THE WEDDING SEASON opens during Freya and Matthew's wedding weekend. They're kicking off the wedding season in their friend group, hosting the first of eight that year. Except they don't walk down the aisle.

Freya had been with Matthew for 12 years before he unceremoniously told her he couldn't go through with the wedding. Author Katy Birchall really captured the aftermath of a breakup -- the pain, the confusion, the glimmer of (perhaps misguided) hope.

Luckily Freya's got two good friends in Ruby and Leo; they devise a series of challenges for Freya to complete at each wedding as a distraction, not to mention a way to get her mojo back. I enjoyed rooting for Freya as she came into her own and getting little peeks at the various weddings. (I do, however, have mixed feelings on the ending.)

After being dumped by her long-term boyfriend on the night before her wedding, Freya has to go forward with a summer full of her friend’s weddings. To get through the weddings, her best friends create challenges for Freya to complete at each wedding. She ends up meeting Jamie at one of the first weddings and despite a rough start, she starts to develop feelings for him. This book was more focused on Freya’s personal growth than her relationships, which I absolutely loved. I also really liked Jamie’s character and the relationship between him and Freya. This was a very fun read and I will definitely be checking out more books by this author!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC!

4.5 Stars

The Wedding Season, while a wonderfully written book is not one I would necessarily call a romance. The Wedding Season follows Freya as she tries to navigate life after her fiancé breaks up with her (after 12 years together) the day before their wedding. To try and help her through a summer filled with weddings, her best friends come up with a list of tasks for her complete at each wedding. The idea being that she’ll be so focused on the task she must complete, she won’t have time to think about her ex. Along the way she does meet a guy that is intriguing to her and does bring a dash of romance to the story, but it is not the focus of the story.

That being said this was still a great book. Katy Birchall’s writing style is so beautiful and gripping, it just captures me. The Wedding Season was clearly very well developed, both the story and the characters and the character growth for Freya was amazing to see.

This was a story about rediscovering yourself and opening yourself to new possibilities. Every task given to Freya was meant to take her outside of her comfort zone, some in a bigger way than others. To see Freya accomplish each task and have fun doing it was fun to experience, and that has everything to do with the way Katy Birchall writes.

I also loved the relationship between Freya and her friends and her relationship with her brother and father. They were explored so beautifully. And to see Freya work on her relationship with her mother was kind of inspiring. I really enjoyed this one and will be keeping an eye out for more books by Katy.

I’ve been wanting to try Katy Birchall’s novels for a while now and when I saw her latest novel, The Wedding Season, described as Four Weddings and a Funeral meets The Wedding Party, I knew I had to read it.

The story opens with the protagonist, Freya Scott, happily preparing to marry her longtime boyfriend, Matthew. That is, until Matthew pulls her into a broom closet the day before the wedding and breaks up with her. Feeling utterly humiliated, Freya wonders how in the world she will survive the seven weddings she has to attend in the upcoming months, what she and her friends have dubbed “The Wedding Season.” She has no idea how she’ll be able to cope with the awkward pitying looks, the gossip, and even worse, the fact that Matthew will probably also be attending most of them since they have so many mutual friends. Freya’s best friends Ruby and Leo, who as an aside, are very much friendship goals, come to the rescue. They devise a list of outrageous challenges, one per wedding, that will serve to distract Freya and keep her from dwelling on her own misfortune. The tasks range from being the last person standing on the dancefloor, to kissing a stranger, to running naked down a hotel corridor. Armed with this survival guide and endless moral support from Ruby and Leo, Freya sets out to tackle “The Wedding Season.” She has no idea how truly life changing her challenges will turn out to be!

You guys, this book was such a delight! I think what Freya was going through is an experience that many will find either relatable or else one of their own worst nightmares. I loved how even though she was devastated, Freya does start to embrace the idea of moving on without Matthew and that she just goes for it when it comes to completing the tasks on her list. That list provides so many laugh out loud moments and they made for a fantastic balance with the more serious elements of the story, just as they made Freya an even more endearing character than she already was.

Watching Freya find her way forward without Matthew was such a wonderful experience. It’s an awkward journey for her at times as she navigates through some confrontational moments with Matthew, but it’s also very healing and freeing for her as she comes to realize she doesn’t need him in her life and that she may actually be better off without him. She also starts to open her eyes and heart to the possibility of a new romance, but that aspect of the story takes a bit of a backseat to Freya’s personal journey. I would have loved a little more romance, but I was all in for Freya so the story was still fantastic as is.

The Wedding Season is a heartwarming and hilarious story about love and friendship. It left me feeling so hopeful about Freya’s future and also wanting sequels that feature all of Freya’s fabulous friends. Just an all around delightful read! 4.5 STARS

Book: The Wedding Season
Author: Katy Birchall
Rating: 4/5

Synopsis:
Four Weddings and a Funeral meets The Wedding Party in Katy Birchall's The Wedding Season: when a recently jilted bride is forced to attend seven weddings in one summer, her friends devise a series of challenges as distraction.

Freya Scott is getting married. Her wedding to Matthew, her long-term boyfriend, is the first of eight in her calendar this year, and as someone who prides herself on being meticulously organized, Freya is intent on making it the perfect day to remember.

But when Matthew calls things off hours before they walk down the aisle, Freya’s entire life plan goes up in smoke. Humiliated and heartbroken, the last thing she wants is to attend a summer of other peoples’ nuptials on her own.

Fortunately, her friends have an idea: together they devise a series of outrageous challenges for Freya to complete at each event, designed to distract her from Matthew and what might have been. From getting stuck in an old church bathroom and needing to be rescued by the vicar to making out with a barman at a French chateau, Freya realizes that despite herself, she might just be having fun.

By the time the final wedding arrives, she will discover that the road to a happy ending sometimes has unexpected detours, that “I do” is only the beginning––and that perhaps her own love story isn’t over just yet.

Review:
This was an enjoyable, entertaining, and humorous read. Although Freya went through many trials throughout the course of the book, I really liked getting to see her journey and how she matured as a character. Her journey to discovering herself after a devastating heartbreak and learning to love herself for who she is was an empowering story to read.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a cute book! I could feel the emotions of Freya throughout— especially the second hand embarrassment I felt for her! This would be a great book for the summer. I listened to the audio version and the narrator truly added something more. Highly recommend!

It took me quite a while to really get into this book. I’d heard so many good things about The Secret Bridesmaid so I had high hopes for this one. I was a little bored in the beginning but around halfway through it really picked up for me. I laughed a lot in the end and it was a sweet story!

This was so fun!!

Freya’s life has been upended with her fiancé’s announcement the day before her wedding. In the midst of her grief, her friends devise a series of tasks to get her through the many weddings she has ahead of her.

Although this definitely dealt with some heavier themes - moving on from a relationship, healing family relationships, rediscovering herself - it was all done in a lighthearted, enjoyable way. The tasks were kind of silly but never felt completely ridiculous or gimmicky. I also loved the characterization of all the strong and positive female friendships. I highly recommend this if you’re looking for a fun, breezy read as the weather gets warmer!

I loved this book, and it would be a super fun vacation read!

I enjoyed The Secret Bridesmaid by Katy Birchall when I read it last year, and I thought this upcoming release was even better.

The main character, Freya, was endearing and highly relatable. After her husband abandons her on their wedding day, she has to survive "wedding season," AKA those summers in your 20s and 30s that are packed to the brim with weddings and wedding-related events.

Freya's friends and family members were charming, and it was fun to read about the unique details of each celebration. Beyond that, however, it was inspiring to see Freya regain her confidence and independence after her breakup. There is a romance in this story, as well, but it's a bonus, not the focus.

I have no words for this book. The Secret Bridesmaid was one of my FAVORITE reads last year, so to say I was excited for this one is an understatement and I was not disappointed.

I did NOT want this book to end, please tell me there is more Katy? I loved Freya and seeing her growth and her self confidence and find out what she wanted and when she FINALLY got angry. I loved how all of the wedding seasons tasks (and a specific someone) really made Freya get out of her comfort zone and do something she normally wouldn’t.

I just kept finding myself smiling while reading this book, and honestly I love books like that. It just simply made me happy, made me laugh, and pulled on my heartstrings. Run, don’t walk to get this book y’all.

The Wedding Season by Katy Birchall

Not only does Freya’s fiance Matthew dump her the night before their wedding, but he also leaves her to attend seven other weddings that summer by herself. Her two best friends, Ruby and Leo, come up with tasks for her to do at each wedding to help her get out of her comfort zone and to keep her mind off of Matthew. This is how she meets Jaime, the cute friend of a friend who seems to show up at almost all the weddings she attends.

This has all the things I love in a rom com, although I hesitate to call it that because it’s really more about Freya’s journey of self discovery and less about her romantic status. It’s a slow burn, clean romance where Freya spends her summer coming to terms with the new direction her life has taken. It’s laugh out loud funny and charming with some quirky side characters and beautiful settings. I love weddings and I really enjoyed reading about all the little details that went into each one.

Freya wouldn’t have gotten very far after her breakup without her friends and I loved how much this story showcases the power of friendship and showing up for the important people in our lives. Birchall’s writing is funny and charming and I can’t wait to read more of her work. Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin’s press for the ARC to read and review.

This was a quick, fun read. Freya just got broken up with the day before her wedding. With the help of her friends, she tries to make it through Wedding Season with a new task every wedding. I enjoyed this cute book and would recommend.

nothing gets me like a wedding romance… seriously it has a chokehold on me. i really enjoyed this and can’t wait to get the physical copy!

I adored the main character and the plot of this book. It had me laughing and really feeling everything as I was so sucked In

Thank you @macmillanaudio @netgalley for ALC of The Wedding Season. I would categorize this as women's fiction more than a rom com.

Freya is dumped the day before her wedding in a broom closet. The story is about her making it through 8 weddings. I love her friendship between Ruby and Leo and how supportive they were.

The book is lots of fun and the narration was great on this.

The Wedding Season by Katy Birchall

Published: May 3, 2022
St. Martin’s Griffin
Pages: 390
Genre: Romance
KKECReads Rating: 5/5
I received a copy of this book for free, and I leave my review voluntarily.

Katy Birchall is the author of several young adult novels, including The It Girl series, the Hotel Royale series, and Morgan Charmley: Teen Witch. She is the co-author of the middle-grade Lightning Girl series and Star Switch with Alesha Dixon and the Find the Girl teen series with YouTube stars Lucy and Lydia Connell. Katy was proud to be the author of a retelling of Jane Austen’s Emma for the Awesomely Austen series, a collection of Austen’s novels retold for younger readers. She has also written a non-fiction book, How to Be a Princess: Real-Life Fairy Tales for Modern Heroines. Katy lives in London with her partner, Ben, and her rescue dog, Bono.

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

Freya had spent a year planning what she thought would be her dream wedding. But the day before, her fiancé drops a bomb- he isn’t in love with her and can’t go through with it. Most people would crumble at this point. But not Freya. She’s fine, it’s fine. Everything is just fine. Until she realizes he has seven weddings to attend this summer. Hers should have been the start time of wedding season. Now, she has to figure out life as a single woman at her friend's weddings and try to process what life looks like now.

This was such a beautiful story of loss, love, and forgiveness. I loved the themes in this book. And I love that so much of the plot revolves around Freya's love for her best friends.

This was such a sweet story, and the characters were perfect. I loved Freya's development throughout the novel. Watching her come to terms with herself and figure out that she is who she is, and that is okay.

There were a lot of powerful, beautiful themes running in this novel, and it was so well executed. This story would make the best series if done correctly.

The growth that was written was so realistic. It was so easy to imagine myself in Freya's position. I enjoyed witnessing her come to grips with her situation.

This is one of those stories where you find yourself smiling at the book like a fool, but it was so heartfelt and genuinely caring that there was no other way to continue.

This was an excellent novel by an author I had never read before. The writing was easy to read, and the emotions were genuine. This is an absolute smash hit, and I loved every second.

cute, but not for me. I unfortunately found this lacking both in romance and in comedy. I loved her other book, but felt like this one was trying to cover a lot of ground with not much to go off.

4 1/2 stars - Wow - I loved this book! After being in a relationship for 12 years, the day before the wedding, Freya's fiance, Matthew breaks up with her. Her best friends, Ruby and Leo come up with a plan to get Freya through the upcoming season of many weddings. Freya really grows emotionally - comes to terms with the end of a long term relationship and being on her own, mends fences with her estranged Mom, Great read!

SO surprisingly touching! I was immediately hooked by this book's summary and although it started off a little slow, it was a truly joyful reading experience. I laughed, cried, and genuinely took away quite a few tidbits from Freya's journey through the wedding season.

I received a eARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Katy Birchall came up with a unique concept of a story that I have read before. The main character's fiance leaves her the day before her wedding and the start of a summer full of weddings. The MC is struggling with the end of her relationship, especially so as she has to continue to attend all her other friends' weddings. Two of the MC's friends devise a plan for the MC to complete a series of goals at each of the weddings to help her move on.

While the concept was interesting, as were the characters, I found myself struggling to connect with the MC. It felt as though we were being told how the tasks went rather than living them with her. I would have liked the book more had I been more invited into these goals rather than just told about them.

Overall, the book was pretty decent.

3/5 stars.