The Wedding People by Alison Espach is EVERYWHERE and often being named a book of the year, and for good reason! An incredibly moving and heart warming story about life, loss, relationships, and showing up for each other. Don’t miss it - the hype is earned. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC! The Wedding People out now!

I was hesitant to read this because of all the hype it received - I was so nervous it would let me down. After a somewhat slow start for me, this book picked up, earned its hype, and made me fall in love with it. I loved the quirky writing style and am excited to see what Espach does next.

*The Wedding People* is a fun, sharp, and heartwarming read. Full of humor and drama, it’s a delightful look at love, weddings, and everything in between. A perfect escape!

Everyone shut up right now, I have a 5 star read to gush about!!!

Women’s divorce lit is maybe my favorite niche sub-genre, so it shouldn’t be surprising that I loved this, but mannnnn did I love this.

Phoebe is a literature professor who has recently lost her last living parent, her husband (to divorce), her best friend (also to the divorce), and her cat (rip Henry 🫶🏽), and is now in a depression so deep she can only see one way out. Enter ‘The Wedding People’. Will her burgeoning friendship with the Bride and Groom restore her to herself?

This book starts off pretty depressing and slowly turns really sweet. By the end of the story, I felt like I was reading an Emily Henry book, which was a very fun switch up! The only thing I’ll say, is that the ending was almost toooo easy, but lovely nonetheless.

Some quotes I liked:

“You can’t explain this kind of darkness to someone who has never felt it.”

“Phoebe had been raised to feel sorry for everything - sorry for being born, sorry for almost drowning, sorry for getting an A- on my exam, sorry for not bearing children, sorry for not getting to the last three slides of the PowerPoint, everybody. … A good woman. But where was the line? When did Phoebe being good become Phoebe being nothing?”

“The knowledge that she has finally done something she never thought she could do - she has made it out of the dark bedroom of her life. She is here.”

“And maybe they are all lonely. Maybe this is just what it means to be a person. To constantly reckon with being a single being in one body.”

“There are some people in the world who remind you of exactly how you like to speak.”
& similarly,
“She has forgotten the way conversations, really good ones, can change her - shape-shift her like a tree. Sometimes leave her bare, sometimes leave her fuller.”

“She wonders if her feelings could be a new form of love, one she’s never known before: love without expectation. Love that you are just happy enough to feel. Love that you don’t try to own like a painting. But she doesn’t know if that is a real thing. She hopes it is.”

If you need a vacation, this one is for you. In the Wedding People. we join a large wedding party at a posh tropical resort. Well, plus one young woman with a different agenda. It is an entertaining reminder of how quickly our lives can change course, whether you think you have it all planned out or that life is not worth living anymore.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the complementary arc.

This book took me far longer to read for how much I enjoyed it. I think the subject matter was a bit heavy for what I was experiencing in real life. That being said, I found the story so hopeful and enchanting. The characters were so complex and interesting. Overall, I’m very glad I finished it and really took my time to read it.

I was surprised by this one. Not the kind of book I usually read, but gave it a shot after seeing a lot of positive reviews. So glad I did. Such a lovely novel of personal growth, filled with unique characters, hard decisions, subtle humor, and a bit of romance. Highly recommended.

Sometimes when a book gets a lot of attention and buzz, I avoid it until the buzz dies down. I did that with this one, even though I have had an ARC since before it was published. I just picked it up and flew through it in no time at all. Like everyone else, I loved the characters and the tone, I laughed, I got a little emotional, etc. My only beef with this book is this habit the author has of inserting information between pieces of dialogue as though the characters are saying it. Hard to explain, but it annoyed me several times. Regardless, I will be reading more of this author's work.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance reader's copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I'm now an Alison Espach fan! This novel is unique and unlike anything I've ever read before. I will definitely be recommending this book to my followers and I plan on keeping an eye out for any future works. Thanks!

I really liked Wedding People. It started out a bit darker than I expected, but it ended up being a really heartfelt and lighter book overall. I had no idea what to expect going into it, but was pleasantly surprised.

Phoebe's life is a disaster. She has struggled with infertility, her husband left her for another woman, she lived through the pandemic, and now her cat has died. She books a room at the Cornwall Hotel and plans to kill herself using her cat's pain killers. But then she meets Lila, the bride of the wedding party staying at the Cornwall. Lila I diets she cannot kill herself because it would ruin the wedding. The two women strike up a weird friendship that helps them both cope with the things happening in their lives. There were times I wasn't sure I liked this book, but the characters and their stories compelled me to keep reading. It is sad, funny, and everything in between.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I read 65% of this book in 2024 and finished it on January 1, 2025. Either way, it's worthy of being a favorite of both years.
This book was so close to perfect for me. It made me laugh, almost made me cry, and just flat-out entertained the hell out of me. I loved it.
I am so thankful NetGalley and Henry & Holt gave me the chance to read this one. I have immediately gone and purchased a physical copy for my shelves.

I think this is a great cover, however the cover doesn't match this story. I was caught up in this story and all of the characters. I would have liked an epilogue to get a glimpse of their futures. I am recommending to all ages and types of readers as I don't feel like this one falls into just one category. I think those that enjoy literary fiction will enjoy this one. I look forward to what is next from Alison Espach.

I started this once - gave up and came back to it. The beginning is pretty dark and heavy. Read the trigger warnings on it. However once it gets going I really loved the growth of the lead and seeing how the story played out.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for access to this ARC! What’s not to love?! The book cover and the story is spectacular

I loved this book. This was immersive from the start. I loved the journey and character development that Phoebe went through. I didn’t see this type of story coming! It handled heavy/serious topics in such a sensitive and yet humorous way. One of my top reads this year.

A fantastic book where the protagonist discovers the joy of being alive slowly and confidently. Superb, and can't wait to see it on the screen!

Full review to come.

The Wedding People is delightful in so many ways. The characters are well-developed (I loved Phoebe, Gary, Juice, Pauline, Patricia!). The novel follows Phoebe, recently separated from her husband, as she books a hotel room and contemplates suicide only to be saved by Lila, a bride whose wedding guests occupy the rest of the hotel. As the wedding approaches, Phoebe learns a lot about herself, her failed marriage, and her newfound friends. This novel has it all---humor, romance, drama. I was sad when. It ended!

How to review this book?! Easily one of the best of the year. What sounds at first like a dark, depressing book turned out to be a heartwarming hug of a novel. Phoebe travels to the Cornwall Inn for one purpose....to end her life. Things do not go as planned as she arrives only to find out she is the only guest in the Inn who is not there for a wedding. On her way to her room, Phoebe accidentally gets sucked into the bride's life and wedding drama. Before she knows it, she is not only a guest of the wedding but the maid of honor.

I loved this look at people and connection. The idea that, even when we are at our lowest of lows, there is always someone out there to listen and believe that we have purpose is found within these pages. I loved Phoebe's outlook on the bride and her wedding party. I laughed so many times right along with the main character. I cried for the hurts she has experienced. I championed the wins she found during this crazy, beautiful week at the Cornwall. I simply couldn't get enough.

This is a book for everyone. That being said, please take care of yourself and preview the content warnings as these characters go through some real trials in life. If you find yourself able to go through Phoebe's experience, I promise you will come out with a smile and a life-affirming outlook on life. I am so glad to have read this book and will be sure to return to it in the future.

After initially giving up on it I went back to it after it won the Good Reads best fiction award. I have to admit it I gave up too soon and it ended up being a satisfying read. Life comes at you fast and we all have to find ways to deal with it.