This book was a Book of the Month pick a couple of months ago, but I had gone with another book. Then after all the books shipping, it was all over my social media and people were raving about it.
I was so sad that I didn’t pick this one when it was a BOTM pick, but when my book club was looking for something to read, we all decided that this one sounded so good and picked it for our July read in addition to one other book.
I was so eager to start this one and couldn’t wait to see what all the hype was about.
Summary
The bride ‧ The plus one ‧ The best man ‧ The wedding planner ‧ The bridesmaid ‧ The body
On an island off the coast of Ireland, guests gather to celebrate two people joining their lives together as one. The groom: handsome and charming, a rising television star. The bride: smart and ambitious, a magazine publisher. It’s a wedding for a magazine, or for a celebrity: the designer dress, the remote location, the luxe party favors, the boutique whiskey. The cell phone service may be spotty and the waves may be rough, but every detail has been expertly planned and will be expertly executed.
But perfection is for plans, and people are all too human. As the champagne is popped and the festivities begin, resentments and petty jealousies begin to mingle with the reminiscences and well wishes. The groomsmen begin the drinking game from their school days. The bridesmaid not-so-accidentally ruins her dress. The bride’s oldest (male) friend gives an uncomfortably caring toast.
And then someone turns up dead. Who didn’t wish the happy couple well? And perhaps more important, why? (summary from Goodreads)
Review
To be honest, with all the hype surrounding this book, I was expecting a lot more. While not completely a dud, I had a hard time focusing on this one some times. I don’t know if it was because of all the different POVs or if the story was just predictable and slow but I found that this book just didn’t hold my attention as I expected.
For me it was just ok. It could have been really really good, but I felt that the author stayed with easy in terms of the plot. The characters in this book have dark sides and are morally ambiguous but the plot just fell into comfortable. I would have liked to have seen the plot get as dark and troubled as some of the characters but it was more safe and acceptable rather than hair raising and twisty.
I can’t name a single character that I liked in this one. From the very beginning I was put off by every single one but I think that one that bothered me the most was Charlie. I mean it was clear that Will wasn’t what he seemed and I was definitely not a fan of Will but the way that Charlie humiliated his wife at the party was unforgivable. The relationship between the bride, Jules, and Charlie was weird and uncomfortable and I felt that that friendship was a disgrace to Charlie’s marriage to Hannah, and he just treated Hannah so awfully that I could never feel sorry for him. Basically everyone in this book was unlikeable and it was hard to read at times.
I also would have liked to have had a little more murder in the beginning of the book rather having it alluded to. The constantly changing chapters was distracting and a lot for the reader to keep straight. It slowed the story down for me and I found it frustrating. But to have the murder unfold over so many little chapters was a struggle. There were just a lot of plot lines that I didn’t think tied up as well as I had hoped and by the time this book was over, I was relieved.
While this one might have been a bit of a dud for me, it wasn’t horrible….it just wasn’t for me. I read it beginning to end but I don’t necessarily feel like it provided any enduring entertainment, I read it simply so that I could see how it ended and discuss it comprehensively for my book club.
The Lit Bitch 
Just goes to prove different books for different readers. Another well written review, Anne. x