I absolutely LOVED this book and quickly finished reading it! Ms. Espach writes wonderfully original, real, complex, and thorough characters. I'm already picturing an adaptation of the manuscript. I will definitely look for other works by this author.

I received this book from NetGalley. Opinions are my own!

What a strange novel! Our main character, Phoebe, travels to a five-star New England resort to kill herself. In the elevator, she meets The Bride, a woman who is getting married at the same resort. Their two stories entwine and both women discover some difficult truths about themselves. The writing style is reminiscent of someone else I can't quite put a finger on...occasionally overwrought and over-detailed.

A perfectly fine book, but it just didn't work for me and I can't put my finger on why. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity.

I loved this book so much. The dialogue absolutely sparkles, and the characters are so lovable. I kept finding myself laughing out loud the moment after I felt like I might cry. I wish I could read it for the first time all over again.

Phoebe’s life is falling apart. Her husband left her for an other professor at the university they both teach at, she’s stuck on her dissertation, and to top it all off her beloved cat Frank dies. So she checks into the Cornwall Hotel in Rhode Island, a gorgeous resort that she’s dreamed of staying at for years, and plans to kill herself. But as it turns out, the entire hotel was booked for a wedding. And as Phoebe gets swept into the wedding week and comes to know the wedding people, she sees her life anew through her new unsuspecting friends.

Thank you @netgalley, @alison.espach, and @henryholtbooks for the ARC! This was a really genius and moving book that had so many profound things to say about life, expectations, relationships, and grief. It was somehow heartbreaking and hilarious at the same time and I loved that so much. Phoebe’s character was so richly developed and so layered. I loved her realness and how raw and honestly her emotions were depicted, but that the reader also got to see her come into her new self as the book progressed. All of the characters worked so deliciously together, even those that were more ostentatious and outlandish, because Espach did a wonderful job of humanizing each character and creating characters that were multifaceted. I loved the unsuspecting friendship that developed between Lila and Phoebe, and how they were both able to help each other find their voices. I also really enjoyed Gary and Phoebe’s relationship and how they were able to have so many candid conversations. And I loved that the book showed that even in the hard, messy times of life, there can still be love, growth, and hope. Great dialog, themes, and characters make this a must-read book in 2024! The Wedding People comes out July 30!

This book was quirky, clever, and super addicting. Depressed and feeling hopeless, Phoebe visits a fancy hotel in Rhode Island with plans to end it all, but once she gets there, she quickly gets swept up in a wedding that is also taking place at the hotel that week. Over the course of the week Phoebe forms some surprising connections with the wedding people that teach her lessons about love, loss, grief, friendship, and help her to find herself again. This book is slower paced and very character driven, but certainly not boring- I totally devoured it and read it in just a couple days. The premise was unique and clever, and I found the characters totally captivating. I loved watching both Phoebe and Lila transform throughout the story, and the unusual bond that they formed. The writing was beautiful and a bit unique- it had me fully immersed in the story from the first chapter. It also has a fantastic setting- a swanky hotel in Newport, Rhode Island, that really helped set the vibe. Overall, I adored this book and would highly recommend- probably in my top 5 books I read this year!


Thank you to NetGalley and Henry, Holt, and. Company for an advanced reader copy for review.

The Wedding People is part literary, part contemporary/women's lit, achieving the perfect balance that makes it the kind of book you can easily devour on vacation, while also being smart and thoughtful. It lacks both pretense and cliché, allowing the story to unfold organically. While some of the characters and scenes were less compelling than others, and occasionally the pacing drags a tiny bit, the book as a whole is really solid and would appeal to a wide variety of readers. Even with the wedding setting, it's not overly saccharine, so lovers of more literary fare will still enjoy this. I would especially recommend to anyone who enjoys rom-coms and is looking for something a bit more elevated.

"Maybe this is just what it means to be a person. To constantly reckon with being a single being in one body. Maybe everyone sits up at nights and creates arguments in their head for why they are the loneliest person in the world."

Coming out of the pandemic, Phoebe finds herself depressed, unsatisfied with her career and newly divorced. She plans to take her own life while visiting her imagined "happy place" hotel she found in a magazine. What she doesn't expect is to find herself with the only room at the hotel not assigned to a guest or member of Lila's wedding. As the week progresses towards the wedding, Phoebe and Lila find they have more in common than they could have imagined. Poignant and witty banter between these found friends.

Highly recommend.

I received this arc from NetGalley.

I LOVED THIS BOOK! I was captivated by the characters, premise, and setting. I think wedding books can either be really cheesy or really fun / funny. This was the latter and I'm glad I got the chance to read it. The biggest strength of this book, in my opinion, was its ability to evoke a range of emotions. I think we all relate to Phoebe in some ways but found her brutal honesty refreshing. Her reawakening was compelling and could be very inspiring to someone who is experiencing similar circumstances with their personal lives, mental health, career, sense of self, etc. It touched on so much!

GAHHH there is a good chance I've already read my favorite book of 2024! THE WEDDING PEOPLE by Alison Espach was an utter delight. I enjoyed every minute living in the world of Rhode Island's Cornwall Inn and with Phoebe Stone -- one of my new favorite literary characters. The book is sad, but joyful, dramatic but hilarious. Espach is for sure a must-read author for me now, especially after I also loved her last year's NOTES ON YOUR SUDDEN DISAPPEARANCE.

Along with witty writing and fantastic, realistic characters, the plot to THE WEDDING PEOPLE was so unexpected and it made it so hard to put down. I didn't really know much going in, and I recommend the same to you, but it's a perfect story of a woman who has hit rock bottom and an unexpected group of people (a bride and her wedding attendees staying at the same hotel as her) that bring her back to life. It's swoony, heartfelt, and a total joy to read. I can't wait for you to enjoy it too!

Thank you so much for this eARC. This is my second Alison Espach book and she will now be an auto-buy author for me. I love her humorous, emotional, and realistic characters. Watching the growth and connections these characters made was just perfect. They feel like real people. I actually laughed out loud for some dialogue, I love her humor.
I mostly connected with the character "Juice" even though I am basically the same age as the FMC, Phoebe. I too lost my mother young, and Espach writes this character's grief in such an age appropriate way. I also went through a lot of what this character did.

I highly recommend it! Please see my full review on Instagram @bookish_starry_skies

The ideal book for folks who loved A Man Called Ove. A rollicking story of a woman at the edge or ending her life, roped into the close weirdness of a wedding at the hotel she had tried to pick as her final resting place. I fell in love with the characters in this book and couldn't wait to see how everything would turn out. The dialogue is sharp and funny and the topics are handled sensitively here. The growth of the main character was lovely to watch. I really enjoyed this one. It would make a fantastic movie!

Definitely a dark topic to read about but Alison Espach makes it work! The Wedding People is unlike any book I've read before!

Literary, smart, cheeky and fun.
At the start, you’re pulled into this snarky fun judgement of wedding guests. We all totally observe and judge other people at a weddings. Then you’re jolted by a change of pace. Jolted to the point that I almost stopped reading, questioning if the book was the vibe I wanted to dig deeper into…..
Yes, it was. I’m so glad I stuck with it!

Creative character building. Very good writing. It’s a little slow moving at times, but overall a great book that tackles some .serious and not so serious topics. I’d happily read a follow up!

4.5 stars because it was slow in the middle, but rounded up to 5.

Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for an early read for my honest review.

Wow, I loved this! Phoebe is a divorced academic who, after finding her cat dead in her basement, decides to run off to Newport, Rhode Island to stay at the fancy hotel she and her ex-husband used to fantasize about. She quickly realizes she is the only person at the property who is not there for the wedding of Gary and Lila, and soon inadvertently finds herself enmeshed in the lives of the wedding people. It was a really fun, wry read.

Phoebe Stone leaves her house one morning with just the fancy dress she is wearing and her phone, determined to end her life at her dream vacation spot, only to find that the hotel is fully booked with wedding people. She soon becomes one of them and develops a strong bond with the bride.

Alison Espach's writing is wonderfully addictive; the dialogue and inner monologues were realistic, funny, and, at times, heartbreaking. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, set during just the six days of the wedding, with plenty of flashbacks. Each character was well-drawn and developed; I could picture everyone, from the hotel manager to the groom's daughter to the bride's mother. I highly recommend this book if you are looking for a book full of self-discovery, new friendships, and lots of honest conversations.

Thank you Henry Holt and Co. for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I absolutely love it. Idk why I'm shocked by this lol. I have laughed and cried. It's really sensitive in the way it's handling suicidal ideation and depression. The description doesn’t do it justice, I wouldn’t have picked this up if a friend didn’t recommend. Please do something to make sure people read this!

Except for Phoebe’s depression at the start of the story (which kudos to writer was very depressing) this book was hilarious and wonderful. The characters! The conversations! Put this on your summer 2024 TBR.

i was truly so charmed by this novel about a downtrodden woman who gets looped into an outlandish wedding full of strangers that inevitably alters the path of her life. plus, i loved the commentary on how out-of-pocket weddings have gotten these days. such a unique story that really came together nicely. out in july—you won’t want to miss this one!

When Pheobe Stone arrives at the Cornwall Inn in beautiful Newport Rhode Island, she has decided that this is her last day on Earth, so she has worn her best dress and is ready to indulge in her luxurious suite. Fate has other plans! Lila has planned her magnificent million dollar wedding, and a suicide is not in the plans…..no one messing with the bride on her wedding weekend.

I wasn’t sure when I began that I would love this story, but I quickly became enraptured with Phoebe. This story hits on so many topics that we conjure when hitting middle age. Marriages gone wrong, loss of a spouse, adultery, but more importantly, where did our life make a wrong turn, and how did I become this person. We spend years pleasing others until we wake up and realize that it got us no where and the only way back to happiness is finding out what pleases us. That is what I really loved about Phoebe, her honesty, and the exploration of how she got to the point of ending her life, only to find out that she can build the life she wants, right now.
That honesty not only opens Phoebe up to new possibilities, but sets Lila and Gary, her groom, straight on what is really important when starting a life together.
I would definitely recommend this book to all us middle agers out there that think we can’t start our lives over!!