A Bad Bride’s Tale

By Polly Williams
Hyperion

As an American who studied abroad in England, I love to read anything that relates to the UK in any way. As a woman who is a romantic at heart, I love to read well-written love stories. A Bad Bride’s Tale combines two of my favorite things into a light-hearted, witty, well-written romantic romp across three countries – America, England and Thailand.

Stevie Jonson is 34 years old and ready to marry her longtime boyfriend, who may or may not be The One. A man from her past comes back into view, and Stevie is forced to reconsider and rearrange her priorities and her desires. Can a man be a good man, a good boyfriend, but not The One? Should you cut your losses and run? Should you stick it out with the one who is good, but not perfect? How do you tell? When do you settle? Or should you keep looking for what fairy tales would call Prince Charming?

The book doesn’t just tell the tale of Stevie, but weaves together tales of those around her. We hear from Jez, Stevie’s boyfriend, who’s father dies and is left to determine what he wants from life. There’s Katy, Stevie’s childhood (and now adulthood) nemesis, who is grasping onto her beauty and her boyfriend as both show signs of fading with age. These are just a few of the colorful characters that you will love or love to hate as you read A Bad Bride’s Tale.

The breezy style of writing draws in the reader and makes reading 100 pages at a time an easy task. Never does Williams approach love flippantly. The angst of choosing the right mate is portrayed honestly. Life is full of tough decisions and bumps in the road. Williams forces her characters to tackle those decisions head-on.

This book won’t win a Pulitzer; literary critics won’t laud it as groundbreaking. But I can guarantee that it will be an entertaining and appealing read about love and life.

Review by Kristin Conard

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A Bad Bride’s Tale