To be entirely honest, I don't know how I feel about The Wedding People. It was a bit slow for me (and I'm in a reading slump, so it didn't help), but it was also kind of beautiful. It's one of those books that you finish and you're left with a "Hmm" face because you can't figure out your own feelings...

The Wedding People is a wonderful, poignant and touching book. It started off slowly but as the book progressed I could not stop reading. The story begins with Phoebe, an English professor, reeling from a recent painful divorce who decides to travel to Newport, Rhode Island to kill herself. At the hotel Phoebe becomes entangled with a bride at the beginning of her week long wedding and quickly becomes an integral part of the wedding party.
This book deftly explores many different issues; living a life of meaning, finding happiness, learning to express your needs and desires. I loved Alison Espach’s previous book, Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance. This book is very different but equally as good.
Thank you to Henry Holt and co. and Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Not at all what I expected. It was so much more. It is a wonderful story of different people at different points in their lives, I loved the main character Phoebe. She begins her journey in the story at the lowest point in her life but having accidentally crashed a wedding, she discovers more about herself. All the other characters are well developed and their relationships believable. I highly recommend this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC

This is going to be one of the best summer reads of 2024! Professor Phoebe is watching her life fall apart little by little - her husband left her (for someone they BOTH work with), she's stuck on her dissertation, and her cat Frank died. Phoebe decides to run away from everything and end it all… but the gorgeous hotel she checks into is booked with a wedding that she quickly gets swept into. These ‘wedding people’ help her get a new perspective on life and see things more clearly and learns to live again,

The Wedding People was such a breath of fresh air. The characters were so well-written, honest and raw. I so appreciate Espach's ability to write truly complicated women without casting them as as just another trope. Overall, just such a lovely novel capturing the full range (and messiness) of human emotions in both life's brightest and darkest moments.

Meh.

First of all, thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy.

I always look forward to reading a new book by an author whose past works I've enjoyed. There are times when I've loved their newest and other times when I'm disappointed. In the case of The Wedding People, I'm disappointed. I enjoyed the quiet, slow story of Espach's Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance, and was ready to declare myself a full-fledged fan, but now I'm just in the land of meh and feeling so sad about it.

The Wedding People was a rollercoaster, and not a super fun one. It was one that left you feeling confused about why you thought it was going to be a good idea to ride the rollercoaster. I do have a hard time not finishing a book I've started and I held on because I wanted it to get better. But the characters raked at my nerves and the decisions made across the board were just so bad and jarring, I couldn't handle it. I was unable, at the end, to even feel any joy for the main character, who absolutely did deserve it given what she went through in her previous life and what she planned to do at the hotel once she got there. The supporting cast of characters were very hard to like, and maybe that was the point. I don't know.

I wanted to like this, but I just couldn't.

This novel was darker than I expected—and had some potentially triggering plot lines concerning infertility, suicide, and adultery. I did enjoy the interactions between Phoebe and Lila throughout the novel—a highlight.

This was so good!! I was absolutely enthralled and totally into this story. I couldn't stop reading it. I loved the writing style and they story and I can't wait to read more by Alison Espach. I had such a great experience reading this. Loved it!
I just reviewed The Wedding People by Alison Espach. #NetGalley
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This was a fun read that was in many ways a breath of fresh air where an individual in the triumph of everything falling part, there can be surprising aspects waiting on the other turn.

Wow, this book ended up being so much more than I expected! I don't know how Alison Espach did it, but she effortlessly shifted from serious to laugh-out-loud funny moments and then back to serious. I found each of the characters and their stories deeply relatable, and continued to think about this book in the days, even months, after I finished reading it. There's something so profound and beautiful in the way this story unfolded for me and I've deemed this a book that everyone should read because I truly think there's an important message embedded in the relationships we see develop, change, or end. Definitely want to read more from this author.

This was nothing like what I was expecting, but like the book’s main character Phoebe, “I will read any book to the end if it promises a wedding.”

I found myself drawn to Phoebe’s story from the second she spilled the reason for her trip in the first chapter. The dynamic between Phoebe and the bride-to-be, Lila, was so entertaining, and I enjoyed their banter. Several characters stole my heart along the way, but none more than Gary’s daughter “Juice.”

The author broached difficult topics without the book ever feeling too heavy. It made me think about my own life and how little moments can change the course of your life entirely. I can’t wait to recommend it to everyone this summer.

I had a slow time getting into this book, but once I was in, I was in. Perhaps it was that I didn't feel too much in common with the main character at first, a mousey adjunct professor with a list of (valid) complaints. But as the story unfolded, it was easy for me to become invested in the whole cast, crew, and setting. Especially the setting, as I've been to Newport and could envision the harbor, the sailboats, the traffic, the art gallery. I applaud the author for not tying up the story too easily (I thought that's where it was heading, but the plot softened, and I appreciated that), but there were a few loose ends that left me hanging (what happened to Tom? why does he disappear entirely after the first few chapters?). A good read for a summer vacation!

I absolutely LOVED this book. Many heavy topics were explored such as grief, infertility, loneliness and mental health. I appreciate the portrayal of these topics and how relatable it can be for the reader.
When Phoebe arrives at the Cornwall Inn, a hotel thousands of miles from home, she is feeling hopeless, lost and confused. Until she meets Lilah, the bride, and her wedding guests. Through interacting with the wedding people, Phoebe explores self-reflection and begins to form new friendships with these strangers. I adore Phoebe and Lilah, their developing friendship was unique and full of humorous, lighthearted moments. This is one of those reads that will definitely stay with me. I highly recommend giving it a read.

This book is so, so good. It blew me away, if I’m being totally honest. I expected a well written summer read about a wedding gone wrong, but instead was totally immersed in a. Beautiful character study and the most incredibly well described cast of characters. Phoebe is my favorite protagonist of the year so far—-she is dark, funny, brilliant, sensitive, and just so very human. I loved living inside her head for every page of this novel. I’m so sad it’s over.

This book was a really fun read! I loved the Rhode Island setting and the characters were enjoyable. The story is well written and you will find yourself rooting for all of the characters. This book is going to be a great summer read.

3.5. I went into this thinking “Oh, my wedding is so soon this could be a fun read”. Now, it was not that kind of read after all, but it was still a pretty good read. Content warnings including suicide attempt, suicidal ideation, infertility, miscarriage, and loss of a spouse/parent/family member. This book is about how Phoebe and Lila meeting changes the courses of their lives entirely. They have so much to figure out about themselves, and figured out more in that week of Lila’s planned wedding than they had in several years. The ending is both sad and hopeful, which was really interesting. The writing style is really unique, which I noticed in the author’s other novel Notes On Your Sudden Disappearance. I think it got slow at times, and the literature discussions got to be a bit much. But overall it was a solid read! Thank you NetGalley and Henry Holt & Co. for this ARC.

I'm loving this weird little niche of genre fiction that surrounds weddings in a critical and humorous tone, and THE WEDDING PEOPLE fit perfectly into that niche so well. The plot is a little bizarre, but it works: a woman who goes to an upscale seaside hotel with plans to end her life, but instead finds herself roped into a week-long wedding extravaganza. If you're looking for that quirky read of 2024, THE WEDDING PEOPLE will surely be that book.

Earlier this year I read NOTES ON YOUR SUDDEN DISAPPEARANCE by Alison Espach. I loved it so much that I immediately wanted to read more of her work and requested a galley of her upcoming release. 

The elevator pitch of THE WEDDING PEOPLE (PUB 07. sounds morose and absurd. 

Phoebe is a deeply depressed/lonely,recently divorced, adjunct professor of English who books herself into a luxury hotel to commit suicide only to find she accidently becomes an outlier "wedding person".  

What I got was a literary powerhouse of a story unlike anything I've read. I enjoyed everything about this book. This rarely happens. I kept vacillating between wanting to read more and slowing down because I didn't want it to end It was lovely, heartbreaking, witty, and gorgeous. It was contemplative, reflective, touching and dusted with the perfect amount of dark humor. I loved the characters. I loved the hotel setting in Newport., RI. I loved the serendipitous meeting of the right people at the right time. I loved that the story took place over a couple of days. I absolutely adored the dialogue and conversations. I loved that it made me laugh and cry. 

Thank you to @henryholtbooks for early access to what will be one of my standout reads of the year.

Charming, hilarious, heartwarming, clever…Just perfect.

I went into this one blind and with zero expectations and it blew me away. I honestly didn’t want it to end. I fell in love with every single character, every scene, every word…I cannot wait for everyone to read it and talk to me about it.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this beautiful book. It was the most fun I’ve had reading in a long time.
Also, the cover? Perfection!

The Wedding People is a story of a woman who goes to an upscale seaside hotel with plans to end her life, but instead finds herself roped into a week-long wedding extravaganza.
The book started off slow for me, but I was quickly drawn in to the quirky characters and all of their drama. While predictable at times, the story of Phoebe was both uplifting and inspiring, sprinkled with plenty of absurd and comedic moments.