What a great book!!! The way the two female main characters complement each other is unreal. A divorcee professor takes a trip to a hotel she always wanted to go to with her ex, but this time for very different reasons. There she runs into a bride who thought she bought out the whole hotel for just her wedding guests. The story just takes off from there! If you like some dark humor, complicated relationships, and messy weddings - READ THIS!

This book was so wonderful and I look forward to reading more novels from Alison Espach in the future. Also hope this gets picked up as a movie!

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for an audio copy of the book.

I loved this book so much! Phoebe is a character that will stick with me for a long time. This character driven novel was well written with great character arcs and amazing relationship development. I loved the setting and how the story unfolded.

In the Wedding People by Alison Espach, we watch the main character, Phoebe, hit rock bottom. Content warnings should include death of parent, infidelity/divorce and suicide ideation. All that being said, and as much as I dreaded the way the book opened - I am always rooting for the main character, and she is in trouble from the word go. I really enjoyed this read and watching Phoebe really find herself. Here is how the rest of review would read if Phoebe wrote it:

We were good, we were gold
Kinda dream that can't be sold
We were right 'til we weren't
Built a home and watched it burn
… Mm, I didn't wanna leave you
I didn't wanna lie
Started to cry, but then remembered I
… I can buy myself flowers
Write my name in the sand
Talk to myself for hours
Say things you don't understand
I can take myself dancing
And I can hold my own hand
Yeah, I can love me better than you can

Thank you Miley Cyrus for putting better than I could.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Henry Holt & Company, and Macmillan Audio for gifting me both a digital and audio ARC of this fabulous book by Alison Espach, with the audiobook narrated perfectly by Helen Laser. All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 5 stars!

Phoebe Stone arrives at the Cornwall Inn in Newport, Rhode Island, for a one-night only stay. She's immediately mistaken as one of the wedding people, because Lila has taken over the entire inn for a 6-day, million dollar wedding. As much as Phoebe tries to stay out of the way, she soon becomes a confidant to Lila, and the two become close.

This is the perfect summer novel. It's beautifully written to touch all your emotions, but with that dark humor I love to balance it out.. I loved getting to know these characters, especially Phoebe, and loved going along on their journey to find themselves. It's hilarious, touching, hopeful, and will have you rooting for both these women while you are vicariously experiencing all this wedding and family drama. There's a wonderful cast of supporting characters too, those you'll love and those that will have you rolling your eyes.. I already miss all the wedding people - don't miss this wonderful book! Helen Laser's narration only added to the perfection.

I wasn’t expecting such a dark start for a second chance romance but I loved how it played out. It starts off a little depressing, but I enjoyed going on Phoebe’s self growth journey to find happiness and a new beginning. As Phoebe gets to know the wedding guests, she is able to provide them with her observations to help their relationships. In return, she gets to experience what a family is. I found all the characters to be entertaining and well written, which made it a fun story. I listened to this as an audiobook and the narrator was great.

*Provided an ALC (advance listening copy) audiobook from the publisher for review. All opinions are my own.

“For a suicidal person you’re kinda funny.”-Lila

It’s so much easier to tell your truth when you don’t plan on being alive the next day. Phoebe has always been a quiet people pleaser, hoping to blend in and survive. She overthought every conversation. She was self conscious and lacked self worth. When she hits her rock bottom she decides to take a final trip to a uber expensive resort where she will take her life. Once you feel like you’ve lost all control in your life, having control over your death just feels…right. She ends up being the only non-guest at a six day wedding celebration and crosses paths with the bride, Lila.

Lila is stuck playing the part of perfect bride-to-be hostess. Lila and Phoebe are an unlikely friend duo, but Lila can actually be herself around Phoebe. She finds Phoebe’s blunt honesty refreshing.

Every character was well written, realistic, and complex. I was impressed with the emotional depth throughout the entire book. I laughed out loud and I cried tears. No one was fully bad or good. Just real. I loved Phoebe’s new outlook on life once she decided to die. She was finally able to say and do all the things she would typically keep bottled inside.

Great audio narration/acting. There were times where the sound briefly sounded different, like those parts were edited at a different volume/sound quality, but it wasn’t enough to overly distract me.

And let’s not forget that amazing cover! This is in the running for my favorite book of the year.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this audio ARC. This review will be shared on NetGalley, Goodreads, and Amazon.

Pub Date Jul 30 2024

I really enjoyed this book. I loved all of the characters, and found them relatable. I liked the authors spin on some tough topics, by adding some side humor and jokes along the way. I didn't want the book to end! If this was a movie I would go see it.

Admittedly, I didn’t think this was going to be for me at first. It was very dry, very depressing, and just not at all what I was expecting at the start. Espach totally changed my mind, and I fell in love with the story and the characters as time went on. The character development and growth for some was a joy to listen to, and the narrator did a great job bringing life to this story.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for my ALC in exchange for my honest feedback.

I wasn't sure about this book at the beginning. With FMC struggling so much, it was more emotionally draining than I thought. However, the beginning was necessary to really elaborate on the FMC's need to connect to people. I found the characters in the story likable and I ended up not wanting to put the book down towards the end. Truly a sweet love story.

As someone getting married in Newport, RI this year, I knew I had to read this novel when I saw the blurb. While my wedding will be nothing like the one featured in The Wedding People, it was fun to read scenes set in Newport’s most iconic places. Espach did a fantastic job developing her characters and their relationships throughout the story. I truly was sad when this book ended - not because it necessarily had a sad ending, but because I could have easily spent many more chapters with this cast.

Five bright, shiny stars for this magnificent book! What an absolute delight to listen to on audiobook. The narrator, Helen Laser, brought the story to life with her stunning performance and I was actually sad when it ended. I will miss these characters! Alison Espach has written my favorite book of 2024 and I will definitely be rereading in it print form.

Thank you to Alison Espach, MacMillan Audio and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Cornwall Inn is the luxurious setting of Lila’s $1 Million wedding. What could possibly happen? Enter Pheobe, the only person who is not a member of the wedding party who has donned a beautiful green dress and gold shoes for the occasion. A chance meeting between Lily and Pheobe changes the course of both of their lives. Through conversations with Lily, Phoebe was able to reexamine her initial decision to take her life.

If you enjoy the idea of found family and second chances, The Wedding People is one for you.
I found myself thinking of the characters long after the book was over.

I listened to the Audiobook, provided by MacMillan Audio through NetGalley. This audiobook was narrated by Helen Laser who provided cast of characters that kept me engaged throughout. Many thanks for the advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

Deservedly a “Read with Jenna”pick, the B&N Book Club selection, and offered by the Book of the Month Club, Alison Espach’s “The Wedding People” is a delightful story of people at their best and worst, set in a resort hotel near the Golden Age mansions of Rhode Island. Having her absolute worst day (her cat Harry has just died — something that also led Nora Seed of “The Midnight Library” to suicide), Phoebe has put on her best never-worn dress and gold heels and checked into the Grand Cornwall Inn that she dreamed about but never visited while she was still married to her cheating husband, only to find out that the entire venue has been booked for the wedding week of Lila and Gary. No matter, she plans to take her cat’s leftover painkiller pills and kill herself. Except that she meets the bride in the lobby, decides to mention her reason for being there, and Lila immediately sucks Phoebe into the orbit of the wedding festivities, forbidding Phoebe to ruin her week.

This is a book about connections that’s both heartbreaking and joyful as we follow Phoebe’s transformation into someone who is finally figuring out who she is and how she magically interacts with the rest of the wedding people. Lila is the perfect wannabe Bridezilla, overwrought but still very sweet and vulnerable. Helen Laser’s narration is equally joyous, and she masters a series of different voices and accents for the cast of characters. I loved the story (sometimes a bit predictable) and I eventually came to love each and every one of the wedding people. 5 stars!

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for an advanced audiobook copy!

At first I thought “this book is so depressing”. The author did a great job getting us to feel what phoebe was feeling. Then, it slowly turned around bringing us back to being ok despite all that has happened. I loved how it was wasn’t a happily ever after but a it ended just right!

This book surprised me. I thought it would be more quirky and funny but it was definitely more of a deeply emotional read. What do we do when we've lost our way and can't seem to get back on track? The character development is fabulous and this entire book is brilliantly written! It leaves you thinking long after you've finished it. I am so thankful I got the chance to listen to this ARC copy from NetGalley. The narrator was absolutely perfect for this book.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. This was a fun one but also is on a very tough subject matter, suicide. Phoebe hits rock bottom, She always wanted to travel to Newport, Rhode Island, so she decides to go and she rents a room in an expensive hotel, but when she gets there she realizes she just crashed a wedding weekend.

Described as “absurdly funny and devastatingly tender”, I was pleasantly surprised by this touching novel about friendship and love. It is a character driven novel that deals with a number of “trigger warning” topics sensitively.

I was immediately sympathetic toward 40 year old Phoebe, the FMC, who feels lost and depressed after a pandemic divorce. She escapes to the Cornwall Inn in Newport, Rhode Island, where she meets a beautiful bride, Lila. Lila has been planning her dream wedding for 2 years and she and her guests have taken over the hotel. Phoebe soon becomes absorbed by the “wedding people”. It’s sad and surprisingly funny, with morbid, dark humor as Phoebe and Lila discover the surprising honesty of strangers. The story is heartwarming and ultimately hopeful.

I listened to the audio version, and thought the narrator, Helen Laser was fantastic. She managed to voice a wide range of characters effectively. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own. Pub Date 7/30/24

4.5 stars rounded up
I was able to listen to this audiobook in advance thanks to NetGalley.

I didn't read the synopsis before starting this book and expected it to be a romance but I am much happier with this story than I would have been with a romance, haha. I was surprised by the dark beginning and found it a little too relatable at points, but really enjoyed it anyway, and I love the direction the book went.
The humor was phenomenal and the life lessons were deep.
I found the narrator to be easy to listen to and found it easy to differentiate between different characters. Though there were points when there were edits added in that sounded way different and it threw me off every time.

I would recommend this book to anyone who has a darker sense of humor but still likes some light and hope in their reads.
I would advise anyone who is not in a good mental place to be wary of the beginning of the book.

Absolute perfection. This book spoke directly to my soul, sounds dramatic, but truly, this book felt like it was written TO me. Yes, I'm in a very happy marriage, but at 32, I completely understand the feelings that Phoebe experienced. One of my favorite things about books is that you never know when there will be a quote, or description that perfectly captures a feeling you haven't been able to describe before, and you're like YES. THIS is what I feel/felt. This will easily be a top 5 read of 2024 for me, and will be a book that I come back to over and over and over again. Thank you from the bottom of my heart to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for an audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review. You made my year better by approving me for this one <3

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced readers audio book! i really enjoyed this one! I love the characters. They were likeable and relatable. Phoebe is the only character staying at the Cornwall Inn that is not part of the wedding. It is fun to watch her character change as she becomes friends with different members of the wedding party. I thought the narration was great and would recommend this audio book, Release date is 7/30.