Even though I got married many moons ago I still find myself gazing longingly at engagement rocks in jewellers, getting urges to try on beautiful wedding dresses, drawing up family seating plans with post it notes (when I should be plotting my novel), restraining myself from throwing a bunch of flowers at a crowd of people and…*whispers* secretly buying boxes of pink confetti to chuck over myself in private.

So, when I saw Bettina Hunt’s latest book Without a hitch I thought it was about time I reconnected with my inner bridezilla.

Here is my review:

What did you think of the book cover?

I loved the image of the elegant bride and the groom standing behind her. The blue background is really striking and the cover definitely stood out.

What was the book’s blurb?

The path of true love never runs smooth, the path to the perfect wedding, even bumpier.’

Three brides-to-be, nine months to plan the dream wedding. What could possibly go wrong?

They have been dreaming of this day for as long as they can remember, but what happens when fate intervenes…

Sienna is determined not to become a bridezilla but planning a wedding is proving much harder than she thought. With obstacles flying from every direction, can she take back control without upsetting those closest to her?

Bryony is the bride on a budget dreaming of a big white wedding. A family full of secrets threaten to ruin her big day, can she find it in her heart to forgive and forget?

Agnes is the career woman who appears to have finally found Mr Right, but will her scheming boss come between her and her new-found love?

One date, three brides-to-be, united in their quest for the ‘perfect’ wedding.

Loved the idea of reading about three different brides and their respective emotional journeys towards the big day.

I was keen to find out more Sienna’s obstacles, Bryony’s family secrets and Agnes’s new love.

What did you think of the book’s characters?

I thought the characters were great and relatable.

Sienna and Charlie made a great comedy duo and the part at the start regarding the purchase of the engagement ring left me in stitches. We all have different ideas on engagement ring styles, size and price range but sometimes our loved one doesn’t always share our thinking. Loved his reaction to the three months salary stipulation.

I think Sienna represents all of us who were ‘hard work’ in the run up to our weddings.

Bryony and Thomas were sweet and had an old-fashioned type of love. Their family secrets, money worries tugged on my heartstrings. These characters represented those of us who have dysfunctional families and how things sometimes don’t go entirely to plan.

Agnes and Simon were a complete surprise to me. Agnes deserves a book of her own as she is a fab character (Bettina – hope you are making a note of this 😍) and her fussy mum is great too. Every good wedding journey needs a fussy mother.

What did you think about the story?

I loved reading the different wedding journeys of three brides. This book goes through all the main pre wedding stages, even proposal and wedding fayres. This author has wedding planning covered!

The three stories are cleverly woven together by the author and this keeps the reader interested. For me this is what made the book stand out.

There is humour in this book and it did make me chuckle in places. I did love Sienna’s experiences with trying on wedding dresses and Charlie’s diplomatic attempts with his mother. I also loved the relationship between Agnes and her fussy mother. I have said it before but I adored Agnes by the end of her story.

This book was hard to put down and an enjoyable read. It puts you in the mood for getting engaged and planning a wedding.

Did you reconnect with your inner bridezilla?

Living through the eyes of these three brides reconnected me with my inner bridezilla. By the end of the book all my wedding dress cravings had subsided, I could hold onto a bunch of flowers whilst standing in front of a crowd of people and my table planning post it note fuelled urges had disappeared. However, I did still want to chuck confetti over myself in private… *sigh*

Thank you Bettina Hunt for an enjoyable and fun reading experience 😍

If you fancy giving Without a Hitch a read please click here.

Author bio

Bettina Hunt lives in England with her husband and two young sons.

Without A Hitch is her second novel and again she found herself writing about what she knew…

She blogs about beauty, afternoon tea, spas and travel, as well as sharing poems and short stories at http://www.beautyswot.com. She can be found on Twitter most days – join in the chat @BeautySwot