Book Review: Bad Bridesmaid

By Sara Steven

When I was asked to review Bad Bridesmaid, I immediately accepted. I loved MacIntosh’s How Not to Be Starstruck, so it seemed fitting that I check out her latest novel.

Formerly pudgy and plain, Mia Valentina (who used to be Mia Harrison; she wanted something a little more spectacular in the last name department) has a bad rap. She moved from England to get away from her overly-critical family and after planting roots in sunny L.A., she lost weight, worked hard to have the body she always wanted and made a name for herself in the movie industry. She figured this would at long last bring her the respect she’s always craved from her family, but it doesn’t play out that way. When she’s invited back to England as a bridesmaid for her younger sister Belle’s wedding, everyone expects the absolute worst from Mia. After unintentionally injuring the groom, finding herself in bed with one of the groomsmen and constantly placing herself in uncompromising positions, Mia finds herself alone and disliked. Well, that’s not entirely true. Her pre-teen cousins absolutely adore her, especially after she allows them to watch Pulp Fiction. This doesn’t go over well with Mia’s aunt. Not after the boys walk around quoting various phrases from the film; the ones that contain the most swear words, of course.

I found myself annoyed with Mia’s family. Even when she tries her best, they constantly negate her which only facilitates and feeds into the bad behavior. And Belle blames Mia for everything that is going wrong with her wedding, even the stuff that has nothing to do with Mia and is out of her control. I wondered if this train wreck of a family would ever right itself back on track or if Mia would be able to stick it out until the big day. Sure, she’s rough around the edges but you can tell she’s got a heart of gold. She has to, in order to put up with her jerky relatives.

True to MacIntosh’s style, there are a lot of comedic moments, a lot of “Oh wow, did that just happen???” situations that made it very hard to put this book down. There’s also a sweet little twist at the end, too. I was emotionally invested in Mia, the proverbial underdog. It’s hard not to be, and I appreciate that MacIntosh’s characters always show growth and development, never stagnant. Never one dimensional. A great read!

Thanks to Portia MacIntosh for the book in exchange for an honest review.