The Paid Bridesmaid by Sariah Wilson took an interesting concept, and actually kind of made me wish it was a real job.

I liked the idea that the bride can hire a bridesmaid to be there for their day.  It is kind of like a wedding planner, but instead they are your friend going to activities with you and making sure you are taken care of.  It is a really good idea, and the character of Rachel is written very well.  She has problems and flaws, but she takes her job seriously, and does an excellent job.  But as this is a romance novel, of course she ends up meeting the mysterious and gorgeous Camden who she ends up falling for over the span of a week.

With a plot such as this, the book could have easily been terrible.  Weddings in romance novels are written about a lot and it takes quite a bit of work on the authors part to make it feel new and inventive.  Sariah really hit it out of the park with this.  This did not read like a wedding romance novel I have read a thousand times, and it also included some more modern things (for instance the bride is an influence) without making those modern things sound dumb and ridiculous. 

My favorite part about this book, was the flaws.  The bride’s mother was an alcoholic and that was not glossed over; taking the time to show the impacts, and the problems, and the true emotions people have when they are trying to support and help someone that does not want help.   Rachel was incredibly uptight and had very strict rules that she followed as well as had all of her employees follow, and some of those rules were ridiculous.  But there were good reasons behind those rules, and Rachel actually had to experience why they were not necessarily a good thing.  On top of that, when shit hits the fan (as it so often does with weddings) there were actually legitimate consequences and problems that had to be solved.  I deeply appreciated that the author did not just, gloss over things and magically make everything perfect.  The problems that arose had to be solved.

I think my problem with this book, is the romance between Camden and Rachel.  And not because the author did not write it well.  She absolutely did.  But I have found a genre of romance novels that is not quite “love at first site” and I find I tend to like those better.  Camden and Rachel have a spark of attraction between them almost instantly, which is normal for essentially all romance books.  But within seven days, Rachel was in love with Camden, and wanted to spend the rest of her life with him.  Picture this happening in real life.  You are a random woman, who has just met this man for the first time, and now you want to marry him and have his babies.  It’s a smidge scary, isn’t it? Real love or not, this man is a complete and utter stranger.  You have not spent enough time with him to know if his eating habits will drive you nuts.  I am fully aware this is a romance novel, so we are supposed to look over that, but I personally feel like more could have been done.  Thankfully the author does not marry them off in seven days, and they do spend time getting to know one another after the initial seven days, but still.

Overall – this is a sweet and kind romance novel that will absolutely have you developing the warm and fuzzy feelings over the main characters.  In addition, the author does not short change you, and actually gives the side characters full personalities and dreams as well. 

Plot – 8/10

Characters – 8/10

Originality –  10/10

General Joy of Reading – 5/10

Overall Score – 31/40

The Paid Bridesmaid by Sariah Wilson

Cost* – $1.99 for Kindle.  This book is included with Kindle Unlimited

*Cost is based upon what the book cost when book review is published