Bad Bridesmaid

by Portia MacIntosh

[Leah]

DNFed at 35%

Review hidden, not for spoilers (I didn't finish it) but because it isn't particularly kind, but I wanted to give an honest opinion. Also, it pains me to write this stuff because Portia is SUCH a great writer, and such a lovely author, but I have to be honest.

I just couldn't get on with the book. I liked Mia's voice, she's a great narrator, but she's wildly childish for a 29-year-old (proclaiming she was the "starter" child compared to her sister Belle, which makes her sound bitter). The whole entire premise to me didn't make sense - if Mia Valentina is this kick-ass heroine who couldn't care less what anyone things of her... Why is she rocking up in Cornwall for her sister's wedding? She just wouldn't have gone, if she was as blase as she says.

And the whole "my family hate me" plot line drove me round the bend. Because we don't know WHY her mum, her sister, her Aunt & her Grandma hate her, except she used to be fat and her sister Belle is the one they all adore. *SHRUGS* What are you going to do with logic like that, eh? No parent or relative would act the way they act to Mia; maybe I could understand if it was just her Aunt, but her mum and grandma and sister, too? Over the top. And the creepy Uncle? Disgusting.

Her sister's persistence in screaming "YOU'VE RUINED MY WEDDING" was also mildly confusing. If you think your sister's a good for nothing scoundrel, desperate to ruin your big day.. WHY WOULD YOU INVITE HER? You wouldn't. But Belle did, and then spends all the novel I read up to whinging and crying that Mia is ruining everything. And then the cherry on the cake is Mia gets caught giving her sister's fiance a hand job. That's when I gave up, because there's farcical (think Bridesmaids the movie) and then there's Bad Bridesmaid which is just... too much. It's like Bridesmaids the movie on steroids and it doesn't make it better.

I wish I had liked it more, or been able to get over how self-absorbed Mia is, because there's a part of me that sees where she was coming from, but there was too much artificial hate swilling around the place, and too many ridiculous incidents that just HAD to be her fault, and I sadly just couldn't get on with the novel.