SUMMARY :
At the age of 18, in that first golden Oxford Summer, Milly was up for anything. Now, ten years later, she is a very different person. Engaged to a man who is wealthy, serious and believes her to be perfect, she is facing the biggest and most elaborate wedding imaginable.
But one small episode form the past has the power to completely derail her carefully planned nuptials.
Milly has locked away this history so securely that even she has almost persuaded herself that it doesn't exist - until with only 4 more days to the wedding, her secret catches up with her......And when saying "I do" gives you déjà vu, it could be a problem.
REVIEW :
To be honest, I expected another Sophie Kinsella sweet, fluffy & light novel but I was wrong. Now, I think I know why she write this book under another name which is Madeline Wickham.
This book is nothing like Sophie Kinsella's novels except the fact that it's still in the chick-lit genre.
Personally, I enjoyed the book & found it to be a good fulfilling read. This novel is slightly darker, heavier & more interesting. However, some people might be offended by this book.
The wedding girl has more than one story going on. It's not just about Milly. It's about her, her parents, her sister, her fiancé & etc. It's quite interesting and hectic at the same time. I have to admit Madeline is a professional at character developments because she made me care about all the characters.
Not only that, Madeline Wickham's writing style seemed more intelligent and slightly deeper compared to Sophie Kinsella's. It's interesting that they're both the same person when they seem so different.
However, there were some issues that were highlighted in this book such as honesty, gays and love. I like she questioned honesty. Is honesty a good or a bad thing? Is honesty neccessary sometimes? I suppose it all depends on the situation.
Then, there's the gay part. IF you're a goody two shoes church going person, you might not like this book too much. She did not paint a good picture of goody two shoes church going people. She made it seem that church going people are close minded and too god-centric. I'm sure not all are like that.
She also questioned the society's reaction towards gays. IS gay a good or bad thing? Is it really wrong?
But I agree with Madeline Wickham's point of view. I suppose that's one of the reason I enjoyed the book.
Seriously, the love letter from one gay to another was the most lovely, purest, beautiful and touching love letter I ever read. I cried. It may sound revolting but the content of the letter was just so pure.
I also loved how she played with the theme love. Gay love, unconditional love, marriage love and etc. I guess love do exists in all forms whether we like it or not.
I was slightly shock when the book revealed a much younger girl is together with a man who is old enough to be her father. At first, I disagreed but later, I just realised, if they do love each other, who are we to argue. But not all is bad, this book also showed how an old married couple who drifted apart falling in love again which is quite sweet.
The book taught me to be less judgemental. Don't judge at all. If they're happy, then so be it.
There are so many questions that arises in this book. It's not a light read at all but it was interesting.
Not only that, the sudden plot twists and surprises really surprised me. It was good to read a book that wasn't so predictable once in a while. But of course, there were some very predictable parts.
Did I enjoy this book? YES, I did. One of the best books that I have ever come across! It made me laugh and cry together with the characters.
Personally, I love this book but I know this book isn't for everyone.
Do I recommend it? Yes to people who are looking for something controversial and open minded. No to people who are not so open minded.
I rate this book 8.5 out of 10. It was that good. Personally, I like Madeline Wickham more than Sophie Kinsella. Madeline Wickham has more depth. I like that.
