When Matthew leaves Freya the day before their wedding, she is devastated but tries to hide it all behind a calm front. Not only has she been left at the altar, but she has seven weddings to go to amongst her group of friends that summer. Her fabulous friends see right through her calm demeanor and, after determining that she still wants to go to all these weddings, give her a set of tasks to complete during each event.. By the end of the "wedding season," she has learned a lot about herself and her relationships.

I feel bad being so entertained by a "left at the altar" situation, but this was uproariously funny at times. There were also moments of heartbreak, anger and loss.

The relationship between Freya and her mother is so heartwrenching, as this is not the first time she's been abandoned. Freya's journey through her two abandonments, both past and present, is compelling. Her supporting cast of friends are the type of people I'd like to have in my life when others let me down. It's a rollicking recovery journey that you will not want to miss.

I received a free copy of this book from St. Martin's Press via Netgalley. My review is voluntary and my opinions are my own.

I liked the concept of this book, but I just couldn't get into it. There were a few funny parts, but nothing too crazy. I love Ruby and Leo! It took way too long for anything to really happen in this book.

What a fun book to bring in Spring!

This fun and light romantic comedy is just what someone needs to lift their mood.

MC Freya, is dumped the day before her wedding and has to deal with the fallout of the cancelled ceremony. As Freya moves through the motions of life (and invites to other weddings) after the break up, she learns many things about herself through a series of challenges put forth by her friends. I absolutely loved the comedy throughout and would definitely recommend this adorable novel to others.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this eARC in return for my honest opinion! 4.5 ⭐️ for this one!

The Wedding Season is a hilarious, heartwarming story you will fall in love with! The humor in this story was excellent and I adored the friendships. The relationships Freya had with her friends and family is what made this story so special and the tasks her friends gave her to accomplish at each wedding were wonderful. This was a clean slow-burn romance. I’m actually really glad they were not part of the story and made the angst and buildup even better. Overall, this was an absolutely lovely story about forgiveness, personal growth, friendships, and love.

This book follows Freya through a summer of weddings after being dumped the day before her own wedding. In order to distract her, her best friends make a series of challenges for her to complete at each subsequent wedding.

Hilarity ensues as she completes the fun and crazy challenges at each wedding and she meets some fun and "special" people along the way.

I loved following along with Freya in her grief and acceptance and watching how realistically everything was handled. She definitely was a likeable and relatable main character which is big for me.

I could imagine this playing out as a movie the whole time and would love to see this played out on the big screen. Do yourself a favor and add this to your summer TBR!

Thank you so much to St Martin's Press for the E-ARC. This book is out now!

I tried, I really did, but I ultimately had to DNF this book. I realized I was checking my % remaining stats on my Kindle after every chapter and couldn't believe there was still SO MUCH BOOK to get through.

I just didn't connect with the main character. On top of that, the fact that there were eight weddings and corresponding "fun" challenges to slog through seemed excessive - maybe if I had been more interested in the female lead, I wouldn't have minded quite so much, but I really struggled to connect with her. I felt like I didn't know much about her beyond the plot - her fiance left her the day before their wedding, but aside from his explanation, I didn't really know why, and I didn't feel like we got enough insight into the characters to empathize with them. Maybe this comes later, but I got halfway through and still felt like I didn't have any connection to the characters, so I just had to give up.

THE WEDDING SEASON - KATY BIRCHALL
4⭐
PLOT - Freya gets dumped a day before her wedding by her king term boyfriend.. she is heartbroken and humiliated.
Freya who was the 1st to get married in the season now needs to attend the other 7 weddings by herself.
But her friends give her a series do outrageous challenges to do at each wedding and oddly Freya starts having fun!!
MY THOUGHTS -
I enjoyed Freyas journey...falling in love again isn't as important as falling in love with oneself and having fun...and this is what this book highlights !!
Along with this Freya has the bestest friends in the world in Ruby and Leo... seriously great friends...some of the best moments of the book are with the trio!!.
There is romance in Freyas life but am glad it wasnt the highlight and it works for the story!!

Thank you St Martin's press and Netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest review

I loved this book so much. Katy’s writing sucks you in from the very start and is just so endearing. I laughed out loud multiple times. It was a little low on the romance but I didn’t mind. This story was about Freya’s growth and it felt extremely realistic and authentic. Five stars from me.

Things I love - weddings, hijinks, and books that are set in London. This was so much fun! I loved The Secret Bridesmaid last year and this was no different. I love how Birchall writes such heartwarming stories and characters in a witty and enjoyable way. I would love both of her books I have read to be turned into movies, and I would probably watch them all the time.

Highly recommend, thank you so much to Netgalley and SMP for this arc!

I will be unable to finish this.

I had requested so many books when I started my account. I didn’t think I would get approved for so many, and now several of my books are already archived, and I have too many to read.

This is not the fault of the author. I’m a student as well as a mom and business owner, so I’ve been slacking in the reading department.

I’ve also come to the realization that romance isn’t for me.

This book had an interesting premise and I was very interested to dive in when I read the synopsis.

Freya is dumped by her fiance at the last minute before their wedding as she is just working on wrapping up the final pieces for their big day. Single and working to overcome the heartbreak she is staring down a summer full of weddings she just attend for her friends and families and celebrate their happy moments when the last thing she feels is happy given all that has occured.

Her friends and family devise plan to get her to do some outrageous challenges over wedding season so she can enjoy her time and work through her heartbreak.

I loved the camaraderie between Freya and her friends. It was the true highlight of this book.

Freya was set to have her dream wedding, but Matthew, cancels it the day before in a broom closet. She must continue on with her life during Wedding Season. Leo and Ruby, her best friends, help her get over Matthew. This book was so well written and easy to follow. It puts a smile on your face and the author did a fantastic job with building the characters throughout the story. I would read this book again and would read any other book written by this author!

A perfect read as you drive to a wedding. What a lovely tale! I can’t wait to read what else Birchall writes!! Beautifully written.

Fun and lighthearted. Freya is dumped the day before her wedding by her fiance, who she's been with for 12 years. Then she realizes she has a whole summer of weddings to attend, and he's going to be at some of them. Her friends come up with a plan and a list of things she has to do at each wedding.
There are lots of funny moments and sweet moments in the book. I loved Freya's friendships and her relationships with her family members. The tasks take her out of her comfort zone and help her move on from her heartbreak. I really enjoyed this book.

This was the perfect rom-com book. It had minimal spice and was overall cute and cheesy at times but I definitely enjoyed it and will be re-reading in the summer time. Freya’s life takes a toll for the worst when her fiancé, Matthew, decides to dump the truth that he doesn’t want to get married the day BEFORE their wedding, and to make matters worse, their wedding was going to be the first one to “kick-off” the wedding season. Following Freya’s journey post-breakup was actually amazing. Her amazing friends and the strength she gains and truly finding out who she is was great. Thank you netgalley for sending me this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Freya Scott is excited to kick off the Wedding Season by marrying her boyfriend of 12 years and fiancee Matthew. She has spent the last year planning the perfect garden wedding. The day before they are set to say “I do” Matthew pulls Freya aside … as it turns out he’s had a change of heart and the wedding is off. Freya is devastated, her father and brother try their best to console her and help her back on her feet. Freya has so many questions but Matthew has turned ice cold and won’t reply to her messages or answer her calls. Where exactly does one go from here and how is she supposed to get through the other 7 weddings this summer?

“When you get dumped the day before your wedding in a broom cupboard, suddenly everything seems a bit shit.”

Thankfully Freya has an amazing group of friends. Her best friends Leo and Ruby concoct a plan to help her survive the Wedding Season. For each wedding they have come up with a challenge Freya must complete to help keep her distracted and her mind off Matthew. Freya reluctantly agrees and while she thought it was silly at first she has to admit having these challenge is actually helping.

This book is listed as a romance but I would put it square in the women’s fiction category with the romance being secondary. That said I did really enjoy the book. We follow Freya as she struggles to find her balance after here whole life has been turned upside down with the unexpected end to her engagement. She tries to distract herself with work and tell herself everything is just fine. However, when her friends come up with the wedding season survival guide she is surprised to find how much she is enjoying being pushed out of her comfort zone.

"Even if you find a way to work things out together, it will be different. Not that that's a bad thing or a good thing. It just is what it is. Neither of you can change what's happened."

I loved the character growth we see through out this book. Freya is very relatable and reacted how so many react to an unexpected breakup, shock and in denial. She wants desperately for things to return to normal and hopes Matthew just made a terrible mistake. However, as the book progresses and she comes to terms with the end of their relationship we she her take some of her power back and open herself up to new opportunities. I loved the supporting characters, it was obvious Freya had a long lists of friends and family who love her dearly and they made from some truly laugh out loud moments.

This is my first read by author Katy Birchall but it certainly won’t be my last. Her writing flows effortlessly and the character development was excellent. I’ve heard great things about her book The Secret Bridesmaid so I will definitely be looking to read it this summer.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

12 years into their relationship, Freya gets dumped by her boyfriend a day before their wedding, in a fricking closet! Understandably she is all sorts of emotions but what makes it worse is the fact that it is literally Wedding Season, as she still has to attend her close friends’ weddings while still grieving. This book details how she made it through.

Okay, this is not a rom-com. This is a 100% chick-lit and it was very enjoyable. Sure, there was a side of romance, but it was so underdeveloped and tbh I didn’t mind. At its core, this is a book about how to pick yourself up when unimaginably down. Katy i.e. the author did not shy away from Freya’s emotions and my heart truly ached for her as she grieved; and cheered when she slowly started to move on to a happier space.

My undisputed favorites were Ruby and Leo. Every girl deserves a true BFF and I LOVE that Freya had 2 including a male one! Their friendship was so fun and true, and I LOL’ed more than once at their antics and conversations. Freya also had a really good wider support system of friends asides her BFFs. Simone, Isabella, Naimh etc. were all equally great. The restaurant scene was a standout. Also shout out to the diversity in the characters and the weddings! From an Ibo wedding to an Irish one, they were all loads of fun.

While realistic sometimes painful, it was not dreary and ultimately, I enjoyed reading it.

A huge thank you to St Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC.

In Katy Birchall’s “The Wedding Season”, Freya’s 12-year relationship ends the day before her wedding when her fiancé, Matthew, leaves her heartbroken and confused. Freya now has to face seven more weddings, so her besties, Ruby and Leo (also to be married), come up with a plan for Freya to distract herself during the upcoming wedding season: she has to do a list of things outside her comfort zone because when she focuses on these tasks, she’ll be preoccupied, hence not dwelling on stupid Matthew and all the gossip, stares, and “what if’s”.

With some laugh out loud moments, Katy also brings out moments where you choke up, for it is during Freya’s path towards healing where the writing grabs you at the heartstrings. Freya is depicted as fragile, yet strong; emotional but controlled.

Not only did I appreciate the character development of Freya, but I also loved the tight father-daughter relationship Freya had with her dad. (*sniff sniff*) He was her rock while he continued to give support, advice, and encouragement.

And then there’s Ruby and Leo - the ultimate definition of friendship is right here! I thoroughly enjoyed seeing them as Freya’s cheerleading squad, sword and shield. I dare say that they are definite scene stealers throughout. (Oh how I’d love to read a prequel about them.)

If you can get through some of the cringe-worthy reactions of a woman’s scorned heart, you will find this entertaining comedic chick lit (not exactly a romance but still worthy) as a story that’s also full of drama and dare I say - inspiration. There are some simple but profound quotes that deserve to be on your wall, like this one:

“Even when it doesn’t feel like it, there will always be happy times ahead, so long as you surround yourself with people…People are what matter in life. They’ll surprise you, amaze you, disappoint you. It’s all part of the mess. And thank goodness! If we were able to plan everything, we’d never change; we’d never learn or grow.”

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was an entertaining, well-written book. It was cute, held my interest and I wanted to find out what would happen. I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to others.

This was a fun, easy read with a lot of heart.

When Freya is dumped in a broom closet the day before her wedding she has to face the wedding season… alone. In an effort to distract her from wallowing in self pity (and the book does start with some of that), her friends come up with a list of challenges which she must complete at each wedding.

While there is romance in this novel, the real romance is between Freya and her family (and her friends that become family) and most importantly between Freya and herself.

There is only one mildly steamy scene, so if steamy romance is your genre this is not it. But it is sweet and funny and a lovely story. It is easily readable and the pace and plot are quick and light. Overall, I would recommend it for a sweet summer read.