It showed me a life even crazier than my own. I’m not sure that’s a good thing
Each year, I hold out a hope that the Easter bank holiday weekend will be quiet, relaxing and allow me to switch off for a while and just read a good book. And it seems like each year – not including 2020, obviously – those hopes are set to be dashed. But never have they been dashed any more spectacularly than this year.
For starters, Mrs Book Nook’s car, and then mine, each developed different and unrelated faults that needed fixing to avoid the risk of a breakdown at a time when all repair garages would be closed. This achieved, and £300 spent, the next thing to happen was that my builders announced – with a day’s notice – that the stairs into my partially converted loft had to be fitted now. Not in 2 weeks’ time, as scheduled, or even next week, but now. Now, d’you hear? The trouble is that the newly-fitted window still doesn’t have glass in it which, coupled with a hole in the bedroom ceiling, means that going to bed is a bit like sleeping in a tent. Not ideal, especially when it. Won’t. Stop. Raining. And you can hear every. Single. Drop.
In something approaching desperation, I made the 200-mile journey to my mum’s house – in my thankfully mended car – in search of a few nights’ sleep in a room with such luxuries as a glazed window and an intact roof. Thankfully, this was forthcoming, but there was a price to pay during the daytime. Reading so much as a page of a book, never mind writing about it, isn’t easy when the house appears to be constantly full of grand-kids, all of whom were on a seemingly permanent sugar high from having indulged in chocolate.
Life, then, is one of my excuses for having missed my stop on the blog tour for Mother of the Bride. Sorry, Bookouture. The other is that even now, several days after having finished it, I’m still not actually sure what to say about it.
On the one hand, it’s absolutely compelling. Addictive, even. Certainly during those nights of being unable to sleep well due to being exposed to the sound, if not the feel of wind and rain, it served as a welcome distraction. The prologue, whilst admittedly not original, is still a great hook and from there, we’re effortlessly taken into the life of Lizzie as she prepares to marry her fiance Owen. It’s a constant story of ‘what? Why? Who? and it offers lots of mystery and intrigue. Why does Lizzie’s mum, Sylvia, insist on controlling every last detail of the wedding with no regard at all as to what her daughter wants? Why does Owen appear to be not only willing, but wanting to let her? And could Sylvia really have been responsible for the death of Lizzie’s sister’s fiance, on his wedding day a year earlier?
I also really liked the portrayal of Lizzie’s relationships with her sister Shelley and old friend Jared. Not only were these heartwarming, but they served to provide just the right amount of sanity in a world that, for poor Lizzie, seemed to be going so mad as to completely lose its marbles.
The trouble is that – and I can’t think of an easy or gentle way of saying this – the book would have been better for me if it had made more sense.
The problem, I think, is essentially the same one that also affects The Split by Samantha Hayes’ fellow Bookouture author, S E Lynes. The storyline is plot-driven, but it relies on the characters doing or saying improbable things in order to carry the plot along. However, the crucial difference is that in The Split, Susie Lynes makes a great effort to give the main characters sufficient back-stories to make their words and actions believable, even if they’re not always relatable. But I’m sorry to say that Samantha hasn’t managed to do the same thing here. For example, we’re asked to believe that Sylvia has some unspecified mental illness which causes her to have very specific tendencies and reactions. I think I’d have liked to see some more research done here into specific conditions that she could actually have been suffering from.
Meanwhile, it’s perhaps understandable that Lizzie is unwilling to trust her mum an inch. But at the same time, she appears to be trusting and naive enough to believe every word that everyone else ever tells her. And I’m afraid I really didn’t get what was going on with Lizzie’s dad, or even understand why he needed to feature in the story at all.
I’m not quite sure how I felt about the ending to the book, either. On the one hand, I could see where the main story was going from a mile off. But that said, there is a second twist which, whilst feeling somewhat improbable, still managed to be satisfying.
The best way I can think of to conclude my review is to say this. Mother of the Bride managed to take me into a fictional world that was even crazier than my real one. This was entertaining, but – and this is more of an issue with psychological fiction than most other genres – not entirely convincing.
My thanks to Bookouture for including me on the blog tour, and apologies once again that my review is late. Given it’s critical nature, I will post on this blog and Netgalley only unless asked to share elsewhere.
My rating: ★★★
2nd April 2024
The blurb
My mother is obsessed with every detail of my wedding – controlling my dress, my ring, my happiness. But when the day finally comes, will she really let me go? Last year, my sister’s fiancé was murdered on his wedding day. And I found my mother’s corsage next to his body…
I’m beaming as I walk down the aisle, but my smile masks a prickling fear, even though this is supposed to be the happiest day of my life.
My husband-to-be, Owen, is everything to me, with his sandy hair and sparkling blue eyes. He keeps telling me it will all be fine. I pray he’s right as I slip a gold band onto his finger with trembling hands.
Please let me be wrong about what my mother did. Please let Owen be safe.
But when the priest asks if anyone objects, I turn to look at my mother. Her eyes are icy beneath the brim of her hat, and she’s staring right at me.
Is my husband’s life in danger? Or is it mine…?
A page-turning, addictive psychological thriller from an Amazon no. 1 bestseller with twists that will have your head spinning until the very end. Fans of The Housemaid, The Family Upstairs and The Perfect Marriage will be absolutely gripped!
About the author
Samantha Hayes grew up in a creative family where her love of writing began as a child. She has written eight thrillers in total, including the bestselling Until You’re Mine. The Independent said “fantastically written and very tense” while Good Housekeeping said “Her believable psychological thrillers are completely gripping.” Samantha’s books are published in 22 languages at the last count.
When not writing, Samantha loves to cook, go to the gym, see friends and drink nice wine. She is also studying for a degree in psychotherapy. She has three grown-up children and lives in Warwickshire.
My Cosy Book Nook 