This was a beautifully written story. The main character has hit rock bottom and has decided to end her life at a fancy old hotel that charges $800 a night. Other than herself, the entire hotel is booked by "The Wedding People" who she ends up rubbing shoulders with throughout the wedding week. It obviously covers a lot of heavy topics, but it does so with witty, albeit dark, humor. I loved the inner thoughts of Phoebe and I was routing for her to view her life and potential clearly. I also appreciated that it didn't end with a neatly tied bow, but you knew she would end up ok.

Trigger Warnings:
•Mental health issues
•Infidelity
•Depression
•Suicide ideation
•Infertility
•Death

⭐️3.75
“But Phoebe is starting to understand that on some nights, Lila is probably the loneliest girl in the world, just like Phoebe”.

I pictured the chaotic, hilarious parts in the film, “My Best Friend’s Wedding” when I read this one.
There were parts in the middle when I was anxious to get to the plot, but the last 20-30% was engaging.

Everything can be so terrible in your life, but when you least expect it, it can completely change.

If you like unexpected, unusual friendships like I do, you’ll love this funny, feel-good story.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5951311067

Pub date: July 30, 2024
Thank you NetGalley and Henry Holt and Company for this ARC. My opinions are my own.

I loooove the dark humor and the way that mental health discussions are written. Also ""𝒮𝒽𝑒 𝒾𝓈 𝓈𝑜 𝑔𝑜𝑜𝒹 𝒶𝓉 𝓅𝓇𝑒𝒹𝒾𝒸𝓉𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓌𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓌𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓅𝑒𝓃 𝒾𝓃 𝒷𝑜𝑜𝓀𝓈, 𝓈𝑜 𝒷𝒶𝒹 𝒶𝓉 𝓅𝓇𝑒𝒹𝒾𝒸𝓉𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓌𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓌𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓅𝑒𝓃 𝒾𝓃 𝓁𝒾𝒻𝑒. 𝒯𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝒾𝓈 𝓌𝒽𝓎 𝓈𝒽𝑒 𝒽𝒶𝓈 𝒶𝓁𝓌𝒶𝓎𝓈 𝓅𝓇𝑒𝒻𝑒𝓇𝓇𝑒𝒹 𝒷𝑜𝑜𝓀𝓈 - 𝒷𝑒𝒸𝒶𝓊𝓈𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝒷𝑒 𝒶𝓁𝒾𝓋𝑒 𝒾𝓈 𝓂𝓊𝒸𝒽 𝒽𝒶𝓇𝒹𝑒𝓇" this quote is EVERYTHING. Great read.

“I have feelings. But everybody thinks that just because I’m like really f’ing blonde or something, I don’t have feelings. But you know what? My hair is not even blonde.”

🔹 Genre: Contemporary fiction
🩵 Steamy rating: Moderate, but a lot of sexual joking and discussions
🗣️ Profanity: High

This was a perfect summer beach read. The Wedding People was funny and outrageous. After going through a traumatic divorce, Phoebe arrives at the luxury Rhode Island hotel without a bag…. Just the dress she is wearing. She’s the only guest at the hotel not a wedding guest. Before you know it, Phoebe has become part of the wedding party entangling herself in the lives of the bride, groom, and their friends and family.

The characters made this book complete. Phoebe and Lila were so funny and perfect. Their friendship was unexpected but delightful. The groom, Gary, was such a dad. He made me giggle. I imagine he buys cargo shorts from Costco. This one was outrageous but had some hidden wisdom. This book is a great reminder that you are in control of your happiness.

🎧 Method: Macmillan Audiobook
📘 2024 book count: 93

Triggers: Infidelity, death of a parent, Cancer, betrayal

This was different from what I expected, in a good way. I enjoyed the storyline that had interesting characters, dealt with serious issues but had plenty of humor too. Characters experienced disappointments and new paths and new friendships and growth. Thank you Henry Holt & Co. For providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley.

Alison Espach's The Wedding People is character driven novel about second chances. After a slow start, I found the book to be compelling and I was rooting for the main character, Phoebe, to find her happiness.

"Can you sometimes try to love the things you hate about yourself?"
"It is good to want things, even the humiliating things."
"And it's true. How easy to be dead. How lucky to be alive, even for just one day."
"Nobody can take of you the way you need to take care of yourself. It's your job to take care of yourself,"

This book is all about moving on, loving yourself, and finding peace and happiness. At times, the story is dark. But, all in all, it is about triumphing and make the most out of every day!

Thanks to NetGalley and Henry Holt and Co. for the ARC!

I didn't know what to expect going into this book, but it sure wasn't all that this book ends up being! I'd love to see this made into a movie, too - but a good rendition of the book, not changed. I didn't think I would enjoy the book as much as I did, it's amazing!

The concept of this book is fascinating and I just loved all the characters! They all play a great role in the storylines and it's absolutely entertaining!

Lila is the bride who's using the inheritance from her father to plan the most perfect wedding she can - she's got it all planned, rented an entire coastal hotel to host all her friends and family. Or so she thought, until she runs into Phoebe on the hotel elevator and learns her story. She's at the hotel for an entirely different reason. And despite the odds, the quickly become acquainted and Lily turns to Phoebe when her perfect wedding has problems.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for a temporary, digital ARC in return for my review.

Phoebe Stone arrives at the grand Cornwall Inn as the only uninvited wedding guest. Lila has her wedding planned down to the last minute and contingencies for everything, except Phoebe. In an unexpected turn of events, they two become confidants and help each other get through the week.

In our winding path through life, there may come a time when we change the course of someone’s life without even knowing it. This tender and heartfelt book shows the power that just one person can make. Espach has crafted a wonderful story with great dialog and moment of humor of a found makeshift family at a week long destination wedding. The characters were well developed and the pace and plot made this is a un put-downable read. Great for the summer wedding season!

Phoebe Stone shows up at a hotel and mistakenly gets swept up into wedding festivities right when she is at her lowest. She starts her day thinking that it will be the last day of her life and instead she starts down a totally different path with the help of an unexpected group of people. In this character-driven and touching tale, Espach tackles so many issues that people deal with today: marriage, infidelity, infertility, loneliness, death, friendship and disappointment. While these issues can be heavy, the book is so engaging, heartwarming, thought-provoking, and hilarious, and it often went in directions I was not expecting. I loved everything about it - the characters, the plot, the intergenerational friendship, and the book’s resolution; this will be one of my top reads of the year. For fans of well-written books with a lot of humor and heart.

This is my first novel by Alison Espach. I really enjoyed this creative contemporary story. Phoebe (FMC) shows up to a hotel that is fully booked with “Wedding People”. What happens next is a very honest and entertaining story. Highly recommend.

Thank you Henry Holt & Co. for an early copy. All opinions are my own.

This book starts in despair with Phoebe the main character wanting to end it all after a series of hard to handle events in her life. The hotel that she deemed her happy place but never has been too would be her final adventure in her self-deemed mediocre life. But by happenstance she is the only other guest to a full wedding week planned by Laila.

Laila is a young, high strung, and seemly selfish bride to be that ultimately fails to let Phoebe end her life and instead uses her as one of only people to maybe understand and respect Laila.

While the story focuses on Phoebe learning and then reinventing herself into a new life that she is proud to be apart of. It also focuses on Laila doing the exact same thing in finding herself after a death and finally realizing with the help of Phoebe that she is living a lie and can do more. It took both of them finding each other to save and reinvent their respective lives and form a great friendship in the process.

Along with friendship comes love between Phoebe and Laila’s fiancé that is sweet, enduring, and honest. Something more than her ex husband.

Overall I thought this book was a 4.2. It was equal parts sweet, sad but insightful, and funny. I enjoyed almost all it with a little slowness between two sections. I would highly recommend and I would want everyone to live like Phoebe in speaking their truth when they have been contempt for so long.

Thank you to Henry Holt and Co. and Netgalley for the advanced read I thoroughly enjoyed it.

This book went in directions I didn't expect, and that is almost always enjoyable. It struck a balance between serious themes and humor, which is so difficult to do. The characters were well drawn, even if they were at times tough to take, though that all brought realism to the book. I enjoyed this one.

I’m not sure where to even begin. This book was a slow build, and completely had me conflicted at the beginning. I thought I was going into a joyful wedding weekend filled with a host of crazy, stereotypical wedding people, and this was not it at all.

When her life takes a drastic turn, Phoebe Stone spontaneously decides to get away from it all and take the trip she has dreamed of taking with her now ex-husband. The Cornwall Inn in beautiful Newport, Rhode Island, is brimming with guests when she arrives, and when she’s mistaken for one of them, Phoebe’s swept up in all the pomp and circumstance.

This book was not the uplifting read I thought I was getting. In the vein of Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway, Espach takes us on a week-long journey with Phoebe and her interactions with the overly meticulous bride, her older groom and his daughter. It was hard for me to like any of the characters, and at times I found myself struggling to keep going, but then there were parts of the book that I found myself relating to and kept on turning pages. I found the author’s style of writing and dark humor to be engaging, and ultimately what kept me reading. While I finished, this was not an easy read for me.

Trigger warnings include topics of suicide, infertility and infidelity.

Thank you to Alison Espach, Henry Holt and Co., and NetGalley for an advance electronic copy for an honest review.

Five+ golden stars.
A wonderfully written book that had me smiling the majority of the read. It has heart, humor, and human connection. I hope it turns into a movie.
Phoebe arrives at the Cornwall Inn with the anticipation of taking her life. She chose this place because it was the most beautiful place. For years she dreamt of coming with her husband for a romantic getaway.
However, the Inn has been booked for the entire week for Gary and Lila’s perfect wedding. Soon Phoebe finds herself swept up in the wedding party. Lila, the bride, does not live in the moment because she is always looking for what can go wrong. She dotted every I and crossed every T for the perfect pre-wedding week. Everything accounted for except the uninvited guest. Lila meets Phoebe on the elevator with her rock bottom and sassy attitude. Phoebe confesses her purposes for coming to the Inn. Phoebe speaks the truth with the why not attitude. Soon the two women confess to one another about things they would have never said out loud to anyone. Not only the bride, but the groom also confides confessions to the uninvited guest. I loved the spoken words of the characters inter monologue. This book is full of secrets, regrets, infidelity, dark humor, death, judgement, and depression. Written so smoothly it entwined its words around and tugged me in for some deep rooted mental escape.
Thank you NetGalley and Henry Holt & Company for an ARC read in exchange for my review.

Phoebe Stone has been disappointed a lot in her life. After suffering through multiple failed IVF attempts to have a child, her husband Matt tells her he's in love with one of her friends and then leaves. Phoebe's an adjunct college professor who never quite lived up to her potential, and certainly never finished that novel she was hoping to write. So she books the most expensive room in a pricey hotel, dressed up to the nines with a plan to end it all. There's a wedding party that has taken over the whole hotel, and she winds up getting swept into the festivities and interacting with the bride, her family, friends, and groom.

As the story evolves, we see Phoebe transform from a depressed and constricted individual to a disarmingly honest personality that touches people. This was an enjoyable character study covering themes such as suicide, infertility, abandonment, life goals, sexuality, and relationships. The setting of a wedding is a favorite trope of mine, so this was a pleasant read.

Thank you to the publisher Henry Holt & Company for providing an advance reader copy via NetGalley.

I think I'm in my weird characters era.

I've never added a book to my tbr faster than when I first heard about The Wedding People -- I'm pretty sure from Annie B. Jones (though I cannot find it for the life of me on the podcast website). A woman enters a historic seaside hotel wearing a gorgeous emerald dress and carrying no luggage. Everyone assumes she is there for the wedding, as everyone is there for the wedding, but she is not. She has rented the penthouse suite, with no plans save for one, a plan that the bride of the aforementioned wedding decidedly interrupts when she comes barging into her room and her life.

The characters we meet in these pages are a serious gaggle of weirdos, and yet, they all feel incredibly real and like people we all very much know. This is a story about second chances, maybe even third ones. About finding tenderness and forgiveness and understanding in the most unexpected of places. And, of course, as the best summer books are, about gorgeous seaside weddings. There is absolutely nothing I didn't like about this book. I underlined passage after passage (none of which I can share since it hasn't been published yet), and I found myself grabbing my kindle during any spare moment to get back to these characters. There is plenty of heavy content (let me know if you need warnings), and yet it still felt light and handled with such care.

While there are plenty of contenders for 2024's Book of the Summer, I want to throw this one into the ring, It certainly has my vote.

Thank you @netgalley @henryholtbooks @alison.espach for the advance copy of this book! 🎀

Publishing date is July 29th 📖

Oh this book pulled all the heartstrings. It was so not what I was expecting. It was so beautifully written. My heart just fell in love with Phoebe. Since we got to attend my sister in laws wedding this past weekend, with my daughter as the flower girl, I thought it was fitting. 🌸🌼🪻

In her green dress and gold heels, no suitcase in hand, Phoebe arrives in Newport, Rhode Island at the Cornwall Inn. The check in desk thinks she is in attendance for the wedding…the whole hotel was to be checked out just for the party. She actually isn’t her for the wedding at all. But decides to go with it. She’s dreamed of attending this hotel with her husband for years, but he asked for a divorce. So she is determined to have one last big splurge on herself. The particular bride and Pheobe realize their plans for this big weekend are very, very different and they start to confide in each other. It is such a wonderfully written book, and just a beautiful book. I had to close it a few times and just put myself in these two woman’s shoes and what I would do in this situation they find themselves in. 💍👰🏻‍♀️🤵🏼‍♂️

This book was WONDERFUL! WOW! I truly didn't know what to expect going into this but I loved every minute of this one.

On the surface, this is a book about Phoebe, who has hit her rock bottom after divorcing her husband, so she heads to her dream hotel with no luggage, no return ticket, and a plan to kill herself - by overdosing on her cat's medicine. When she gets to the hotel, she realizes she is the only one who is NOT there for a huge lavish wedding - and as she goes upstairs to her room, she runs into the bride, shares her plan to kill herself, and the bride is NOT having her ruin her wedding WEEK.

But from there - so much happens! There are so many layers to this story - the characters are BEAUTIFULLY written. They are so real and raw and flawed and I loved every single one of them - especially Phoebe. I was so invested in Phoebe especially but also every side character - even the "unlikeable" ones I found myself loving and rooting for - or laughing at and loving. This is a book about communication, depression, loss, love, life, family, friendship, and ultimately finding yourself...again - the YOU that you truly are and can be.

The writing was truly outstanding and I cannot wait to see what Alison Espach does next!

This is a book that I will not soon forget and will most likely be on my best of list for 2024! Loved it!

Thank you to Netgalley for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

The stage is set for the beautiful and expensive wedding. Family and friends have flown all over the country to the beautiful inn on the water. Phoebe is the only patron of the inn who is not involved with the wedding. She has shown up in her best green dress, shoes and nothing else but that hasn't stopped everyone for mistaking her for a wedding guest. Phoebe dreamed of coming to the inn with her husband, her now ex-husband who left her. Since she hit rock bottom, Phoebe has her own plan and the bride's perfect wedding plans aren't going to stand in her way...or will they.

Espach crafts characters with care- even when Lila was at her worst, you felt for her and the battle she also fought within herself. Espach wavered between moments of levity (Lila and the family were very funny) and fierce heartache (I felt right there in Phoebe's despair). Spoiler alert: I wish that romance weren't a part of the deal. I know that we were following's Phoebe's journey and part of that was her jumping out in all aspects of her life. However, I felt like part of the story wanted to be a romance novel (the couples switch!) That doesn't change the fact that I think if you enjoy personal growth and character connections.

a modern comedy of manners about a wedding and a woman who is not meant to be there.
This was smart and funny, deeply emotional, and one I highly recommend.