I think if there was one book I could push into people's hands this summer, it would be Wedding People. It's the story of Phoebe, a woman who has reached a crossroads in her life. She leaves her marriage and job and winds up at a hotel in Newport, Rhode Island where she accidentally becomes involved in a wedding taking place there. It's the perfect mix of funny and serious, filled with light-hearted moments that counteract the heaviness of reality for these characters without diminishing the importance of what they're going through. I thought Espach walked that tightrope beautifully in this novel. Added points for the portrayal of the tween daughter in this book. How authors write kids can be tricky and I thought Juice felt very true to her age.
Thank you to Netgalley for this title. Wedding People publishes on July 30th, 2024.

Thank you the publisher and netgalley! This touches on some really difficult topics with humor and love. I loved the two characters of Phoebe and Lila our two fmcs! It’s an inspiring read that really touched my heart!!

4.5 stars !!! I loved Alison Espach's last book so much, This one was so different but so good. The characters are so relatable and all going through their own struggles. It is nice to follow Phoebe during her journey of finding herself again. I wish the story kept going, I did not want it to end. All of Phoebe's interactions with the wedding guests were so entertaining and made me laugh out loud so many times while reading. The setting of the hotel on the coast is perfect. This novel will stay with me for a long time. I highly recommend giving this a read this summer.


Thank you Netgalley and Henry Holt and Co. for the digital arc in exchange for my honest review.

What a refreshing book. The life lessons and wisdom sprinkled in was tasteful and impactful as we follow the main characters journey of finding herself again. This book reminded me the power of challenging oneself, being real and never overlooking the relationships that can come from strangers.

Each character in this book is authentically themselves, and yet it felt effortless for the author Alison to create them.

You can read this book when you’re happy, sad, or lonely. You’ll probably pull different perspectives with each emotion but you definitely won’t regret reading it.

Thank you Alison Espach and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Warning: Not a romance book! Also, the first 25% is very depressing.

Don't be fooled by the cute cover and the GoodReads tag of "Romance." This is not a romance book at all. It's Women's Lit, and the central relationship is between Phoebe and The Bride. Unfortunately, that's my fault for expecting one thing, not reading the genre classification, and then feeling disappointed. Managing expectations is everything.

The first quarter of the story is all about Phoebe's marriage falling apart and all the horrible things that have cascaded down on top of her (emotionally) to be in the place where she decides to go to the fancy hotel. It's super depressing, but it's needed for the story to work. Be mentally prepared for that slog.

Then we pass through the darkness and enter the light: joining the wedding people. This is a comedy. The writing and situations at the wedding are hilarious. There's a hint of romance, but the central pivot revolves around Phoebe and The Bride discovering what they truly want.

There was one writing stylistic choice I found odd. It won't bother most people, but it stood out to me as distracting. When in a scene where two characters are talking to each other through dialogue, between two statements in quotes will be a short paragraph describing in summary the dialogue that was omitted for time or space. But this summary is written in the POV of the speaker, not Phoebe. The switching of POVs was so noticeable that it took me out of the story for a second. I'd have to reread and remind myself this is a style choice.

I did end up enjoying this book, but it took a while to not feel depressed.

I received a copy from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Story: 3 stars
Character development: 4 stars
Writing: 3 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Henry Holt and Co. for providing me an ARC of this book.

I stepped away from The Wedding People feeling a mix of emotions. The book balances dark elements, such as infertility, infidelity, depression and suicidal ideation with good humor and a big heart.

The philosophy of the book is pretty straightforward: people-pleasing doesn’t actually endear yourself to the people around you, and you sacrifice your own wants and needs in the process of trying to make other people happy. Phoebe spends much of her life trying to be what she thinks other people want her to be. She goes through challenging times with her husband, but doesn’t want to burden him with her depression for fear of pushing him away. When he ends up cheating on her and leaving her, she bottles up her feelings to try to be amicable. It is only when she is at her lowest and feels that she has nothing to lose that she lets herself be open and honest with other people and herself, and this is what starts the chain events that begin the story. The growth of Phoebe as a character felt heartwarming.

I think this story offers a lot of insight that many people will love. Phoebe as a narrator offers a lot of wisdom to the reader through her own experiences and mistakes. The tone of the story is ultimately hopeful, and I liked that the author didn’t have a man come into Phoebe’s life and magically fix all of her deep seated issues. If you’re looking for a story that offers insight and humor after dark times, this is for you.

"Every wedding, even a successful wedding, is a waste."

This is one of my favourite reads of the year so far! It is touching, refreshing, and hilarious at times. I didn't expect to like it as much as I did honestly but I quickly liked the main character Phoebe and her unlikely friendship with the bride-to-be. My heart broke for Phoebe and I just became invested in her journey. In the end, I'm so happy she got out of her comfort zone and learned to choose herself again. Thanks so much for the eARC!

This is a good drama with lots of serious elements and dark humor. I enjoyed reading it, but it's important to know it's definitely not a romance novel. :) Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I almost passed on the Wedding People. The synopsis, while intriguing seemed a bit morbid and sad and not the type of book I like reading by the pool.

I’m glad I was wrong and picked this one. Phoebe is struggling- her marriage has just ended, and she’s struggling in her job as as an adjunct professor ( where she also has to work around her ex and his new girlfriend). This is at the end of the pandemic and so she decides to take a last vacation to a fancy resort.

Upon arriving, the entire resort has been rented out for the wedding except for her room somehow. A few chance encounters with the bride and a Maid Of Honor who cancels due to COVID, lands her a spot among the wedding guests and as she gets to know the family and friends of the bride and groom, she unexpectedly gets a new perspective of life and her future.

I enjoyed getting to know Phoebe Lila and even Gary. I found this book refreshing and at times laugh out loud funny. This book does touch on some tough themes (in fact most of them)- depression, suicide, infertility, infidelity, cancer, death of parents. You name it and Phoebe has encountered it in some way, but I think that it was presented in a very realistic way. There is pain, but there is also life that goes on and people that continue living. This is not the most lighthearted read, but it is really good and well-written and not too heavy with all those trigger-warning topics.

When I read Alison Espach’s most recent novel NOTES ON YOUR SUDDEN DISAPPEARANCE, I was blown away by its emotionality and uniqueness. It was devastating and funny and propulsive, so much so I thought it was a thriller at first. When I wrote my review, didn’t have any books to compare it to.

And well, I guess now I do. Because while THE WEDDING PEOPLE is very different, it has the same sharp edges complemented by humor and beautiful, self-reflective writing. The story follows Phoebe, a professor who’s going through the lowest point in her life and decides to escape at to a fancy Rhode Island hotel. When she gets there, she realizes the majority of the hotel’s been booked for a wedding, and immediately has a run-in with the bride, who she’s both deeply annoyed and compassionately intrigued by.

The magic of this book is in its humanity. It’s about friendship, marriage, infidelity, infertility, loneliness, death, and disappointment. And while it packs a lot into its pages, at no point did it feel overwhelming; it just feels relatable, the characters people you’ll want to root for.

I would like to thank Henry Holt and Net Galley for the opportunity to read this as an ARC. This was a hard book to read, for me at least. When a blurb uses the words-uproariously funny, I think it will make me laugh. It did not. Phoebe is an adjunct professor in St. Louis. Prior to the pandemic,she and her husband Matt,( also a professor) were trying to have a baby. After the the IVF failed, he had an affair with a fellow professor and Phoebe's friend, Mia. Now Matt and Phoebe are divorced and Phoebe is depressed. She flies to Rhode Island to a big hotel she wanted to visit when she and Matt were married. She checks into the hotel, with no luggage , wearing a long green dress. Her plan is to commit suicide. Then she meets the wedding people. Every one else at the hotalis pa=rt of the wedding. And, almost against her will, she is drawn into the bride's orbit. The book is well written, and has very interesting characters. However, the central story line is extremely depressing and may be triggering. I see that a lot of people really like it, but it is not my cup of tea.

The Wedding People is supposed to be funny but I didn't see the humor in it. Instead, I find it dark, depressing and negative. Too much focus on death. I didn't like Phoebe or Delilah. Far from a fun or entertaining read.

The Wedding People is full of themes - of life, death, love, redemption, recovery and happiness. A thought-provoking read that goes by quickly but dramatically and with much needed humor.

Thanks to NetGalley and Henry Holt & Company for the opportunity to read this ARC.

The Wedding People is like a warm hug. Phoebe books a room at a high end boutique hotel fulling intending to end her life. What she didn't count on was having the entire hotel full of wedding guests for the upcoming nuptials of Lila and Gary. What follows is a heartwarming look at what happens when things don't turn out exactly how you planned, but they turn out exactly the way they should. It's a great summer read when you're looking for something with interesting characters, charming wit and a lot of heart.

I didn’t know what to expect from this book. I’ve never read anything by the author before. In full transparency, I saw the cover and was like, “Ooh, this looks cute,” and I requested it when I was just about to get married and thought it might relate to what I was currently dealing with. I give out a lot of high ratings because if I genuinely just enjoy something despite how it’s written or if it is a serious book or just a fun book, it’s a five-star read to me. However, I feel like The Wedding People needs to be in its own tier of five-star reads. In fact, I wish I could give it 100 stars because it was just that good. I was so happy to learn that the rights for this book have already been acquired, and I might one day soon be able to relieve this incredible novel through the screen.

I finally picked it up one evening and began reading. I got through the first 14% as a sobbing mess. Not everyone might have the same reaction, but I could truly feel the pain and agony that Phoebe was dealing with as her marriage fell apart. Then along comes Lila, who is hilarious. Both women are approaching the next big journey of their lives, and through every interaction, I felt how much they needed the perspective of the other, even if they didn’t realize they needed it.

Overall, this was an amazing story about how friendship can come when you least expect it from the most unlikely people, second chances and not giving up when you’ve been dealt really shitty cards, and learning to embrace every new path life presents you. Not only was this story extremely profound to me, but it was also incredibly hilarious. While there were some very upsetting parts, it was a very joyful read overall.

I recommend everyone take a chance on The Wedding People. You never know what you may get.

I was not prepared for how emotionally invested I would become in the lives of the people in this book. The main character, Phoebe, has been suffering from depression and books a vacation to a pricey resort, only to discover that she is the only guest who isn't there for an upcoming wedding. She unintentionally becomes entangled in the lives of the guests of honor and their families, welcoming the escape from her own troubles. This book plays with the idea that guests at a wedding are often in forced proximity with people they either do not know, do not like, or have complicated histories with. All of the guests are there to witness two people make a monumental decision that they themselves likely have opinions on, or baggage related to. It can be a breeding ground for oversharing and introspection, or serve as permission for uncharacteristic behavior. This book is about expectations, new beginnings, and the bravery it takes to start over.

Also, what a stunning cover - perfectly encapsulates the tone of the book, and stands out from other illustrated covers by using this "watercolor-esque" style.

The Wedding People is one of those books that will stick with you long after have finished reading it.
Phoebe Stone enters the lobby of the Cornwell Inn and everyone there thinks she is one of the guests there for the weekend wedding.
Phoebe has other plans since so many things have gone in the wrong direction in her life. The weekend she has is full of things she never imagined and people she did not know she needed to come into her life and yet they did. The bride to be and Phoebe were meant to meet.
This book had a lot of topics that may be tough for some readers.
I enjoyed the book and can see many people spending time with the characters in the book and being glad they did.
Thank you NetGalley, Alison Espach and Henry Holt & Company for the ARC of The Wedding People. This is my personal review.

I have never read a book with a premise like that of The Wedding People - and given how much I read, that’s pretty rare. Phoebe is ready to end her life and chooses to do so at a picturesque resort on the shores of the Atlantic. When she gets there, she is surprised to find the entire hotel is rented out by a wedding party for the week and it’s a fluke that she has been able to book a room. Undeterred, she decides to go forward with her plan anyway, only to be met by the bride-to-be in the elevator who begs her not to ruin her wedding week by ending her life.

What ensues is a truly unique story winding the two women’s lives together for the week. It’s a story of finding yourself at any age, and what it even means to know who you are. I simply loved it and know I will think of it often.

I loved the lavishness of the wedding, with the atmosphere being typical Newport. But I struggled to connect with the characters, the writing was excellent and I enjoyed the story!

This book really surprised me! Our character, Phoebe, accidently crashes a wedding weekend. I thought this was a fun and pretty unique story and I couldn't put it down. I loved the characters. Lila, the bride, was a very entertaining character and I couldn't look away. Phoebe and Lila become friends and I loved watching their relationship develop. I loved reading Phoebe work through her struggles and everything else that happened in this book.

Thanks netgalley for the copy of the book.