The Wedding Season was a fun read, with a little bit of romance. I loved the journey Freya took as she tackled the challenges her friends set for her. A light read perfect for summer!

FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL meets THE WEDDING PARTY...

Freya Scott is getting married. Her wedding to Matthew, her long-term boyfriend, is the first of eight in her calendar this year, and as someone who prides herself on being meticulously organized, Freya is intent on making it the perfect day to remember.

But when Matthew calls things off hours before they walk down the aisle, Freya’s entire life plan goes up in smoke. Humiliated and heartbroken, the last thing she wants is to attend a summer of other peoples’ nuptials on her own.

Fortunately, her friends have an idea: together they devise a series of outrageous challenges for Freya to complete at each event, designed to distract her from Matthew and what might have been. From getting stuck in an old church bathroom and needing to be rescued by the vicar to making out with a barman at a French chateau, Freya realizes that despite herself, she might just be having fun.

By the time the final wedding arrives, she will discover that the road to a happy ending sometimes has unexpected detours, that “I do” is only the beginning––and that perhaps her own love story isn’t over just yet.

This one is cute and funny. Lots of characters but not absolutely vital to know everyone to still understand the story. LOTS of dialogue. I was in a reading slump while pushing through this one which may have caused my score to be lower than normal. However - I would still recommend her other book, The Secret Bridesmaid, which I liked a bit more than this one.

The Wedding Season is super fun and lighthearted. It is also hilarious and I really enjoyed it!! It's really cute, has a lot of quirks and there is also a level of complexity that will keep you interested and intrigued! You're gonna love it too!

Katy Birchall wrote one of my favorite reads of 2021 and she has done it again this year. Freya's fiancé breaks up with her the day before the wedding because she is too sensible after they had spent 12 years together. Her wedding was to be the first of eight for the season and the thought of attending of them is a bit overwhelming. Especially if her former fiancé will be there. So her friends (the bride and groom for wedding #8) put together a scavenger hunt of sorts for her to help her keep her mind off of the emotions of each wedding and help her break out of her shell a bit. This book is about finding yourself after a long relationship ends suddenly. It also has the knee to the groin to closure monologue that you really need in this type of situation. All wrapped in Katy Birchall's delightful humor.

I am thankful for the electronic copy of the book that I received from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I purchased the audible version on my own.

I loved this story! Freya’s wedding is cancelled and to pour salt in the wound….she has to attend eight of her friends’ nuptials. Along the way to mending her heart, Freya has some moments that will make you laugh out loud and hope for a happily ever after for the jilted bride!

Freya has been with her fiancee Matthew for 12 years and then he dumps her in a broom cupboard the day before their wedding. She feels like her whole life has been Matthew and she feels adrift and unsure what the future will be without him. She also has a long wedding season to get through, one of which Matthew will be at. Her friends concoct a list of tasks for her to complete to help her take her mind off Matthew and enjoy the weddings.

I enjoyed every minute of this story and laughed out loud quite a few times. It is a story of friendship, family, healing and growth but without being too heavy or depressing. The beginning is a bit hard as Freya is completely brokenhearted and trying to come to terms with how her life has turned out. I appreciate how she didn't immediately get over it and begin a new romance. She has very strong friendships which helped her heal. I also liked her father and brother and how strong their relationship was.

If you love Chick Lit and Sophie Kinsella, you will like this book. I highly recommend it and plan on reading more by this author in the future..

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a free EARC with no obligation to review it.

3.5 Stars! This was a fun and easy read. I really enjoyed Freya’s journey to self-discovery, although I wish I had known ahead of reading it that the romance wouldn’t be a big aspect of the book (since it’s my favorite part)

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for sharing this free epub with me in exchange for my honest feedback!

The Wedding Season by Katy Birchall opens up with our protagonist, Freya Scott, getting ready for her wedding the next day. She is marrying her boyfriend of 12 years, Matthew, at her dad’s beautiful cottage in England. Her entire life is orderly and organized, but all of her life plans are thrown out the window when she is dumped hours before the wedding.

Not only is she totally blindsided, she’s devastated and humiliated, and the last thing she wants to do is attend the next 7 weddings she’s committed to by herself. So her friends devise a survival kit for this year’s wedding season, meant to challenge and distract her at each wedding so that she’s not focusing on the dumpster fire that is her personal life. As she completes each challenge, Freya begins to let loose, meet new people (including a strong grumpy sarcastic gorgeous man named Jamie), and learn more about who she is and what she wants moving forward.

My favorite part of this book by far was the relationship between Freya and her two best friends, Leo and Ruby. Their banter back and forth was incredible and laugh out loud funny. It’s rare in a romcom for me to enjoy the side characters more than I do the romantic interest, but they were honestly perfect and deserved that top spot. I would love to read a spin off book about the two of them!

I can absolutely see this book being adapted for a mini series or movie with all of the gorgeous wedding locales and of course the hilarious ensemble cast. If any VIP TV execs happen to stumble across this review, give the people what they want and make it happen!

This book was such a delight and the perfect summer read. I will definitely be recommending it to friends. Thanks again NetGalley!

This book was not what I was expecting based on the cover and the description. It was a lot deeper than just your typical RomCom - Freya was on a path to rediscovering who she was after a serious breakup (the day before her wedding, in a closet!). I really enjoyed her journey to finding who she was, even if it was not a path I expected. Her wedding list was a bit immature, but I think it helped loosen her character up.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

This book was fun and lighthearted at times. It wasn’t my favorite but overall pretty good. It was funny and gave rom com vibes at times which I luv

What a breath of fresh air. The Wedding Season bubbles with humor even as it simmers with undercurrents of deeper feeling. It starts when Freya's fiancee breaks up with her in a broom cupboard the day before their wedding. Hilarity ensues involving a well-executed kick to the crotch, a phone thrown out the window, and a choreographed friendship dance. However, Freya's suffering gets the time and respect it deserves. She experiences emotional ups and downs, and the other relationships in her life take center stage as her planned romantic future evaporates. We see her lean on friends and family, learn from them, and find joy with them. And for me, that was a huge part of the story's beauty. We see friendships that stand the test of time, a difficult and clear ending to a once important relationship, and the recuperation of a different one that Freya has largely ignored. She also meets people that give her a new lease on life, some just passing through and one who will hopefully have more permanence (but doesn't have to for it to be meaningful).

As Freya retreats into herself post-breakup, her friends help her make a strategy to survive the wedding season that powers on despite the collapse of her own big day. Determined to focus on the joy of her friends at their celebrations, Freya takes on the tasks set by her friends to try things she never would consider doing on her own at each event. From acquiring a man's cufflinks to being the last one standing on the dance floor, Freya experiences extreme nerves, freeing exhilaration, and smug satisfaction as she completes each wedding challenge.

In terms of romance, I appreciate that it takes a backseat to Freya's self-journey to restart her life. While I loved the banter and sweet moments with her crush, it never felt rushed or inauthentic while she juggles the end of a 12-year relationship. There are bumps in the road and silly rom-com mishaps, but they blend in with the other important elements of Freya's life rather than being all-consuming. Furthermore, I anticipated the love story to weave into each of Freya's challenges, and it was refreshing when that wasn't the case. Sure, he pops in and out, but the wedding tasks remain about Freya and to a smaller degree, the friends who set them for her. And I thought that was really lovely.

As a final push to convince everyone what a masterpiece this book is, I will clue you in to examples of the little details that make the story feel lived-in and fully realized. Of the many finishing touches that made me laugh out loud or squeal with delight, know that Freya must drop everything at 9 pm to watch Love Island, there is an unexpectedly sexy vicar who must knock down a door right before the bride walks down the aisle, Freya's dad is working on building a pond in his backyard for the use of local newts and frogs, and one bride and groom had their meet cute in a bookshop when they both stopped to pet a dog and realized they were both there to buy books from The Wheel of Time series (and to all these things, I say BE STILL MY HEART). I love love loved this book, and I recommend it to anyone. Thanks to SMP Romance for my copy to read and review!

I loved this book! It was so fun to read about characters that you want to root for and watch them develop throughout the story. The premise of going to all the different weddings in different locations with different challenges was thoroughly enjoyable.

I LOVED this book - absolutely loved this brilliant and beautifully written book. This book centers around Freya who, having been dumped the night before her wedding, figures out how to muddle through life post-break up, with the help of her wonderful and hilarious friends. This book was so thoughtful and wise, and hilarious. Having just recently gone through a fairly major life altering event myself, I could feel my eyes tearing up a bit throughout the book and wanting to be a little braver - like Freya. This book is absolutely perfect who needs help getting through heartbreak, or needs a sweet and lovely book about what happens after love falls apart. Other than wanting to know a bit more about what happens with Freya's family, I would give this book all the stars if I could. Go and read it!

I love how so many things happened in the book. I could not keep myself from the book because it was so good

Thank you so much @StMartinsPress & @NetGalley for giving me this physical ARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased review (Release Date | 03 May 2022)

SYNOPSIS | Freya's fiancé calls off their wedding the day before they are due to walk down the aisle. She is understandably heartbroken, but her two best friends (Ruby & Leo) come up with a plan for her to survive the rest of the many weddings she is due to attend that year.

WHAT I LIKED:
- the unwavering support from her family & friends
- Freya was a very easy character to sympathise with
- the emotional rawness that encompasses the downfall of a relationship was really nicely explored

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
- not enough romance plot for me to consider this a romance book

This was fun! I liked the twist on a “checklist” motivated story to be in the vein of 27 dresses-esque wedding style. The tasks were simple and not totally out there, but added the right amount of comedy and small twists to the story

The whole cast of characters was enjoyable to read about and, while the romance wasn’t the focus - that honour was the lead putting her past behind her - I loved the chemistry between them.

Very cute slow burn rom-com. I would not have the energy to do 7 weddings over the course of a summer lol. Her friendships and how they stood behind her and pushed her (within reason) was really fun to read.


Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. Again, sorry I'm so late!

"Because if I've learned anything during the Wedding Season, it's that sometimes, love won't make sense. Sometimes it doesn't come all neatly wrapped up, all questions answered. And sometimes, even the relationships you thought you could count on change, maybe even fall apart. If you click with someone, you click with them. Sometimes you just have to go with it and hope for the best!"

Last year, I really enjoyed reading The Secret Bridesmaid so I was looking forward to checking out another book from this author. This story ended up being completely unexpected, but the cast, witty dialogue and humor kept me captivated.

Freya is recovering from an embarrassing dump from her fiancee ... the day before their wedding. Even more unfortunate, is she has already been invited to several other weddings. In order to get her out of her slump, her friends assign her a task to complete at each of these upcoming nuptials. Some of my favs were: bring home a pair of cuff links, run down the hotel corridor naked and make a speech. These challenges are outrageous and meant to push her outside of her comfort zone, live vicariously and stop worrying about what others think.

What I loved about this story is the raw levels of emotion you see Freya struggle with. She was publicly humiliated and heart broken. It takes her a realistic amount of time to heal and come to terms with her ex. It honestly felt sad at the start of the book and you slowly felt that shift to happiness as the story progressed. The cast of supportive friends was the absolute best. There is a touch of romance, but it takes a side seat. This love interest is an opposites attract trope and lends playful dialogue and several will they won't they moments.

Overall this was a great summer / beach read.

The idea of this story was fun but after 25% I still wasn’t attached to the book and didn’t really want to continue

What a fun little read! It was easy to get through because of the animated, fun characters. I thought the situations that Freya was put it was fun to read. It was also quite light of a read which i liked.