💐 Book Review (Spoilers!): The Wedding People by Alison Espach
⭐️ 4 out of 5 stars | Genre: Literary Fiction / Dark Humor / Contemporary
🚨 Spoiler alert! If you want to read this without knowing who falls in love with who (or who saves a life), stop right here!
📍 The Wedding People — The Book You Read When You Have Time (Or Wish You Did)
This is one of those books where I kept thinking:
👉 If I were lying on a beach with nothing but time, this would be perfect.
But alas, life is busy, and this slow, beautifully written story had me both appreciating the writing and checking the clock.
That said — I still really enjoyed it.
🧵 The Full Plot — Spoilers Galore
🕊 Meet Phoebe
Phoebe is in a bad place at the start of the book:
✔️ Her husband cheated on her with her friend.
✔️ Her marriage fell apart.
✔️ Her cat died (because apparently life wanted to kick her when she was down).
So Phoebe books herself a stay at the Cornwall Inn, planning to end her life there quietly.
💍 Enter: The Wedding Chaos
Turns out, there’s a wedding happening at the inn. The bride, Lila, had reserved the whole place.
Everyone assumes Phoebe is a guest — and honestly, Phoebe doesn’t have the energy to argue.
When she tries to explain, Lila has one request:
➡ Please don’t kill yourself this week. It’s my wedding!
And in the most unexpected twist, Lila invites Phoebe to be her maid of honor (because her original maid of honor got taken out by a positive Covid test).
🥂 Feelings. Complicated, Messy Feelings.
As Phoebe gets tangled up with the wedding party:
✔️ She starts falling for the groom (Gary)
✔️ Gary starts falling for her
✔️ Meanwhile, Gary’s brother-in-law (Jim) seems to be in love with Lila
There are drunken confessions, awkward moments, and plenty of next-day regret.
💔 The Big Meltdown
Despite the tangled web of feelings, the wedding is still on — until Lila has a full-blown meltdown over something minor.
(We’ve all been there: small thing triggers all the big things.)
She confesses:
➡ She doesn’t love Gary.
➡ She feels terrible for wasting everyone’s time and money.
Phoebe reminds her:
➡ You saved my life.
So maybe the whole messy, expensive weekend wasn’t a waste after all.
🧠 My Take
✅ Beautiful writing. Slow, but thoughtful.
✅ Darkly funny at times. The dialogue and situations had me smirking.
✅ Loved Phoebe’s arc — from hopeless to finding a new purpose (even if it’s messy).
❌ Pacing. It’s slow. Like… real slow.
❌ *You have to be in the mood for introspection over action.
But if you are in that mood? It’s worth it.
✨ Final Thoughts
I’m giving The Wedding People 4 out of 5 stars.
✔️ Great for fans of character-driven stories.
✔️ Perfect for when you have a quiet weekend or vacation.
✔️ Not so great if you’re looking for a fast-paced rom-com.
📚 If You Liked This, Try:
🎉 The People We Keep by Allison Larkin — emotional, character-driven fiction
👰 The Arrangement by Sarah Dunn — messy relationships and dark humor
📖 Good Company by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney — slow burn, smart literary fiction
🛒 Grab The Wedding People
👉 Buy on Amazon (affiliate link)
💬 Let’s Chat!
Did you love Phoebe’s journey? Were you rooting for Gary or just waiting for Lila to call it off? Tell me what you thought in the comments!
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