The Wedding Season was SO cute! I personally love a clean romance and this hit the nail on the head for me. I was slightly bored right in the beginning but I loved it once I got out of my slump. The main character, Freya was genuinely so funny and I loved her best friends, Leo and Ruby. I loved the idea of the wedding season survival guide and know for sure that I would not have done anything on that list! I love that each thing got Freya out of her comfort zone while also helping her to learn more about herself and how to let go of things. I found that each wedding helped the book flow really well and moved it along. I found myself smiling right through to the end. This was such a nice feel-good rom com!

Such a cute and easy read! Had me hooked and curious as to how Freya was going to deal with everything going on in her life and seeing how Jaime crept up in her life unexpectedly. She definitely went through a lot of emotions to get to where she was at the end of the book, but it was worth the wait. Jaime was someone she needed and can see them being very happy. Jaime definitely gave her her swoon worthy and cute moments. Would’ve liked to see a little bit more of them, but overall happy with the ending.

This was a fun read but I definitely thought it was going to be more of a romcom. I do think it would be a hit with women of a certain age (which is mine - mid-30s!).
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc ebook in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

I loved this book! I’m a sucker for a good romance and it’s even better when there’s some humor thrown in. Freya was such a great main character, I really felt connected to her and I was rooting for her to succeed. I’d love if Katy extended this story to multiple books.
Thank you so much St Martins Press for the ARC copy! This is my first Katy Birchall book but I’ll definitely be adding more of her to my tbr list!

It pains me to say this because I loved The Secret Bridesmaid, but I just wasn’t feeling this story. I was not invested in the characters & storylines at all. The storyline between Freya & her mom felt forced. The breakup between her & Matthew seemed to be dragged on & on. Which I understand, but at same time really bothered me. Though that wine scene was the funniest part, I was literally laughing out loud. As well, I was not feeling the chemistry between Freya & Jamie for some reason.

I lovedddd this! It was so good.
Freya is tragically dumped by her fiancé and longtime partner the day before her wedding, in a broom closet. Completely blindsided and faced with a summer of many upcoming weddings, her closest friends decide to create a list of tasks for Freya, one for each wedding of the wedding season, in hopes that it will help distract Freya from her own failed wedding.

The Secret Bridesmaid was good, but this was amazing, I really loved it. The writing is great and unexpectedly really funny. Freya is the perfect main character, she's relatable and easy to route for. I liked how realistic I felt the heartbreak was-frustrating and sad, but it didn't overwhelm the story. Freya was still funny and positive about the future. She went on a journey, and the story focuses primarily on that, rather than a romance. I thought the romance element was perfect as well. The story really highlights healthy and positives friendships, and I loved Ruby and Leo. Everything I wanted to be expanded on was by the end, and I enjoyed how all the interactions with Jamie felt long and real, it wasn't just a quick mention of a conversation here and there. Such a hit and I was so sad when I finished it because it was over! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the free preview in exchange for an honest review. Highly recommend!

Content Warning: Divorce

Freya has been dumped the day before the wedding by her boyfriend of twelve years and to make things worse, it seems all her friends are getting married in the summer! To get over her misery her two besties, Ruth and Leo, come up with a wedding survival guide to get her out of her depression and to enjoy wedding season even though her heart has been broken. She ends up checking off everything on the list and then some.

This story is fun! It gave me Bridget Jones’ Diary vibes with the British humor and words I wasn’t super familiar with like hen do (we in the USA like to stay bachelorette party) so I learned a lot of words. Yes Freya’s heart has been broken so badly but honestly, she has awesome besties and other friends as a support group. On top of that she has her family, even if she hasn’t been close to her mother since her parents divorce but her brother and father are so awesome.

There are a lot of characters in this story, but the main ones stick out. I love Ruth and Leo, they are true best friends! I could feel the love and friendship between this trio. Here and there in the story a new friend of Freya’s will pop in and you just can see how big of a social group they have. It gives you an idea of how much Freya’s had to really just keep her head up throughout everyone’s happy moments but what I like about her is that she is genuinely happy for her friends. She has her moments of missing her ex or breaking down in the bathroom (or the loo) but Freya’s a tough girl and with a good support system she really does carry on beautifully. I thought her challenges were fun, especially when it puts her in the path of Jaime.

I loved her banter with Jaime and it was nice to see her not fall for him right away. Freya is still someone going through a massive breakup and she deals with those messy feelings. But I loved seeing them get to know one another especially since it didn’t start off on the right foot! It’s a very sweet, slow burn romance.

My only issue had to be with when Jamie appears. He comes into the story right before the middle of the story. The beginning was about Freya learning how to cope with Matthew dumping her. It’s what made this feel more like women’s fiction than a full on rom-com. This was more of a story about Freya’s journey to finding who she is without Matthew. She also gets to have a meaningful, truthful talk with her mother who she’s been having some issues with since the divorce. But overall it’s a heart warming story with a happy ending!


Why you should read it:
*it’s fun and funny! It has best friends, hen dos, wedding ceremonies, and travel
*the romance is a sweet, slow burn
*Freya’s character growth

Why you might not want to read it:
*a little bit of a slow start, more women's fiction than rom-com

My Thoughts:

This is a heart warming story about a personal journey, friendship, romance and family. I really loved Freya’s journey. She is someone who has her life planned out but when things don’t go as planned she has to figure out how to move on. This was such a fun book and I’m glad I decided to read it.

THE WEDDING SEASON by Katy Birchall is an absolute delight!

I read Burchall’s last novel and loved it, so I was thrilled to receive this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. THE WEDDING SEASON did not disappoint.

Freya and her circle of friends and family captured my heart- I loved her loyal friends Leo and Ruby, her lovely brother and father, her imperfect but kindhearted mother, and her other friends and acquaintances who we meet along the way. THE WEDDING SEASON is a tale of love and loss, second chances and new beginnings. I found it hopeful, heartwarming, and thoroughly enjoyable.

This is my second book by Katy Birchall and I enjoyed it just as much as the first! It was exactly what I needed. It was cute and funny but also sad. I love Freya's character and how she grows so much in the story. I was rooting for her the whole time! I just want to say that having a wedding in Europe sounds so much more fun than here. Thier Hen do's sound like wayyyy more fun than an American Bachelorette party, despite clearly being the same concept. My new favorite words are: ( in no particular order) Hen do's ( bachelorette party) , Vicar ( clergy member) and Cupboard ( closet!). Also, who doesn't love handsome bearded craft beer loving handsome Jaime? A truly enjoyable read!

Freya's whole world is spun upside down where her fiancé and longtime boyfriend Matthew, breaks up with her the night before their wedding in the broom cupboard. She is devastated but worst still is her wedding was supposed to the first of many weddings she is attending between now and the end of the summer. To help her move forward, her best friends Ruby and Leo create a list of tasks to help her get through the wedding season. Each one is crazier than the next and is meant to keep her mind off her sadness. She meets handsome Jaime, who seems to be invited to or in most of the weddings she is. Despite her initial misgivings, she grows quite fond of him. As the tasks begin to escalate so do her feelings for Jaime, but is she over Matthew and will she ever be able to trust love

The Wedding Season by Katy Birchall perfectly depicted the essence of building oneself back up after losing, essentially, a large-part of one's identity (their other half, significant other, perceived love of their life). This book provoked strong emotions in me, specifically pain, cringe, fear, hope, love, excitement, and self-love. I think what makes this book different, in a fantastic way, from other books in this genre is that it really puts oneself in the mindset of the main character Freya in a way that feels real and watching/feeling her grow into herself instills the possibility and reminder that even when things may feel as low as can be, they will diminish with time. People should care about this book because it is such a human-story, to lose who you think is the love of your life and attempt to reconcile that fact with the reality that they are not who you thought they would be. Watching and feeling Freya go through this difficult time helped inspire possibility in me and gave me immense hope. Reading this book brought joy into the mundane and I am grateful to Katy Birchall for all that she put into this piece.

Oh another book that has made me emotional!

The Wedding Season is a book that will tear your heart out, make you laugh, cringe from second hand embarrassment, and cry with all the hard moments life brings you. The messages Katy Birchall has incorporated throughout the story fit so many readers that I would be shocked if someone could not see themselves in Freya at least a little!

I love all the side characters and could easily read another spin-off of Ruby and Leo! I highly recommend The Wedding Season to all the rom-com lovers!

Thank you NetGalley and Publisher for providing me with this eARC!

I really enjoyed this book!

Freya has a long wedding season ahead of her, especially when her own wedding doesn’t go as planned. Her best friends, Leo and Ruby, come up with the perfect way to help her get through all the upcoming nuptials- a Wedding Season survival guide.

While I found myself laughing out loud often, this book was still very heartwarming. I loved the writing style!

I will definitely be getting a physical copy when the book releases in May!

Getting ditched at the altar is one of my biggest fears (could you even imagine!?), so it’s a bit of a surprise that I not only made it through this book that features something so utterly terrifying to me — but that I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Katy Birchall thrusts you into her story brilliantly, and you feel like you know these characters well and are part of their inner circle from the first page. I loved the quirkiness and silliness of the characters, but they’re deep and well-rounded, too. Freya, our protagonist who has just gotten dumped by her boyfriend of 12 years in a broom closet the day before her wedding, is kind and fierce, and she knows who she is and what she wants. And while we’re following Freya through her journey of heartbreak and healing, the surrounding characters and the friendship and love they offer were simply wonderful. I think, in a book like this, it’s rare to find side characters as thoroughly enjoyable as Birchall’s are here. They’re comforting and wise and are the kind of people you want having your back; they elevated this story immensely.

Freya, who has to survive seven weddings after hers fell apart, is given a task to complete at each one to help her survive the titular Wedding Season. And it’s at this part of the book when the storyline really starts to take shape and hook you — so I wish it all happened sooner, rather than 25 percent in. This book walks the line between women’s fiction and contemporary romance, but I’m a sucker for a swoon-y male lead and wish the romance had been leaned into a tad harder.

I read this book through the night, and I had to muffle my laughs to keep from waking my roommate up. This is a fun and fast read — but it has plenty of heart, too. All in all, this book is cute and delightful. I think I could maybe be okay with getting left alone at the altar if my story after the fact was as lovely and charming as the one in this book.

Special thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Katy Birchall for proving me with an e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The Wedding Season

Seven weddings and seven outrageous tasks to be completed at each one. Of course this book had me smiling to myself and laughing out loud.

At its core, this story is about mending the heart after it’s been unexpectedly shattered. With the help of her friends, her family - the wedding tasks of course - and ultimately herself, Freya picks herself back up after being blindsided the night before her wedding.

I am absolutely convinced that this scenario truly happened to the author because it was written perfectly. The roller coaster of feelings that Freya has as the book progresses felt so realistic to me. She allowed herself to feel all the feels and didn’t judge whatever emotions crept to the surface. I admire that. I also loved all the lists she made - I would totally do that!

There is a bit of a romance story to this but it’s very background. The story centralizes around Freya mending her own broken heart and coming to love this new version of herself.

This quote from the book stopped me in my tracks and so I must share it. I think there is no better advice for when you are feeling low.

“It will get better. It doesn’t feel like it. But with time, it will. One day, you’ll be somewhere, could be anywhere, and suddenly it will hit you. You won’t be expecting it. It will come out of nowhere. Bam!”

“What? What will hit me?”

“The realization that you really are okay.”


Thank you to Netgalley, Katy Birchall and St Martins Press

Oh gosh, I love Freya. She was fun and relatable (I definitely do that laugh and point dance thing for sure guilty as charged) and I thoroughly enjoyed her journey of healing after her breakup. That being said, the first several chapters of the book were hard for me to get through. She was so hurt and had completely shut out the love and support her friends and family wanted to give her. It was hard to read. But once Ruby and Leo came to the rescue and helped her set up the challenges to get her through the Wedding Season, I was hooked. We got to see Freya shine and really tackle how she was feeling. Her family and friends were so supportive and it was very heartwarming. There were also a lot of parts that I laughed out loud at. As someone who had 6 weddings last year (including my own) I definitely know what it's like to be deep in the Wedding Season. Freya's inner monologue was truly a delight. And Jaime was such a dear. Loved him entirely. But I did appreciate that her budding romance with Jaime did take a backseat to her healing process after her break with Matthew. It was very realistic but still really made you want to root for them. I enjoyed The Secret Bridesmaid, and The Wedding Season was just as good (if not better), so I will definitely be keeping an eye out for Birchall's future works!

Thank you NetGalley for my ARC!

This book is hilarious fun! Birchall is incredible at writing the perfect rom-com (a feat she accomplished in this book as well as ‘The Secret Bridesmaid’). The witty banter between the characters, the uniquely fun idea to have wedding season challenges to help our protagonist through, the strong females and their equally strong friendships, and the perfect slow burn romantic vibes/ perfect guy - this book has it all. Although the storyline is fairly predictable, this book more than makes up for its predictability with its ‘laugh out loud’ moments - of which there are many!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Griffin for the advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Wedding Season is a sweet and emotional tale about Freya, a woman who faced public heartbreak when her fiancé calls off thee wedding the day before. Hers was the first of 8 weddings of the season, and her friends rally around her with a list of challenges to help her survive the other weddings. Oh if all of us had a group of friends like this. They were a wonderful group of friends. It was witty and relatable, with a perfect slow burn romance that had me swooning at the end. This was a great read I highly enjoyed.

Thank you for the e-ARC of this book! This was a cute novel about finding yourself and friendship. It's definitely more of a comedy than a romance but it was light and breezy for a summer read.

I absolutely adored this book. It was so much fun to read. The concept was brilliant and I really couldn’t have loved it more.

I thought the characters were so much fun. All of them. Even the one I hated.

This book made me feel good. It was exactly what I look for in a rom com and I cannot wait to read more by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really loved this authors' previous book, The Secret Bridesmaid, so the moment I heard about this book I knew I had to read it! And I'm happy I did! This was another delightful novel from Katy Birchall, and I would definitely recommend it!

I received an e-ARC from the publisher.