeting for the first time due to a mutual friend's wedding. Due to some problem with room distribution, they both end up being roommates for a month or so. It was really heart fluttering to see Charlie getting angry because of how Sarah was doing work for everyone instead of enjoying the moment (aaaahhhhhhh) the forced proximity, the care and the slow burn omg it was all so amazing!!! Loved this book so much, thank you Laura Carter for sharing this with us!!

This reminded me a lot of the movie 27 dresses which isn’t a bad thing because I loved that movie. I wasn’t super dedicated to the story but it was still a fun romcom read.

I have a bad habit of not realizing that books are part of series but I've read this series before so it was a pleasant surprise to find Sarah and her friends all gathered for Drew and Jess's wedding and meeting Charlie- an introvert comedian who has a past that makes keeping situations light and funny more appealing than the alternatives. Sarah is having a hard time not remembering her deceased husband while keeping on a happy face for her friends. As a result, both of them are smiling through some tumult and getting angry with each other that they have some dark moments as they navigate the wedding week.
Working through their differences, memories and learned habits makes for a great friendship, one that's complicated by feelings on two continents.

#arc
#netgalley
#alwaysthebridesmaid

I wasn't a fan of this story. I found the lead female character hard to connect to. I found her grief to be to much of the focal point and then used as the excuse to deny feelings she started to have. I think her always reverting back to her grief made me not believe in the love story that formed at the end. I felt these characters could have been more believable if Sarah was progressing to let her grieve heal but it never seemed she tried to do that except for the last 10 or so pages. It just wasn't my type of story.

Always the Bridesmaid is Laura Carter’s final book in her Brits in Manhattan series, although this story is primarily set in England. It’s an opposites-attract forced-proximity romance told in dual POV, with most chapters told from the female POV. The books should be read in order of publication since the characters are introduced previously.

Sarah was introduced in the first book, The Law of Attraction, as hotshot attorney Drew Harrington’s loyal friend and trusted legal secretary. He fell in love with beautiful baker Becky Fletcher. Then in Two to Tango, Drew’s best friend Brooks falls for his business rival, Izzy. Next, Drew’s younger brother, Jake, who is working in London becomes romantically entangled with his roommate, Jess, in Friends with Benefits. Now the friends and family are traveling to England for Jake and Jess’ wedding, with Sarah serving as both the wedding planner and the Matron of Honor. Sarah was with her first husband for four years before his untimely death. She’s been widowed for eight years now and really has no interest in dating because she doesn’t think any man will measure up to her late husband.

Charlie is an introverted comedian who is finally making a name for himself in clubs after performing routines for nine years. He still vomits from nervousness before performances and must consume alcohol in order to get onstage. When he’s offstage he prefers a solitary existence. He was raised in foster care and has a prickly personality when he’s not deliberately trying to be charming.

As soon as Sarah arrives in London, she is paired up with Charlie because he’s the only other unattached person in the wedding party. He is tasked with picking her up from the airport and driving her to the estate where the wedding party is staying. She is extra cranky because she didn’t sleep on the plane and he is a terrible driver. He tries telling jokes but his British humor falls flat. When they arrive at the estate, Jess informs them that a drunken Jake invited a pair of gay friends to serve as ushers, so they will be also staying at the estate and Charlie is being moved to Sarah’s room. This makes absolutely no sense! Brooks’ college-age daughter, Cady, has a small room with a single bed and is friendly with Sarah. The logical thing would have been to move Cady to Sarah’s room and re-assign Cady’s smaller room to Charlie.

Sarah and Charlie start off on the wrong foot with each other and it takes a few days for them to see good things in the other person. They are constantly pushed together by their friends. When they do fall for each other, Sarah has a hard time with her residual feelings for her late husband. She’s been stuck in a rut for a long time and she doesn’t know how to break out of it.

I looked forward to reading Always the Bridesmaid because Sarah is the character that I most identify with from the Brits in Manhattan series. However the phrasing was awkward which made the story difficult to read. I have read many books written by British authors over the years, so I don’t think that is the problem. As I described in the summary, some of the plot points just don’t make logical sense. The premise of the story is excellent, but the writing feels rushed. I believe this story needs additional editing prior to publication.

I received an advance review copy (ARC) from NetGalley and Boldwood Books for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I struggled to finish this book. I couldn't engage well with the characters and the MMC was just annoying. Almost DNFed.

Always the Bridesmaid was a pleasant enough novel but it wasn’t really for me. The plot was quite predictable and I couldn’t really warm to any of the characters. I did want to finish it though so would give it three stars. Thank you to NetGalley, Boldwood Books and the author for the chance to review.

"Always the Bridesmaid" is a cheeky and heartwarming romcom The story revolves around two unlikely characters, Charlie and Sarah, who find themselves thrown together during a pre-wedding holiday house stay. Charlie, a quick-witted comedian, thrives on making people laugh in the bustling comedy clubs of London. However, his world takes an unexpected turn when he's tasked with delivering wedding speeches instead of his usual comedic routines.

On the other hand, Sarah, a widow, is determined to make her best friend's wedding week absolutely perfect. Despite her own emotional struggles, she keeps her focus on ensuring the wedding celebrations go off without a hitch. Little does she know that her friends are attempting to set her up with Charlie, who she perceives as grumpy and surly.

As fate would have it, a mix-up leads to more people staying in the pre-wedding holiday house than Sarah had originally planned for. This results in Sarah and Charlie spending an unexpected amount of time together. If they can let their guards down, they might discover that they have more in common than they initially thought.

It is a delightful story about love, laughter, and unexpected connections that can blossom in the most surprising of circumstances. Laura Carter weaves humour and heart into a narrative that will leave you with a smile on your face and warmth in your heart. It's a romantic comedy that reminds us that sometimes, love can sneak up on you when you least expect it.

A beautiful and exciting story! I loved the characters and was rooting for them the whole time. A must read!

Cute, frothy, and fun, this book was right what I needed after a stress week at work. Charlie and Sarah are excellent characters, and the enemies to lovers story line was hopefully and life giving. Just the escape I needed!

This was a rough read. I was drawn to this book because it sounded cute and I loved the cover! But the book was written like a Wattpad story. It felt like it was a new author with their first book. The characters weren’t likable at all, they were more annoying than anything. I struggled to like this book but it was not for me.

I received this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher. I am leaving this review completely voluntarily.

I love the cover of this book. For that reason alone - I did not even read the blurb - I requested it from NetGalley.

I liked Sarah from the beginning, though I found her a bit crass about her friends’ sex lives.

Charlie, however, what a tosser. He’s a comedian, but not remotely funny. And unlike what he claims, that’s not a geographical thing. It might be a chronological thing (there might have been a time when his jokes were funny).

Charlie is asked to pick up Sarah from the airport and he gets the feeling from Sarah’s friends that they would be like pitbulls if he tried anything untoward with her. “The thing is,” his narrative voice says, “when people tell me not to do something, I am generally inclined to pursue that very thing.”

Except that he isn’t. While driving from the airport to the house where the wedding party is staying - he and Sarah alone in the car - he asks her two questions and spends the rest of the trip keeping the car on the road. Major missed opportunity there.

At the house it turns out there are a few last minute additions to the wedding party, and Charlie and Sarah are asked to share a room.

Sigh. I don’t like the surprise-there-is-only-one-room plot lines, and Sarah is starting to find Charlie even more tiresome than I do. I don’t have high hopes for this romance. After walking in a Charlie taking a bath and seeing his man-piece (her words) Sarah muses that she would be bunking with Cady if Cady didn’t have the smallest room. What? Why isn’t she sharing with Cady? In the large room Sarah is now sharing with Charlie. Let Charlie have the smallest room.

I couldn’t continue after that. Sarah is always there for her friends (serving them drinks, snacks, organising the house for the wedding party, picking up a costume) and her friends in return respect her so little, that they put her in a room with a man she has barely met and a bathroom that has no door, so she has no privacy.

Based on a cover I was hoping the two characters would bond over “weddings suck when you’re single, people are always trying to set you up with someone”. But I don’t think Sarah is going to let her hair down like the woman on the cover (though I was for her to do so). She’s in her thirties going on 56.

I just don’t think it’s going to happen.

I didn't realise this was the fourth book in the series until I started reading. The book opens with a group of girlfriends who have obviously come together in previous books. There's a bit of a round up of who is with who while they discuss going over to the UK for a wedding. If you want to read this book, it might be a good idea to read the previous books in the series.

So we meet Sarah first, as she and her friends plan their trip to UK for another friend's wedding. We then meet Charlie, the Dad-bod hero.

While I can see what draws these two people together, I did not feel particularly drawn to them.

Sarah's internal dialogue is very self-deprecating and, while I can relate to it to a certain degree, I found it a little off-putting at times. I didn't really find Charlie that interesting, either.

The writing style was not for me either, but if you are into forced proximity romance, you might like to try it.

Thanks to Netgalley and Boldwood Books for an ARC of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This is a sweet, funny, story of two people who definitely aren't looking for love but end up finding it anyway.

Charlie is a bolshy British comedian and Sarah is a glamorous legal secretary from New York. When Sarah flies to London for her friend's wedding, she and Charlie spend a very memorable week together.

It's bittersweet and funny, with plenty of laughs and poignant moments.

Having read the other books in the Brits in Manhattan series, this follows a similar theme - a fast paced romantic comedy, following Sarah - who has made an appearance in previous books.

'And every negative thought I have experienced over the last four hours disappears with one look, one smile, one good morning from Charlie'.

Sarah is the Matron of Honour for the bride, travelling across from the US to the UK. She lost her husband eight years prior, and is not looking for anything romantic with anyone. That might have been the case, until she meets the parties' mutual friend, Charlie.

It's a mutual dislike of each other at first, Charlie thinks that Sarah is too much of a people pleaser, Sarah thinks Charlie is rude - match made in heaven. That is until they spend one on one time together, realising there may actually be feelings there.

𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀
I liked how this one was an American woman meeting a British boy - the others have been the opposite way around. This is a really slow burn romance, but was adorable when Charlie and Sarah eventually realised their feelings. I loved their adventures across London together, their flirty banter along the way, and of course - the British sayings.

'Take ten steps forward, two to the right, and Bob's your uncle'.... 'Who the hell is Bob?'

I also loved seeing the characters from the previous books, seeing how they're getting on with life together. You don't need to read the others in the series, but to recognise names from the previous books - then I recommend reading them first.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for this copy. This review is voluntary.

I'll start by admitting, I did not realize this was the fourth book in a series, and maybe I would have liked it more if I had read the other three. However, I was a bit underwhelmed by this book. It was a quick, cute read, and I am not regretting reading it, but I'm not sure I'll be buying a physical copy.

Absolutely loved this book!

The authors writing style is amazing!

I look forward to reading more from them!

i am not really sure this was the book for me, i didn’t like the writing stole of it and the story was not really that interesting

Just a good one.
Read it in one sitting. Four stars read.
I deeply enjoyed it.
Thanks to netgalley for this book

This book was a delightful read.
I do wish I’d read the other books in the series first, as there are a lot of characters that do nothing in the story and are clearly just there to pay homage to the rest of the series. I would have understood the book better if I’d read the others first, but that’s on me.
Charlie and Sarah were likable enough protagonists. They occasionally got annoying (Sarah, sweetie, it’s been eight years. Stop whining about Danny) but I found myself rooting for their relationship.
With that said, there was no spice, no steam, no nothing. This book had a huge slow burn buildup with absolutely no payoff, which was disappointing. If you’re going to keep your romance clean, you’ve gotta find some other way to make the slow burn pay off, otherwise it feels deeply unsatisfying, as it does here.
Still, I’d read more from this author and this series because it was just something light and unserious, and it was fun. That’s all I really need to enjoy a romance.
Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!