I hate to say it, but I think my new favorite author of "Chick Lit" is a man. I feel a little bit better when I read up on Jonathan Vatner and found out that he is gay. I mean, seriously...the thought of a straight man understanding women this well is a little scary. Also, if his name were Jonathan Vitner (which is how I tried to write it), that would be perfect.

"The Bridesmaid's Union" is about a woman who can't express how she feels to anyone in person so puts it all in to a Facebook group she starts. Normally, I don't like this kind of thing, but I fell into it somehow, and I came to appreciate Vatner's approach to what it means to be female. Oh, and guess what? The closest thing to a villain in this book is a gay guy. And it's a type of gay guy that I have totally encountered in my life, and boy, did it ring true. "The Bridesmaid's Union" is a great poolside read that won't make you hate yourself in the morning. I'm currently listening to Vatner's first book, "Carnegie Hill",so check in to see how that goes. ( )

This book is definitely out of my usual reading choices but every now and then I take a chance on a synopsis that sounds like fun and in this case I was rewarded with a very entertaining novel. This isn’t a deep and thoughtful book nor is it ever going to be a great literary award winner.

What you get with this book is a fun story that is very relatable to anyone who has ever been a bridesmaid. Although I have to admit that back in the days when I was being a bridesmaids weddings weren’t as dramatic as they are now.

I didn’t have to deal with destination weddings or showers in faraway cities so it was far easier (and cheaper) to be a bridesmaid for friends and family. Iris, on the other hand, the heroine of this novel deals with far more weddings and showers than I ever had to.

The novel details her trials as the always a bridesmaid trailing after very demanding brides. This leads her to start an online support group that gets just a little out of hand. I won’t write more than that so as to not spoil the book. But know that that it’s a fun read for anyone who has ever been a bridesmaid.

I read this on my train ride from Brattleboro to Philadelphia and the time flew by and I was very entertained the whole way. It’s a novel that follows a typical pattern but the characters within are well developed and fun. I enjoyed it and the miles flew by as I traveled to visit my family. ( )

This is a fun read about Iris who feels like she is always a bridesmaid and the brides don't appreciate what she does to help or the fact that she's in deep credit card debt due to her being a bridesmaid so many times. She has terrible parents who want her to get married and don't seem to care about her at all. She also a younger sister, Jasmine, who is getting married and asks Iris to be maid of honor. There is another sister who pretty much stays away from the family. Plus Iris has a kindergarten age son, who seems to be out of control and is getting bullied because he doesn't have a father. After Iris's last wedding as bridesmaid, she starts a Facebook group for people to share the awful things that have happened to them when they were bridesmaids. It seems to help her a lot to hear their stories but even though she is not happy with her previous stints as bridesmaid, she agrees to be the maid of honor for her estranged sister. There is some humor in this book but most of the story is about Iris and her struggles in her single life.

This book was filled with family drama. I didn't like Iris's parents at all and it was easy to dislike Iris at times. She had a real problem making decisions and standing up for herself. She's also a bit naive - she seemed to have no filters when she was complaining in her facebook group and never worried about the possibility of the group becoming public and the bride's becoming aware of what was said about them. She also became good friends with one of the posters in the group and we all know how risky that is.

I did enjoy many of the parts of the book but didn't appreciate all of the mentions of politics - her parents and sister were Trump supporters and she was an anyone but Trump voter. Similar to many people in the country, Iris and her sister became estranged over the election and lack of understanding of each other's views. I also enjoyed Iris's relationship with her son. She had such bad parents that it was good to see she didn't inherit their way of parenting. This book was also a bit too long. I think that some of the side stories could be left out to make the book more interesting.

Overall, I thought that this was a good book and despite the reservations that I've mentioned, I'm glad that I read it and look forward to future books from this author.

Thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own. ( )

Brides can often demand more than is reasonable, or even possible, and expect their bridesmaids to support them no matter how ridiculous the bride is being. In THE BRIDESMAIDS UNION, by Jonathan Vatner, Iris Hagarty creates a Facebook group to vent about her experiences as a bridesmaid. It gives her instant relief and seeing other's crazy experiences help her feel less alone. As the Facebook group grows and Iris becomes maid of honor, Iris' life quickly becomes complicated and she is barely holding on. Will Iris be able to balance everything or is a collapse inevitable?
Vatner has singular wit and style to this book. Iris Hagarty is clearly the focus of the book, but Vatner creates a true kaleidoscope of characters around Iris. All of them are clearly described and quickly the reader can begin to predict how each person will react to each situation. The fascinating part of the book is that Vatner posits Iris as the variable. As much as the reader gets to know Iris, her life is in such a state of flux and her vision of the future so muddled that Iris is quite unpredictable. That unpredictability is what makes every interaction exciting and keeps the reader on their toes as to what is going to happen. Vatner touches on some current issues, like social media perception vs reality of a person and how conflict can arise is families were there political views don't align, but I found myself wanting to spend as much time with Iris as possible and where her life is going and I wanted to push aside anything that wasn't about her directly.
Everyone has come across a bridezilla at some point and THE BRIDESMAIDS UNION looks at how people handle them A reader will enjoy considering which approach is best when reading this book and perhaps revaluate their stance.
Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Jonathan Vatner, and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! ( )