This was such an unexpected surprise and very enjoyable book! I really loved the setting and Phoebe’s character! It was funny and captivating and this is definitely one of my favorite new releases of the year! 4.5⭐️

It feels weird to say, especially if you've read the synopsis and know vaguely what happens in this book, but I had such a good time reading this. This book starts out feeling very serious, and I wouldn't really call any of this book "light", but the way that it was written was just entertaining and handled darker subjects with care but also humor (somehow?).

I loved Phoebe, I thought her growth felt realistic and honest and I also found her so funny. Her banter with all the characters was so clever but also thoughtful. The conversations around heavy subjects were handled with care but also with some humor, which made them feel less taboo (I guess?) to read about. The conversations about grief, especially, felt so poignant.

When the book ended, I found myself wanting to know more about every character and wishing I had more pages to read, I'd definitely read more writing from this author!!

I was not expecting this book to be what it was. While Phoebe's life is falling apart she meets this very eccentric group of people and decides to start anew. It was heartwarming and lovely. I was rooting for all of the characters to find what they were looking for and have a satisfying ending (which they did). I didn't want this book to end, I enjoyed the characters and the world so much.

this was so well done and made relatable for such a heavy topic book. Suicide is such a delicate subject to tackle but Alison did it with gentle precision and somehow made it an uplifting story. I love that she doesn't glorify it, but she talks about it in a way that makes you ache.
The settings and details are so well done that I truly felt transported into the story. Very well done.

Good contemporary fiction. I did struggle through most of this and was pretty frequently frustrated with a few characters.

Phoebe Stone arrives at the Cornwall Inn with the intention of one last splurge and then killing herself. She is immediately mistaken as one of the wedding guests who have booked the entire inn for the weekend. The bride has accounted for every detail of the wedding, except for Phoebe. The twist is that the two become friends and Phoebe's plans are foiled. This book details paths we never imagined and friends we find in unexpected places.

This was such a different kind of book that i loved more than i usually do for this type. So well written with great characters and fun setting but serious story. Loved it

I cannot believe it took me so long to read this one, I was missing out on a 5 star all along, but I also feel I read it at a perfect time. The cover is what first intrigued me to read this one, but the writing was so good! It is very witty and has a lot of dark humor, to which I enjoyed. I also love the characters in this book and how real (and fake at times) they all are. Juice was probably my favorite of all. This one is highly worth the read!!

I see why this book is everywhere right now! For me, it took a while to really feel 'into' the story but once I got there I loved my reading experience. When you finish this novel you will feel deeply connected to the main characters and not want to leave them. It does deal with some 'heavier' issues, so if you are a sensitive reader check before jumping in!

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Format: Audio/Physical

4.5🌟 - I really liked it!

Thank you @henryholtbooks for the #gifted ARC and @librofm for the complimentary audio!

This was so good! This was definitely a buzzy book this summer and for such a good reason!! @readwithjenna has been killin’ it with her picks this year!

This is the perfect balance of dark humor, tender moments, starting again, and heavy topics.

Our girl Phoebe was on such a journey!! I loved seeing her navigate with the “wedding people” when she arrives at a wedding in RI with alternative plans.

This is the epitome of a character-driven novel, and I loved these characters! It had such levity despite the deeper topics, and it was executed with perfection!

Nuanced, funny, and uplifting!

Love, love this book. Espach manages to take a very serious topic- thoughts of suicide- and weave it into a relatable, thought proving, and surprisingly uplifting story. It has the right amount of light and depth. The opening was great- we get to dive right in as she arrives to the hotel, The Newport setting jumps off the page, and I love that I could see myself in both of these characters. Highly recommend!

In this unputdownable read, Phoebe is the only uninvited guest at a resort that has been bought out for a million-dollar wedding weekend. She’s indulged in a luxury room rental to wallow in her misery and intends to remove herself from this plane of existence at the end of the weekend, until her encounters with the bride, groom, members of the wedding party, and other invited guests help her to begin to shift her narrative and goals.

Phoebe’s darkly funny insights and observations on the absurdity and chaos of weddings, the grief of loss, and the weariness of just wanting it all to come to a halt–not necessarily to die, but for the pain and sadness to ease–are palpable, authentic, resonant, and human. The Newport, Rhode Island setting is both swanky and raw in the way only the New England coastline can be. Espach’s writing is magnificent: all juxtapositions, lyric and highly quotable. She captures not only Phoebe’s unique voice, but those of the supporting characters, who are fully fleshed out and reveal to be equally weird, awkward, conflicted and human. The cover perfectly fits the narrative and I want to place my dumpster fire and everything’s on fire memes with the image of a woman drowning in blue waves, only her hands visible as one throws up a peace sign and the other clutches a bottle of champagne, in the ultimate everything’s fine/not fine gesture. Worth the hype, this riveting read straddles the spectrum of beach reads between Elin Hilderbrand and Anita Shreve beautifully.

I received a free advance reader’s review copy of #TheWeddingPeople via #NetGalley courtesy of #HenryHolt.

Incredible; absolutely worth all the hype and praise.

Espach manages to fit a whole universe into 6 short days surrounding a society wedding. Characters are so painfully alive, so fully real, as they tackle huge questions of love, grief, loss, and what it means to be alive.

This was something I never expected but I enjoyed it nonetheless. A great book club book but beware of trigger warnings!

I could NOT resist picking up The Wedding People by Alison Espach when I read the synopsis. Something about it was so intriguing. And the early reviews were glowing. I’m so very happy I didn’t let this one pass by. Deeply compelling, humorous and heartbreaking, I didn’t want this one to end.

This is one of those books that will be very hard to review without spoilers, but I recommend going into it as blindly as you can, just maybe checking out those content warnings before you start, if you’re someone susceptible to triggers. It contained a few of the triggers I typically try to avoid, but the author handles them with such care and humor, they didn’t bother me at all.

Phoebe arrives at the Cornwall Inn in Newport, Rhode Island, dressed in her most glamorous dress, not a piece of luggage in sight, and not expecting to encounter a crowd of wedding people arriving for a destination wedding. She’s quickly mistaken for a wedding guest since the entire inn has been reserved for wedding people only.

Phoebe’s reasons for booking the best room at the inn for one night only is rooted in grief, but as she encounters the wedding people, she can’t help being pulled into their lives, especially the bride, Lila, who has planned her perfect wedding down to the smallest of details.

If you’re picking this one up expecting a romance, there is romance, but this is a story about Phoebe pulling through the most difficult time in her life, with help from others, but also on her own. She learns that even though life doesn’t have ‘tied in a bow happy endings’, there is happiness to be found even in the hard times. And isn’t that the only way to really survive in this thing we call life?!

With a plethora of colorful characters—the inn being its own character, as well—like Phoebe, I didn’t want to leave this charming setting, but I knew I eventually had to. None of the characters are perfect, they are all fully flawed, but still lovable, which is also true about real life. Those around us who we might not like all the time, but we can find redeeming qualities, if we look hard enough under their tough exteriors.

And if you’re an Edith Wharton fan like me, you might know she had a house in Newport, Rhode Island, so I was happy to find some fun references to one of my favorite classic authors.

I was not surprised to see that this one has been picked up to be adapted with the beautiful setting, great cast of characters, and heartfelt storyline. I was equally excited to see this one had been chosen for the Today’s show’s #ReadWithJenna book club pick. The Wedding People deserves all the attention!

If I wasn’t already a fan of the author, I probably would've dnf-ed this book early on. I was blown away by Espach’s previous novel, but “The Wedding People” is comparatively empty. So much of it is light-hearted and jokey but missing much-needed depth and gravity. The protagonist is at the darkest point of her life, and I never felt it. And later when she does a sudden 180, I didn’t believe it—which subsequently dulled the better parts of the novel: The hopefulness and the soft vulnerability of the characters, who are reaching out to each other, trying to form connections, and surprised to find happiness and belonging.

This is a smart and moving look at a woman who is at a crossroads in her life. I think many will relate to this story about a point in life when some dreams are lost but new dreams haven’t emerged. Throw in a beautiful setting, the chaos of a wedding, and unexpected connections between strangers, and you have a very readable and compelling story.

I tried so hard to like this book. I kept putting it down and kept coming back until I just had to DNF it. Every time I picked up this book I got depressed and in a bad mood. Based off the blurb on the back I thought I would love this, but unfortunately just wasn’t for me.

5 stars
⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Wedding People by Alison Espach is a beautiful book that really pushed me out of my comfort zone and completely captivated me at the same time.

I went into The Wedding People thinking that it would be a fun, light, and fluffy beach read and I was extremely wrong. But what I got was so much more. It was hilarious, sad, heartbreaking, dark, a little absurd, and filled with a whole lot of soul. .

A big thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, Henry Holt & Company, and the author, Alison Espach, for this ARC

This was a unique book that was out of my comfort zone but I loved it more than expected. I know not everyone will love this book at my library but the uniqueness will be what others love. I loved how it had such range in the story- complex characters dealing with real life issues but also so much humor that reminded me of Gilmore girls writing for some reason.