This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter and by #NetGalley. Opinions expressed are completely my own.


I had a difficult time staying focused while reading this one. It was cute, delightful even, it couldn’t keep my attention.

When I read the synopsis of this book, it felt very similar to Dial A For Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto (which is a book that I absolutely ADORE!). So I had high hopes. Unfortunately the big difference between that one and The Wedding Crasher, is that that one is actually funny. The Wedding Crasher however was *not* for me. The jokes fell flat, Poppy felt like a whiny kid to me instead of a strong woman. I won't even talk about Lola, who was plain insufferable. Unfortunately I can't give this more than 1 star.

I can't think of a better word to describe this book than "delightful" - that's exactly what this read is. It's quick and just lovely. I've never read a book by Abigail Mann before, and this will not be my last. Poppy is such a lovely character and her journey to finding herself is relatable. This is a quaint read, and perfect for people looking to fall back in love with their lives.

The Wedding Crasher is a super fun romcom. Poppy is a photographer, finding herself and her way as she splits from her (truly terribly) husband. She happens to end up photographing the wedding of a college friend. It’s less that sparks fly and more that everyone needs to figure out what they really want - and then the sparks can fly.

The characters are delightful, the plot is fun, I enjoyed the flashbacks scattered throughout.

Abigail Mann has, in my opinion, done it again with a fab, easy to read book!
The one follows Poppy as she tries to navigate a life that hasn't gone to plan. As the summer holidays approaches she sees the time off as a chance to escape and follow her passion, photography.
I really liked the slow burn of this book and found the prologue to pip my interest further. The characters, although annoying at times I think that is the point! Many of the guests at the wedding are people that I have come across in my life and I think the author did a good job of creating characters that you will dislike!
At times I became frustrated with Poppy as she let her friends, colleagues and partner walk all over her but, again, I can see her as some of my friends and I think the frustration was meant by the author as we can see what she is doing wrong but Poppy needs to develop the strength to see herself.
The story flits between the past and the present and I found this a little confusing at parts, especially as while the flashbacks contributed to my understanding of the characters, I couldn't see how it fitted into the story at that point.
TW in the story for death of a loved one, gas lighting, alcohol addiction

Make sure you’ve got a free 24 hours when you start this book because you will not want to put it down! This was a great combination of escapasim in the form of reading about the Mountgrave family and what they think constitutes a wedding. It also was a challenge to read at times, seeing how Josh’s emotional abuse towards Poppy was causing such damage to her self esteem. Throw in the incredible friendship that Lola and Poppy have, plus the general storyline of Will/Ottilie/Poppy… safe to say there is a LOT going on but in the best way possible. The story was interesting, funny, varied, happy, sad- genuinely the whole shebang. Would highly recommend for a book to get lost in, ideally on your own luxury island break!

*Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. Pub date: March 17, 2022

Unfortunately I struggled with this one from pretty early on (4% to be exact—when a kinship with Melanie Trump was mentioned). I found the prologue and first few chapters to be a bit disconnected and confusing instead of hooking me in. Lukewarm romance matched my lukewarm interest in this one.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I'm sorry, I've liked this author's previous books, but I couldn't get into this one.
There weren't any particular characters that I liked, and I didn't really find the dialogue or the situations they were in, funny.

Let me preface this by saying that I hate weddings and I normally can't read wedding books and I still flew through it, which is really a testament to how much I enjoy Abigail Mann's writing. Main character Poppy is dealing with a (insane level) gaslighting toxic husband that she's trying to divorce and a lack of real purpose. She finally commits to enter the photography competition that she has always thought about but instead of spending a week alone photographing birds, her best friend and wedding planner Lola begs her to pinch hit and fill in for the photographer that fell through. When Poppy gets to the island resort where the wedding is taking place, she finds out that the groom is Will, her flatmate from college whom she had feelings for but never dated, even though Will tried once. Given that the wedding takes place over the span of a week, it became obvious pretty quickly that it was going to have to come out that Will's fiancee was having an affair, as that would be the only way to so quickly make him an option for Poppy. Even so, the transition to them being together felt a little abrupt, and I think it would've been helped by one or two more emotional interactions between the two of them leading up to it. Although a more far-fetched premise, the book's characters still felt incredibly realistic which is a lovely aspect of Mann's writing.

Abigail Mann has written a fast moving comedy romance for the modern age, set mainly on a fictitious island, based on Burgh Island, off the south Devon coast. Poppy is a photography teacher trying to escape from a toxic marriage and best friend Lola is a wedding planner trying to organise the most important event of her career. They meet by chance when Poppy is taking a trip to photograph puffins (on a different island) and Lola has just discovered that the official photographer is ill and can't make it to the venue for a few days.

As the pre-wedding week unfolds (and unravels) we discover Poppy's back-story and also what life is like amongst corporate high-fliers.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publishers for the opportunity to review this book.

I don't know how to be polite about totally hating this.
And I do mean hate, not just strong dislike.

I'll begin by saying that I do not appreciate being deceived by marketing schemes.
This is not a romance neither a comedy. Period.
Never in my life have I ever read more annoying, slappable decorative passive characters in a book.
And also, never in my life have I ever read such a densely written book full of fucked up relationships call itself "a hilarious and uplifting romantic comedy".

I'll give a few examples through Poppy, the main character cause the rest of the characters are even worse.
Her dad, her husband, her bff, her bff's employers, she lets everyone walk all over her.
She doesn't like where life and other people's decisions have taken her but she can only bitch and moan about it. When it's time to actually say or do something about it, she just doesn't and acts like a berated child.
She has no backbone, no opinion and she won't even hear or talk to anyone about anything. Her defence for her husband walking all over her is literally "you have no idea how hard this has been, I know I instigated the split but following through has been a very different thing." when she's questioned about why she's the one not signing the divorce papers.
Her bff forced her to work on a wedding as a favor when all she wanted was a quiet vacation away from everyone. She even acts like a prisoner but when she is presented with the chance to leave she expects someone to sent her away cause she just can't decide what to do on her own.
Her dad has become her responsibility after her mom left them because he couldn't cope.
Her old "friend" that she hadn't spoken to for years throws her into his family drama and having her intervene to his own relationship with his fiance because he just cant get through to her.

Does this all sound fun to you? Cause for me, reading it was not fun at all.

As for romance, at 82% feelings are discussed for the first time.
The question being "Do you like him?" and the reply is "I care about him the same way I'd care about anyone in a situation like this". Pretty romantic don't you think?
Oh and let's not forget the single kiss, the one you will have to put up with all this shit to FINALLY get to. It's in the last page. A SINGLE KISS IN THE VERY LAST PAGE but this is marketed as romance.
I rest my case.
I seriously need to forget I've ever even read this.

Thank you NetGalley & One More Chapter for the digital ARC but this was absolutely the worst.

This is a thoughtful book but equally almost zany with the week long wedding come business party set on a private island featuring a high profile and totally disfunctional family and Poppy who is drafted in my her best friend wedding planner as an emergency photographer. Poppy has plenty to struggle with as her own broken marriage has left her cynical about weddings not to mention the groom being her estranged university friend Will. I liked Poppy and Will although I couldn’t always get a hold on their relationship and I found the rest of the characters were good due to their flaws which added to the frenetic madness of the week. 7/10

The Wedding Crasher is a fresh take on modern romance loaded with relatable characters, meaningful and familiar relationships.
Poppy was a delightful character and I loved being on this journey with her. As she discovers herself and finds new lobe when she least expects it.
I thought this was both warm, funny yet relatable and endearing.
I loved the side characters so much. They are all well rounded and well written individuals. I loved this whirlwind adventure around the island.
The storyline and the characters fully captivated me.
Abigail effortlessly sets a perfect atmosphere. I love it when a story makes me smile and The Wedding Crasher has that great sunny feelgood factor.

One More Chapter,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!
I will post my review closer to pub date.

I finished this in one sitting, and if that doesn’t tell you how much someone’s enjoining a book, nothing will. Except maybe some other words.
I throughly enjoyed this fantastic story.
A “not as it appears” wedding sit on a beautiful island, in a hotel resort, owned by the family of the groom.
A just about to be divorced/separated old college roommate suddenly being roped in to photographing it, with unique consequences.
Honestly, a solid 4 star read for this, and I’m not finished with this author.

The Wedding Crasher by A. Mann , published by Harper Collins UK/ One More Chapter is a slow burn, rom/com, contemporary romance that will amke you laugh out loud, gives all the feels.
Poppy and Will, Lola and a wedding.
This book was not what I expected but everything I could have wished for. 4,5 beautiful stars.

The Wedding Crasher by Abigail Mann is a great contemporary fiction that has it all: life, love, friendship, laughter, and finding happiness amongst it all.

I really enjoyed this story that allows us to tag along with Poppy as she navigates her friends, failed relationships, evolving friendships, life, love, loss, second chances, new beginnings, and finally her own “happily ever after”.

I enjoyed the balance of laugh out loud moments, antics, and entertaining situations with slightly heavier concepts such as divorce, loneliness, feeling lost and uncertainty. The character cast was fun and entertaining and the dialogue was spot on and paced well.

I enjoyed Poppy’s progression and growth throughout the novel, but also her imperfections and flaws. It made her likable and relatable and I couldn’t help but cheer her on. I also enjoyed the ending.

4/5 stars

Thank you NG and OneMoreChapter for this wonderful arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication on 3/17/22.