Although not appropriate for my classroom, this novel was great! As a romance lover, I really enjoyed it. I am looking forward to purchasing a hard cover for my personal library!

This book was just full of cute rom-com goodness. Freya was a strong and amazing protagonist. The plot was just sooooo cute!
The setting was great and WHO DOES NOT LOVE A WEDDING. it was perfect. The writing was humorous. It had me laughed out loud a couple of times. The side characters were all good but also felt bland to me at some points.
Last but not the least, loved the cover too. If you like cute sweet fluffy romcom with humor then go for it.

Like a hug, The Wedding Season is warm and comforting. It reads like a rom-com movie rather than a rom-com book: it’s predictable in the best of ways but never overly simplistic, and Birchall's subtle humor is completely charming. Freya is a strong protagonist with a solid developmental arc, an incredibly human character the reader will root for all the way.

The pacing of the novel, however, is quite slow, and the progression of the plot feels formulaic at times. The secondary characters, while all delightful, tend to blend into a monolith; I wasn’t completely sure how to differentiate between Freya’s friends. I also found myself comparing The Wedding Season to Bad Luck Bridesmaid, especially when considering the weaker plot lines centering on Freya and Jamie.

But even these flaws are quite minor compared to the novel as a whole. This may not be the novel for someone who is looking for a little more emotional depth and heartache in their library, but it certainly is a good choice for a slow, relaxing rainy-day read. (I also can't express how wildly excited I was to see a National Treasure reference; sometimes it feels like maybe Freya and I are the only appreciators of this absolute powerhouse 2003 movie starring Academy-Award-winning actor Nicholas Cage. Thank you, Katy Birchall, for reminding me that it's time for a rewatch.)

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

From the first paragraph, I knew this book would be a good one. I immersed myself into the book from the first chapter and I cannot say enough good things about this book! Honestly amazing! The writing is incredible and the plot is just one to die for. I am absolutely obsessed with this book. My favorite part would have to be the character development throughout the book. Character development is something I look forward to and this book did not disappoint.

The Wedding Season by Katy Birchall is the perfect way to spend a spring day. Freya is an immensely likable protagonist along with her best friends Ruby and Leo. But unfortunately for Freya, she finds herself stood up by her fiancé Matthew the day before her wedding. The animosity Freya’s friend group has towards Matthew as soon as the wedding is called off, endears them instantly towards the reader. As you can imagine, after 12 years Freya is confused and has many questions surrounding the break up and demise of her relationship. In an effort to help Freya through the rest of the “wedding season”—(multiple weddings spanning the spring and summer)—Ruby and Leo devise the perfect solution to Freya’s depression and anxiety: a task list to keep Freya’s mind occupied. In my mind, this is where the book really took off. The task list moves the novel along with Freya learning more about herself and her friends as she completes each task. The vast majority of this book dealt with Freya’s feelings and insecurities about what it means to go from a solid relationship to not even communicating with your ex and having zero closure. I thought that Birchall did a solid job of creating a friend group that helped Freya through her struggle with learning how to not be part of a pair anymore. The tasks Freya has to complete at each wedding run from not-so-challenging to heart-stopping anxiety. I think everyone wishes they had friends like Freya that really care about her well-being. I also enjoyed how each wedding played off the next with the reader discovering more about Freya and seeing how each task plays out. No spoilers here, but I LOVED the new love interest and way he is introduced. He is a natural foil to Freya’s “sensible and sturdy” self.
Side note: For those that only like romance books with spice, this book is definitely LOW steam. It’s more about Freya’s story (which I loved) and the romance was secondary to her development. But as love stories go, this was more real life to me and still very enjoyable, without the spice. I imagine Katy Birchall will continue to write solid live stories and can’t wait to read more from her in the future. A big thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC of the Wedding Season in exchange for my unbiased review.

So this was delightful. I am going to warn readers though, if you are expecting a lot of romantic scenes, they are not in this book. But I thought this was a very nice enemies to lovers book. I loved the main character of Freya, her two best friends, Ruby and Leo, and her dad and her brother. The whole book really spoke to me about the power of friendship (shut up, stop laughing). And it honestly made me miss my best friends in PA. I am definitely going to be on the lookout for anymore of Katy Birchall's books in the future. 

"The Wedding Season" follows Freya Scott. Freya is excited that she's about to marry her longtime boyfriend Matthew. However, the day before the wedding, Matthew tells her he can't do this because she's such a responsible and sturdy person and he's emotional and all over the place and leaves Freya. Freya is left shattered because she has been with Matthew for 12 years, and doesn't understand how he just stopped loving her. Freya doesn't know how she's supposed to go on and is dreading going to 7 upcoming weddings over the summer months. However, Freya's best friends, Ruby and Leo decide they are going to make a list of challenges that Freya must do at the weddings in order to show herself and also her ex Matthew, she's not the boring person he alluded to when they broke up. 

I loved Freya. I honestly wanted to kick Matthew really hard somewhere not so nice as well. Birchall is able to show us the many sides to Freya in this one and I felt for her trying and searching to figure out why Matthew left her, and feeling for her as she hoped he would come back to her. You get to see why/when she fell in love with him and the moments big and small they had through their 12 years together. But it was also great we got to see how Freya's friends and family supported her. And also how hard it is to untangle yourself from someone you were with for a very long time. 

Ruby and Leo were great together and you can see why they became a couple. I also loved how fiercely they supported Freya. 

Freya's other friends, Simone, Cali, and Niamh, are very supportive, and just felt real to me throughout the book. 

Matthew, though he's the villain in the piece, I had a different perspective towards the end, and mostly because of Freya's mother. 

The love interest was great though and I laughed at all of their scenes together. In fact, I think this is the most I have cracked up while reading a romance in a while. The scene where Freya's boss talks to her about doing the trapeze had me giggling throughout. 

The writing was great and I loved how Birchall incorporated different things such as texts and the list to tell the story. Thank you for making the other text legible by the way. One of my pet peeves is when a book changes the font and makes it so hard for me to switch my brain back and forth. This one didn't have that issue.

I really enjoyed the ending. I do know some fans/readers won't be happy that we didn't get to see more, but it's definitely a Happily Ever After (HEA).

I loved this rom-com! It definitely was more slow burn than I usually read but the story is so cute and funny it kept me flying through the pages!

Thank you Netgalley and St Martin's Press for inviting me to read and review this book! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I wasn't sure if I was going to like or enjoy this book but overall I thought it was a sweet read. We meet Freya who is getting married and then is dumped by her fiancé. Reeling from grief and hurt, Freya's friends try to distract her while attending seven other weddings during, you guessed it, the wedding season.

I wouldn't consider this book to be a full-fledged rom com. I think the cover gives off vibes of being a fluffy read with hijinks but there is a more serious tone through the book. I did feel for Freya and understood her pain of being left at the altar. We do spend most of the book dealing with her grief and some blossoming romance towards the end.

I did like the writing and felt like I was there with Freya through it all instead of just reading about it.

3.5 stars

I'm a new fan of Katy Birchall because I love the dialogue she writes! The story itself could you some help, but I adored all the fun banter between the characters.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC for an honest review.

This was an enjoyable read for me. But, in my opinion it fits the bill of women fiction more than for the romance. I liked the MC but at times I just wanna shake her and wanted to get her out the haze that she seems to might be in. I really liked the friendship among the girls, left me all green with envy. The secondary characters were so fun and relatable. However, I find the beginning a little slow for me; nonetheless it’s a 3.75 stars read for me,

The Wedding Season is branded as a "Romance" but I wouldn't go that far.... it is a great story of personal growth and finding one's own way with a sprinkle of love mixed in. If you're looking for slow burns and spice, then this isn't the book for you. But if you're looking for strong female friendships and a MC who learns to love herself - The Wedding Season is your book! I liked Freya... but did't really connect with her. She felt a little too agreeable to me - I wanted her to have more of a backbone and stand up for what she wanted. But that's just my personal take on her - she is a lovely person and I did enjoy her journey of self discovery.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Griffin for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I am a huge sucker for a sweet romance, strong friendships, and great character growth and this book had all of those things. Absolutely loved this book and will recommend to all my romance loving friends! This is the second book I’ve read by Katy Birchall and I can tell that she is going to become an auto buy author for me!

While this is touted as a romance/comedy, I’d have to disagree. This was definitely a story of personal growth, of overcoming unexpected hurdles, with the slightest nip of romance.
I wanted to love the characters. Their bonds, the way they stuck together through the adversity. But I ultimately didn’t really connect with Freya, while I really, really enjoyed Leo & Ruby.
This was good, but not great, at least for someone searching for a romance.

The Wedding Season by Katy Birchall

Freya is set to kick off this year's Wedding Season with her own wedding, but  is broken up with the day and now needs to get through seven weddings this summer and fall while nursing her own heartbreak. Freya and friends come up with tasks and challenges for her at each wedding, and we follow along through the summer as she heals. The tasks helped her find happiness, stay distracted, meet new people, and have fun.

This is marketed as a rom com, but it reads more women's fiction to me, with a light sprinkling of romance thrown in. The first almost 50% or so of this, Freya was quite sad and wallowing in her feelings which was a bit too much for me. I did feel for her but it just brought down my overall sentiments towards the book as it was a bit of a downer. Freya has a strong support network, Leo and Ruby, and eventually Jamie, but he is also in so little of the book overall. The wedding season tasks were a great distraction for her and each one proved to help her with a different part of her emotional recovery from her transition from her relationship.


Thank you so much @smpromance for my gifted copy. This publishes May 3!

The Wedding Season was a delight to read and I can’t wait to read more by Katy Birchall. I love the way this book is written. We’re reading in Freya’s voice and mind and I just want to be her friend with her witty asides and fun thoughts and approach to life. Needing to get through a wedding season of 7 weddings while nursing her own heartbreak, Freya and friends come up with tasks and a challenge for her at each wedding, and we follow along through the summer as she heals. The writing style is fun and fresh — lists, text chains, stream of consciousness. It keeps you engaged the whole time. It also doesn’t hurt that later in the novel, the author quotes one of my favorite Jane Austen scenes. The friendship between Freya, Ruby, and Leo is so fantastic, and I really love that we don’t know exactly what will happen on the romance front. It’s great to have a heroine who has the rest of their shit together. Stayed up late to finish this one in one day… I enthusiastically recommend!!

In your 20-30’s it feels like every few weekends (in summer and fall) there is a wedding to attend; that is a Wedding Season. The “season” should begin with Freya’s wedding. However the night before she gets dumped. Thankfully she has two besties (who are engaged to each other) that help her create a list of seven ridiculous task to complete at the next 7 weddings. These tasks are to help her find happiness again, keep busy at the weddings, meet new people, and have fun.

Many are labeling this as a RomCom, while it is very funny and cheeky I feel like “romance” is not the main focus. So I’d happily call this Contemporary Women’s Fiction. The first 27% of the novel was Freya being sad and deep deep in her feelings. Then the tasks are created and we see her blossom as a person. We see her grow. We see her mend relationships and friendships. We see Freya become a whole person, no longer broken.

I enjoyed the funny moments and the tasks for each wedding were well done. But I had a very hard time getting through the first quarter of the book, the sadness and “poor me” vibe lasted way too long. Which is why I’m torn between a 3.5-star and a 4-star rating.

*Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.


Read this if you like:
-Character Growth 📏
-Hilarious “to do” lists and tasks ✅
-The Secret Bridesmaid

Has anyone ever been dumped the day before their wedding? Well, Freya has. Her 12 year relationship ended out of nowhere, in a broom closet of all places. After this heartbreak Freya doesn't know how she is going to make it through so many friends upcoming weddings. So her closest friends make her a wedding season bucket list, one task at each wedding to get Freya out of her comfort zone. Will Freya complete the list or will her broken heart hold her back??

I very much enjoyed this read. Its very light hearted and I found myself cheering for Freya. I personally don't know that I could complete all of her tasks. I would recommend if you like a good rom com.

This book was so fun. It was a quick read and I didn’t want it to end. I will recommend this to all my rom-com lovers.

great book about dealing with a break up and doing different tasks to make it through all of the wedding season and even finding someone new . I liked that she was able to be an adult about it but still stood up for herself when it became time. loved her friends and jaime.

Katy Birchall hit the nail on the head with this one. I loved the Freya, Ruby and Leo’s friendship. They really are the definition of best friends and being there for each other through thick and thin. I couldn’t help but laugh out loud to their banter. It was a great read and I can’t wait for more.