Unclear on why this was picked for Reese’s bookclub. Despite a promising setup, the story was boring and slow, the main character had zero personality, and I had to force myself to finish it - even listening to the audio on 2.5x speed it dragged. I generally like to give second chances, but I don’t know that I’d read another book by this author.

Ally Condie’s adult debut, The Unwedding, sets a classic locked-room mystery against the picturesque backdrop of Big Sur. Ellery Wainwright, recently divorced and alone, goes to the luxurious Resort at Broken Point for what would have been her 20th wedding anniversary. Instead of peace, she finds chaos: she finds the groom at a wedding held there dead in the pool, and a sudden storm traps the guests with no hope of rescue. As bodies pile up, Ellery and two other guests, Ravi and Nina, step into the unlikely roles of amateur detectives.

While the setup is promising, the execution falls flat. The characters, including Ellery, don’t leave a lasting impact, making it hard to care about their fates. The calm reactions to the murders stretch believability, and the idea of vacationers stepping into detective roles feels implausible. Despite moments of intrigue and the unique addition of art throughout the resort, the story struggles with uneven character development and a resolution that doesn’t satisfy.

Condie’s exploration of grief and resilience adds some depth, but it’s overshadowed by plot issues and shallow characterization. For readers craving a stormy escape with a touch of mystery, The Unwedding might suffice, but it’s not the standout it could have been. A generous 3 stars.

** Thanks to the publisher for a comp in exchange for an honest review. The opinions are my own.

This author has a great fan base for her young adult series, so I was excited to read this adult thriller. The premise of The Unwedding is exactly what I love in a thriller--locked room, remote setting, and a murder to be solved. There is a strong sense of setting, and good character development with Ellery. Unfortunately, there were a lot of sideline stories that pulled from the main plot, which ended up leaving me more confused than intrigued. I will definitely read her next adult novel, but this one did not live up to the hype.

The Unwedding by Ally Condie was a mystery that revolved around guests at a remote luxury resort (many of whom were there for a wedding) who end up trapped due to a mudslide. While the guests are there, two people end up dead and one missing.

I liked the mystery premise, but there were a lot of characters to follow and the reader didn’t have enough information to get close to figuring things out (which is somewhat frustrating in this type of book). Overall, a quick read that would make a great movie or tv series!

“Something old, something new, something borrowed , something blue, someone lost, someone we’d, someone broke, someone dead!”

Exotic location ✅
Dead body ✅
So many possible suspects ✅
Locked room trope ✅
Funny and quirky characters ✅
Short chapters ✅
Fast paced ✅

I was excited to read this story about a women named Ellery, who goes on vacation to Big Sur in California, that was supposed to be her 20th wedding Anniversary trip, in spite of an impending divorce. She went at the request of her best friend by herself. Knowing she needed this solo trip to find herself again, but instead she finds a dead guy floating in the resort pool on her first day!

Ellery spends the rest of her time on this trip trying to figure out who killed the groom before anyone else dies. Does she succeed? You’ll have to read to find out.

With no shortage of quirky characters, some seemingly shady and some well, you just can’t be sure of. Ellery is not your typical murder sleuth. She’s a history teacher, but she’s good at listening and because she’s not part of the wedding party or a guest, she’s able to see things from a different perspective.

Also, something bad happened in Ellery’s past that is haunting her.

I loved the characters, although I wish the author had gone a little deeper into their backgrounds. I felt it kept me interested all the way through, short chapters were great, although the middle seemed to drag on just a bit for me, but the end of the story wrapped up nicely.

This is my first book by Allie Cindi, but I look forward to reading much more from her!

Thank you NetGalley and Grand Central publishing for this opportunity to read and review.
#theunwedding

Ally Condie's first adult novel had a pretty successful debut. if you liked the Glass Onion, you may be a fan of this whodunnit thriller. A divorcee's vacation fall apart when she finds a dead body in the pool. This happens to be at the scene of a wedding happening at the resort. What should be a couple's happy day quickly falls apart when it's discovered that it's the groom's corpse in the pool. When the police try to get to the resort, a mudslide leaves all of the guests and residents of the resort stranded. With a killer among them, another guest dies and everyone races to figure out who is murdering these people. It's easier said than done when everyone is hiding something.

Thank you to Grand Central and Netgalley for this gifted copy. I wanted more from this book. I was hoping for a great thriller, but it ended up being a really slow-paced whodunnit. I didn’t feel really connected to any of the characters and found that their back stories ended up being irrelevant to the plot. It was an easy read and well-written, just not really for me.

Although this was published in the summer, this would also make for a perfect fall read - a woman escaping the end of her marriage by going to a resort happens upon a murder at a wedding. Lots of twists and turns and I could not put it down.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review an advanced copy of this novel. I highly enjoyed it and will be recommending it.

I loved the premise and start of this thriller but it fell a little flat for me. I did love Condie's writing and will read whatever she writes next - the way she started each chapter was a really nice touch! - but the mystery got too convoluted and I could see the twists coming by the end.

Thanks to Grand Central Publishing for the copy to review.

"The Unwedding" is a murder mystery with a very of-the-moment setting—a beautiful resort in Big Sur, patronized by the wealthy—but the feel of a classic cozy mystery. When Ellery goes on her twentieth anniversary trip alone, thanks to a recent divorce from her husband Luke, she's just trying to get through a couple days. What happens next is straight out of Agatha Christie—a wedding is mysteriously called off, Ellery finds the would-be groom's body floating in the pool, and a massive storm traps all the guests into the luxury resort for the foreseeable future. The resolution of the mystery comes suddenly at the the end, and the pacing is a bit uneven, but it's a pleasure to spend time in the world Condie makes nonetheless.

Sorry for the late review! I loved this book and was not surprised that it was a monthly pick for Reese.

I loved Ally Condies Matched series and was excited to read this novel. I was not let down!

Ellery and her husband are supposed to enjoying their anniversary and life in California but instead it is just Ellery. And to make matters worse there is a wedding at the resort and Ellery doesn’t want to deal with it. But then she finds the grooms men dead in pool and all hell breaks loose. Ellery gets pulled into family drama and with new friends starts trying to process the situation. And then a major storm hits and it gets worse. But how bad can things really get?

This was one of those books you can’t put down! It is a thrill from start to finish. I felt like I figured it out and then something else happened. I thought this was very well written and a fantastic book!

Ellery Wainwright is supposed to spend her twentieth wedding anniversary together at the luxurious Resort at Broken Point in Big Sur, California.
But now she’s alone. To add insult to injury, there’s a wedding scheduled during her stay. Now, she isn’t certain of anything except for her love for her kids and her growing realization that this place, though beautiful, is unsettling. When Ellery discovers the body of the groom floating in the pool in the rain, she realizes that she is not the only one whose future is no longer guaranteed. Before the police can reach Broken Point, a mudslide takes out the road to the resort, leaving the guests trapped. When another guest dies, it’s clear everyone has a secret. Twisty thriller.

This was such a great locked room mystery since they actually ended up stranded at the resort with all the other guests and the dead body which helps with figuring out who the murderer was. Ellery was supposed to celebrate her 20th wedding anniversary at this luxurious resort but ends up having to go solo to not lose money on a nonrefundable trip. There is a wedding being hosted there at the same time and then the groom turns up dead and before the cops can get there a mudslide takes out the bridge. So it’s her and 2 other guests that decide to start investigating to figure out what happened and during this we keep getting references to a tragedy that happened 2 years prior and Ellery keeps getting flashbacks and while it doesn’t have anything to do with the current mystery it was interesting to figure out what it was and why she was so traumatized about it and the toll it took on her marriage. All in all a great fast read and the twists kept me guessing until the end.

Thanks to Grand Central Publishing and Netgalley for the complimentary copy of this book. All opinions in this review are my own.

In June it was announced that actress Reese Witherspoon had chosen Ally Condie’s debut mystery novel, The Unwedding, as her book pick for her book club. I loved Ms. Condie’s Matched series years ago and was excited to read her new novel, joining millions of others who were now reading it along with Reese Witherspoon.

In the book, Ellery Wainwright finds herself alone at a beautiful resort in Big Sur California, but that wasn’t what she’d planned. She was supposed to be celebrating her 20th wedding anniversary, until her husband abruptly left her and asked for a divorce instead. Ms. Condie was writing from personal experience as her own marriage ended after twenty years. While she was at a resort mourning the loss, she realized she was the only one there who wasn’t absorbed with a partner, so if a murder happened, she would be the one to see the details. Thus, the idea for The Unwedding was born.

In the Unwedding, Ellery meets several people at Broken Point resort, including those in a wedding party. Seeing the bride and groom is difficult, as Ellery once had the same hopes and dreams for happiness with her own husband. The author pens a haunting picture of the grief and pain that Ellery is experiencing as she works through the demise of her marriage. It is so open and raw, the reader can truly feel the depths of Ellery’s anguish. The setting in Big Sur is phenomenal and the author describes the scenery so well it’s easy to feel as if we’re all at this luxurious resort, taking in the stunning views, right along with the characters.

Ellery begins to open up a little and befriends some of the other guests, and all of these details set the stage for a murder mystery after Ellery finds the dead body of the groom. Before help can arrive, however, a massive storm washes out all the roads leading to the resort so the police can’t reach them—and no one can get out.

When another dead body is discovered, it becomes a life-or-death situation for the guests at the resort. Everyone has secrets it seems, but can the murderer be found before they strike again? This Agatha Christie-esque mystery will keep you guessing until the last chapter. A satisfying read for those who love a twisty, compelling thriller.

Thank you Grand Central Pub and NetGalley for the eARC of The Unwedding. All opinions in this review are my own.

I have been such an Ally Condie fan since reading the Matched series and Atlantia so I was excited to read her adult book. This thriller had the perfect set up for me with the guests getting trapped by a storm at the elite hotel. Unfortunately, I found the thriller parts of this story to be lacking. I felt like there weren't enough hints or enough tension built so that when the big reveal happens, I was more confused than shocked. Despite not loving this one, I think Condie still has the talent to make an excellent adult thriller.

Ellery is blindsided when her husband asks for a divorce right before their big 20th anniversary trip. Ellery doesn’t want to see him take the trip with someone else so she decides to go solo. She quickly finds herself among guests for a wedding taking place on the island, and makes fast friends with a couple of them. When she finds the groom floating dead in the pool, and a huge storm traps all the guests on the island and prevents police from getting to them, the locked door murder mystery begins to unfurl.

This was twisty and more cozy mystery than thriller. You’ll find yourself questioning everyone. You may also find yourself questioning everyone’s sense of reality here because MUCH suspension of disbelief is required to enjoy this novel. I know this book got lots of love but it just didn’t hit the mark for me unfortunately…

I was very excited about “The Unwedding”, but ultimately this fell rather flat for me. The plot sounded a lot sexier than the actual result. It was a slower thriller than I had anticipated and ultimately found it to be not that memorable. 3 stars ✨.

This was a great mystery, to start, but seemed to slow down and meander to the end. I did this as an audiobook and the narrator was wonderful. To start, the mystery is great! I loved meeting the extra friends and gate crashing a wedding. The mystery surrounding the crash and then the discovery of a body and I was hooked! But soon the mystery diverted. We got introduced to a huge cast and I wasn't sure how each of them tied to the main character at all. Then we got pulled into an odd side story about art and I was baffled - what all was going on. When there was a second missing someone, I actually had no idea who the person was and had to backtrack into the story to remember. But it was a good mystery, the ending was pretty surprising and I did find it entertaining!

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.