3.5 rounded up
Thank you for my copy of this book OMC!
I really liked the premise of this story and loved the main friendship.
I think the characters were well developed for the most part and enjoyed the story arc.
I didn’t rate it higher purely because I felt like some things could have been tweaked/polished more.
Overall really enjoyable read.

Check the content warnings before you read it!

Such a cute romantic comedy. Lighthearted and heartwarming. I loved the storyline, the character development! Very well-written and looking forward to reading more from this author.

I really wanted more from this book but I just couldn't get into it,.

I was constantly confused who was who that I ended up skipping pages/chapters just to finish it.

Poppy is a photographer separated from her husband for quite some time

Lola is a wedding planner and in need of her friends assistance.

Everything that could possibly go wrong in this wedding does.

It was just blah, didn't keep me interested and giving it 3 stars was generous.

I just reviewed The Wedding Crasher by Abigail Mann. #NetGalley

I have a lot of fun with Abigail's books (we're friends in real life for full disclosure). She writes funny, contemporary women's fiction but isn't afraid to give her characters flaws and tackle some tough subject matters. The Wedding Crasher is a great summer read and if you're into ludicrous weddings, isolated islands, sea tractors and bingo then this one is for you.

A funny dialogue, a well written plot and some good characters.
My first read from the author and it was an entertaining book. I feel a bit more romance and LOL moments could have been injected into the book, but it was still ok.

The Wedding Crasher is not the rom com escapist fiction that I expected.

But thats not to say it was a let down.

Its really the story of one woman's journey after the end of a very toxic relationship. It was handled deftly by Abigail Mann, but at times I found it difficult to read the flashback scenes to her past relationship to watch the gaslighting of Poppy and how she slowly let go of her passions - photography - as her ex wore her down. I understand why these scenes were included but I actually wish they were glossed over as maybe one or two flashbacks with the focus on present day.

That said it was packed with plenty of humour and Poppy's struggles were relatable. The supporting cast well characterised.

I really enjoyed this story & liked the main characters of Poppy, Lola & Will.. the storyline kept me entertained & interested & would recommend

Definitely wanted to throat punch Josh & Will's dad 🤣

This was a really fun read, perfect for the beach bag this summer.

Poppy is the central character, who takes herself away for the summer to get away from her difficult domestic situation with her estranged husband. But she bumps into an old university friend and instead of a holiday of solitude, finds herself embroiled in a big society wedding as the photographer.

This is a fun romp, with some tender moments, and I would recommend. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Poppy and her dry sense of humour appealed to me from the outset. Her dire home and work situations made me feel for her and initially I’d hoped she’d gain some confidence and breathing space with the puffins on Orwell Island. That is, until Lola steps in and alters the course of her week.

Theirs isn’t the only university friendship we revisit in the book. Poppy soon discovers that she also knows the groom. Will is as shocked to see her as she is him but again, it’s wonderful to see these two reconnect. Abigail Mann switches back and forth to their uni days in between counting down to the wedding, which means we get to meet their younger selves, discover their dynamic, see how Poppy came to marry Josh and understand when this last relationship turned so toxic.

Abigail Mann always finds the humour in everyday life situations, work and relationships, but here she excels by staging a wedding and containing most of the characters to an island with limited escape routes. They soon become punch drunk on an intoxicating mix: that heady cocktail of chaos served up when disparate friends and family members gather and act out their given roles, with all the accompanying drama, while corporate deals are being concluded and young people’s futures determined.

The Wedding Crasher has its emotional, tender and more reflective moments when dealing with toxic relationships, family dynamics, and young people who are eight years out of university, and wondering if they’re on the right path in life or have made good choices. But Abigail Mann also ensures that she fills the book with moments of pure comedy and random crazy situations once Poppy finds herself photographing a fractious wedding party rather than the more placid puffins she was intending to capture.

Ultimately, it’s the characters and their friendships that form the beating heart of this book and make it work so well for me. They’re as reassuringly warm, witty and winning as The Wedding Crasher itself. It’s easily Abigail Mann’s best book to date.

The Wedding Crasher did make me laugh but was very predictable in what was going to happen from the start. I liked the writing style & thought it was easy to imagine the beautiful setting of the island wedding.
A really fun book, with many great moments. A great feel good story about finding yourself after the break up. It had nice characters that I really enjoyed reading in this book. This was not a typical romance book but definitely had a lot of rom-com action too. It's more of a woman fiction.

Simple and fairly predictable storyline but a nice quick easy read.

Wedding Crasher by Abigail Mann 1.5 *stars*

Unfortunately it's a DNF from me at 50%.

This book started really good at the beginning and slowly I lost interest in this story. Nothing really happens with the main character and the love interest from the past, presumably.

I will start with the things I liked in this book:
* I really liked the idea of photography in the story, but there was only just a little hint, little paragraphs with this topic.
* There were a lot of music and film references in this book, I liked that a lot.
* I enjoyed the main character's best friend Lola, she is like a fresh breeze in the story in my opinion and Poppy doesn't appreciate how lucky she is to have her in her life.
* Will is interesting, because he somehow, with all the wealth he has, is enjoying life and being appreciative of small things and being totally different from the other members in his family.

And now the things I didn't enjoy as much:
* The main character, Poppy..... She is letting everyone I mean everyone to step on her head and she is just doing nothing to stop it. She is just running away when she clearly could have pushed her ex-husband out for her house and stopped him from being an asshole to her. He was emotionally abusing her on a daily basis. I think she was ignorant and whining about her life when she clearly could have changed that.
* I found that this book is written using a lot of "smart words" which made the reading experience far more worse for me.
* 50% in the story and it was just boring, of course everything is going off the rails in wealthy people wedding/work announcement event. I lost interest in that story, I was guessing what really will happen in the end and I'm okay with what I came up with.
* I was reading reviews for this book and I'm happy that I did. There isn't anything happening between main character and the love interest at all, nothing to spice it up, if I have to wait till the end for just a kiss, sorry, I'd rather read another book.

Thank You for the experience!

Big thanks to HarperCollins UK and One More chapter for providing this copy!

Whoa! What a ride. It was very fast-paced. The writing style kept me hooked and I didn't find myself losing any interest. I enjoyed getting to know each of the characters and how real the story felt. The author did a great job painting the setting, so it was easy for me to visualize the scene played out before me. I recommend giving this one a chance!

This was packed with humour and great characters and a little bit different. I loved the characters and their relationships - a warm and endearing read.

A glorious fun romcom with a wedding photographer thrown off by the appearance of a love interest at a wedding she is hired for. Absolutely recommended to all romantics out there!

This was one of my favourite books of the year so far although it wasn’t quite what I was expecting. Overall, I was expecting a bit more from the romance department of the book which is why I only gave it 4 stars and not 5.

Poppy was once a budding photographer but marrying young changed her life. Sadly, Poppy’s marriage has been pretty toxic and she struggles to really distance herself from it until she leaves to go on a photography trip. That doesn’t go to plan though and Poppy ends up as a temporary photographer for a wedding... for someone she crushed on at university.

The book starts with a bang and I wish that excitement had been kept up a bit more throughout. However, I really enjoyed the story. The characters were pretty good and I liked getting to know each of them and how they all knew each other. The story, while a little over the top at times (due to the setting etc.) was fun and I couldn’t wait to find out how it all played out.

The Wedding Crasher by Abigail Mann

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK and I am leaving this review voluntarily

Poppy is packing her bags to spend two blissful weeks alone on an island. It’s time away from the ex-husband who hasn’t quite moved out yet, and reminders of the marriage they rushed into young, before she’ll kick back on a girls’ holiday with her oldest friend Lola.

But before Poppy can set foot on the ferry, Lola waylays her. She has her first high-profile wedding planner gig on the neighbouring island, and there’s a problem – the photographer has bailed.

Poppy agrees to help out for Lola’s sake. But soon the bride confides she has cold feet and asks Poppy’s help escaping the island, and then Poppy realises she recognises the groom. Embroiled in a high-society disaster waiting to happen, Poppy has to save the wedding… but should she?

I have mixed feelings about this book - I wanted to enjoy the plot but it took some reading. It was an entertaining read but it wasn't the rom-com that I was expecting. This book has received very varied reviews, so I went into this with an open mind - sadly it just wasn't for me.

Rating 3/5

Irresistible and funny.
Many thanks to Harper Collins UK and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Wedding Crasher by Abigail Mann was not as advertised. The beautiful, intriguing cover and synopsis lead me to believe that this would be a rom-com. If I am to be completely honest the book absolutely didn't keep my attention. Unfortunately it was full of negativity and bad feelings and emotions, unhealthy relationships that were so bad they bordered on mental abuse.
I never grew to like the main character Poppy. I kept reading hoping somewhere that she would redeem herself. No matter how hard I've tried I just couldn’t warm up to her. She had no backbone, no opinions and was totally controlled and manipulated by her awful husband.
I didn't find any part romantic comedy. It felt forced and toxic, not funny. The characters were awfully stereotyped. As a reader you were actually forced to like or dislike them (mostly dislike) Poppy's husband, Ottilie, the grooms parents, the grooms brother etc. Ugh.
The story was underdeveloped at best. I found it full of broken relationships. What this has to do with being "hilarious and uplifting romantic comedy", is beyond my comprehension
I always try to finish a book out of deference to the author. I feel that they have spent a great deal of time writing the story. I always want to give the author a chance to redeem themselves but unfortunately this never occurred. I rarely give horrible rating to a book I’ve been asked to read, this might be my second or third.
I would like to thank the author, One More Chapter, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ok, let me preface by saying this: If I read a romantic comedy, I want it to be romantic and I want it to be a comedy. I think this was one was perhaps not well marketed since as a reader I was expecting something else.
But even despite that, the characters were unlikable and that is not necessarily an issue but you have to have a reason to continue reading nonetheless. something that you are interested or curious about or at least acquire something. And that lacked in the Wedding Crasher in my opinion. I am sure it can find its audience but I am not one of them.

Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK for this e-copy.My opinions are my own.

More a story of moving on and regaining self and self-esteem than the romantic comedy that the cover and blurb suggest, but Poppy's story is relatable and well-written. The romance is more past than present—much of the tale unfolds through dialogue which will not suit every reader.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher.