5 Reasons To Read ‘The Secret Bridesmaid’ by Katy Birchall

Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and the author for the advanced reader’s copy of The Secret Bridesmaid in exchange for my honest review.

• Title: The Secret Bridesmaid
• Author: Katy Birchall
• Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
• Pub. date: 4 May 2021
• Series: none
• Pages: 320
• Genres: adult fiction, chick-lit, contemporary, romance, humour

Matrimony meets mayhem in a modern British romcom about a young woman charged with pulling off the biggest aristocratic wedding of the year––and the misadventures that ensue.

Sophie Breeze is a brilliant bridesmaid. So brilliant, in fact, that she’s made it her full-time job.

As a professional bridesmaid, Sophie is hired by London brides to be their right-hand woman, posing as a friend but working behind the scenes to help plan the perfect wedding and ensure their big day goes off without a hitch. When she’s hired by Lady Victoria Swann––a former model and “It Girl” of 1970’s London; now the Marchioness of Meade––for the society wedding of the year, it should be a chance for Sophie to prove just how talented she is.

Of course, it’s not ideal that the bride, Lady Victoria’s daughter, Cordelia, is an absolute diva and determined to make Sophie’s life a nightmare. It’s also a bit inconvenient that Sophie finds herself drawn to Cordelia’s posh older brother, who is absolutely off limits. But when a rival society wedding is announced for the very same day, things start to get…well, complicated.

Can Sophie pull off the biggest challenge of her career––execute a high-profile gala for four hundred and fifty guests in record time, win over a reluctant bride, and catch the eye of handsome Lord Swann––all while keeping her true identity a secret, and her dignity intact?

Heartwarming and hilarious, The Secret Bridesmaid celebrates the joys (and foibles) of weddings, the nuances of female friendship, and the redeeming power of love in its many unexpected forms.

I saw this cover and I thought “My God, that’s pretty!” Then I read the blurb and I. Was. Sold! Did I just heart “British rom-com”? “The society wedding of the year” and wedding drama? This is starting to sound too good! But no, wait! A “professional bridesmaid”? Oh my God, sign me up because this is everything my chick-lit heart craves for!

The story is pretty straightforward. We have Sophie, a professional bridesmaid who is damn good at her job, and her opportunity of a lifetime in the form of the biggest wedding in British high society. But see, Sophie gets hired by the bride’s mom, not the bride, and this diva bride is dead-set on managing her wedding, no matter how crazy things get. Then there is the fact that Sophie is working under a secret identity (all part of being a professional bridesmaid), pretending to be the bride’s friend. But now Sophie is attracted to the hot brother of the bride! Forbidden love, much? The story follows Sophie’s HILARIOUS wedding shenanigans as she navigates through the toughest wedding she had orchestrated her whole life!

I loved this book so much that I read it in less than 24 hours! That’s roughly 320 pages in a matter of hours, and my normal quota is maybe 100 pages a day since I have to balance life, blogging, studying and everything else in a since day.

In my opinion, this book deserves to be read based on how fun this blurb itself sounds, okay? But that’s not how a book review works, so I’m going to give this a fun twist and list my top 5 reasons why you should read this. Note that’s 5 reasons for the 5 stars I gave this book!

1. The first book that ever made me tear up laughing!

Katy Birchall nails the humour in this book! Holy crap, the amount of laughter this story forced out of me (because I try to be a stoic reader or people start asking me what’s funny *sigh*) is insane! I locked my room door because there was a constant stream of tears running down my face! Guys, if you need a pick-me-up on a rainy day, THIS. IS. IT! Read this and you’ll be on cloud nine. Or wheezing. Either way is fine with me.

2. Heartwarming female friendships that kept me spamming my best friend’s messages.

I honestly did not expect the theme of female friendships to play a big role since the book was labelled as a rom-com, so this took me by surprise. At the end of this read, I was so nostalgic about all my friends scattered across the globe (perks of studying abroad!) and hating the crap out of the quarantine solitude. And if I ever met these characters in real life (fat chance!), I would cling to them for dear life! On a more serious note, I love that the female friendships were all about growth, family and fun. Also, I miss my friends, okay?

3. Professional. Bridesmaid.

Are you surprised this wasn’t the top reason for reading this book? Haha! Can someone tell me if being a professional bridesmaid is a real thing? I love that Sophie wasn’t just desperate for a job and had no choice but to be a professional bridesmaid, but she was very passionate about her job! Sophie’s passion was so infectious that even I wanted to try my hand at this profession! Also, doesn’t hurt that I’m a sucker for weddings!

4. An empowering, boss babe MC.

Running your own business is scary, okay? I get scared just thinking about it. But it was refreshing looking at Sophie’s self-employed life. It might be relatable to many people who are working from home these years as well. I loved reading about her at-home work routine and her setting up appointments, getting jobs done. It was just empowering to read about the female MC working throughout the book. It was also so satisfying to watch Sophie grow into her own throughout the story and I was cheering her on till the very end!

5. The romance was there but it didn’t cloud the whole story.

Sophie has the hots for the bride’s brother, we have already established that. And it’s a very sweet, wholesome romance, let me tell you. But it was more of a side-story, than an integral plot point. And I loved that. The love interest is such a sweetheart and I was rooting for them, but I am glad that that wasn’t the most important thing in this book. It somehow made the story richer and more wholesome that way. In a way, that made it easier for me to relate to Sophie (probably our workaholic personalities coming out to shine) and I got so invested in Sophie by the end of this read.

The Secret Bridesmaid by Katy Birchall delivers on all the hilarious wedding mishaps, wholesome female friendships and sweet love that it promises. This book is perfect for anyone who loves a good laugh-out-loud chick-lit novel, or even anyone who’s missing their friends during these pandemic days. One of my favourites of 2021 without a doubt!

Have you read The Secret Bridesmaid yet or will you be picking up a copy? Let me know in the comments below!

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