A good read...but found I had to really concentrate..rather than go with the flow!! Poppy a teacher( separated from her husband) is en route to some bird watching R&R is hijacked by her friend Lola, a wedding planner. Disaster had struck and the original photographer was unable to attend...so enter Poppy after much cajoling! All set on an exclusive island...what could possibly go wrong. Surprise surprise..the groom is an old friend from uni.....
The book shifts from present day back to uni days...which made things more interesting...but definitely added the need to focus!!
Not quite the rom com I was expecting, but nevertheless an enjoyable read.

Bring together a photog, Poppy, with a bad marriage. Her friend Lola, wedding planner in need of a photog. A lovely island off Britain. A bride with cold feet. A groom who turns out to be an old friend. And voila, you have high society nuptials that go madly awry. But don't despair. THE WEDDING CRASHER is a great escape into a delicious tale filled with laughter, romance, chaos, and good cheer. A blast!

Thanks to the author; HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter; and NetGalley for the ARC. Opinions are mine.

#theweddingcrasher #Abigail Mann
#harpercollinsukonemorechapter #NetGalley

The Wedding Crasher is the latest book by Abigail Mann. Abigail’s previous books have provided great characters and comedy, with this one doing just the same.

Poppy has separated from her husband and in a bid to reclaim her life back and her passion, photography, she heads off on a solo mini-break. But her best friend, Lola, begs for Poppy’s help on a high end wedding she’s planning. So instead she finds herself on an island for a week long wedding build up where the groom is an old friend.

The opening scene of this book hooked me in. It was comedic but also I wanted to know how the characters end up here. I enjoyed the story and the fun and games that Poppy and Lola have along the way but at times I felt the story moved a little slow. But don’t get me wrong it didn’t stop me from carrying on and enjoying.

I enjoyed the characters in this book and the way that we learn of their history to discover how and why they have ended up where they are now, and in Poppy’s case her fight to find herself again. There’s also plenty of other characters that certainly leave you on your toes.

What I love about Abigail’s books is how her writing is not only brings the humour to the page but also the way she writes the characters and their relationships.

I can’t wait to read more.

I am reading particularly slowly this month as I have a lot on and am consequently quite tired (with no naps, unfortunately), so this may be a result of that, but this book, with its beautiful cover and the great blurb, was not at all what I expected.

The Wedding Crasher by Abigail Mann is described as a “moving and funny”, “hilarious” Romcom. Still, this story focuses more on Poppy, a young teacher photographer who separates from her husband, Josh. Poppy gets roped into helping her friend Lola by photographing a week-long wedding on a private island that turns out to be owned by a friend of the past and “the one that got away” Will.

This took me days to read, and I found it slow-paced and overly drawn out. I did finish it but didn’t find that I enjoyed it particularly. I haven’t read anything by Abigail Mann previously, but I have heard of her and her great reviews, so I was pretty excited to read this pre-release.

I found that while this jumps around from past to present scenes, it wasn’t done well enough to hang together entirely and felt a little chaotic. To the point that it felt a little like the author was unsure which storyline to focus on, and I felt a little lost at times as to what was actually relevant. This wasn’t the fun and flirty novel I had expected and is actually quite sad and focused more on failed relationships and Poppys confusion. I wanted more drama between Poppy and Will, but it didn’t come as I expected.

The characters were a bit of a mixed bunch. I didn’t warm to Poppy; I felt she needed to grow a backbone and stand up for herself and what she wanted more. Also, she felt irritating, a sheep who would happily follow anyone without consideration for herself. However, I think this reflected her relationship with Josh and how he had treated her for years. His gaslighting of her had led to this almost damp personality. I felt sorry for her but wanted to see her come through and become strong again.

Josh is obviously a horrible character. He and Poppy still live and work together, and she has gone away to forget him, but he still contacts her and seems obsessed with her; He’s very controlling. Will is poppy’s university friend who was her “one that got away”, but they hadn’t dated or similar she just went off with Josh instead because he was more available, it seemed. His finance Ottilie was portrayed as a bridezilla, but she seemed to be quite self-obsessed and almost absent due to her constant meditation and disappearances. This isn’t too difficult to believe, given her wedding build-up has actually turned into a corporate event.

Lola was my favourite character. She is Poppy’s best friend (often ignored due to Josh’s influence); she is bubbly, fun, consistent and a very supportive friend to Poppy. She is super organised but also super stressed in her work as so much rests on this massive wedding.

The coincidences in the book felt a little too convenient; Poppy has gone to a remote island to photograph Puffins and just happens to run into her best friend on the beach. The likelihood of this is improbable but obviously perfect in the book.

This would be a perfect read if you felt a little sad, maybe a little sorry for yourself and want to commiserate with someone in a similar situation. However, it wasn’t the one for me.

The Wedding Crasher was an okay read, however I personally felt it was slightly tone deaf trying to be awkwardly humorous about toxic marriages, gaslighting, and manipulation. I found Poppy very difficult to warm to and the romance between Poppy and Will was uncomfortable and felt forced/disingenuous. I felt a little mis sold really as it's being marketed as a light, comedic romance and it really isn't.

The writing isn't bad and I've read Abigail's previous work and found it engaging, this unfortunately is not the case for the Wedding Crasher.

Smart, biting humor, and fun!

Poppy has been separated from her gaslighting ex-husband Josh for sometime although one would hardly know it given they still have infrequent sexual relations.
A talented wildlife photographer, Poppy is determined to get away and follow her first love, capturing images in the wild. She’s all set to travel to a secluded island to take shots of her favorite birds, Puffins. Her trip is slightly deflected (read knocked off course) when her best friend Lola, an up and coming wedding planner who’s invested her all in meeting the demands of an exclusive high society wedding, asks Poppy to step in and replace the high fee commanding wedding photographer who’s had to bow out temporarily. An island wedding surrounded by extreme security with ALL cell phones being commandeered. (Sort of). Ripe for nonsense! More a business takeover than a wedding, the groom is gorgeous and likeable, the bride heavily into time alone to align her mantras. Poppys photographic talent is extended to the full.
We all know from the get go this wedding is going to have serious comic hiccups. Romantic comedy at its best (or hilarious worst!)
A fun read with heart ❤️

Thanks to Harper Collins for the invitation to preview this ARC via NetGalley
(Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)

3.5/5 🌟 It took me a while to get interested in the storyline for The Wedding Crasher, but I quite liked how the plot worked out after the first few chapters! I love books with a wedding theme. There's so much drama involved, and that makes reading wedding-centered books so joyful, AHHH! 😭💕

Poppy was a really fascinating character! I loved seeing her grow without being stuck in shackles of her ex. In relationships, it's sometimes easy to lose yourself as an individual, and The Wedding Crasher highlighted that aspect perfectly. I didn't expect the story to have so many twists and turns, so I was really looking forward to seeing how the story ended!

I wish the book wasn't marketed as a light-hearted rom-com though. The story touches on some really serious topics, so I feel like the blurb was a bit misguiding? Idk, maybe that's just me.

Overall, if you're looking for a book with a character-based plot, I would recommend The Wedding Crasher! ❤️

The Wedding Crasher
by: Abigail Mann
Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter, One More Chapter

The Wedding Crasher is a humorous book with a wide range of characters.
The book has themes of lost and new dreams, friendship, and self-discovery. Readers will be surprised by the twists, turns, and surprises, but have an enjoyable reading experience on the journey.

Now Available!! Today is the day!!

The Wedding Crasher by Abigail Mann

A lot can happen in a week!
Poppy is a photography teacher at a school where her husband, Josh, is the principal.
Poppy is just hanging on, and it’s hard. She and Josh are getting a divorce, but no one at work knows it yet. They haven’t gotten along for quite some time, and it is over. Unfortunately, they still live in the same house, which is brutal. Poppy has never looked forward to vacation more than the one she has coming up to photograph puffins on a remote island.
So, how does Poppy go from a puffin photography vacation to being the stand-in photographer at her old college buddy’s exclusive high-security remote island wedding? And he’s wealthy? And, wow…really handsome!
The bride is doing her best to avoid everyone on the island and the stress the groom’s family is causing. But, she likes Poppy and confides in her.
Poppy’s dealing with Josh and her divorce, missing the puffins, enjoying her banter with the groom, what the bride has told her, being confused by his family dynamics, and her best friend, the wedding planner, is mad at her!
She just hopes the real photographer gets there soon so she can leave the island!
I enjoyed The Wedding Crasher. It took me a bit longer to get hooked on this one, but I really enjoyed it once I did!
#NetGalley #abigailmann #TheWeddingCrashers #booksandpensongreengables #harpercollins #booksandpensongreengables #bpongreen #authorservice

I really enjoyed reading Abigail Mann's previous books, but I did unfortunately struggle with this book. It was not as lighthearted and amusing as the blurb suggested, I definitely would not call it a rom-com.
Poppy had a very toxic relationship with her soon to be ex-husband. She was emotionally abused by him and had changed so much as a person to please him. She had hoped that a holiday would make her find herself. It was good to see her become stronger.
I mostly liked the characters, but there was a lot happening to them and it was difficult to follow. There were a few comedy moments, but definitely wasn't the type of book that I was expecting.
Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for my ARC.

I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand I thought the book was written well, although slow to start, had me chuckling at points and I enjoyed the story line. But I wouldn’t call this a rom-com which is what the book is pitched as.

There isn’t any romance, apart from the last page of the book. You can’t even describe it as slow burn because honestly there wasn’t even any build up between Polly and Will. They liked each other back when they were at uni but that was 10 years ago and it was always right person wrong time. And then the majority of this book focuses on Will’s wedding to someone else.

It can be kind of seen as a book of self discovery for Polly. A chance for her to see what her life had become and make the final move away from her husband. It was heart breaking to see how long she had stayed in a relationship in which she was emotionally mistreated just because she wanted stability. I loved the fact she was able to take back some control over her life but I did think she was a bit of a weak character in general and let most people walk over her not just her husband.

I loved the side characters. Lola was a powerful character and I loved her quirky nature. I also liked Lawrence. The black sheep of the family he wasn’t a particularly nice character but I liked the depth to his personality and his dry sense of humour. The family dynamics were crazy and I couldn’t imagine lasting on that island and not wanting to runaway before the week is over. I enjoyed the ending and I did think it had comic moments. Overall I thought the storyline was interesting. I just think it’s worth bearing in mind that this is not a rom-com in my opinion!

‘What was she doing here, on Loxby? She had left the claustrophobia of home to give herself space to think, alone. If that was a test, she was surely failing. If she could learn to be comfortable on her own, she might not find the rest of her life so utterly terrifying.’

The Wedding Crasher by Abigail Mann is a contemporary fiction with a focus on chaos leading up to a socialite wedding. There are flashbacks that help in understanding character motivations and history. Overall, it is about life and love in the search for happiness.

‘What even is supper?’ asked Poppy. ‘I think it’s what Nigella Lawson does when she sneaks down to snaffle leftovers from the fridge in her nightie.’

The positives of this book are the second chance trope. There are also many funny one liners with a range of - to be expected - entertaining moments leading up to the big day. The dialogue is fast and witty. What I felt to be stronger were the more serious issues pertaining to feeling lost and uncertain in the face of divorce and loneliness. I wish these had been explored better.

‘One of the things she liked best about photography was how necessary it was to stand at the periphery of a scene, but never imprinting herself on it.’

Herein lies my problem with this book. There were not enough funny or romantic moments (might I venture to say rather silly and ridiculous ones). It was a bit of overkill with the crazy relationships whether between friends, family or lovers - or all three at once. I would even go a step further and say that Poppy’s relationship with her soon to be ex husband was toxic and not a laughing matter, just the opposite.

‘Poppy knew with singular focus that taking it was the only way she would have the courage to leave. This was her life raft. She needed to climb on…’

So whilst I appreciated Poppy’s growth and journey as she faced her flaws and had the odd chuckle, I did find the two opposing themes rather difficult to reconcile.

‘And there was me thinking you had an uncomplicated life.’ ‘Does anyone? I think that’s just adulthood. A Groundhog Day of people saying “things will slow down soon” until one of you slips into a coma.’







This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

Poppy is separating from her husband and wants to know that without him who she is. As the school holidays begin, she plans a trip to do some photography, which is something she is passionate about in places she loves.

But her plans take a different turn as her friend Lola who works as a wedding planner, is in urgent need of her help with a top secret wedding.

Abigail Mann has become a fast favourite.
I was so excited to read the Wedding Crasher, and it did not disappoint! So many great lines I will save and keep for reference in my reading planner. The characters were fab - sweet Poppy who has given too much of herself to her shit-husband until she’s a shell of a person she barely recognizes. Lola, who is an OTT character which I’m always there for, and my personal favourite character, the chips and cheese with extra cheese that had me drooling… The setting was lush and decadent and the way the story was told had me flipping pages to see how the story would play out.

This took me a few pages to get into it but I am very pleased that I didn't give up as it turned out to be a very good read.. Found it hard to put down it was that good. 4 stars. I would have given it 5 if I hadn't had the problem with the start of this story.

Thanks to Netgally and publisher for this e ARC

A well told and entertaining story that made me laugh, root for the characters, and have a lot of fun.
I liked the characters and the plot.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I loved this book!

The Wedding Crasher was a wonderful blend of hilarious moments and serious topics, which in this book worked really well. The characters were brilliant, especially Poppy, and it was wonderful to see her growth throughout the story while also seeing glimpses of her past and seeing what life had really been like for her in the last ten years. But Poppy pulled herself out of a bad situation and was all the better for it, good for her!

What I loved about this book - and what I also loved about Abigail Mann's previous book, The Sister Surprise - was that she doesn't write your typical, predictable rom-coms, but there is also so much depth and wonderful moments of friendship and learning to stand on your own two feet written into the story. Poppy and Will's journey - and Lola's, too! - was wonderful to witness. A solid four-star-read for me!

I was so excited to read Abigail Mann's latest book, especially after how much I enjoyed The Sister Surprise.

Poppy has split from her husband, but is being manipulated into pretending all is fine as they work together, which couldn't be further from the truth. She takes a break to *finally* fulfil her dreams of entering a prestigious photography competition, but gets coerced by her best friend into helping out at a super exclusive wedding instead.

Like Mann's previous novel, I did find the first third very slow-paced, and the plot bounced too often backwards and forwards in time. I also think you have to take a lot of the plot with a pinch of salt because the coincidences were just a bit absurd.

Once the pacing picked up it was an okay read. However, what I most disliked was being mislead by the blurb. It reads 'The Wedding Crasher will have you in stitches from start to finish', and yet it really, really didn't. I personally don't find toxic marriages with passive aggressiveness, gaslighting, and manipulation at all amusing. And while the title and book cover implies a light-hearted rom-com, this is not that. I love complex plots with deep emotions, and I love fluffy rom-coms, and sometimes you can successfully mix both. Unfortunately, this one didn't succeed for me on either count. I found Poppy very wishy-washy. Perhaps that was a deliberate choice but I really couldn't warm to her. The romance aspect between Poppy and Will felt flimsy, and the drama was often uncomfortable. I'm honestly over bridezillas as caricatures and I'm at a loss as to why this is being marketed as a light, comedic romance.

*Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to leave an honest review*

Overall Rating: ❤❤
Heat Rating:
Emotional Rating: 😬😡😞

** I will upload the same review to Amazon UK on publication day**

A really fun book, with many laugh out loud moments. A great feel good plot and wonderful characters I really enjoyed reading this book.

Abigail Mann just knows how to do it. From the opening pages you are reeling into an entertaining book. At times slow paced but that’s good as it’s a feel good book you really don’t want to put down.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to see an arc