The Wedding People was such a breath of fresh air. The characters were so well-written, honest and raw. I so appreciate Espach's ability to write truly complicated women without casting them as as just another trope. Overall, just such a lovely novel capturing the full range (and messiness) of human emotions in both life's brightest and darkest moments.

Meh.

First of all, thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy.

I always look forward to reading a new book by an author whose past works I've enjoyed. There are times when I've loved their newest and other times when I'm disappointed. In the case of The Wedding People, I'm disappointed. I enjoyed the quiet, slow story of Espach's Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance, and was ready to declare myself a full-fledged fan, but now I'm just in the land of meh and feeling so sad about it.

The Wedding People was a rollercoaster, and not a super fun one. It was one that left you feeling confused about why you thought it was going to be a good idea to ride the rollercoaster. I do have a hard time not finishing a book I've started and I held on because I wanted it to get better. But the characters raked at my nerves and the decisions made across the board were just so bad and jarring, I couldn't handle it. I was unable, at the end, to even feel any joy for the main character, who absolutely did deserve it given what she went through in her previous life and what she planned to do at the hotel once she got there. The supporting cast of characters were very hard to like, and maybe that was the point. I don't know.

I wanted to like this, but I just couldn't.

This novel was darker than I expected—and had some potentially triggering plot lines concerning infertility, suicide, and adultery. I did enjoy the interactions between Phoebe and Lila throughout the novel—a highlight.

This was so good!! I was absolutely enthralled and totally into this story. I couldn't stop reading it. I loved the writing style and they story and I can't wait to read more by Alison Espach. I had such a great experience reading this. Loved it!
I just reviewed The Wedding People by Alison Espach. #NetGalley
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This was a fun read that was in many ways a breath of fresh air where an individual in the triumph of everything falling part, there can be surprising aspects waiting on the other turn.

Wow, this book ended up being so much more than I expected! I don't know how Alison Espach did it, but she effortlessly shifted from serious to laugh-out-loud funny moments and then back to serious. I found each of the characters and their stories deeply relatable, and continued to think about this book in the days, even months, after I finished reading it. There's something so profound and beautiful in the way this story unfolded for me and I've deemed this a book that everyone should read because I truly think there's an important message embedded in the relationships we see develop, change, or end. Definitely want to read more from this author.

This was nothing like what I was expecting, but like the book’s main character Phoebe, “I will read any book to the end if it promises a wedding.”

I found myself drawn to Phoebe’s story from the second she spilled the reason for her trip in the first chapter. The dynamic between Phoebe and the bride-to-be, Lila, was so entertaining, and I enjoyed their banter. Several characters stole my heart along the way, but none more than Gary’s daughter “Juice.”

The author broached difficult topics without the book ever feeling too heavy. It made me think about my own life and how little moments can change the course of your life entirely. I can’t wait to recommend it to everyone this summer.

I had a slow time getting into this book, but once I was in, I was in. Perhaps it was that I didn't feel too much in common with the main character at first, a mousey adjunct professor with a list of (valid) complaints. But as the story unfolded, it was easy for me to become invested in the whole cast, crew, and setting. Especially the setting, as I've been to Newport and could envision the harbor, the sailboats, the traffic, the art gallery. I applaud the author for not tying up the story too easily (I thought that's where it was heading, but the plot softened, and I appreciated that), but there were a few loose ends that left me hanging (what happened to Tom? why does he disappear entirely after the first few chapters?). A good read for a summer vacation!

I absolutely LOVED this book. Many heavy topics were explored such as grief, infertility, loneliness and mental health. I appreciate the portrayal of these topics and how relatable it can be for the reader.
When Phoebe arrives at the Cornwall Inn, a hotel thousands of miles from home, she is feeling hopeless, lost and confused. Until she meets Lilah, the bride, and her wedding guests. Through interacting with the wedding people, Phoebe explores self-reflection and begins to form new friendships with these strangers. I adore Phoebe and Lilah, their developing friendship was unique and full of humorous, lighthearted moments. This is one of those reads that will definitely stay with me. I highly recommend giving it a read.

This book is so, so good. It blew me away, if I’m being totally honest. I expected a well written summer read about a wedding gone wrong, but instead was totally immersed in a. Beautiful character study and the most incredibly well described cast of characters. Phoebe is my favorite protagonist of the year so far—-she is dark, funny, brilliant, sensitive, and just so very human. I loved living inside her head for every page of this novel. I’m so sad it’s over.

This book was a really fun read! I loved the Rhode Island setting and the characters were enjoyable. The story is well written and you will find yourself rooting for all of the characters. This book is going to be a great summer read.

3.5. I went into this thinking “Oh, my wedding is so soon this could be a fun read”. Now, it was not that kind of read after all, but it was still a pretty good read. Content warnings including suicide attempt, suicidal ideation, infertility, miscarriage, and loss of a spouse/parent/family member. This book is about how Phoebe and Lila meeting changes the courses of their lives entirely. They have so much to figure out about themselves, and figured out more in that week of Lila’s planned wedding than they had in several years. The ending is both sad and hopeful, which was really interesting. The writing style is really unique, which I noticed in the author’s other novel Notes On Your Sudden Disappearance. I think it got slow at times, and the literature discussions got to be a bit much. But overall it was a solid read! Thank you NetGalley and Henry Holt & Co. for this ARC.

I'm loving this weird little niche of genre fiction that surrounds weddings in a critical and humorous tone, and THE WEDDING PEOPLE fit perfectly into that niche so well. The plot is a little bizarre, but it works: a woman who goes to an upscale seaside hotel with plans to end her life, but instead finds herself roped into a week-long wedding extravaganza. If you're looking for that quirky read of 2024, THE WEDDING PEOPLE will surely be that book.

Earlier this year I read NOTES ON YOUR SUDDEN DISAPPEARANCE by Alison Espach. I loved it so much that I immediately wanted to read more of her work and requested a galley of her upcoming release. 

The elevator pitch of THE WEDDING PEOPLE (PUB 07. sounds morose and absurd. 

Phoebe is a deeply depressed/lonely,recently divorced, adjunct professor of English who books herself into a luxury hotel to commit suicide only to find she accidently becomes an outlier "wedding person".  

What I got was a literary powerhouse of a story unlike anything I've read. I enjoyed everything about this book. This rarely happens. I kept vacillating between wanting to read more and slowing down because I didn't want it to end It was lovely, heartbreaking, witty, and gorgeous. It was contemplative, reflective, touching and dusted with the perfect amount of dark humor. I loved the characters. I loved the hotel setting in Newport., RI. I loved the serendipitous meeting of the right people at the right time. I loved that the story took place over a couple of days. I absolutely adored the dialogue and conversations. I loved that it made me laugh and cry. 

Thank you to @henryholtbooks for early access to what will be one of my standout reads of the year.

Charming, hilarious, heartwarming, clever…Just perfect.

I went into this one blind and with zero expectations and it blew me away. I honestly didn’t want it to end. I fell in love with every single character, every scene, every word…I cannot wait for everyone to read it and talk to me about it.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this beautiful book. It was the most fun I’ve had reading in a long time.
Also, the cover? Perfection!

The Wedding People is a story of a woman who goes to an upscale seaside hotel with plans to end her life, but instead finds herself roped into a week-long wedding extravaganza.
The book started off slow for me, but I was quickly drawn in to the quirky characters and all of their drama. While predictable at times, the story of Phoebe was both uplifting and inspiring, sprinkled with plenty of absurd and comedic moments.

This novel floored me and was nothing like I was anticipating. This was my inner monologue while reading this book:
"well, this is kind of slow and dull."
"depressed people in the pandemic, shocker"
"OH, I didn't see that coming"
"Didn't see THAT coming"
"What will happen next! I love these characters! I NEED to know how this ends"

The novel centers on Sophie who is reeling after her career hasn't taken off like she anticipated, a devastating divorce, and the terrible, depressing effects of the Pandemic and just gets FED UP! She picks up an flies across the country to Newport, RI to stay at a high-end hotel where she learns she is the only guest there who is not part of the wedding being hosted there. Sophie goes from viewing "The Wedding People" from afar to somehow becoming so entangled with all of their lives she becomes one of them.

The setting was gorgeous and having actually grown up close by to Newport, RI, it was lovely to read about the history and landmarks I have also seen and heard of. Growing up in a place that some would consider a tourist destination taints your view of a place so this was refreshing to see RI through they eyes of someone who has never been there, seen the ocean and been able to experience the feeling of driving with the windows down to feel the ocean breeze caress and embrace you, making you feel so alive.

This book felt like a love letter to women embracing middle-age, learning to speak up for themselves and realizing that you don't really know yourself until you LIVE your life. Time gives you the benefit of perspective but you don't realize this until you are much older. As I mature and move through my 30's I find that I really appreciate books that center on mature women with more life experiences. This book was deep and thought provoking but also very funny at times. The ability of Sophie's character to embrace her independence and own her life led to her having some great lines that made her become quite the straight-shooter who just gives zero Fs, and don't we all wish we could be like that sometimes?

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

There are some books that you just forget, even if they were "good", and some like The Wedding People, where you simply wished never ended.

Phoebe decides to book the most expensive room at a Victorian Hotel in Rhode Island for the night, not to vacay, but to commit suicide. After a failed marriage, she decides she wants to end her life by taking all of her cat's medicine, that smells like tuna. She has a chance encounter with Lily in the elevator, who has booked a wedding WEEK, and they quickly become friends, much to Phoebe's dismay. Soon, they become the "best" of friends, all to heartwarming and hilarious results.

Despite the topics of suicide, failed marriages and IVF, and death, The Wedding People excelled in so many ways. Often hilarious, but still touching, the characters just bounced off the page. The characters were completely relatable, never were annoying, and even though there are a handful of characters, you were never lost or confused by back storylines.

The impatient bride - Lily while completely self absorbed with her overpriced affair, was hilarious. A daughter of a former waste management company owner, who was given an inheritance - to spend on a wedding, and this wedding did not hold back. I loved the Rhode Island setting.
"But how many times do I have to explain that I'm godless? That I can't get married at a church, because what church?"

Insert Gary, Lily's soon to be husband, who is introducded in the most surprising of ways. Wedding People is all one big surprise. While you think you know what is going to happen, it never does, and the banter between this virtual stranger Phoebe and the wedding people was never completely unrealistic.

The blended families were fun, witty, and hard to dislike. Gary's daughter named "Juice", while is only 11, is smart beyond her years. The staff at the hotel reminded me of some of the employees on White Lotus.

Phoebe, was one of the smartest characters I've encountered in awhile. Espach wrote her knowing we had to take her wisdom seriously. She's a professor specializing in 19th century literature and she definitely proved her worth.
"You have to pluralize the head noun, not the modifier."
"Blond and dazzling in the way that suggests she's never bough a loaf of bread at the store. And Gary, so handsome and sturdy, a man who is always bringing bread home from the store."
"I mean, I never think of historical figures as hot. They're just these bodiless, dusty, sepia-toned entities."
"She devoted her career to these books because she needed them. She didn't care that most of the other graduate students thought this was boring. These stories were like little bibles to her, teaching how to be normal, how to dream, how to believe that happiness and a new family would arrive in a single moment, on a single page, like the sudden crescendo of a symphony."

By the end of the book, I did not expect it to turn full circle the way it did. There is plenty of humor to be had, a few tears to be shed, and you will root for everyone in this book.

"A story can be beautiful, not because of the eay it ends. But because of the way it's written." This sums up the Espach's book when she wrote The Wedding People. Can't wait for her next one, and the inevitable movie just picked up with Nicole Holofcener adapting.

Phoebe checks into the Cornwall Inn with zero luggage, ready to end it all. Her husband had an affair with her best friend, her cat has passed away, and she no longer feels passionate about her career. Then she meets Lila. Lila is getting married at the hotel and can't have a death ruin her perfect day and makes it her mission to keep Phoebe alive. This book wasn't anything like what I expected but I loved it. It was a beautiful love story between two complicated women and challenges they face throughout the week as they make some tough decisions together. The author threw in the perfect amount of humor throughout the book and I was rooting for each of the characters the entire time. This is going to be a great beach read this summer. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Phoebe, a lonely and people-pleasing 19th centuryist literary professor has had enough. In an uncharacteristic impulsive moment, she passes over her normal professor attire and dons the fanciest dress she owns. Leaving behind her students, her cheating ex-husband, and that morning’s counter strewn breakfast crumbs, she hops on a plane to visit a hotel she has always dreamt of visiting with only the silk on her back and the cat’s prescription meds in tow.

Unbeknownst to her, the entire hotel has been booked for the guests and the week-long festivities of a wedding. Phoebe is the only person in the hotel who has not been invited. When the bride mistakes her for a guest and discovers her true reason for being there, an unlikely friendship emerges. Really though, it’s Phoebe’s discovery and exploration of honest communication both with herself and the wedding guests that make her the most vital person at the event.

This is a unique exploration of grief in its many forms: loss of a loved one, loss of self, loss of a relationship, and even loss of an imaginary pet. Espach’s writing is compelling. And while she makes the heartbreak and gravity of certain moments feel visceral, she intertwines humor into the conversations to make those moments also bearable and accessible. The multiple dimensions of each character make me love them even in the moments I kind of want to hate them.