It took me quite a while to really get into this book. I’d heard so many good things about The Secret Bridesmaid so I had high hopes for this one. I was a little bored in the beginning but around halfway through it really picked up for me. I laughed a lot in the end and it was a sweet story!

This was so fun!!

Freya’s life has been upended with her fiancé’s announcement the day before her wedding. In the midst of her grief, her friends devise a series of tasks to get her through the many weddings she has ahead of her.

Although this definitely dealt with some heavier themes - moving on from a relationship, healing family relationships, rediscovering herself - it was all done in a lighthearted, enjoyable way. The tasks were kind of silly but never felt completely ridiculous or gimmicky. I also loved the characterization of all the strong and positive female friendships. I highly recommend this if you’re looking for a fun, breezy read as the weather gets warmer!

I loved this book, and it would be a super fun vacation read!

I enjoyed The Secret Bridesmaid by Katy Birchall when I read it last year, and I thought this upcoming release was even better.

The main character, Freya, was endearing and highly relatable. After her husband abandons her on their wedding day, she has to survive "wedding season," AKA those summers in your 20s and 30s that are packed to the brim with weddings and wedding-related events.

Freya's friends and family members were charming, and it was fun to read about the unique details of each celebration. Beyond that, however, it was inspiring to see Freya regain her confidence and independence after her breakup. There is a romance in this story, as well, but it's a bonus, not the focus.

I have no words for this book. The Secret Bridesmaid was one of my FAVORITE reads last year, so to say I was excited for this one is an understatement and I was not disappointed.

I did NOT want this book to end, please tell me there is more Katy? I loved Freya and seeing her growth and her self confidence and find out what she wanted and when she FINALLY got angry. I loved how all of the wedding seasons tasks (and a specific someone) really made Freya get out of her comfort zone and do something she normally wouldn’t.

I just kept finding myself smiling while reading this book, and honestly I love books like that. It just simply made me happy, made me laugh, and pulled on my heartstrings. Run, don’t walk to get this book y’all.

The Wedding Season by Katy Birchall

Not only does Freya’s fiance Matthew dump her the night before their wedding, but he also leaves her to attend seven other weddings that summer by herself. Her two best friends, Ruby and Leo, come up with tasks for her to do at each wedding to help her get out of her comfort zone and to keep her mind off of Matthew. This is how she meets Jaime, the cute friend of a friend who seems to show up at almost all the weddings she attends.

This has all the things I love in a rom com, although I hesitate to call it that because it’s really more about Freya’s journey of self discovery and less about her romantic status. It’s a slow burn, clean romance where Freya spends her summer coming to terms with the new direction her life has taken. It’s laugh out loud funny and charming with some quirky side characters and beautiful settings. I love weddings and I really enjoyed reading about all the little details that went into each one.

Freya wouldn’t have gotten very far after her breakup without her friends and I loved how much this story showcases the power of friendship and showing up for the important people in our lives. Birchall’s writing is funny and charming and I can’t wait to read more of her work. Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin’s press for the ARC to read and review.

This was a quick, fun read. Freya just got broken up with the day before her wedding. With the help of her friends, she tries to make it through Wedding Season with a new task every wedding. I enjoyed this cute book and would recommend.

nothing gets me like a wedding romance… seriously it has a chokehold on me. i really enjoyed this and can’t wait to get the physical copy!

I adored the main character and the plot of this book. It had me laughing and really feeling everything as I was so sucked In

Thank you @macmillanaudio @netgalley for ALC of The Wedding Season. I would categorize this as women's fiction more than a rom com.

Freya is dumped the day before her wedding in a broom closet. The story is about her making it through 8 weddings. I love her friendship between Ruby and Leo and how supportive they were.

The book is lots of fun and the narration was great on this.

The Wedding Season by Katy Birchall

Published: May 3, 2022
St. Martin’s Griffin
Pages: 390
Genre: Romance
KKECReads Rating: 5/5
I received a copy of this book for free, and I leave my review voluntarily.

Katy Birchall is the author of several young adult novels, including The It Girl series, the Hotel Royale series, and Morgan Charmley: Teen Witch. She is the co-author of the middle-grade Lightning Girl series and Star Switch with Alesha Dixon and the Find the Girl teen series with YouTube stars Lucy and Lydia Connell. Katy was proud to be the author of a retelling of Jane Austen’s Emma for the Awesomely Austen series, a collection of Austen’s novels retold for younger readers. She has also written a non-fiction book, How to Be a Princess: Real-Life Fairy Tales for Modern Heroines. Katy lives in London with her partner, Ben, and her rescue dog, Bono.

“When you get dumped the day before your wedding in a broom cupboard, suddenly everything seems a bit shit.”

Freya had spent a year planning what she thought would be her dream wedding. But the day before, her fiancé drops a bomb- he isn’t in love with her and can’t go through with it. Most people would crumble at this point. But not Freya. She’s fine, it’s fine. Everything is just fine. Until she realizes he has seven weddings to attend this summer. Hers should have been the start time of wedding season. Now, she has to figure out life as a single woman at her friend's weddings and try to process what life looks like now.

This was such a beautiful story of loss, love, and forgiveness. I loved the themes in this book. And I love that so much of the plot revolves around Freya's love for her best friends.

This was such a sweet story, and the characters were perfect. I loved Freya's development throughout the novel. Watching her come to terms with herself and figure out that she is who she is, and that is okay.

There were a lot of powerful, beautiful themes running in this novel, and it was so well executed. This story would make the best series if done correctly.

The growth that was written was so realistic. It was so easy to imagine myself in Freya's position. I enjoyed witnessing her come to grips with her situation.

This is one of those stories where you find yourself smiling at the book like a fool, but it was so heartfelt and genuinely caring that there was no other way to continue.

This was an excellent novel by an author I had never read before. The writing was easy to read, and the emotions were genuine. This is an absolute smash hit, and I loved every second.

cute, but not for me. I unfortunately found this lacking both in romance and in comedy. I loved her other book, but felt like this one was trying to cover a lot of ground with not much to go off.

4 1/2 stars - Wow - I loved this book! After being in a relationship for 12 years, the day before the wedding, Freya's fiance, Matthew breaks up with her. Her best friends, Ruby and Leo come up with a plan to get Freya through the upcoming season of many weddings. Freya really grows emotionally - comes to terms with the end of a long term relationship and being on her own, mends fences with her estranged Mom, Great read!

SO surprisingly touching! I was immediately hooked by this book's summary and although it started off a little slow, it was a truly joyful reading experience. I laughed, cried, and genuinely took away quite a few tidbits from Freya's journey through the wedding season.

I received a eARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Katy Birchall came up with a unique concept of a story that I have read before. The main character's fiance leaves her the day before her wedding and the start of a summer full of weddings. The MC is struggling with the end of her relationship, especially so as she has to continue to attend all her other friends' weddings. Two of the MC's friends devise a plan for the MC to complete a series of goals at each of the weddings to help her move on.

While the concept was interesting, as were the characters, I found myself struggling to connect with the MC. It felt as though we were being told how the tasks went rather than living them with her. I would have liked the book more had I been more invited into these goals rather than just told about them.

Overall, the book was pretty decent.

3/5 stars.

I really loved this story of Freya and enjoyed watching get grow in her love of self, friends, and family. There were so many fantastic side characters that helped make this book a great as it was. There were times that the book was a little heavy in dialog, but it didn't really take away from the story, i just wish there had been more description. Overall, I thought this was fantastic and I know I'll be re-reading it.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Giving this one a 3.5 star rating, rounded up.

Freya and Matthew’s wedding is the first to kick of the wedding season in this rom-com like book. When Matthew calls off the wedding, Freya is left to finish wedding season on her own. With the help of her best friends, Freya attempts to find herself through a series of wedding tasks.

This book is a bit slow to start, but by the end of the book, I understand why the author wrote it this way. I love that the characters grow and start to thrive again. The best friend trio is fun, supportive, and everything you could ever want in a group of friends.

There are definitely moments in the book that are “cringy”, but they achieve the goal that they were written for.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for this ARC. Audiobook was fantastic.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4653849297

Freya is dumped mere hours before what is supposed to be the happiest day of her life. Her early summer nuptials was the unofficial start to “wedding season”. Freya’s closest friends were all getting married within months of each other, with her best friend, Ruby ending the wedding streak in September.

Utterly devastated with her own wedding being called off, Freya is unsure of how she will be able to attend all these weddings while trying to mend her broken heart.

Her amazing group of girlfriends device a series of outrageous challenges to make this season of weddings bearable. (if not completely embarrassing)

While completing all these super silly tasks, Freya starts to realize that for the first time In her life, she is having so much fun.

By the time Ruby’s wedding comes along, Freya is learning that life (and love) can lead you on unexpected detours to self-discovery and happily ever after.

Okay, this book made me S M I L E! I loved Freya’s journey to discovering herself again. This novel also had a message about the power of friendships, and how important those bonds are as we navigate all of life’s ups and downs.

Simone Says Read This if you enjoy:

*British rom coms
*weddings
*friendships
*a lighthearted read
*witty banter
*a sweet story line
*a slow burn
*a wholesome romance novel

Katy Birchall's last book, The Secret Bridesmaid was a delight, so when I saw the synopsis for this one I had very high hopes. Friends, I was not disappointed. I absolutely adored this book! It was funny and charming, featuring a wonderful supporting cast. Everyone needs pals like Freya's for when they are going through a rough patch. Though I've never been jilted at the alter, being heartbroken is something that we can all relate to. I also really loved that Freya worked to be there for her friends to celebrate their joy while she was dealing with her own internal pain. It's a great thing to see in a world where so much of happiness is competitive. This book is definitely a great one for your summer reading list, and it will be going on my reread list!

If you're looking for a fun romantic comedy to kick start the summer then The Wedding Season is the book for you! Freya is a jilted bride who was left the day before her wedding by her partner of 12 years. Now she's looking at eight upcoming weddings she has to attend and the tasks her friends have set up for her to complete at each wedding. I wasn't expecting this book to be women's fiction and I think that made it all the more special. I loved Freya's relationship with her friends and what a tight knit group they were. This book was an absolute delight and Katy Birchall did a great job at nailing all aspects of the book!

Freya Scott is about to get married, literally in one day, until she gets dumped by her fiance. Her whole world is in shambles until her friends decide to give her a challenge for each wedding she has to go to this summer. This gives her something to keep her focused instead of thinking about her ex all the time. Along the way she grows as a person, mends old relationships and finds new ones.

Overall this was a cute book with a nice overall theme of healing. I wish it had more actual romance and spice because I felt like it has very little. I was also disappointed with all the internal monologue we got from Freya. I did laugh at parts, but for me, this book was just average.