A mid-level thriller saved by a nice twist at the end…welcome to THE WEDDING PARTY.

Adele and Jason were childhood sweethearts and now they are getting married on the Australia coast with plenty of family and friends in attendance, but Adele is perpetuating a lie and some members of the bridal party are also lying about a death in the group ten years ago. And, seriously, you think THIS is the weekend it needs to come out? When we’ve bought orchids, people? ORCHIDS?!?!

The story is told in alternating POV by Adele, the bride and Melanie, the mother of Ollie, Adele’s former boyfriend who died a decade before. Because nothing says “good times” like mother of dead ex who is still grieving.

This really isn’t trying all that hard and some stuff is never explained. It is really saved by the twist…but it IS saved by the twist, so it was worth reading.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review. Due for release January 2025.

Plot:

Adele and Jason are childhood sweethearts. Their wedding day on the sunny Australian coast is a chance to reunite and celebrate with friends and family.

But Adele isn’t telling the truth about her relationship. And some of the bridal party – still reeling from a tragic death in the group a decade before – hold secrets of their own.

Review:

The story is 3 stars at a push because it has real potential and it’s not written badly. Told in a multi-POV across 3 days before and during the Wedding of Jason and Adele, plus the incident 12 years ago, the author creates a good sense of tension and curiosity for the audience.

The book is at times extremely difficult to follow and also very dramatic, bordering on the slightly ridiculous but an okay read - just not really for me, as I prefer there to be a little more mystery. I think the author has told us a little too much from the beginning to be able to create a suspenseful ending, which is what this book is sorely missing for me.

I think this will appeal to readers who enjoy dramatic thrillers and don’t need a wow ending, as this would be perfect for them.

This book was good. It reminded me of The Guest List by Lucy Foley.

Every character was suspicious and/or hiding something. Anytime there’s an intricate aunt/uncle/grandparent in a book you know that character is going to steal the book. The grandmother in this book was everything.

The ending was so abrupt though I needed more of it. I was literally staring at the last page like “that’s it?!?!?”.

Thank you to NetGalley and Aria/Aries Fiction for access to this ARC.

A beautiful cover sucked me in. The blurb of the book made it sound fun, but it was just too convoluted and not interesting.
I did not like it.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an early access to this novel.

Based on the description, I had higher hopes for the suspense, but this one did not meet my expectations for suspense initially. The story did pick up speed and suspense around chapter 56 though and finished with a bang. It was a thriller, just not super suspenseful.

Unfortunately this one was a no for me and the premise sounded soo good, it took me close to 5 days to read this sucker.

I really don't like writing negative reviews but I want to be totally honest and also acknowledge this may be a winner for someone else.

Quickly in a nutshell this is a melodramatic light thriller filled with MULTIPLE POV's and dual timelines

I felt the pacing was off and it was just too long and just strung us along and lacked suspense and climax, I really felt it could have had potential but this one was another miss and I feel there is better reads out there waiting for you .

Thank you NetGalley, Aria & Aries and Rebecca Heath for this digital ARC in exchange of my honest review.

My Rating - ⭐️⭐️2 Wedding Crasher Stars

Oh vey, a you ever read a book and it was so disappointing that you struggled for words to write your review?

Well that's what's happening here for me with The Wedding Party

This was an epic flop for me and the premise sounded soo good, I thought oh perfect beach read, but it's taken me 5 days to read this sucker.

Once again a beautiful cover sucked me in.

I really don't like writing negative reviews but I want to be totally honest with you y'all and I have been known to be an outlier so this may be a winner for someone else.

Quickly in a nutshell this is a melodramatic light thriller filled with MULTIPLE POV's and dual timelines.

It's Adele's upcoming wedding and everyone is arriving at the cabins, where people from her past have come together to be united once again.

The only problem is one of the guests Ollies mother who can't let go of the past with her son Ollie who died tragically many years ago and Melanie is seeking answers, she wants the truth of what happened that day.... But no one is willing to tell the truth.

While Melanie is seeking answers, Adele is receiving cryptic dark messages and someone is threatening her not to marry Jason, is Adele as perfect as everyone thinks she is, or is she hiding secrets too ?

I felt the pacing was off and too long in the tooth and just strung us along and lacked suspense and climax, I really felt it could have had potential but this one was another miss at the Alter and I feel there is better reads out there waiting for you .

Thank you NetGalley, Aria & Aries and Rebecca Heath for this digital ARC in exchange of my honest review.

Respectfully Another Read by Angie

Three families are reunited in a wedding- a grieving mother, and two childhood friends. Adele and Jason are childhood sweethearts. They choose to wed on the brilliantly sunny Australian coast, inviting the friends and family they grew up with to join them on what is meant to be the most special day of any couple in love's life. There is a tragic death in the friend group, a mother who is still suspicious and reeling from the death of her son, and as always- secrets. What type of thriller would this even be without the promise of tracking down secrets?
Some things I liked: the book moved very quickly- I was very interested in the plot line, and it was written simply enough that it was extremely easy to keep up with the plot, characters, and who was where. Each chapter ended in a cliff hanger of sorts. I loved the town this story took place in, too.
I did not love that some of the plots felt like too much- it could have been a decent story without so many twists and turns added just for the sake of it. Thank you so much to the author and publishing company for the eARC!

Thank you #Netgalley for the advanced copy!

This was an thriller following a couple getting married who both experienced a dark past. This wedding takes place in the small beach town they grew up in with each having different perspectives of that tragic event of the past. Coming back into town brings back feelings, memories and connections to family members they have not seen in 12 years. Who do we really trust? What happened on that night 12 years ago? Why are all these alerts and mishaps happening? Who is responsible?

Australia was a beautiful setting for this book, it came off the page.
Other than that I found this book close to impossible to finish. This was like a soap opera, chaotically told through two timelines that didn’t stop at any point to make sure the reader was holding on,

I wouldn’t recommend this to mystery readers that don’t enjoy a huge amount of drama and family ties.

Just could not get into this
The story wasn’t compelling, the storytelling was confusing and the characters were unlikeable

I really enjoyed this book. It kept me engaged and it only took a few days to read. I think this is going to be a good book club option for several clubs. I plan recommending to my book friends and I look forward to reading more by this author.

This is a dual timeline narration that unfortunately does not have much plot progression in the twelve years between the two. The characters were unlikable for me and some of the drama made me roll my eyes. This was an easily forgettable read.

This book goes back-and-forth between a three day time period leading up to Adele and Jason‘s wedding, and 12 years ago when Adele‘s former boyfriend died. The story centers around how and why Ollie died, his sister Sophie, his mother, Melanie. Sophie and Melanie are both involved in the wedding, Along with Jason and Adele‘s parents. This very much read like a soap opera, if you like a lot of melodrama, this book might be a good one for you. I found a lot of it to be a little unbelievable and at times dragged on and then other times rushed, I really just didn’t like the pacing. There were few likable characters in this novel. That said, it doesn’t take a lot of thought process, and could be good if you need something that is a story to escape into. I would’ve liked to have heard more about the island in Australia, the setting. Again, I don’t want to give away any of the plot points, but there was what I would consider to be an awful lot of extreme drama.

Thanks to NetGalley and Aria Books for the arc. Book to be released January 23, 2025.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this book.

Adele and Jason are getting married. Not everybody is happy about it. From the jealous best man, to the dead ex’s mother. When disaster after disaster plagues their big day, will they make it to the alter.

Told from the present day and 12 years ago, we are trying to figure out the secrets from the past clearly influencing the current situation. I really enjoyed this book. I needed to know what happened to Ollie and why Sophie was so detached. Adele and Jason struck me as no good. I love when a book makes me feel any sort of strong emotional for its characters! Suspense galore in this one, although I can help but feel frustrated at the final sentence!

Thank you to NetGalley and Head of Zeus part of Bloomsbury Publishing for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This title is published on January 23rd, 2025.

'The Wedding Party' was a fairly underwhelming read. It promised plenty; drama, action and an intriguing mystery to unravel. Ultimately, it offered little of the above. The plot progressed between two PoVs and did offer some moments that could have really pushed this title to another level of suspense, but they never materialized. Quite literally. One particular plot point never even took place in the main story; you found out about it later.

This book is a missed opportunity and one I shall quickly forget.

2 out of 5.

I enjoyed reading this book but struggled to keep up with who was who in the beginning. The alternating character views and going back and forth between the past and present didn’t help. Once I finally got the characters down it was enjoyable to read and I enjoyed the rest of the book. The twists and turns kept me guessing the entire time. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC!

Tragedy struck a trio of families one decade ago. Now they are all reuniting for a happy wedding, but not everyone is looking to celebrate, and things will soon take a deadly turn.

Adele and Jason met as kids and their relationship grew from there. Now they are days out from getting married, but Adele and her friends are all hiding something about the terrible night that took place a decade earlier.

Rebecca Heath tells an intriguing tale that reads like watching a Netflix series. Told in the present day and with flashbacks from multiple points of view, clues slowly unravel to reveal what took place that terrible night. It is an entertaining book, though the last third drags a bit and a few plot points are unresolved. This will appeal to readers looking for a fun beach read.

This was an easy read.
The first half was great, but then it slowed down, which for someone that does not mind slow burn, I was shocked It was even slow for me.

Personally the first half makes this worth at least a read, and I'm going to check out another book from this author, as this could be a one off.

Check it out of you like this type of book, because I think it was worth a read, good vacation read by the poolside type book.

Thank you Netgalley, Rebecca Heath and Head of Zeus/Aries Books for the advance ebook.

A group of old friends. A grieving mother. A lying bride.

Adele and Jason are childhood sweethearts. Their wedding day on the sunny Australian coast is a chance to reunite and celebrate with friends and family.

But Adele isn't telling the truth about her relationship. And some of the bridal party – still reeling from a tragic death in the group a decade before – hold secrets of their own.

What happened on the jetty all those years ago was an accident, everyone agrees.

Or do they?

This was a very easy read and I flew through the Book. I'm not a big fan of books told from multiple perspectives and multiple time periods. The book jumped back and forth a bit too much for my liking. The ending seemed lacking to me. It seemed that the author rushed to reveal all the secrets the characters were keeping as well as concluding the book. I would have enjoyed it more if secrets had been revealed as the books progressed. 3 out if 5 ⭐️