Overcome with depression after a series of struggles, a woman checks in at a resort intending to end her life. Instead, she becomes tangled up with the wedding party occupying the rest of the resort and through them finds the courage to start over. This was sweet, funny, introspective, touching, everything you could want from a story like this. Full of memorable characters and a realistic look at tough topics like mental health and infertility. It really captures the power of unexpected connections and how transformative it can be to open yourself up.

This is heavy and full of trauma but wow it was amazing!! I love the dark humor and how much this represented mental health. Character development was top notch, I loved every single one. This book deserves so much hype for how well it was done!!

Alison Espach's The Wedding People is a captivating exploration of unexpected encounters and the poignant twists of fate that shape our lives. Set against the picturesque backdrop of Newport, Rhode Island, the novel introduces us to Phoebe Stone, a woman whose arrival at the Cornwall Inn amidst wedding festivities sparks a series of delightful and poignant interactions.

Phoebe, initially mistaken for a wedding guest, finds herself drawn into the intricate web of the bride's meticulously planned event. Despite being the only guest not there for the wedding, Phoebe becomes an unlikely confidante, sharing moments of uproarious humor and tender vulnerability with the women caught up in the celebrations.

Espach's narrative skillfully navigates between humor and pathos, painting a vivid picture of Phoebe's journey as she navigates her own dreams and disappointments. Through witty dialogue and keen observations, the novel explores the unpredictability of life and the profound connections that can arise from chance encounters.

The Wedding People is a delightful read that blends comedy with heartfelt emotion, offering readers a glimpse into the complexities of human relationships and the serendipitous nature of finding oneself in unexpected places. Espach's writing is both charming and insightful, making this novel a memorable exploration of life's unexpected detours and the resilience found in forging new paths.
Thank you to NetGalley for advanced copy of this book.

I loved the writing and the funny banter. The character development was so good and the dialogue so natural. It was easy to picture this being a movie with a beautiful setting.

It’s been awhile since a book has really sucked me in from page one, but Wedding People did! I could not put it down.

If you are looking for a book filled with a lot of heart and humor look no further. The book follows Phoebe, who is had it with her life, and decides to check into a fancy hotel in Newport. Upon arrival she discovers the hotel has been booked for a wedding and she should not have been allowed a booking. What ensues will make you laugh, cry, and feel every emotion in between. Ultimately the book is about connections and just how important they are. You never know how interacting with someone can impact their day.

Five stars!!! I cannot recommend this enough!
Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book but once I started reading it I was completely enthralled. What a cast of characters .Phoebe ended up being the change for all around her and in doing that changed herself. Also. who plans a wedding week? I am also glad the authorgaveus a glimpse into Phoebes possible future. Please read this!

Phoebe's life is going off the rails so what does she do? She books a room at an Inn she's dreamed of visiting, puts on her most beautiful dress that she's never worn, and waltzes into the Inn with a solid plan. Then she meets Lila and plans change.

When I requested this book from NetGalley I assumed I was getting a fun summer beach read but I got so much more. The characters are developed beautifully and while some of the subjects are not laughing matters, you will still find yourself chuckling over conversations and situations. At the beginning, I wasn't really "getting" Phoebe and certainly didn't care for her but by the end, you'll wish you could be her friend. Then again almost all the characters are that way, you grow to love them for who they are and what they bring to "The Wedding People" group, except Jim, you love him right off the bat! This book exceeded my expectations in so many ways.

I understand the movie rights have been purchased and if that's true, then I cannot wait to see this in movie form. The character dialogue is beautiful and funny and all the feels in between. I suspect this will be quite the bestseller!

Many thanks to NetGalley, Alison Espach, and Henry Holt & Co (publisher) for this advance copy to read and enjoy.

I enjoyed this novel--the story is different than anything I've read. Phoebe leaves her life to go to a hotel in Newport, Rhode Island, where she has a specific plan to accomplish, but when she arrives at the very expensive hotel she finds out it has been taken over by a wedding party. The 'wedding people' pretty much take Phoebe in and she learns about them and about what she wants out of her own life (I am being vague because anything else would be lots of spoilers). The characters are good--I really liked Phoebe, and I didn't like Lila which is fine--and I liked the setting. If you've ever been to an 'overdone' wedding you'll appreciate the details in this book. That said, there are themes which made me uncomfortable, and the first part of the book made me really uncomfortable. I'm glad I kept going but it may not be for everyone.

I did not expect to love this book nearly as much as I did. A dark, funny, ultimately hopeful and redemptive book about a woman who accidentally goes to a wedding, with the intent of a much different week for herself. The things that affect our lives drastically can be so minor and so inconsequential to someone else. Beautifully drawn characters with complex lives and motivations, plot points with consequences but nothing too outrageous, and serendipitous coincidences that are a little out there but all part of a good story. No one in this book in a caricature or inconsequential - everyone and every moment has a tidy purpose. A lovely book that is much more powerful than what I thought was going to be a light summer read, but still very accessible. And much, much more funny than a book with that subject matter has any right to be. This book does talk about infertility, suicide, depression, death, and infidelity. I have been enthusiastically recommending this book to friends since I was about half-way through. Definitely a title to keep an eye on and I will be reading other titles from Alison Espach.

I was a bit hesitant to start The Wedding People, as I liked, but didn't love Espach's debut. This one, however, I LOVED. Thoroughly more propulsive and enjoyable than Notes, it is a somewhat light character-driven look at a depressed and desperate woman, and a week that changes her life. I didn't know anything going in, and loved it for that, as each new event was a delightful surprise. Espach's writing is wonderfully relatable, and I truly did not want this novel to end. It is definitely a contender for best of the year, as it has the perfect combination of light and substance, with wonderful well-drawn characters and excellent descriptions of the wedding in the title.

This book was exactly what I needed this week. It's definitely one of my favorite books of the year, so far. I loved all these characters, and the main character in particular. The plot might have been a little contrived, but I loved the magical feeling of it. I mean, real life does seem suspended when you're at a wedding. I loved how crazy things started happening when Phoebe finally threw caution to the wind and started saying things that she wouldn't have had the confidence to say in the past. I loved watching her growth through the book as she realizied she could stand up for herself and the world wouldn't end. 4.5 stars rounding up because I could not stop reading!

The Wedding People is a masterpiece. I’ve read 40 books this year this far and this is my favorite. It’ll be a favorite for a lifetime. Espach’s writing is effortless, witty, imaginative, insightful. Her references range from the mundane to the exquisite with enviable ease. This is beautifully told story about life and all of the messy, heartbreaking, captivating, quiet moments worth living for. It is about people, always growing and changing and learning. It is never too late to become who you want to be. It is never too late to find the people, places, spaces, things that make you feel authentically you—even when you feel like all is lost, [SPOILER ALERT] your husband is a cheater, your job doesn’t value you, you don’t connect to your work, you can’t get pregnant, your therapist stops taking your insurance, and your cat dies. Everything can come crashing down and then there’s a light, a spark of what’s left to live for. This novel struck a very personal chord and I am sure it will for many, because there is just so much to connect to. What a story, what writing, what a page turner.

This book made me laugh but it also made me want to cry at times. It was beautifully written and I was entranced with every page turn. Espach’s writing is captivating, and I can’t wait to read more of her works.

This book was so much fun. I loved seeing Phoebe grow throughout the novel. The story was told well between flashbacks and present tense. Each of the characters was explored well and nuanced. There was humor sprinkled throughout, as well as some dark topics. I would recommend for fans of The Midnight Library.

“Phoebe had been so jealous – but not just of Mia. Her husband felt alive again. She couldn’t even imagine it.”

Phoebe is not doing well. Failed IVF, stalled career, divorced from her cheating husband, dead cat. Stuck in a major depression, she heads to a gorgeous resort in Rhode Island she previously wanted to visit with her husband. Everyone is there for a wedding except for Phoebe. She is there to kill herself.
Over the course of the week, Phoebe connects with the bride and the other “wedding people” in a way she hasn’t connected with anyone in years. Maybe ever. She finds a new way to be in the world.
I absolutely loved this book. Incredibly well written, with dialog that sounds exactly how people talk. It was funny and tender and heartwarming and all the things you want in a book. I was so sad to see it end. I adored Phoebe and the rest of the cast of characters who all seemed so flawed and wonderful and real. I’ll be seeking out everything written by Alison Espach.

There was such a beautiful message about what it really means to live and how the way you feel one day won’t necessarily be the way you feel on another day. I recommend this book to everyone!

Thank you to @netgalley and @henryholtbooks for an advanced reader copy.

I had impossibly high hopes for “The Wedding People,” and Alison Espach still managed to blow me away.

I had really enjoyed “Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance” even though it’s not my usual taste in books. But Espach’s voice is addictive, and she crafts characters in a way that makes them real enough to step off the page.

Like “Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance,” “The Wedding People is a study of grief. It manages to be heart wrenching and life affirming at the same time. I was obsessed with Phoebe’s story from the very first page. The coastal Rhode Island setting was a fabulous bonus to an incredible cast of characters and storyline.

This is one of my 2024 favorites.

This book walks the tightrope between light and dark, fully belly laugh and crying your eyes out, moments of pure unconditional love and moments of suicidal ideation with such frankness and grace that you cannot stop reading and thinking about the book.

The premise of the book is a suicidal forty something divorcee named Phoebe runs away from her problems to a fancy hotel on the other side of the country and intends to kill herself on the night of her arrival. Bride-to-be Lila intends on having the best and fanciest six day wedding celebration and does everything she can to convince Phoebe that she can’t ruin her wedding by killing herself. The book is witty and craftily juxtaposes rich people problems and depressed people problems in a way that nuanced and shows us that we’re all people who are hurting (our hurt just doesn’t look the same).

On a personal note, I’m so glad I read this book at this pivotal moment in my life (two months away from my own wedding day). I felt so deeply connected to both the main character Phoebe and bride-to-be Lila.

I was Wary of this book when it started with suicide ideations. Trigger warning, hello!

However, I have never read anything quite like it. I love the disruptive bride, the cast of characters you'd only encounter over "a wedding week", and the liminal space a hotel always provides—especially for one booking their stay during a time of personal turmoil.

I loved The Wedding People.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!

This was a total surprise! I thought it'd be a classic cutesy summer romance but it was really very heartfelt and deep, thought provoking. I'm going to add it to my book club list it was such a well rounded, well thought out story.

4.5 stars

I loved Alison Espach's THE WEDDING PEOPLE publishing July 30, 2024. Light enough for summer reading but deep enough for those who are looking for insight in their books.

1. This is a unique premise. Phoebe Stone, after a failed marriage and the untimely death of her beloved cat Harry, retreats to an upscale hotel in Rhode Island to commit suicide. Once she gets there, Phoebe finds a fancy wedding has booked the rest of the hotel, and she gets swept up in their festivities once she meets the bride Lila.

2. While a bit farfetched of a plot at times (for example, Phoebe fills in for the maid of honor who can't make it after knowing the bride a day), these characters are so REAL. Phoebe has taken several personal hits, compounded by the years of lockdown, and she needs the distraction of these zany characters along with a platform for her to find her next steps. Lila is excited to be married and put on the wedding of the century, but is she really excited about her groom Gary? Gary's daughter is none-too-excited for her father to be marrying again in an authentic tween way. I loved how Phoebe connected with Gary's daughter.

3. At first I thought this novel might be too "sad girl," but it truly is one of the funniest books I've read in a while. It's not funny in a rom com way. I'd say it's funny in a more insightful way that may not resonate with ALL readers, but it certainly resonated with me.

4. I really want to see where the characters of Phoebe and Lila go next. I want to check up on them and see where they are in a couple of years, and that indicates to me when a novel has really impacted me.

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