The Wedding Season revolves around a broken engagement and numerous weddings, but my favorite thing about the book were Freya's friends and how they were there for her no matter what. For me, it was the true heart of the book and I would gladly read spin-off books about each of the friends. I also loved Freya's father and brother Adrian, and they provided some very funny and heartwarming moments throughout the book.

This book is light on the romance, but it is more a journey of self-discovery as Freya learns how to stand on her own after her 12 year relationship ends the day before her wedding, and deciding what and who she wants in her life for the future. This was my first book by Katy Birchall and I'm looking forward to reading her book The Secret Bridesmaid that has been sitting on my TBR for too long.

I definitely think this was more of a women’s fiction over romance. We did have a live interest, but it was a lot more about Freya understanding herself and how to be after a big change.

I was a little hesitant about the plot because I think a cheating husband/boyfriend is overdone. But in this situation Matthew and Freya just weren’t right for each other.

Matthew was such an unlikeable character, but we had some other awesome side characters. Ruby and Leo were *chef’s kiss* Where can I get such awesome and supportive friends?

Jamie was a sweetheart and I liked how he and Freya sparked right away. And he was there for her when she just needed to vent. It was a cute opposites attract!

3.5 stars

Poor Freya. I can’t imagine going through what she did at the beginning of the book, but it was well-written enough to where I almost could!

I loved Freya as the narrator. She was funny, direct, and genuinely a good time. Her tone is much like how I imagine my own to be: quite dry and humorous even in the worst of situations.

I didn’t totally love this story. I expected more of a romcom tale and I don’t feel that I got that. If you’re looking for a good personal journey with heartwarming friendships, this will certainly work for you!

I adored this book!! Freya is shocked when she dumped by her fiancé the day before their wedding. Her calendar is filled with seven other weddings she has committed to attending this summer season. To help take her mind off of her breakup her two friends devise a plan, making a challenge for each wedding she attends.

This book was funny, sweet, sad & heartwarming, in essence it was everything I look for in a romcom read!

Thanks to NetGalley & St. Martin’s Press / St. Martin’s Griffin for the advanced copy. The book will be released on May 3rd, 2022 and I’d definitely recommend this one!

The Wedding Season by Katy Birchall
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Genre: 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞
Format: 𝐞𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤
Length: 𝟑𝟖𝟒 𝐩𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬
Release: 𝐌𝐚𝐲 𝟑𝐫𝐝, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟐


𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺, 𝘒𝘢𝘵𝘺 𝘉𝘪𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘵. 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯'𝘴 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘦-𝘢𝘳𝘤 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸.

"𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘶𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘤𝘶𝘱𝘣𝘰𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯. 𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘐 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘣𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘸 𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦."


💟 Amazing Friendships
😆 So many laugh out loud moments
🐢 Slow burn romance
🥰 Self discovery
☯️ Opposites Attract
💒 Wedding Shenanigans
🔥 Quality Banter


This book pleasantly surprised me, I had no idea I was going to enjoy it as much as I did. We follow Freya in the aftermath of her relationship ending with her fiancé, Matthew after 12 years together. Now Freya has to not only navigate her life as newly single but she also has to endure The Wedding Season alone. Her dear friends Ruby and Leo decide to give Freya a crazy task for each wedding to keep her mind off of everything and to push her out of her comfort zone.

Let me say that I know this book follows Freya and I adore her but Ruby steals this book for me. Ruby is a treasure and I want to petition for her to have her own book please. I want a Ruby in my friendship circle.

As for the romance I was concerned at first. It’s hard to write a romance book about someone who has just experienced a severe breakup. It’s hard to make it believable for them to enter a new romance that isn’t just a rebound. But I thoroughly appreciated how this romance was done between Jamie and Freya. I love that Jamie and Freya are so different and they bring out so many good qualities in each other. I love that they were friends first and really took their time. Jamie respected Freya and he understood that she was in a difficult headspace.

I’m definitely buying this book for my shelves and if you enjoy a good contemporary romance that may just surprise you, I highly recommend you give this book a chance.

Dumped in a closet by her partner of twelve years the day before her own nuptials, Freya was dreading the wedding season, but her two best friends had a plan to help her make it through. Each wedding, Freya will be distracted by the challenge she must complete. As these tasks push her outside of her comfort zone, they also provide a path to healing.

Katy Birchall is fast finding her way into my heart. I loved her previous book, The Secret Bridesmaid, and adored this one even more. I see this being billed as a rom-com, and don’t get me wrong, there is romance, humor, and shenanigans, but the hook for me was Freya’s healing journey.

All those emotions I associate with endings permeated the story, however, Birchall expertly kept it from becoming a sob-fest. For example, when Freya first returned to the apartment she shared with Matthew. I was near tears as Freya narrated the event, and then I was laughing my head off. I loved that I was able to feel those raw emotions while not falling into a hole of despair, but at no point did I feel that Freya’s loss was minimized. Her suffering was apparent. There were many painful moments as time marched, but Freya gained a lot of clarity as she revisited events in her relationship with Matthew, and I was overjoyed with that growth and progress.

It was an emotional journey, but I won’t fight the rom-com label on this book. With all the weddings and hen parties, there were a ton of fun and humorous moments. Freya’s ride-or-die best friends were a great source of laughter for me as well, and watching Freya start to enjoy her life again filled me with glee. I loved that the focus was on friendship and Freya with the romance simmering in the background. It seemed appropriate given Freya’s circumstances, and therefore I am not salty that the romance wasn’t front and center.

Overall, I am so happy I got to spend this wedding season with Freya. It was a season of healing, saying goodbye to the future she anticipated, and embracing new possibilities. Told with humor and warmth, I was left with a full and hopeful heart.

A fast-paced and well written story, filled with adventures. It’s fun and heartwarming. This is first book I’ve read from this author. It got me excited to check all her books.
Freya is about to marry longtime boyfriend Matthew, but the day before the wedding he calls it off. She realizes she has 7 weddings to attend over the summer while dealing with her own heartbreak. With the help of her friends, she decides to attend all the weddings and make the best of her situation. You will love this rom-com.

A wonderfully delightful read! The secondary characters were an unexpected delight, as were the “tasks” Freya had to do at each wedding. It was amazing to see her transformation throughout the book as she comes to terms with her past, who she is, and her future.

Now…
I know we are supposed to “hate” Matthew, but my heart broke for him. While he did not do things right when it came to his relationship with Freya, I don’t believe he is a bad guy. He was just lost. Yes, Freya and friends should be mad at him, but it’s clear he is suffering from his actions- and who does he have to help him when everyone has placed him as a villain?
I truly want a story of Matthew’s redemption. We get stories of the person who was “jilted,” but it would be nice to show the other side. That it wasn’t done out of hate and there was no nefarious activity.
This book was witty, fun, and full of heart; but, it also made me experience the emotion of those who did the “leaving.” Things are never simple. Needless to say, I just want to give Matthew a hug and hope he finds himself and gets his own happily ever after!

I really enjoyed this book. I couldn’t put it down. The characters were so great and I loved the character development. It had humour , romance. I highly recommend.

I wish i could have gotten into this book but i felt like this story was told so many times its nothing more than ordinary i just wish it had a little bit more plot

It's been a while since I have read a fun romcom type of book and this was a fun read! I loved reading about Freya and how she found herself after the heartbreak she went through. The way she had to come to terms with being by herself, figuring out what she truly likes and dislikes, and being her own person after being with someone felt so relatable. I loved the writing style of this author as well! I was able to finish it in one sitting because it had me hooked!

**Thank you NetGalley for providing me an ARC for an honest review

The Wedding Season is a rom-com about Freya, who gets broken up with the day before her wedding.

I loved the characters in this book, especially the main character Freya. She takes this absolutely devastating thing, and manages, with the support of her friends, to get through it and build herself up again. Her besties, Ruby and Leo, were so awesome and there for her and they caused me to laugh, and to cry.

Katy Birchall did a good job of exploring Freya rebuilding her life after a relationship that had ended after 12 years. It really went through all the emotions of a relationship ending: sadness, anger, bargaining, all the way through eventually acceptance. I also really enjoyed how the author introduced a love interest in a kind, natural way, but didn't think it was necessary in this book. This book was more about Freya coming to terms with the ending of her relationship, seeing that she can move on and learning about herself along the way.

This was a good book, and although I haven't read from Katy Birchall before, I will pick up her books in the future. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advance copy. All opinions are 100% mine.

When I read the description of this book, I thought this is my kind of book, so I was so excited to get approved for a copy. and I was not disappointed. There wasn't anything about this book that I didn't love. I'm a sucker for anything wedding related and I loved the characters. The challenges that Freya's friends set out for her to complete at each wedding to take her mind off her own jilting at the altar were inspired. This was a totally fun book to read and I highly recommend it!!

Thank you St Martins for the ARC to read and review.

The Wedding Season is marketed as a romance, but not so much. It’s really a story of a woman who has her engagement broken the day before her wedding and how her family and friends rally together to help her through a season of weddings.

I loved The Secret Bridesmaid and this one wasn’t too far off either. It’s about love, heartache and second chances. It’s about finding yourself and loving yourself for who you are—because once you do, you just may find your happily ever after!

🔊Song Pairing: We Are Never Getting Back Together - Taylor Swift

(Because this book was worthy of that song!)

💭What I thought would happen:

When I saw this on NetGalley I screamed and immediately requested as Katy Birchall is an auto buy author for me

📖What actually happens:

Freya has just been broken up with…after 12 years together….in a broom cupboard…the day before her wedding. What ever will she do now? She is just about to enter the busiest wedding season of her adult life where her wedding was suppose to be the opening act.

Her besties come up with a task list in which she must tackle silly and somewhat scary dares at each to get her through this difficult time. Along the way she meets sexy French men, bearded men. Matthew who?!

🗯Thoughts:

Let’s face it ladies…when a tall, laid back man with a beard who works for a brewery comes along…named Jamie (okay that’s just me) our panties go up in flames.

This quote: “Good Lord, who knew a hand in the pocket could be so exciting?!”

^^When you’re looking a bearded beauty in the eye..I felt that quote. I felt it hard.

While I did not love this book as much as The Secret Bridesmaid, I very much enjoyed it. I didn’t need the romance, I loved my home girl
MC doing her thang.

Also, there is an epic moment around 75% through in which you just wish would play out in your life! No don’t be filthy…it’s not a sex scene 😂

As someone who is just entering into wedding season with 4 out of town weddings in 2 months, I needed and wanted this book all the same!

I'm not sure this book was for me. It was fun at times and such a great idea but I just found it hard to get through. I do wish we saw more of Jamie or the weddings in general but there were such great friendships in this book that did make this enjoyable for me even when I wasn't really in the mood to read.

Freya is dumped by her fiancée shortly before her wedding. The rest of the book is about Freya coping with the situation and finding her way to happiness as a single person. Some interesting side characters that provided Freya support. The book started funny with peacocks on the loose. I was hoping for a light hearted quirky novel but didn’t get it. This was more serious than expected. The writing style didn’t work for me. I just didn’t connect to the characters or story..Pacing was off and parts of this dragged. Just not for me.

Thank to to NetGalley and St Martin’s for the ARC.

The Wedding Season is mainly a story about personal growth. After Freya's fiancée calls off their wedding the day before, she is completely lost. She spirals into her grief, and doesn't know how she is going to be able to attend seven more of her friends' weddings this summer. So her best friends set her a challenging task for each wedding to help her keep her mind off her ex. As she completes each challenge, she very slowly begins to feel better. She does things that she never would have done as the person she was with Matthew (her ex). I like how in the book she made lists comparing herself in some situations to "with Matthew" and "now." It really showed how she had grown and changed.

I liked the premise of the book, and I really enjoyed when it got to her beginning to complete the tasks. The first quarter of the book was extremely slow for me and I felt like it was mostly just her wallowing. After that it picked up and got much better. I loved that it was set in England and used the vernacular, and also that she traveled to France and Ireland for a wedding in each. There were also several funny scenes that I loved.

Leo and Ruby were excellent supporting characters and I loved them. The other friends all sort of blurred together for me though. I liked Jaime (the 'love interest,' although I would NOT classify this as a romance) after getting past the first weekend with him being a jerk. I would have loved to have had more scenes between him and Freya - they had fun chemistry.

I would recommend this book if you are looking for a story about dealing with a breakup after a very long relationship, attending many weddings, supportive friends, or a story that shows personal growth. As I said before though, if you are looking for a romance this is probably not the right pick for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed The Secret Bridesmaid and was realty looking forward to this book! Freya was a sympathetic protagonist, an organized and genuinely kind person I could root for. The wedding season challenges were fun and did challenge her to grow and heal from her breakup. I can see this book appealing to women in this same life season, with many friends getting married around the same time. I enjoyed the romantic spark with Jamie and the plot line involving her mom and that relationship.

Content wise, there was swearing and some innuendo but no steam other than a kiss, which I appreciate. . The diversity in the side characters almost felt like an agenda was being pushed,, and that does not appeal to me.

Overall, an enjoyable read!