Meet the ultimate Bridezilla !!!
Hello, my lovely readers,
I hope you all have settled back in your routines !! However, if you are a bookworm like me, I'm sure you didn't let your book down just because of a change in your daily routine. Especially now that fall has arrived and rainy days are perfect for a hot cup of coffee and a new autumn book pick.
In today's post, we're going to discuss the début novel from Irish author Amy Lynch, Bride Without A Groom. Although is not a 2018 book release I found it this year and so here is my fully-detailed review but before we start, let me give you a summary.
As the title suggests, Rebecca Browne really does become a bride without a groom. She is obsessed with weddings. In fact, I've never met a character more obsessed with getting married than this one. From the five-tier wedding cake to the Vera Wang dress, Rebecca has strict ideas of what she wants, and exactly how her big day will play out. She has wedding magazines galore, she's already booked the honeymoon and Barry hasn't even proposed, but anyway, she's got it all sorted, so it's fine. Except, Barry, Rebecca's other half, begins to feel slightly overwhelmed with all of the wedding talks. He isn't quite ready yet, and quite frankly, he's beginning to get on Rebecca's nerves. She doesn't understand what it is exactly that Barry is waiting for! Gradually, Barry blows and the two of them end up having an almighty blow-out, right before Barry jets off on a business trip with work, leaving Rebecca alone, drowning in wedding plans.
In Amy Lynch's Bride without a Groom, we meet Rebecca Browne. Now, I'm not quite sure whether I've ever met a character quite like Rebecca before. Something tells me that I haven't. Rebecca is a complete diva, and I'm not using the term lightly here, book folk. It reminds me a bit of Rebecca Bloomwood with a mixture of Carrie Bradshaw and the main character of Legally Blonde. That is a reason why I didn't like it because I believe that a book needs to be authentic.
Rebecca is, without a doubt, one of the most entertaining, slightly surreal, over-the-top, sometimes rather stupid and annoying, a little bit selfish characters that I've ever come across. There were times during reading when I couldn't quite believe something that Rebecca had said or done, times when I covered my face with my hands and groaned because I wasn't sure what the consequences of her actions were going to be. There were also times where I absolutely laughed out loud, unable to disguise my amusement, and times when I actually felt a bit sorry for Rebecca and her warped fantasies. Cheeky is her charm, but she is so shamelessly frivolous and selfish that you feel like knocking some sense and sensibility into her. I'd love to see her and Bridget Jones exchange some ideas over a cup of coffee.
The author's witty style was the only thing making the Bridezilla likeable for me. Rebecca is really believable, with her reality-show upbringing and gossip-magazines values, workday hangovers and morning painkillers with alcohol, skipping work, faking sickness to go on a shopping spree, charging her boyfriend's credit card while he's on a business trip, weighing whether to dump her or marry her. She reminded me of similar girls we all know, who are not evil, but you wouldn't really consider giving them the badge of graciousness.
Therefore, my three stars do not go to Rebecca at all or her life story for that matter. They go to the author. Amy Lynch's style is truly witty, her descriptions funny and illustrative, and her loyalty to her characters truly admirable. You know how they say when a child is less than cute – that only a mother could live such a face? Well, this author sure has lots of love for her character and sticks to Rebecca's inner voice all the way, the way a mother would. Every good comedy must have a real sting to it, and I choose to believe Amy Lynch has packed that sting here, deep under the brand names and Rebecca's ego-tripping monologues. A book is supposed to make you think and feel. This one has, although in a really quirky, awkward and unexpected way. I am definitely looking forward to reading Amy Lynch's future books.
Something else that bumped up my enjoyment of Bride without a Groom by Amy Lynch was the use of narrative within the book. When with Rebecca, we're reading from her first-person narrative, but when with Barry, we're reading from third. I loved this so much, it really separated the two characters. Of course, when the unthinkable happens, it felt brilliant to be able to be all the way over in Bangkok with Barry, when Rebecca was back at home in Dublin, sleeping soundly. I loved pinging back and forth between the two characters. It gave me such a fantastic insight into not only Rebecca but Barry as a separate character, too.
Stars Rating = 3 stars out of 5
If you are looking for a funny, quirky, guilt-free, ego-boosting, sinfully sweet, layered wedding cake-ish summer read, knock yourselves out with Rebecca's bride dreams!
I hope you enjoy this well-rounded review by your ultimate favourite book blogger and judge, MissReader aka Leni Chris.
Love you with sweetness,
MissReader
P.S Write down in the comments what are you reading or going to read this fall. I look forward to reading your comments.
