Thanks to NetGalley, Knopf, and Anne Tyler for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. Review includes spoilers.

This short book was my very first Anne Tyler.

Told in three parts, Three Days in June follows Gail Barnes, the mother of the bride the day before, of, and after her daughter, Debbie’s, wedding. When Debbie learns her fiance cheated on her, it prompts Gail to think about her relationship with Max (Debbie’s father and Gail’s ex-husband), her role in its failure, and their future as a family.

Three Days in June is a brief novel, around 175 pages, that reads very quickly. While there are scenes that are heartbreaking, Tyler’s novel is well-paced and evenly balanced. There isn’t a great deal of action and the climax of the story is learning what ended Debbie and Max’s marriage.

The three main characters of Three Days in June are lost, a little helpless, and somewhat difficult to empathize with and somewhat unlikeable. Gail is fired (rather than earning a leadership role), hosting her ex-husband and his cat, and excluded from wedding festivities. Max shows up for his daughter’s wedding with nowhere to stay, not properly attired, and lacking ambition. Debbie, seemingly ungrateful and embarrassed by her parents, forces her father to wear a new outfit to the wedding that she picks out for him, favors her new in-laws, and refuses advice from her parents.

Readers who enjoy quiet stories of family and portraits of fifty-something women will enjoy Three Days in June. Ultimately, Tyler’s latest is a story of forgiveness.

I read "Three Days in June" by Anne Tyler on NetGalley. I couldn't put this book down! I started it and finished it the next day. The main character, Gail, is having work trouble and the next day her daughter is getting married. And then her ex-husband shows up at her door. This story spans three days. The day before the wedding, the day of the wedding, and the day after the wedding. A short span of time that covers a lot of things.

The day before Gail’s daughter gets married, Gail’s boss tells her that her people skills are lacking and that her job is in jeopardy. After she gets home, her ex-husband and his new cat unexpectedly come to stay with her for the rest of the wedding weekend. While Gail is shown to be blunt and inflexible, her relationship with the easygoing Max also shows her to be vulnerable and possibly open to change. As the title suggests, the short book takes place over three days (before, during, and after the wedding) with flashbacks to the disintegration of Gail and Max’s marriage.

This quiet, character-driven novel somehow read as a page turner that I flew through in a matter of days. Tyler is a master at writing about cantankerous characters who, while they have their limitations, quickly make their way into the reader’s heart. Much like Ann Patchett, Tyler can write about small moments in a way that feels very big and true. I would strongly recommend this book.

This story was okay. At just 176 pages it was a quick read and entertaining enough. The story revolves around Gail, an aging school administrator who has just been forced out of her job in favor of a younger candidate. Her only daughter is getting married and her ex-husband shows up with a foster cat to stay for the festivities because their future son-in-law is allergic so he can't stay with them. Things get further complicated when their daughter shares a secret about her fiance that may ruin the whole wedding. Basically, it's three days of Gail not having the best time and struggling with conflicting feeling of getting older and being an empty nester.

While I'm not young, I'm also not quite Gail's age so I may not have been the right demographic for this one. My kids are both young so I couldn't quite feel connected to Gail and her feelings. This book may be better appreciated by parents who are, or preparing for an empty nest.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor | Knopf for providing me a digital reviewer copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Three Days in June was my first book by Anne Taylor. While it was an ok book I despised the characters. Think I would of thought differently if it was a bit longer and you had time to fall in love with the characters but it was just a short throw me into the middle of a book type of story.

Three Days in June was my first book by well respected author Anne Tyler. The premise sounded great, so I was eager to read. It was a quick and easy read, but I was disappointed. I kept thinking, "What am I missing?" I'm seeing so many great reviews.
The story revolves around the Mother of the Bride (along with her ex-husband) over the course of the Wedding Weekend. Mom is basically a dull and grumpy woman, completely disconnected from the wedding preparations and festivities, although she and her daughter appear to have a good relationship. The whole scope of the wedding event(s) were minimized and unrealistic.
A potential crisis arose between the bride and groom the day before the wedding, but it was just glossed over.
Perhaps the author could have taken time (and another 100 pages) to develop the storyline a bit more. The potential was there.
I felt the writing was good, but the storyline was not well developed.
I received an advance copy from Net Galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

4 stars

Gail Baines, 61, is having a stressful couple of days. She has just been informed she won’t be getting the promotion to headmistress she has always counted on (and, in fact, is losing her job as assistant headmistress), her daughter, Debbie is getting married this weekend and, naturally, bringing a son-in-law and his parents into her orbit and as if all that weren’t enough, her ex-husband, Max, shows up at her door, unannounced, expecting to be able to stay for the weekend, along with the cat he is fostering. It’s a lot.

The Debbie and Kenneth, the potential son-in-law are having issues and Gail wasn’t even invited to the pre-rehearsal dinner spa day. Yep. Not her weekend.

Tyler writes this as only she can. I didn’t relate to Gail in the same way I have to some of her other protagonists, but this is still an engaging, interesting look at life and love after midlife and I thoroughly enjoyed it….it’s quite short, too. Recommended.

This charming short novel/novella is told from the perspective of a slightly grumpy woman in her 60s named Gail as she navigates her daughter’s wedding weekend, including her ex-husband unexpectedly staying with her for the weekend and bringing his cat. It’s more of a character study, but Gail is really a great character.

My first read by Anne Tyler and I’m immediately eager to check out her backlog. A short and well written story of a socially awkward mother thinking about her past over three days as her daughter is getting married. This was a smooth and slow read and I really ended up liking it.

Anne Tyler is gifted at making ordinary and flawed individuals completely relatable and intriguing. In her latest offering, Gail Baines with her limited social skills, starts off the wedding weekend of her daughter Debbie by quitting her job and reluctantly hosting her ex-husband, Max (and a cat he is fostering). Debbie's impending nuptials bring past transgressions, current doubts, and Gail's uncertain future to the forefront. Told with wit and compassion, Gail's story is as compelling as it is honest. Anne Tyler is still a must-read author for me after over twenty novels.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review. I haven’t read much Anne Tyler over the years, but I enjoyed this compact novel. Any writer who can develop quirky characters and tell a full story in under 200 pages has my utmost respect. I am also grateful for stories that center older characters. More of all of this, please! I will definitely be checking out Tyler’s backlist this year.

This is my first Anne Tyler but will definitely not be my last. This book was an easy and quick read but incredibly reflective and thought provoking. I love these types of stories, where we just follow a cast of characters during a short window of time. The characters felt full and real, and the writing was beautiful and made me laugh several times. I wanted to stay in this story forever and I see myself rereading it. Highly recommend this book for lovers of literary fiction.

4 out of 5 Stars!

Even though Gail is supposed to be having the happiest weekend of her life, she is actually having the worst. For starters, she quit her job. Or, maybe she was fired. The jury is still out for debate. Second, her ex-husband wanted to stay with her and bring his cat. Lastly, her daughter is getting married. Which should be amazing, that is, she drops a bomb about her soon-to-be husband. Will Gail be able to turn this weekend around? Or, will it all crumble around her?

I am a sucker for books about weddings, so when I read the synopsis for “Three Days in June” by Anne Tyler, I was hooked! This book may be small (less than 200 pages), but it sure did pack a punch. This was an incredibly fast read that caused a rollercoaster of emotions for me.

I really liked Gail, the main character. I really liked hearing what she was thinking in her head, and some of it was so funny. I thought this book was really character-driven, with all the different events and situations coming up. All the characters in this book had such interesting personalities, I was really kept on my toes the entire time.

Unfortunately, I feel like I have to knock off a star because of the ending. Obviously, I don’t want to explain too much as it can give the entire story away, but I just didn’t think it really matched up well with the rest of the story. Even though I felt it going the way it did, I just felt like there was some stuff still missing. The last 30 pages also felt like they were dragging on. I think some of the story definitely could have been trimmed down.

“Three Days in June” by Anna Tyler will be hitting the shelves on February 11th, 2025!

Thank you to Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor, Anne Tyler, and Netgally for a digital ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this novella more than expected! Although I am not usually drawn to character driven stories, I really liked the progression that Gail made from isolated introvert to a feeling mom in need of relationship.
This was my first book by Anne Tyler, and it won't be my last!

I wish all books could be written like this one. Tyler took a very simple story and turned it into a masterpiece, and she didn’t make the reader have to suffer through hundreds upon hundreds of pages to do it. Simply put. She just told the story.

Gail finds herself at a crossroads. Her daughter is getting married, and she is standing in the school administrator’s office where she works and learns that she’s being replaced by a younger version of herself. Hmmph! With the experience Gail had, she was able to do the job her boss was doing but she was advised she wasn’t personable enough. Well, doesn’t that beat all.

She goes home to lick her wounds and at the same time calm herself down so she can enjoy her daughter’s big day the next day and her ex-husband shows up with a cat in tow. He didn’t book a hotel so he just assumed he could bunk with Gail. What the hell?

As Gail tries to adjust her life around Max, the ex-hubby, her daughter shares something with her that was totally unexpected. Her secret was so mind blowing she felt perhaps her daughter should postpone the wedding. When Debbi, her daughter, decides she is still going through with it, her decision caused Gail to look at herself and ponder on how her marriage went left when she and Max divorced.

If there is any such thing as a quick slow burn, that’s how I would describe this story. As you begin to journey along with Gail, you’ll find out that life sometimes plays jokes on you and gives you a whole new perspective.

I absolutely loved this story. I could relate to Gail because as you age and have been there and done that through life, you start to really delve deep into the way you handled things in the past that most definitely will leave a lasting impact in the future. This is what Gail faces and we, the readers, get to view her world. I couldn’t get enough. This was an amazing story.

Three Days in June was a sweet story about a divorced couple who see each other again at their daughter's wedding. It's about regret, reunion, friendship, family and infidelity. It's also a small town story about growing up with divorced parents.

A quick read that is a bit quirky and heartwarming. A fast read that takes place over three days and leaves you wondering what is next for the main character Gail.

Thank you to the publisher for an advanced copy of this book. This is my honest review.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

A Quiet Revolution in the Ordinary: A Tylerian Masterpiece

Anne Tyler, the poet laureate of the everyday, delivers another exquisite masterpiece with "Three Days in June." This novel, like a gently falling snow, settles quietly upon the reader, leaving behind a profound sense of peace and a lingering awareness of the quiet revolutions that occur within the mundane.

Tyler masterfully captures the nuances of human connection, exploring the intricate web of relationships that bind a family together. The story revolves around an upcoming marriage, a seemingly ordinary family navigating the complexities of life, love, and loss.

Through their everyday encounters – a family dinner, a casual conversation, a shared silence – Tyler reveals the profound depths of human emotion and the subtle shifts that shape our lives.

What sets "Three Days in June" apart is its understated brilliance. Tyler avoids dramatic plot twists and sensationalism, instead focusing on the quiet moments of grace, the unspoken understandings, and the enduring power of love in its most ordinary forms. Her prose, as always, is a marvel, deceptively simple yet imbued with a poetic depth that resonates long after the final page is turned.

"Three Days in June" is a testament to the enduring power of human connection and the beauty of the ordinary. It is a novel that lingers in the mind long after you've finished reading, a quiet reminder of the profound joys and sorrows that make up the tapestry of our lives.

This follows a mother in the days leading up to, during and after her daughter’s wedding. On top of her general anxieties about the new family dynamic, she must deal with the impromptu stay of her ex husband, who is attempting to coerce her into adopting a cat he brought with him. You learn so much about these characters and their marriage, I wish they were real people I could share a meal with. A beautifully deep look into one ordinary family that left me wanting so much more.

Anne Tyler’s Three Days in June is a beautifully crafted novel that unfolds over the course of just three days, offering a profound and intimate look into the life of Gail Banes as she navigates a whirlwind of emotions and challenges on the eve of her daughter’s wedding. This is a story about crossroads, choices, and the unexpected ways life forces us to reevaluate who we are and what we want.

The narrative begins with a shock: Gail loses her job at the school where she’s worked for years, dismissed for being “too socially awkward” to take on a management role she hoped for. Stunned and humiliated, she heads home only to find her ex-husband, Max, waiting on her doorstep with a stray cat and a suitcase in tow. Max’s presence adds both humor and tension as their shared past resurfaces, juxtaposing his carefree personality with Gail’s pragmatic and introspective nature.

As the wedding preparations ramp up, Gail is confronted with her daughter Debbie’s startling revelation about her fiancé, which dredges up painful memories of her own marriage’s demise. Over the course of rehearsals, family dynamics, and soul-searching conversations, Gail must confront her regrets and insecurities while grappling with the idea of starting anew—at 60, with no job and a lifetime of overthinking behind her.

Tyler’s signature talent for creating quirky, endearing characters shines here. Gail is a deeply relatable protagonist—smart, blunt, and quietly vulnerable—while Max’s laid-back demeanor and sharp insights make him the perfect foil. Their dynamic crackles with history, affection, and unresolved tension, making every interaction a mix of humor and poignancy.

This novel is more than a story of family and weddings; it’s an exploration of resilience, reinvention, and the courage it takes to embrace life’s uncertainties. Tyler’s writing is tender and insightful, capturing the bittersweet realities of aging, the weight of past choices, and the liberating power of second chances.

Three Days in June is a heartfelt, bittersweet gem that will stay with you long after the final page. Anne Tyler’s ability to turn ordinary lives into extraordinary stories is on full display, making this a must-read for anyone who’s ever wondered if it’s too late to start over. Five stars, and a wholehearted recommendation for your reading list. Don’t wait—dive into this delightful and reflective tale now!