Freya Scott is having the perfect day or at least the perfect day before her wedding. Her wedding will be the real perfect day. She is marrying her long term boyfriend Matthew and kicking off the wedding season for her, her family, and her friends. Everything is set to go off without a hitch until Matthew suddenly calls off the wedding leaving Freya stunned and heartbroken. Determined to pick herself up so that she doesn't ruin anyone else's happiness. She just wants to pretend everything is fine. Her friends see right through her though and together they come up with a list of yanks to help her survive The Wedding Season.

The list of tasks is both a challenge and a reward for Freya. It takes her out of her comfort zone. The list also keeps connected to her friends. They may tease her about it but, they are truly there to support her. I loved the friendships in this book. These individuals have their girls back no matter what. There are several scenes that had me cheering all of them even if they may waste a bit of wine in the process.

There is so much humor inside this book. Some of it self depreciating especially at first as Freya tries to figure out how everything went off the rails so quickly. The list of tasks also adds some humor especially when an awkward encounter follows the task. Freya has the best internal monologues and she really does find herself in some strange situations. One of these strange situations is how she meets the character of Jamie.

Right away it is noticeable that Freya and Jamie have good chemistry and hilarious banter. They go from complete strangers to acquaintances to friends, and then possibly more. There is no rushing this dynamic and I loved the slow burn. I kept looking for Jamie to appear as Freya went from her parties to weddings. The dynamic between the two characters takes time to develop and really is the sweetest slow burn. I wanted even more by the end.

Reading The Wedding Season also felt like a little bit of a vacation in a sense as everything is set in England. Plus, there are a couple destination weddings which means more traveling! It was so good and put such a smile on my face while I was reading it. During the more emotional parts, I felt a smile as I was reading Freya's internal monologue and watching her grow as a person. I may just have to go back and check out author Katy Birchall's backlist now!

I love when books have friends that challenge their friends, and this was no different! I absolutely adored this story and look forward to more from this author!

Loved this book so much! The characters were amazing and just the development of the main two were great. There were also some pretty funny moments with the side characters! I can't wait to read more books from this author as this was my first time reading.

The Wedding Season by Katy Birchall is a book I had trouble putting down once I started reading. The story of Freya Scott is funny, crazy, and sweet. Freya was dumped the day before her own wedding by her love of twelve years, and to make matters worse, it was to be the first wedding of the summer season, of which there are a bunch! Fortunately, Freya has a couple of amazing best friends that set up a challenge for each wedding to take her mind off her disastrous breakup. This book had me laughing out loud multiple times, it's cute, funny, and engrossing. I've been waiting for a book that would have me giggling over and over ever since reading The Unhoneymooners and I finally found one. I heartily recommend this book!

I didn’t love this nearly as much as The Secret Bridesmaid, but once I got past some of the cringy/made me physically angry portions, I enjoyed the book. The MC was annoying but I loved her BFF.

I received an advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.

Freya is having a bad day. Her fiancé of 12 years decided to break things off the day before the wedding. Theirs was to be the first to start off a series of eight weddings of friends, the proverbial “wedding season”. Yikes. Now, not only is she single having been unceremoniously dumped she has to attend so many other weddings while pretending to put on a happy face. She couldn't have had less desire to go to any of them.. As it turns out her friends weren’t a fan of her ex and think, rather know she deserves better. There love her and want her to be happy so they devise a series of challenges to complete at each wedding to keep her occupied and not feeling….all of the feelings anyone would. It's a great read that helps her rediscover the joy in life. t’s the funny, smart, silly, kindhearted, laugh out loud comedy we all need to right now! Perfect beach or anytime read.

A cute RomCom style story. Overall I enjoyed the story. Characters were great, writing was great. I know it was overall a story about Freya learning some life lessons, but I do wish we had gotten more of Jamie and Freya's Story.

Thank you to the publisher for this eARC.

I was really excited to read this one, but I personally cannot spent any more time in the main character’s head. I don’t know if it’s because I have a cold, dead heart or she’s just too annoying and whines too much.

Plus, her actions seem more like actions of someone right out of high school instead of someone approaching their 30s.


DNF @ 19%

Oh poor Freya - girl was done dirty. Matthew is a twit and I can't stand how he acted. I did really enjoy Freya and watching her journey as she grows and finds herself and her own strength and path. I absolutely loved the friend group (Freya, Ruby, and Leo)!!!!! Loved their bucket list and where it led Freya. Everyone needs a set of friends like Ruby and Leo!his was a series/same universe story.

This was a fun one and I enjoyed it for the most part. The Secret Bridesmaid was slightly better.

I feel that it was quite realistic about dealing with what happens after your fiancé leaves you the day before your wedding. It was good to see her support system and watch her get out of her comfort zone a bit.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of the arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a fun clean romance. I laughed out loud so many times! I found the way the MC handled her recent breakup very relatable and loved the support she got from her friends and family. Over all just a great book!

I received an eARC from Netgalley and the publisher for a review of this book.

I really enjoyed this book. Freya gets dumped by her fiancé the day before their wedding. She has a whole season of friend's weddings to get through this year. Her close friends set her some challenges to do at each wedding to help her focus on something other than her situation. The result is some funny and heartwarming experiences. The book is funny, sad, sweet and heartfelt. There is a cast of great supporting characters. I didn't want to put it down. Had it finished in just a couple of days. I would recommend this.

Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read an ARC of this book.
Freya and Matthew’s wedding was to kick off the “wedding season”, but the day before their “I dos “ Matthew calls off the wedding. Freya is left to figure out what happened and how to endure a season of celebrating all of her friends’ upcoming weddings and running into Matthew! Her two engaged best friends, Ruby and Leo devise a plan to get Freya through the wedding season by tackling a series of tasks at each wedding.

As Freya goes from each hen do, party, and wedding she meets and keeps running into Jamie. At first their interactions are cordial at best but they begin to warm up to each other.

Freya gains confidence as she learns to live without Matthew, even though she goes back and forth trying to make sense of their break up. She also begins to look differently at her fraught relationship with her mom.

I thought Freya was a relatable character and I enjoyed seeing her grow throughout the novel. I thought the tension she displayed over her break up with Matthew was realistic and at times complicated like it would be in real life. It times she was a bit over the top but it matched her quirky character. Overall, I thought this was a fun read.

This was my second read from Katy Birchall, and she delivered another fabulously funny rom-com that was perfect to break up my typically dark and heavy reading list. Freya Scott gets left not quite on the altar but almost as close as you can get.. When the day started with missing peacocks, she just should have gone back to bed with a good book. Her friends rally around her and give her a list of "challenges" to get her through the long list of summer weddings and hen parties, and in the process she learns more about herself and most importantly makes peace with those she was wronged by. Full of comedic scenes and lovely British humor, The Wedding Season is the perfect for fans of Birchall's The Secret Bridesmaid and made even this heartless old maid laugh out loud! Read this book and learn why you should always bury the sausage the night before the wedding, LOL. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

I was so excited to read this book, I loved Secret Bridesmaid and had really high hopes for this book too. I was NOT disappointed, this book was so fun and the perfect summer read. I love the story, friendships, and lessons learned along the way. Plus a few lol moments. Can't wait to see what else the author comes up with next!

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC!

The Wedding Season is a fun, lighthearted read. I loved the friendships and loyalty that were displayed throughout the book. Great storyline, that shows ‘everything happens for a reason.’

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

This is my first time reading something by this author and I enjoyed it. The story caught my attention from the beginning and held it all the way through. Freya is about to get married but at the last minute, her fiance Matthew calls it off. They had been together for 12 years, and now Freya is shocked and reeling from the loss. With her own wedding ending in disaster, she now has to make it through the wedding season, with the next few months of weddings that she is supposed to attend. Her best friends come up with a plan to help her through each wedding instead of dwelling on her sadness, and each task they come up with is more outrageous than the next.
This is a sweet heartwarming story about learning to cope after a heartbreak and moving on and I enjoyed every minute of it. The characters were wonderful and felt so relatable, I couldn't help but fall in love with them. Freya had such a great support system, which was lovely to see. The storyline had a nice smooth flow and although there was some romance, the main focus was Freya and her journey of moving forward, which was just as enjoyable to read. There was definitely a good amount of focus on Freya's heartbreak and sadness, but there were also some wonderful moments of humor and fun that left me with a smile on my face. I really enjoyed this book and I will be looking out for more books by this author!

I received a complimentary copy from Netgalley and am voluntarily leaving my review.

My Review: ⭐️⭐️⭐⭐/ 5

The Wedding Season is slated as a contemporary romance based in London about Freya, a very organized, practical woman who is essentially left at the altar by Matthew, her boyfriend of 12 years. Worst, she was told the news in a broom closet without a real reason other than that she is too “together.” Gutted by the news, she has to toughen up and attend her other close friends/family weddings over the season despite being utterly sad and down in the dumps. Her best friends Ruby and Leo make her a wedding season survival guide challenge that she has to do at each wedding including obtaining cufflinks and running naked through a hotel corridor. These tasks really take her out of her comfort zone and she is actually finally starting to have fun and move on.

I’m not going to lie, the first ⅓ was rough since Freya is extremely unlikeable. She is heartbroken and devastated, but also lacks self awareness and reeks of desperation especially after all those attempts to speak to Matthew. Then I had to remember she is supposed to be because you make terrible mistakes when you feel as if you are losing the person you love. As she meets new people and spends more time in the company of friends, you truly see her slowly come out of her shell and heal. It is mostly about Freya’s healing process over a bad breakup and light on the romance side. By the end, I was rooting for her. Really enjoyed it!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and netgalley for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Tropes: forced proximity, frenemies
Spice Level: 0.5/5

📖 The Wedding Season
✍️ Katy Birchall
📚 Fiction
#️⃣ 384 pages

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you to NetGalley + St. Martin’s Press for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

Freya is so excited to (finally!) get married to her boyfriend of twelve years… that is, right up until he calls the wedding off the night before the big day. Suddenly directionless and very single, Freya is dreading the summer full of weddings on her calendar. In an effort to keep her mind off her own failed romance, Freya’s friends come up with a list of tasks for her to complete at the weddings. What starts as a series of distractions turns into some of the most fun Freya has ever had. Perhaps there’s another way to happily ever after besides “I Do.”

I was so surprisingly pleased with the depth of this story! I felt that the MC was very relatable and the way she reacted to the circumstances she found herself in was authentic. The premise was fun and the audio was incredible - the narrator had phenomenal timing. I would consider this more of a contemporary fiction than a true romance, and I had absolutely no problem with that. It was a pleasure to experience Freya’s strength and vulnerability throughout the story with a strong cast of side characters. Highly recommend!

💍 Contemporary fiction
💍 Single POV
💍 Single timeline
💍 Takes place of a single summer
💍 Authentic characters
💍 Sweet + clever banter
💍 No spice
💍 Great on audio

#caitsquietplace #caitsquietplacereviews #cqpfiction #theweddingseason #netgalley #stmartinspress

2.5 / 5 stars

This book was a challenge for me to finish.

When Freya is dumped by her long-time partner and fiance the day before her wedding, she's not sure how she will make it through the upcoming wedding season. Her friends create a list of challenges, one for each event, to help distract her and help her rediscover herself. Along the way, she finds love (of course) and finds her own confidence.

Clearly lots of others really liked this book, but it's just not the one for me. I felt like it dragged quite a bit and I didn't like Freya's inner monologue. Not a bad story or plot, but if you're looking for a fun, quick romance read, I wouldn't recommend this one.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.