Don't Tell The Groom by Anna Bell

Penny has been planning her wedding for years. Even though she isn't engaged yet.  But when Mark does propose, Penny knows exactly what kind of wedding she wants and has the mood boards ready and waiting, along with the vast sum of money to fund her lavish Big Day. Penny and Mark have been squirrelling away money in a savings account and Penny has been secretly adding in extra cash whenever she wins a game of online bingo.

So with the funds and plans in place, Penny is thrilled when Mark finally proposes. But her euphoria shrivels away with one glance at their bank statement. Ten thousand pounds is missing and it turns out it is all Penny's fault. It seems her bingo wins weren't as frequent or plentiful as her losses and she's dwindled away their savings to five thousand pounds, meaning she must kiss her castle venue goodbye. But will there even be a wedding at all if Mark finds out about the lost money? Penny can't risk losing Mark so she comes up with a plan. Taking inspiration from the tv show Don't Tell The Bride, Penny will plan the whole wedding in secret and somehow bring it all together with their now much smaller budget.

Don't Tell The Groom manages to deal with gambling addiction in a fun and humorous way, much like Marian Keyes deals with drug addiction in Rachel's Holiday. I warmed to the character of Penny immediately and found her to be quirky and amusing. She had the potential to become a monstrous Bridezilla with out of control spending and increasingly extravagant plans and demands but her revised budget curbs such behaviour and Penny is forced to look at what is really important when it comes to weddings. I enjoyed the journey Penny goes on, both emotionally as she tackles her addiction and the ways in which she creates a beautiful wedding on a shoestring. I rooted for Penny the whole way, hoping she could pull off her scheme and have her new dream wedding and live happily ever after.

I thought Don't Tell The Groom was a brilliant, witty read. There are serious issues within the book but it is mainly fun with laugh out loud moments and it was an absolute joy to read.


Thank you to Anna Bell for providing me with a copy to review. I will be chatting with Anna on Thursday.