When Sophie Breeze took that late-night call from her cousin Cara, panicking because she was getting married in three months and felt like she was way behind on making all the arrangements. Sophie was a personal assistant and had been to a lot of weddings, so she knew just how to deal with this sort of crisis. She had a list of steps, which started at calming the bride, making plans to sit down and help her get things organized in the middle, and ending with laughter, to dispel the last of the panic. It was Cara who then suggested that Sophie should become a professional bridesmaid.
When Sophie pointed out that that wasn’t a thing, Cara told her that it should be. Brides may not want to hire a wedding planner, making it seem like they can’t handle planning their own weddings by themselves. But they need someone on their side, someone to help with the details, someone who will be there on the big day but not get too drunk to be of any use. So Sophie became a professional bridesmaid, and now the hardest part of her job is not dealing with the brides and the grooms and the families. It’s coming up with a cover story of how she and the bride are such good friends that she’s a bridesmaid, but no one from the family and none of the bride’s friends have ever met her before the wedding talk started.
But she’s very good at her job. She can organize a bachelorette party like no one’s business (but it’s set in London, so it’s a hen do, but same thing). Sophie can prevent a groom setting the dance floor on fire, like literal fire. She can mediate in family disagreements. She can deal with emergencies involving caterers, florists, DJs, and even portable toilets. Nothing can stand in her way for long.
And then she gets the call. A mysterious meeting. An anonymous bride. It’s only when Sophie shows up that she realizes that she is meeting Lady Victoria Swann, practically royalty as she married a Marquess, and that the bride in question is her daughter Cordelia. Sophie explains to Lady Victoria just how her job works, and Lady Victoria agrees to the contract. Sophie will have to keep everything about the wedding secret (no problem, as she always does that). And Sophie will have her work cut out for her, as Cordelia is against the idea of a professional bridesmaid.
When Sophie meets Cordelia, she understands why Lady Victoria had told her how challenging this may be. Cordelia is not just reluctant to let Sophie help. She is hostile. She gives Sophie a list of things that would be nearly impossible to achieve—10 photographers at her wedding, a piece of jewelry borrowed from the Royal Family, peacocks suspended from the ceiling. Sophie understands that she is being tested, but she wants to pass also. She knows that Cordelia is trying to break her, trying to make her quit. But Sophie refuses to quit.
And when Sophie gets to spend a weekend at the country house with the family, getting to know them all better, spending some time alone with Cordelia’s brother Thomas, she is more determined than ever to make Cordelia like her and want her help for the wedding. But when circumstances change and Cordelia doesn’t need a bridesmaid as much as she needs a genuine friend, Sophie has to make the choice between being a fake friend or a true ride-or-die bestie.
The Secret Bridesmaid is a textured story of friendship and family, of what it takes to get through hard times and how to be a true friend in times of need. Brides are well known as being picky and selfish and demanding as their weddings get closer, but that’s the time when true friends are most needed. This is a romantic comedy, but it’s the best kind, the kind that’s layered with so much more than just a frothy romance. Reading this is like watching a movie that you know will become of your all-time favorites. It just feels like meeting a new friend and finding that immediate chemistry, all the things you have in common, and all the ways they can bring out the best in you.
I listened to The Secret Bridesmaid on audio, narrated by Nathalie Buscombe, and everything about her performance was perfect. She had the ideal voice for this story, and read it with the perfect inflections and emotions. It was the most delicious experience, and I think all fans of movies like The Wedding Date, 27 Dresses, and Three Weddings and a Funeral will find themselves lost in The Secret Bridesmaid too. Read it, listen to it, whatever you like, just don’t miss out.
Egalleys for The Secret Bridesmaid were provided by St. Martin’s Griffin through NetGalley, with many thanks, but I bought the audiobook myself from Chirp.
