For me, there was just far too much talking in this story and not enough action and description. The dialogue was never short and punchy; the speeches were lengthy and seemed to cover far too much detail than I felt necessary. It significantly slowed the plot down and made me disconnect with the story, losing interest as these conversations felt never-ending. This was a shame as I think that with less chat and more action, this would have changed the tone of the story for the better.

Such a dramatic opening led to a narrative that was dialogue-heavy, with characters moving from one drama to the next. I did not get a feel for the wedding and how it was an over-produced disaster waiting to happen, instead more interested in the backstory that was developed.

Poppy seems to stumble upon this wedding by accident as she is on her way to a different island to take time out and focus on her photography. Yet, bumping into her close friend, Lola, she finds herself agreeing to be a stand-in photographer for what will be the career-defining event for Lola. It isn’t until she discovers exactly what she has agreed to does Poppy start to realise her involvement in this wedding is prompting old feelings to resurface. She needs to get herself off the island before her presence makes the preparations unfold and, to be honest, I felt like I needed rescuing from this narrative too.

Not only do we follow the lead-up to this big day, which is surrounded by NDAs, security and a mobile phone ban, readers also learn about Poppy’s past. I found this element of the narrative to be most engaging as we see Poppy’s relationship with both her estranged husband and the groom of the wedding. Seeing how Poppy’s marriage failed with Josh, I really sympathised with her character and could completely understand her desire to escape to a remote island and be by herself. Indeed, I think this relationship is an example of emotional abuse and I found it interesting to see how this intensified over the story.

But unfortunately I could not say the same about the main plot and I was less than excited about the big day. True, the outrageous, extravagant demands are entertaining and mock how weddings can get completely out of hand, especially when unlimited finances seem to be involved. However, I did feel that the chapters merely moved from one lengthy conversation to another.

For me, there was just far too much talking in this story and not enough action and description. The dialogue was never short and punchy; the speeches were lengthy and seemed to cover far too much detail than I felt necessary. It significantly slowed the plot down and made me disconnect with the story, losing interest as these conversations felt never-ending. This was a shame as I think that with less chat and more action, this would have changed the tone of the story for the better.

The premise was promising but the writing style hindered my enjoyment of this wedding disaster. Yes, Poppy’s appearance seems to set off a chain reaction of disasters but I was not convinced this would happen already. The characters felt flat, some of the developments were predictable and I did not find this book as entertaining as I had hoped.

With thanks to One More Chapter, Harper Collins and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I had not read anything by Abigail Mann before picking up The Wedding Crasher. When I read the blurb and saw the cover, I thought this would be one that I was going to love: A second-chance romance novel with some emotion, but mostly a lot of laughs. Unfortunately, it did not quite deliver on that for me, as it was more emotion (and seriously toxic relationships) with a few laughs sprinkled in the middle.

The Wedding Crasher is the story of Poppy, a teacher and photographer who is not happy with her life, particularly her relationship (and honestly, who can blame her). When her friend Lola, a wedding planner, needs a last minute photographer for a wedding on an island, Poppy jumps in. When the groom turns out to be Poppy's ex-boyfriends, things are bound to go terribly wrong.

Unfortunately, I found all of the characters to be rather... weak? I just didn't feel anything with them or for them. Weak is maybe not the right word, as they had so much going on, making the relationships between them a little wacky. Also, while I normally like multiple timelines and flashbacks to learn more about characters' backgrounds, it somehow did not work for me in this one. I'd still try Mann's other books, as I have heard good things, but this one took me a long time to get through.

this is such a sweet and wonderful book! i enjoyed every second of this. it was fun and sweet and charming and lovely. thank you so much to netgalley for letting me read this one early!! adored it.

Lots of humour, romance and a passion for photography is in store for the very entertaining Wedding Crasher by Abigail Mann. This is one of the funniest I have read of this author's books, so far... Thanks to One Chapter/Harper Collins for inviting me to review.

Let the countdown to the wedding begin...
The Wedding Crasher is entertaining from the start. Dare I say it, but this may be one of the most entertaining books from Abigail Mann. It is so enjoyable getting to know Poppy, Lola and Will. The humour all starts in a rather rocky dinghy and some witty chat and repartee.

Poppy it turns out, has a love of photography and teaches it in a school that is teetering on the edge with the eyes of Ofsted on them. Then there's also the awkward relationship complications between Poppy and Josh. Poppy then ends up involved in taking photos for a wedding that is a week long, including all the build-up to it. It's high profile and the very rich groom is certainly a kaleidoscope of personality and life. In saying that, Poppy has gumption and inner-strength, especially when it comes to her own relationship with Josh and how that is hitting the rocks.

There are islands - Orwell and the much more glamourous Loxby Island with its Art-Deco designed archticture to explore, with beautiful, idyllic backdrops. The book as whole is just so easy to be swept along by. 

There are also moments focused on the current debates around sport, but you really don't have to be even remotely a sports fan to get enjoyment from this book as far, far from the dominant part of the book.

The comedic moments keep coming, which is impressive; even when there are serene moments of reflection and emotion, this isn't lost sight of and put altogether, makes a great mixture for this book.

Another hilarious contemporary read from Abigail Mann that perfectly captures that taking stock of your life feeling of “how did I get here?” and dissects the total fallout but ultimately liberating feeling of a break up, albeit in the context of working at someone else’s wedding.

We join photography teacher Poppy as she’s escaping for a couple of weeks of the summer holidays to Orwell Island to snap away at puffins in a bid to get back into photography. She essentially gave up her dreams when she got hitched to Josh fresh out of university some 9 years ago and the marriage quickly turned sour. Mid-divorce proceedings, all she wants is to forget about Josh and the marriage, and lose herself in nature photography.

But when she bumps into her oldest friend, wedding planner Lola, before she can even step on the ferry, her holiday plans quickly turn into doing a massive favour. The next minute Poppy’s replacing the wedding photographer at some very lavish nuptials on the neighbouring island of Loxby, and she soon comes to realise that the groom is not just some rich stranger, but someone she used to know very well indeed…

I loved this book, it was sharp as a knife escapism and brought together a colourful cast of characters with a whole toolbox of spanners to throw in the works.
I really enjoyed the episodic structure which employs time jumps back and forward to steadily unravel the characters and events.

The feeling I loved in Abigail’s debut novel The Lonely Fajita is reiterated here: your value is your own, and there is no shame in singlehood.

This book has perhaps wrongly been marketed as a rom-com, it’s a comedy for sure, and it isn’t completely devoid of romance, but it’s much more about finding your own feet again than finding another hand to hold.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publishers for letting me read an advance copy of this book before publication in exchange for my feedback!

This took me a little while to get into, but once I did I enjoyed it. A nice summer read. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for this ARC

The book starts with Poppy at the end of a school day in her art room with students. It is obvious very quickly that her relationship with her colleague and husband is on the rocks and has been for a while. What comes next confirms that her husband is not the man for her and she needs to move on. She goes away. with her camera meeting a friend who is a wedding organiser who needs a photographer. The scene is set for the wedding crasher of the title.

The characters are well drawn. You are encouraged to like some of the characters and wonder about others. The scenes are over the top with sumptuousness but underneath all the bonhomie there is unhappiness and things happening which are alluded to, giving room for interpretation. There are hilarious moments and some poignant ones as well.

The descriptions of the island are simple and sparing. Interestingly, it never seems to rain.

The book ends in a way that is acceptable for the reader. An enjoyable read.

I loved the opening to this book - it really pulled me in. I then felt the actual story was a bit slow. I don’t love mixed timeline stories so i guess that didn’t help! I also didn’t really love any of the MC although I didn’t mind the ending. All in All I enjoyed the book but it didn’t grip me as much as I thought it would from the opening chapter

Poppy is planning on spending the next few weeks taking photos of puffins away from her domineering and manipulative (hopefully) soon to be ex-husband but instead ends up as a reluctant photographer at the wedding of the year on a private island. Her best friend Lola wrangles her to fill in for the professional photographer that has fallen ill. Poppy soon discovers that it’s the wedding of her old friend/Uni roommate, Will. All through school, he kept his identity a bit of a secret, never letting on that he was the son of a big mogul. Their friendship ended when Poppy got together with Josh ( the aforementioned soon to be ex).
Throw in a new-agey bride, a naughty brother, a high strung father more concerned with a merging of companies than families and an uninvited aunt and chaos ensues. The pressures of the family and the merger of companies are too much for Will & his fiancée to bear. Is it just cold feet or more?

The book started interestingly. It started near the end of the story and the chapters after are what lead up to it. I enjoyed it. It was one of the few books that has held my attention these last few months.

This was a nice read. I was invested in the characters and interested in the storyline.

I found the descriptions of the wedding setting to be very descriptive.

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

Abigail Mann has done it again! This is light, charming and hilarious! I don't often laugh out loud at books but I did with this one.

Not the light, fluffy rom com I was expecting but much more deep. Poppy's quite manipulative 8 year marriage has ended and armed with her camera she is looking for a relaxed week at the beach. Her friend Lola has other ideas though and convinces her to step in as the photographer at a celebrity wedding when the original is a no show. The tacky wedding celebrations start a week before the big day and when Poppy recognises the groom as a blast from the past she becomes embroiled in his salvation especially when it becomes obvious that both he and the bride appear jittery.
Poppy and her friend are likeable characters in a story that is a much deeper read than anticipated with smatterings of light hearted humour.

I enjoyed the concept of this book and really wanted to love it. It might have been the mindset I was in as I just came off another quite heavy book, but I couldn’t get into the story or characters. I definitely will be trying this book another time.

I want to thank NetGalley, Abigail Mann and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter, One More Chapter for the e-ARC of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are honest, my own and left voluntarily.

From the concept of the book I expected this to be frothy and lighthearted and fun. I was picturing a noughties style romantic comedy with a healthy dose of working on oneself. Instead, for me this fell a little flat as the romance is severely lacking, and there seems to be some heavy tones that don’t really bounce well with the comedic elements woven in occasionally.

Also one of the central aspects of the plot sees our protagonist Poppy leaving a toxic marriage after experiencing years of gaslighting and manipulation. However I don’t feel as though this was handled as delicately as it should have been.

What a ride this story was!!!! I had no idea the adventure I was in for when I started this one lol. I absolutely LOVE Abigail’s other two books, and I knew this one would have funny bits as well.

This is not your typical take on a wedding story haha. It definitely shows things that those with money can experience and is certainly not my reality in any way lol. Also a week of festivities leading up to a wedding is too much for me (irl), and this was definitely not your standard wedding!

I enjoyed the character of Poppy and respected her flaws and flawed life. I enjoy reading about people who aren’t too perfect and have absolutely crap things happen to them. I think Poppy is insecure, lacks some self confidence, but has a pure and genuine heart. I enjoyed the other characters, but Poppy was my favourite.

As much as I enjoyed this one, it is my least favourite of the authors works. It didn’t quite have the same feel as the other two and I didn’t get sucked in to the same extent. I’m not sure if it was the type of story or what exactly it was that I felt was different, but something about it sets it apart from the others. Absolutely give it a read and form your own opinion!!!!

Thank you to Abigail Mann, One More Chapter, and Netgalley for a gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.

Poppy is a photography teacher going through a separation from her teacher husband, Josh. During the Summer holidays, Poppy decides she needs to get away and books a few weeks on a remote island to photograph the puffins.

On her way , she bumps into her old friend Lola who begs her to help out with the photography at a big wedding for a couple of days until the original photographer gets better. Poppy reluctantly agrees little realising the groom is her old university friend, Will.

Will comes from an extremely wealthy family, a fact he kept secret in their years together with the reasons becoming quickly apparent when Poppy gets the meet the Mountgrave family.

As the pressures and tensions mount in the lead up to the wedding day, Poppy wishes she had stuck with the puffins but she can see that there are doubts with both the bride and the groom.

Being in the company of a controlling family for just a few days makes Poppy look at her own life and her hesitations over finally divorcing Josh, somebody who also manages to control and manipulate her life.

Can she save not only herself but also Josh from making a big mistake.

The book doesn't manage to make the reader feel the tensions or grip you as a page turner but is a steady easy read.

The characters had too many personal issues between them and not enough time to give each the proper attention they deserve.

Poppy is in the process of getting divorced from her controlling, manipulative husband, Josh. Her vacation plans include going to an island to photograph the puffins, in the hopes of entering a photography competition. It does not include playing backup photographer to a very hush-hush high-profile wedding. Poppy finds herself immersed in a strange world of wealth and privilege when her best friend, Lola, the wedding planner, ropes her into helping out until the official wedding photographer shows up. And the situation gets more complicated when it turns out that Poppy knows the groom, Will.

First off, this isn’t a light, sweet romantic read. Poppy is in serious trouble after years of abuse and manipulation by her husband. She is thoroughly downtrodden, so much so that she can’t even make a clean break with Josh. They are still living in the same house, and he is still dictating her life and her choices. Lola is trying her best to help lift Poppy up, but it’s an uphill battle. Then there’s the unresolved past between Poppy and Will that suddenly gets pushed to the front again. I feel like this one book just wasn’t enough to properly deal with both ideas. And that’s not even considering Will’s issues with his family.

The book jumps around a lot between present and past. I really liked Lola and, surprisingly, I liked Ottilie and her craziness, despite what she did in the end. The rest I didn’t care for at all, not even Poppy and Will. There just wasn’t enough time to get to know them well enough.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The wedding crasher by Abigail Mann - Poppy aims to spend a week alone on an island with just her camera for company. But her best-friend has other plans, as she drags her in to help her with this catastrophic wedding she is planning.

Considering this book was compared to the works of Beth O'leary I was really excited to read this but unfortunately that excitement did not live long.

The appearance of this book is a sweet but serious rom com but this is far from the case.

The main character Poppy finds herself struggling to leave a broken marriage to a man who gaslights and controls her. This serious situation is somehow then played out against the background of a high society wedding on an exclusive island that Poppy ends up becoming the photographer at because *reasons*. Oh and the groom just happens to be her “one that got away”.

I did not really see the humour nor the romance in this book. A bit of a disappointing read.

My first book by the author, I will definitely be adding more of her work to my TBR

Such a sweet and uplifting read and the most adorable characters.