I DNFed this book at 30%. I wanted to love it. The plot and setting seemed fantastic. But I just couldn't get into the story (it felt very slow) and didn't find the characters or dialogue to be very believable. I'm sure others will love this book though; it just wasn't for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I honestly don't know how I feel about The Unwedding after finishing it. It wasn't great, but it wasn't necessarily bad either. I think, overall, it just fell flat.


Ellery and Luke recently divorced. Instead of letting their non-refundable 20th anniversary trip go to waste, Ellery decided to travel on her own. She quickly becomes friends with two other travelers, and all seems to be going fine until Ellery finds a body floating in the pool. Then a major storm causes a devastating mudslide and all outside communication is cut off from the resort. Another body is found, someone else goes missing, art starts disappearing... a lot happens very quickly. For whatever reason, Ellery- who has no detective or investigator experience- teams up with her new friends to uncover what's really going on at the resort.

The premise sounds fantastic, right?

This book just didn't live up to it's potential. For a story that had so much happening, it certainly dragged on. I also wasn't a fan of how the author literally laid everything out at the end; I don't think every detail should have to be explained to the reader for the audience to understand the twists and events that unfolded. The characters themselves were alright.... to a degree. I'm still confused about Grace and her Dad (why was she so protective of him? What does being a certified Wilderness First Responder mean if she doesn't have medical training? Why wasn't she part of the search and rescue efforts if that was literally part of her job description?). Ben was made out to be this super nice guy, which is great I guess, but he had literally no character flaws or personality. Ravi and Nina were my favorites, but I'm still questioning the reveal about Nina's reason to visit the resort. Honestly, I'm questioning a lot of the details that were included... I'm not sure why any of it was included when it didn't strengthen or add to the plot and it didn't make the characters any more likable/understood.

And as far as the twist goes.... I didn't guess the identity of the murderer correctly, but it also didn't surprise me when it was revealed. The reveal itself was.... I don't want to say it was boring, but it was definitely uninteresting at best.

I loved the setting, however. I also liked the incorporation of art, even if the art theft portion seemed a little unnecessary. I liked Ellery as a character for the most part, except for all the rambling about her divorce and her kids. I know that was a big part of her backstory and was supposed to lend to the growth that the character goes through, but all the complaining was just redundant and annoying, I liked her strength and resiliency, though, and I think she was fairly well written.

I don't know. I didn't particularly like this book, but I didn't dislike it either. It just wasn't memorable. For a thriller, it was missing much of the thrill.


Thank you NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely adore anything by Ally Condie and was so excited to see her writing an adult title! The mystery and tension were just right, and the main character’s struggles were so heartbreaking and relatable, Can’t wait to buy this one for my library and recommend it to students and fellow librarians. I loved that it was adult but without any content I would hesitate to share with students….please publish more like this! (And a whole series of mysteries from Ally, please…our new contemporary Agatha Christie!)

A slow-burn thriller that was super atmospheric and fun. Lots of twists and I loved the third person narration.

I really liked this. There was a lot of mystery. I had no idea who the killer was the whole time. I liked Ellery the main character and felt for her for her divorce and the other trauma she suffered. This book really held my attention and I could not put it down.

The Unwedding" by Ally Condie is set in the captivating yet foreboding landscape of Big Sur, where a seemingly ordinary gathering quickly turns into a gripping murder mystery with a modern twist, echoing elements of Agatha Christie and "The White Lotus."

The story centers on Ellery, recently divorced, who becomes entangled in a murder investigation during what was meant to be a celebratory weekend. While the pacing and some character developments may falter, Condie’s strong prose and atmospheric setting keep the reader engaged.

Despite some abrupt twists and a few unsatisfying conclusions, the novel offers a compelling mix of suspense and exploration of human resilience. "The Unwedding" is a promising adult fiction debut for Condie, appealing to those who enjoy a complex, twist-filled thriller.


Thank you to Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for my advance reader copy all opinions are my own.

Solid concept for a destination thriller/murder mystery, with a beautiful resort location in Big Sur that ends up getting damaged by a storm, trapping the guests and staff, including those there to attend a wedding. Ellery is there it celebrate her 20th anniversary - alone - while still recovering from a past trauma. The first half of book was very good, but then it kind of fell apart for me. The reveal of the story of Ellery's past accident was too slow and underwhelming, and there were too many other reveals at the end. I didn't care about the art theft side mystery, people's motives were confusing, and honestly, there were too many characters to keep track of, which usually isn't an issue for me.

I liked the nature elements in this, I liked Ellery as a main character, and all the different elements were super interesting but in the end I was still questioning the relevance of a lot of items and didn't find that I had all the answers to all my questions

THanks to net galley, the author and the publisher for the ARC

Unfortunately I am having a hard time keeping track of people and getting interested in any of them. So I will be DNFing at 25%

This was my first read by Ally Condie, so I didn't know what to expect going in. I was more intrigued by the aesthetic cover and the fact that it was a locked room/remote setting thriller. Unfortunately, there was nothing in the plot to set it apart from every other resort, ski lodge, and hotel mystery...

There are a lot of characters in this book, and I feel like they all kind of fall flat. We are given some insight into their pasts and personalities, but since there are so many, it's hard to feel any connections with them. Ellery, the protagonist, seems especially dull in that she really doesn't contribute anything unique even though she gets the limelight for this story. She also doesn't seem particularly smart despite the fact that she is somehow one of the lead investigators for this mystery. Lastly, this book is under 350 pages, but it just feels so long and dragged out. The author writes a lot about how emotive the characters are (e.g.: raised eyebrows, posture, tone of voice) which does help to visualize it, but it significantly slowed the plot pace.

Ellery and her husband were supposed to spend a romantic anniversary at a remote resort together, but their marriage has recently ended in divorce. Not wanting to waste the trip, Ellery goes alone and tries to enjoy herself despite the fact that the place is overrun with wedding guests. When she stumbles upon the groom, dead in the pool, Ellery is sucked into the whirlwind of solving the murder.

With an Ordinary storyline and Uninspiring characters, this thriller Dragged for me.

Atmospheric, compelling, and bristling with characters who come fully alive. An intimate thriller worth savoring.

My first “adult” book by Allie Condie and she killed it! This is sort of a locked room type mystery. It was very intriguing and I couldn’t put it down.

The Unwedding by Ally Condie follows Ellery Wainwright as she vacations at Broken Point Resort located in California. Ellery is spending what would have been her 20th wedding aniverary. Ellery is spending the vaction alone since it was paid for prior to her divorce from Like. To top everything off there is a wedding at the resort that same weekend. Ellery makes friends with Nina and Ravi both are guests staying at the resort and also meets the bride to be Olivia the night before the wedding. The next day Ellery 's life and the lives of the other guests changed forever when Ellery stumbles onto a dead body. They are now trapped in the resort since the storm from the following night has washed away the roads. They soon realize that they are trapped with a killer. I was hooked by the first few chapters in this book and couldn't put it down. If you like Megan Miranda, Alice Feeney, Lisa Jewell, Claire Douglas you will love this one also. Thank you to both NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for letting me read an advanced copy of this book.

Ellery Wainwright finds herself alone at the California retreat where she was meant to spend her anniversary with her now divorced husband. She takes the trip to keep him from taking it with his new girlfriend, but upon arrival she finds herself surrounded by a wedding party. Determined not to wallow, she makes friends with two people not in the wedding party, just out for an adventure.

Nothing goes as planned, and the morning a mudslide takes out the only road, Ellery finds a dead body in the pool. Everyone seems to have secret here, and the weather goes from bad to worse, prolonging the police and rescue operations,

I loved the weaving together of this story. Although completely different from other Ally Condie books I've read, it was highly enjoyable.

“The Unwedding’s” central character is Ellery, a recently divorced schoolteacher who is spending three days alone at the Broken Point Resort near Big Sur because of a nonrefundable deposit — Ellery had booked it months ago for her and Luke’s twentieth anniversary after reading about the spot in “50 Places to Visit Before You Die.” However, Luke had a spectacular mid-life crisis and dumped her. There’s no way she’ll let Luke take over the reservation with his new girlfriend, so here she is in a place devoted to double occupancies. She’s “lost her person” and is trying to avoid the sadness monster is still stalking her.

The exclusive resort is mostly booked by a wedding party, and Ellery initially latches onto a non-romantic pair, Ravi and Nina, also not part of the wedding. But the almost wedding becomes everyone’s business when Ellery finds the body of the supposedly runaway groom in the infinity pool. Of course, a spectacular storm has blocked the entrance road with mudslides, the police can’t reach the resort, the power is failing, and another member of the wedding party also suddenly dies. Plus some of the famous artwork (the bride’s mother is the curator) has also gone missing. For whatever reason (because she has schoolmarmish vibes?), forty-something Ellery (“the body finder”) becomes central to investigating what’s really going on (with the devious assistance of Ravi and Nina and the tentative agreement of the bride and second best man).

Creative and descriptive, the book is uniquely interspersed with the origin stories of art pieces found in and around the resort, Broken Point. You can easily feel and experience the luxurious amenities of the resort and the surrounding outdoors. This is the adult debut of the author of the dystopian YA series “Matched” (I had recognized her name!) and it’s an excellent launch for author Condie. I must admit that I was not sure about the extensive flashbacks to a bus accident which explained more about Ellery’s psyche, and seemingly didn’t add that much to the main plot, but it did give depth to the character. Yet, overall, the story was engrossing up until the very end. 4 stars!

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): YES “Canyon,” one of the staff members with outdoorsy names, has green eyes.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO Camellias are important to the plot and they do bloom right around October in California.

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for a free advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

I found this piece to be exceptionally well-crafted, and I'm eagerly anticipating the opportunity to delve into more works by this author. Given its potential popularity among our library patrons, we're certainly looking forward to adding it to our collection

Thank you NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the copy of The Unwedding by Ally Condie. If you’re looking for a thriller with a riveting plot combined with an emotional character story this is the book for you. The setting was vivid and made me wish it were a real resort I could visit. I loved how the characters were three-dimensional and complicated, especially Ellery, with her flashbacks and how she pined for the life she used to have with Luke distracted herself by trying to solve the murders. The writing drew me right into the story and kept me enthralled until everything was expertly tied up. Don’t miss this book. 5 enthusiastic stars!

So I loved The Match and was really looking forward to this book that promised Agatha Christie meets the White Lotus. For me, this book was not that. It’s hard to keep track of what is going on and it’s even harder to care about any of the characters. This one fell flat for me.

This is both a whodunit murder mystery and a mystery of the heart. Ellery is a woman wading through the thick of grief after an unexpected divorce. "He was just never happy," was the excuse, to which Ellery knows is a lie. While vacationing alone at a beautiful resort (instead of with the love of her life and their planned 20th anniversary romantic getaway) Ellery finds herself holidaying alongside a wedding party. Unfortunately, the wedding doesn't happen and Ellery finds the groom dead in the pool. Trapped for days due to a storm, another murder occurs... It is now up to Ellery and her two new sidekicks to find the killer, while at the same time, everyone is a suspect - including Ellery. I enjoyed the mystery, but most enjoyed the emotions of loss that Ally explored and got us through. Condie's first-time adult novel, and I hope she keeps them coming!

As a fan of the Matched series, I was excited to dive into Ally Condie’s first adult novel, but then I started and stopped this book so many times I forgot who some of the characters were. The book’s opening was just terribly slow. At first I was appreciative of the time Condie took to paint the resort and its surroundings as well as give us the back story of main character Ellery’s divorce and life, but then I just kept wondering when we were going to get to the point of the book. While chapters are short, the death teased in the very beginning doesn’t happen until the beginning of the book’s second quarter. The author writes beautiful descriptions of the landscape, weather and resort but she takes far too long to get to the point. There is no burn to learn more. I didn’t even like the main character! I would have rather spent more time with other characters.

It definitely had an undertone of Agatha Christie meets White Lotus but it never delivers to be as compelling as those stories. The end of the book was a mess. When we finally get to the reveal, it happens so quickly and there are so many elements dropped on you, it’s like whiplash. Condie never even hints at the ultimate reveal so when it’s discovered, you’re left confused how we got here. Condie then spends several chapters having to explain the outcome. I felt the pace was too slow, details should have been fleshed out more to guide the reader, and the main character needed more of a spark. But the imagery was beautiful and if this resort existed in real life, I’d love to visit.

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing for this ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.