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Wedding day jitters are pretty common. In preparing to make a lifelong commitment to another person, it’s understandable that a person might get a little nervous. But in Bride and Groom by Rona Halsall, a bride’s wedding day jitters are caused by a very serious situation.
The story begins as disaster strikes just days before Nicci’s wedding. After a night at a friend’s house, Nicci gets behind the wheel to drive home with her fiancé, Ethan—even though she knows she probably shouldn’t. On the short drive home, Nicci hits a man. Though her conscience tells her to turn herself in, Ethan assures her that it would only ruin everything: their upcoming wedding, their careers, her father’s life. But the longer Nicci keeps quiet, the more she worries that she made the wrong choice—not just in staying quiet but in marrying Ethan, too.
After the wedding is over and Nicci has spoken the special vows that Ethan wrote to work their dark secret into their promises to each other, her wedding day jitters turn into something more. Tension builds as Nicci follows the story of the unidentified man who was taken to the hospital following their accident, wondering who he is and what will happen to him. And she begins to play everything back in her mind: did she really not have control of the car, or did something else happen?
What should be a time of celebration and joy turns into suspicion and fear as this psychological thriller twists through one day after another. It takes a while for the story to build—and, especially in the beginning, it sometimes feels a little too familiar and predictable. Readers may struggle to care about the characters and their story—about this woman who begins to wonder if her loving husband has his own sinister agendas and the man who’s clearly gaslighting his sweet, trusting wife—because it’s been done before.
Eventually, though, their story builds to something more interesting. As Nicci begins to understand what’s happening to her, the pace picks up. And, in the end, it builds up to an action-packed conclusion.
It definitely takes a while for Bride and Groom to become more than just the same old story of lies and emotional blackmail—and some readers may give up before the real action begins. But while the setup may be a little too familiar, it does gradually grow into a tense and thrilling final battle of wills.
Listen to the review on Shelf Discovery:
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