Review: "A Bad Bride's Tale" by Polly Williams

Stevie Jonson is two weeks away from her wedding to Jez and is having some serious doubts. Why is it that almost everything that he does is annoying her? Is it pre-wedding jitters or is it a sign of things to come? When Sam, Stevie's high school crush, comes back to town to attend her wedding, sparks fly between them and Stevie seriously wonders if she's doing the right thing by getting married.

Katy Norris is 36, takes great care of her body, and is ready to settle down, get married, and have children. Unfortunately her boyfriend Seb has yet to pop the question and Katy isn't sure if it is even imminent. Complicating matters, Seb works in New York and she lives in England, making their time together sparse.

Stevie, Jez, Katy and Seb coinicidentally meet up while they are in Thailand: Stevie and Jez are there for their honeymoon, Katy and Seb are there for a romantic vacation. The four of them spend some time together and eventually discover that things don't always work out as planned. Or do they?

I had some serious doubts about A Bad Bride's Tale from the first page. Now I love chick lit as much as the next girl, but both the writing and the plot were a little too much for me. The writing seemed stilted, the plot overdone. Luckily, I like to give every book a proper chance (I try to read at least 100 pages before I give up) and this one got better immediately following Stevie and Jez's wedding (which is early on in the book). The plot picked up after this point, and actually started to get interesting. The plot remained fairly predictable throughout, but I stand by my theory that it is okay for good chick lit to be a little predictable here and there.

Although I wouldn't recommend that you run out and buy this one right away, I do still recommend reading it if your library has a copy or if it is sitting in your TBR pile. If you can get through the first few chapters, it's a great read for a rainy day or the beach, and the conclusion is fully satisfying. I plan on checking out Williams' earlier book, Yummy Mummy, the next time I have a craving for a fun read.

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5 (due to some early plot and dialogue problems)
Recommended to: Chick lit fans, anyone looking for a light read
Challenges: 2010 100+ Reading Challenge, 2010 Chick Lit Challenge, New Author Challenge 2010, RYOB Challenge 2010