Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinpress for my eARC.

This book gave me a lot of life lessons and inspiring quotes. Highly recommend this feel-good book full of self-growth, moving on, and friendships!

Freya is our main character, and I love reading about her moving on and adjusting to being single. It was beautiful to see her learn how to be more independent, how to enjoy every little thing about herself, and learn self love.

I love all the side characters that were there for Freya through it all. They have so many heartwarming and hilarious moments with Freya that definitely helped remind Freya that she is very much loved. The Freya, Leo, Ruby trio was my favorite!

Although the book focused more on Freya’s journey there was still an adorable slow burn romance between her and Jamie. They didn’t get along the first time they met each other but once they started talking and opening up, I really love their connection and bond.

After Freya was dumped in a broom closet the day before her wedding, she has to pick up the pieces and run the wedding gauntlet. When her best friends issue a challenge - that she do one hard task every wedding - Freya grows and changes to unearth the person she wants to be and embrace herself.

This book was incredibly sweet, funny and at times shockingly profound. I loved Freya and how she found herself over the course of her wedding season. It was about so much more than her ex fiancé or even the new men she encounters along the way (which the book does a good job of)- its about finding who you are, taking risks and embracing life in all its messy qualities. A true joy of a book!

Other things to know:
Single POV
No spice
Slight enemies to lovers (more like a bad first impression)

Hours before Freya and Matthew are supposed to get married, he bumps her in the broom closet.

If you read Katy Birchall’s “The Secret Bridesmaid” be warned this book is different. If you are expecting a rom-com, then keep it moving. This is a women's fiction about a woman on a journey of self discovery.

I am not even going to lie, I wanted a laugh out loud story about some more wedding disasters. While this book was not for me; I can see many who will enjoy this one.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and MacmillanAudio for gifting me an eARC and ALC in exchange for my honest review.

It'll be the summer to remember with so many of her friends getting married. And her wedding is the first out of eight. But when Matthew, her boyfriend of 12 years, breaks their engagement the day before the wedding, she's left with a humiliating and heartbreaking future. Her best friends Ruby and Leo, whose wedding is the last of the summer, come up with a plan to help her survive. She'll have one task each wedding to focus on and bring her out of her comfort zone-- from being the last one standing on the dance floor, to getting a kiss by the end of the night, or streaking through the hotel corrider. As the summer goes on, Freya begins to feel herself again, finding her confidence with every task she completes and even finding a spark of attraction with a possible new guy.
This book had some heartbreak, but a lot of humor. It was so very British, so I just want to say Matthew seemed like such a wanker. To leave her the day before the wedding with no real explanation after he's known for months was cowardly and he truly deserved that kick in the nuts! Freya's friends all sound like a fun and supportive group. I loved this story!

I don’t think I could have picked a more perfect book to read while going through a heartbreak. This was the reminder I desperately needed that friends can help you get through anything and love comes when you’re least expecting it. This book had me hooked from the first chapter and I found myself reading it every choice I got. Freya’s character was raw and real and I enjoyed getting to watch her recover and grow. Thank you to NetGalley for the arc of this title, I loved every minute of reading it.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4681937375

I absolutely adored this book! The Secret Bridesmaid is one of my favorite books from this year and after finishing it I ran to get my hands on this one..

The Wedding Season did not disappoint! This is the perfect summer read. It will have you laughing throughout and is an all-around feel-good book.

This is a story of personal growth, moving on and friendship. Freya was such a relatable and likable main character. I loved watching her navigate her new life stage and be willing to learn to love herself again.

Birchall also writes some of my favorite side characters! Ruby and Leo were so fiercely loyal to Freya and such a good example of true friendship. We all need friends like them. Lastly Jaime was a swoon worthy love interest to add to your book boyfriend list.

If you want a feel good read with laughs and sweet moments this one is for you! Katy Birchall is officially an auto-buy author for me! I need whatever she’s working in next asap!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

First of all, thank you to NetGalley, St. Martins Press, and Katy Birchall for an ARC copy of this book in return for an honest review!
Admittedly, this isn't my first choice of book, it's just not normally what I look for in a book. HOWEVER, I absolutely loved this book and am so so glad that I read it.
The book follows Freya, a devastated bride who has had her wedding called off the day before it was due to happen. With her wedding being the first of eight weddings in a massive wedding season, she's not sure how she'll make it through her friend's weddings with her broken heart. Freya's journey as she learns what it means to be single again, after more than a decade in a relationship, and finds herself along the way is beautiful. She has her friends and family to back her up along the way and she finds a way to be happy on her own.
The start of the book is a bit slower going, as you get to know each of the characters better, but if you can make it through that, the rest of the book makes it 110% worth it. Freya's journey is beautiful and so very uplifting. She rebuilds and strengthens relationships, finds herself, and gains new friends along the way. The ending of this book left me the happiest that any book has in a very long time. I liked it because it wasn't all wrapped up in a shiny package with a bow, it was realistic. I hate when books end with everything seeming too perfect, but this novel left me 100% satisfied. There aren't many books that I like enough to consider rereading them but this made the list and that alone is saying something. It is the perfect book if you're looking for a lighthearted, uplifting read and I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a good read.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4563049229

I was absolutely charmed by Freya. Getting dumped hours before the wedding by her boyfriend of more than a decade was just the start of Freya's journey. Everyone should have best friends like Leo and Ruby. Their plan to navigate the wedding season was fabulous. The book made me laugh out loud so many times. It really was a fun journey and the ending was pretty perfect and so hopeful that Freya gets her happy ending. I pretty much read this in one sitting, not putting the book down unless I had to. This book has absolutely made me a fan of Katy Birchall! I received an advance copy from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Freya gets dumped by her fiancé on the eve of her wedding and this book is about her journey to healing. She does this through a series of tasks her friends devise for her to get through the remaining 7 weddings they have to attend that summer.

Overall this was okay. Unfortunately I ended up not finishing it as it just seemed to not be going anywhere and I lost interest as I wasn’t invested in enough in Freya to care what happened.

Freya is getting married in a day but all that takes a back when the groom, Matthew, cancels it. For no reason and that rattles her, but at the same time she feels he'll get his senses back and they can move on as man and wife.

Weeks later, he's still on her mind and she's doing everything she can to erase him - even cooking. Despite all the hobbies she's tried, she's not sure anything will work. The story doesn't necessarily focus on romance, but on Freya finding herself again after being through a lot.

I loved the supporting characters, especially Ruby, because they added more depth to Freya's story which resulted in a well deserved happy ending.

Thank you, St Martins Press, for letting me read this.

I was hoping for a cute romcom and this book is more women's fiction. This book follows the main character, Freya’s journey after getting dumped by her fiance, Matthew the day before her wedding . She is heartbroken and sad and needs to put the pieces of her life back together.

I really enjoyed the characters and the friendship they had. The writing is good. I only wish it had more romance. I would recommend this book if you are looking for a well written women’s fiction book that will leave you smiling at the end.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martins Press for the ARC in exchange for my review.

Freya Scott was all set to get married.. She would be the first of the wedding season. Her world is turned upside down when the day before, Matthew her fiance breaks up with her. Her best friend Ruby and her fiance Tom are there for her. She was going to skip all the weddings but Ruby and Tom come up with a guide to getting through them all. She is assigned a task to complete. None are easy for Freya as they take her outside her comfort zone. I smiled at some of the tasks. She did complete them all. At the end, she was open to starting a new chapter in her life.

This was such a heartwarming story and I truly enjoyed it. It’s the perfect book to read in between my darker romances.

After twelve years together, Freya is engaged to be married to Matthew, the love of her life. Freya prides herself on being a well-organized person, always put together and all her ducks in a row. Matthew on the other hand, can be clumsy and forgetful. But I guess as the saying goes, opposites do attract!

But on the eve of their wedding day, Matthew unexpectedly calls it off and we follow along Freya’s journey from heartbreak to heart mend. But although she’s hurting, she’s determined to power through the wedding season. Luckily, she has some amazing friends to help her through it!

Although the first third of the book felt a bit repetitive while Freya navigated the mending of her broken heart, I really did enjoy seeing her grow into a stronger version of herself.

I absolutely loved Ruby and Leo’s dynamic and I thought they were hilarious. There were a lot of humorous moments that made me smile and laugh. But I especially loved how Freya’s friends supported her in helping through this rough patch.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one. Weddings always draw me in, and I really loved the underlying theme of love, family, and friendship. Great read!

After 12 years together, Freya’s fiancé leaves her the day before the wedding. After a devastating turn of events, her best friends Ruby and Leo prepare the Wedding Season Survival Guide. The guide has 6 tasks that Freya will need to complete at each wedding that she will be attending in order to have something to keep her mind on.

I actually liked this book. It wasn’t a romance novel, more of a woman’s fictional novel, with maybe romance as a subplot, but I wouldn’t really bet my money on it.

I think it was great to see Freya navigate through life with the new changes. I mean being in a relationship for 12 years to suddenly being single and losing your other half can be overwhelming.

It was nice to see the different friendships and how her friends had her back during these difficult moments. There are a lot of emotions involved in this. Grief, pain, loss, self-realization and so much more.

Overall, this was a good read, if you’re looking for romance as a subplot, definitely read this.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins for the ARC.

Nothing like kicking off wedding season by reading a book called The Wedding Season!
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Freya planned her perfect wedding. What she didn’t plan was the wedding being called off hours before she says I Do. She doesn’t want to see another wedding, but unfortunately she has a summer of weddings ahead of her. Her friends plan a set of challenges for her and she unexpectedly finds herself having fun.
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I would love to see this one as movie! This has a great cast of characters and I always love a book that has a solid group of friends. This is a fun one and is out on Tuesday!
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Thank you @smpromance and @netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

There were some things I liked about the book. I thought that many of the friends were fun and funny, and their affection for Freya was obvious. I thought that the plan that they came up with to get Freya outside of her comfort zone was kind of genius, and the way that the challenges played out was amusing, and not at all cringey. It was played for laughs, sure, but we were all in on the joke, and that’s important for me. I also thought that Freya’s new love interest, Jamie, was charming and delightful. Funny, rakish, self-effacing…heck, I might have been a little in love with him by the end. They had a decent enemies-to-friends vibe, and I thought that they were going to sell me on their chemistry.

And then, it just…fizzled.

Which brings me to what I did not like about the book. It just went…nowhere. Sure, there were a bunch of weddings…but seven weddings is about four too many for me to get invested in in a book. They made the cast sort of unwieldy, and we didn’t get any real time at any one place before we were dashing off to the next one. We also didn’t get a lot of traction with Jamie and Freya. Jamie wasn’t even AT all the weddings, which I get is likely how it might have played out in real life, but was frustrating as a reader because it felt like all the momentum the relationship might have just got derailed.

There is also a needlessly complicated subplot involving Freya, her dad, her brother, his new beau, and her estranged mother and the man she broke up the family over. It, like everything else, just slowed things down. If you cut out the entirety of this subplot, it does nothing but improve the flow of the book.

There is a fair amount of time spent texting throughout the book, and the way the texts are formatted, it is literally impossible to tell who is speaking, which was infuriating. This is a text exchange between Freya and Isabelle. Which lines are Freya’s? Your guess is as good as mine.

“I linger next to Pret, scrolling through my phone so it looks like I’m busy, keeping the meeting point in my sight line in case someone else arrives. I go into WhatsApp and find Isabelle’s name.

Hope you’re having an amazing honeymoon!
Wish you were here this weekend
Isabelle
Freyaaaaaa!! MISS YOU!
Having a great time, although Ryan got
food poisoning last night. It was not sexy.
I’m telling you, he’s lucky he put a ring on it BEFORE I witnessed that scene yesterday.
Oh no, is he ok?
Isabelle
He’s fine now.
Eating like a pig.
Omg wish I could be there this weekend!!
Please take SO MANY PHOTOS And videos Send them all to me please I am there in spirit
Will do!”

The thing that infuriated me most was that this could have been really good in the hands of the right editor. Cut half the weddings, let the momentum between Jamie and Freya build more organically, and tighten up the text formatting…and it’s something special.

As it was, though, it was a miss for me.

Four and a Half Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭒
The Wedding Season by Katy Birchall is a delightful story about forgiveness, personal growth, friendships, and love. I’ll be honest, I enjoyed this much more than I expected. From the blurb, I expected a light and a bit of a silly story, but instead, it was thoughtful, emotional, and charming.

Freya Scott is about to get married, she has planned her wedding to perfection and can’t wait to start of the Wedding Season with a bang. She calls it the wedding season because she had 9 weddings to attend between March and September of this year, including her own wedding which will start the season off.

When Freya’s fiance calls off the wedding just hours before she’s supposed to go down the aisle, Freya is stunned, humiliated, and hurt. The last thing she wants to do is go to 8 other weddings this summer, without her partner. Her best friends decide to give her some outrageous tasks for each wedding in order to distract her from her worries. Never one to say no to a challenge, Freya accepts the challenges of the weddings and finds herself in some interesting predicaments.

I adored the friendships the most. Freya has Leo and Ruby as her closest friends, and they have known each other for several years. Leo and Ruby are adorable, and they know Freya inside and out. They are the ones who suggest the crazy tasks as they know she must come out of her shell a bit and enjoy life. Freya also has other friends, who she meets up with and they are just as wonderful as her closest friends.

The humor in this book was excellent. I thought after reading the blurb it might be over the top and silly, but it wasn’t. It’s just the right amount, and realistic too. The banter between Freya and her friends and Freya and Jamie was wonderful. I feel like it would be easy to be part of this friend group.

I highly recommend The Wedding Season to anyone who loves books about friends. I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This was such a fun read. It was so easy to fall in love with the characters and I loved the premise of the story.

DNF. The main character is insufferable and I would rather lick sandpaper than read another page of her millennial behaviour.
(free arc review)

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the ARC of The Wedding Season!

Freya was dumped the day before her wedding and has numerous weddings the rest of the summer. To get through them, her friends devise a series of tasks to help distract herself. Each of the tasks become more difficult/silly as the weddings go throughout the summer “wedding season”.

To start, I want to say that if you are looking for a romcom, this is not the book for you. I anticipated that it would be a romance, but it was more of a women’s fiction about self-discovery. Not that that is a bad thing!! I was just hoping for more of a romance.

I enjoyed the cast of characters, aside from the ex-fiancé, everyone was fun and likable. I loved Freya and seeing her come into her own was great. The first half of the book was sad as Freya was dealing with justifiably sad emotions, but it really picked up steam when she began to feel more comfortable on her own.

I didn’t enjoy the storyline between Freya and her mother. Unfortunately, I felt like I hit a brick wall every time they were together.

All in all, it was a cute story about becoming strong on your own and putting one foot in front of the other after something difficult happens.

3 stars.