This story was like wanting an entree for dinner and getting a salad. You get to eat and enjoy it but ultimately it isn’t filling. The set up is cute. Eric offers Meli (Amelia) $10K to be a bridesmaid to his ultra shy fiancee Hannah. Meli even manages to get her best friend in on the set up. At worst thinking they will get to enjoy a paycheck and a week in the Caribbean. Hannah is super sweet but has a hard time speaking up especially in large groups. There are only a couple of chances to meet and get to know the bride and the others of the hired wedding party before the wedding trip. The pacing, already quick, jumps into high gear once on the island. And it is up to Hannah to decide if she can defy her parents and back out of the wedding.

At a little over 200 pages this is a short novel and easy to read. The writing makes the main characters seem younger than college graduates with several years of work experience. Eric is such an obviously a villain it made me wonder why Hannah said yes to him to begin with. And after waiting for something to happen I was disappointed that it fades to black. Overall the story is happy but feels superficial and light. I didn’t invest in the characters or their feelings.

I can see the author has another book coming out soon and I would read her again.

This is a debut novel by Donnell and I really wanted to like it, but I had a hard time getting into the story. Unfortunately, that never changed even though I read the book until the end, despite wanting to quit several times.

Meli is an actor and loves what she does. She is hired to be a fake bridesmaid for a woman she's never met. hired by the woman's fiancé, Eric. Not a bad gig in Meli's mind as the wedding will be on a private island, but Meli develops a crush on Hannah, but believes it will never happen and resigns herself to being a good bridesmaid for a woman she's come to care for a great deal.

Hannah is very shy and is awkward in social situations. She tends to go along with what everyone else wants and defers to Eric constantly, which was very annoying. She like Meli, but believes Meli doesn't feel the same and knows her parents wouldn't be happy if she didn't go through with the wedding and got involved with a woman.

I hated Eric, he was the perfect bad guy, but I didn't like either of the main characters either. I honestly liked Jen more, who was a secondary character. Their relationship wasn't very believable and they didn't talk. It moved too quickly after the fact and their was no chemistry.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Only a Bridesmaid was a good first novel for the author. It is a super sweet novel of a bride that is not good socially and feels that she has to get married to meet her parent's expectations. Her husband-to-be takes matters into his own hands and hires a group of women to be her bridesmaids, one of which ends up being attracted to the bride.

I found the first 3/4 of the book to be very enjoyable and kept me very engaged. The last 1/4 of the book felt like it was dragging. The main part of the story had been completed by that point and all that was left was the happy ending, which took a while to get to. In my personal opinion, if that portion had come to a conclusion a lot sooner, it would have been a much better story.

All in all, it was an enjoyable read.

This unfortunately was not the book that I expected to read based on the description. I could not connect to the characters and some seemed to be exaggerated versions of what they should have been, With the interesting description of a fake bridesmaid who connects with the bride on a Caribbean island, this could have been such a wonderful read. 2 stars

I received an ARC from Bold Strokes Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

It sounded like an interesting story. Actress gets paid to be a fake bridesmaid (I have read a similar story and liked it) I had a feeling we’re it was going to go and thought, this will be interesting to see how it plays out.

The beginning was going ok and then, well it just became a very unbelievable storyline with one dimensional characters. The pacing went from slow to warp speed. There were so many plot holes I got very frustrated with the characters and the story in general. Nice idea but badly written. Perhaps a few more drafts of this story will help make this story work and for the reader to believe in the characters love story. As it is now, it just left me feeling nothing for the characters.

Light hearted lesbian romance. Hannah socially awkward and less sure of herself and Meli helps her with that. I liked Hannah and Meli as well as a couple of supporting characters.
I seen the plot of Eric and the other bridesmaid coming a mile away, which is okay.

This is an adorable, quick read. Not always is a book that’s mind bending or NSFW needed to be enjoyable.

I’m a big fine of this publisher so I’ll be sure to look out for Haleys next book.

This has been one of the sweetest romance novels I’ve read in a while. It is a fun and kind of unusual story with very sweet main characters and fade to black “spicy” scenes which many romance readers don’t like but I appreciate.

This story feels fresh and it’s very entertaining, I read it in a couple of sittings. I would have loved to spend more time with these characters after they got to the island for the wedding, I feel like this part was a bit too rushed, but I loved the story anyway.

I look forward to Haley Donnell’s next novel, hopefully the story will be as sweet as this one.

3.5 Stars
There are moments I loved and moments I wanted to stop reading all together, but in the end I'm glad I read this book and finished it!

Spice level: 2x fade to black scenes

Flag: This is a dual POV story, with each chapter switching off, but you're not told whose POV you're reading. I was confused at first as there was no indication it was switching, but then you get into it.

My thoughts:
While I struggle a lot with anxiety and social situations, I don't to the level Hannah does. She's unable to order juice at a restaurant. It's not my place to judge anyone else's experiences, so I won't. My only comment is at some moments it almost felt too childish. Her reaction to event like how a child would react or she needed to be treated by Meli, like a child. It felt almost condescending. Meli was incredibly and patient handling Hannah's anxiety and never pressured her which was just nice to experience but she was little too "holier than now" at points.

Eric is the world and so are Hannah's parents - just the worst.

This is a story that starts slower (thought he feelings are instantaneous) and then moves incredibly fast. The ending is somehow both detailed and too quick/fast.

THE BEST: Hannah's story arc is fantastic. I could feel her becoming more comfortable with Meli which was very impressive to get down on paper and make it so tangible. You truly are brought into the emotions and feelings of both characters. All in all, this was a story of love and courage. If you're looking for a short/fast read, this is a good choice.

An entertaining story. Hannah, the bride to be, is very shy and finds it extremely difficult to make friends or talk to people she doesn't know. As a result she has no one to ask to be her bridesmaids. Her fiancé hires bridesmaids for the wedding. One of whom is Meli. Meli takes a liking to Hannah and tries to help her. Especially since the fiancé is definitely a jerk. This is how Meli helps Hannah realise her own potential and discover what she really wants.

It’s the strangest job that actress Meli has ever been offered—posing as a bridesmaid for an apparently friendless woman at her upcoming Caribbean wedding. Then she meets the shy bride-to-be, Hannah, and feels an instant connection that makes her put her doubts aside. She’s not only doing this because Hannah is gorgeous, even though she really is. Too bad she’s straight.

Hannah is ten steps beyond shy. Even connecting with her fiancé is difficult, despite how badly her religious parents want her to marry. But something about Meli makes her feel safe. A close encounter with Meli at the bachelorette party leaves Hannah shivery and warm, and wondering if she’s making a mistake by getting married. To chase her real happily-ever-after, Hannah has to not only defy expectations she’s conformed to all her life, but also risk her heart getting broken and find the words—and the courage—to be her true self.

As much as I wanted to enjoy this, it fell a little flat for me. More spice would have made this a bit better, but I felt like many of the characters weren't fully developed, and the ending felt really rushed. It wasn't bad, but it was forgettable. It was a nice evening read and I don't regret reading it. 😂

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced digital reader's copy (ARC) in exchange for an honest review!

Haley Donnell's Only a Bridesmaid is an enjoyable, light, and quite short read. It’s an opposites attract story, in that one girl is outgoing and gregarious while the other is painfully shy in social situations. I enjoyed the dichotomy between the two characters, which clearly shows how well they might work as a couple by complementing each other’s personalities and skills, even if socially awkward Hannah could perhaps be a little more fleshed out. What’s here is all fun and definitely an enjoyable read. But at only a shade over 200 pages, there was room for more character development, especially with Hannah, and another scene or two because this felt a little bit insta-love, although Ms. Donnell does show us why and how Meli and Hannah are quickly drawn to each other.

So what is here definitely does work, and I tend to think that if I’m complaining about length and the opportunities for a little bit more development, that’s because I’ve enjoyed the book, and that’s the case here.

If you’ve got an afternoon to spend curled up or if you’re on a journey of a few hours, then I recommend picking up Only a Bridesmaid.

Thank you to the author and the publisher, BSB, and to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

I was really excited by the concept of this book, however it was an unfortunate let down. It did not feel like the characters were fully fleshed out and the plot had many issues on believability. I also was hoping for more open door scenes rather than the fade to black.

The book has its up and downs in terms of storytelling. Overall it has a cute premise and some of the characters are enjoyable. The storyline feels as if it needs to be flushed out a little more, especially with the end chapters seeming rushed in a way. This story has lots of potential and I do believe the author has a good book that can soar with a few more edits and working of the storyline.

I received this book free of charge via NetGalley.

The idea of the book good but I never really got in the book nor liked the characters. On top of that despite the one bed trope all love scenes were fade to black which was a big disappointment in my eyes.

This could have been a 4 but unfortunately things became really rushed once we got to the island for the wedding. I do believe that Eric is the biggest dick ever!!

I feel that if the author and editing team sit down and work through things (things like flushing the story out completely and fixing the pacing) then this has the potential to be a decent book.

Thank you Netgalley for the arc!!

Cute at times, but final chapters were so unrealistic that it dropped my rating. I thought Meli and Hannah were both cute, and I enjoyed their friendship. I was even on board with their immediate attraction, but Hannah's awkwardness was repetitive as was Meli's constant rescuing - speaking to waiters for her, for example. The complete villainy of the fiance and Hannah's parents made them into unbelievable caricatures. Overall, it's a decent debut novel, and the author has promise. I'd read more by her, but this isn't a book I would reread.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

This novel was like a hallmark movie rom-com; it was fun, cute, and heartwarming at times, while also being fairly underwhelming and forgettable. This was romance novel comfort food. The plot is straightforward with no surprises (which can be entirely fine!) and follows a well-work route from start to finish. There is zero confusion about what characters your supposed to like and who you are supposed to hate. I enjoyed reading this novel and I am glad that I did. I won’t be revisiting it in the future or recommending it though. 3-stars rounded down.

Spoilers Below:
Highlights:
-I genuinely liked the characters, both main and side (except Hannah’s parents and the fiancée). The main characters had clear voices and I liked their dynamic together. Hannah was a delightful character who had a lot of nuances and was deeper than initially appeared. I liked how neither MC was a standard stock caricature; Hannah may not have communicated well but she wasn’t the standard shy or socially awkward character.
-The MC’s are sweet together. I enjoyed reading their scenes as they bonded and got comfortable with each other. Their personalities worked perfectly.
-I liked the fake-bridesmaid premise and I think it could be a lot of fun. This novel didn’t take full advantage of the opportunities provided, but it was still neat.

Nitpicks and Complaints:
-The fiancée. He was so over-the-top bad it was cringe. He was so awful, and obviously awful, that it was Disney-villain unrealistic. This gave clear vibes of when an author makes the current partner really awful in order to make the new person look better (and make the reader not feel bad for the antagonist) and that is a very cliché approach that I am tired of.
-A lot of elements were weak/unrealistic or full of holes. The fake bridesmaid plans were poorly executed even if we accept the premise. The fiancée being utterly terrible and having his own motivations explained some parts of it, but the whole thing still didn’t really work. Hannah was also far too smart and clever to have not realized how awful he was, even if she was in a lot of denial.
-The instalove relationship. It wasn’t really based on much and it progressed incredibly quickly for the number of interactions that the characters had. This plotline worked but if keeping the story the same, they should have ended the novel starting up a relationship and not declaring their love for each other. This novel (as written) should have been more focused on Hannah leaving her bad relationship and figuring out her true priorities, with the new relationship being the cherry on top instead of the main point.
-The ending felt rather unfinished and unresolved. What happened after that last scene, but before the epilogue? Things with Hannan’s family, the wedding, the fiancée, were all left hanging for the most part. They would have interacted again before going home (and then after that?) and I was interested in seeing those scenes play out.
-Harry Potter? It’s strange to see an author acknowledge in the text that its problematic but then also choose to include and mention it so frequently. I wouldn’t have expected both to be present. They could have picked literally any other topic to bond over.
-Basically closed door spicy scenes was a disappointment to me, but everyone has different tastes!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

though this book is the first published for this author it has potential.....
its a light hearted read but at times some of the characters are just plain horrible....
i think for this book is aimed at the younger generation

not bad for a first attempt

**Minor Spoilers Ahead - TW: JK Rowling**

I have kinda mixed feelings about this one, It is a nice quick cute read and the characters were enjoyable but I think the relationship lacked a bit of chemistry for me. They made cute friends but the relationship did escalate very quickly which I know is a peak lesbian thing but still in a book you want a little more zest. The plot with Eric and her parents also felt a bit unresolved with the way it jumped from the Island to the epilogue.

I also have to say the constant Harry Potter references were a bit of an eye-roll for me. I'm not automatically a hater of anything that mentions the series but idk it was brought up a few times, despite it being acknowledged on page that JK is problematic. Like why not just pick any other media for them to bond over? idk in a queer book, I just kinda expect a little more than that. Even Meli, a lesbian woman of colour walking around in HP merch was a bit funky like if anything HP is something you enjoy in private but not advertise lest it is read as support for holocaust denying terf.

Thank you to Netgally and Bold Strokes Books, Inc. for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

A quick read that has an interesting premise. It’s sweet and simple. Sure, it has gaps here and there, but all in all a decent debut for this author.
Free ARC via NetGalley.