The Wedding People: A Novel

I absolutely loved “The Wedding People!” One of the most enjoyable, relatable, introspective, and funny books I’ve read in a long time. This is one of those rare book I will re-read!

The story centers around Phoebe Stone, an adjunct literature professor, who is recently divorced after a long battle with infertility. She comes to a crisis point after her cat passes away, and decides she wants to die. She books a one way plane ticket a one night in a hotel she’s always dreamed of staying in, so she can end her life in “her happy place.” There she immediately runs into a large wedding party, and a bride who needs a confident…

This book was absolutely captivating; it’s funny, emotional, and pulls you right into the story. In many parts I laughed out loud. The author did a wonder job capturing the complex nature of friendship, marriage, and family dynamics, the family we imagine for ourselves, who we are vs who we want to be, and how our hopes and dreams shape our identity.

I listened to the Audiobook, narrated by Helen Laser, and provided by MacMillan Audio through NetGalley. The narrator did an excellent job; there minor are some issues with sound quality/ consistency, but it doesn’t detract from the book. Many thanks for the advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

OMG! Does this author live in my head? I have a commonality with every character in this book. I had similar conversations with myself and others; similar thoughts. I couldn’t wait to see what going to happen next. I hope someone buys the rights to the book for the movie! Throughout the book, I tried to figure out the casting! 🤣. Great book! Read it!

This story is everything. I just lost two people in my life to death. The main character wears an emerald silk dress and gold heels to a date with death at a 5 🌟 hotel by the 🌊... And becomes the heroine of her life and this story and my past weekend. A tender story of loss/grief/love and how being our naked/weird/honest selves opens up our heart veins to life! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Phoebe's life is going off the rails so what does she do? She books a room at an Inn she's dreamed of visiting, puts on her most beautiful dress that she's never worn, and waltzes into the Inn with a solid plan. Then she meets Lila and plans change.

When I requested this book from NetGalley I assumed I was getting a fun summer beach read but I got so much more. The characters are developed beautifully and while some of the subjects are not laughing matters, you will still find yourself chuckling over conversations and situations. At the beginning, I wasn't really "getting" Phoebe and certainly didn't care for her but by the end, you'll wish you could be her friend. Then again almost all the characters are that way, you grow to love them for who they are and what they bring to "The Wedding People" group, except Jim, you love him right off the bat! This book exceeded my expectations in so many ways.

I understand the movie rights have been purchased and if that's true, then I cannot wait to see this in movie form. The character dialogue is beautiful and funny and all the feels in between. I suspect this will be quite the bestseller!

Many thanks to NetGalley, Alison Espach, and Henry Holt & Co (publisher) for this advance copy to read and enjoy.