Book Review

"The Wedding People"

I was excited to read The Wedding People by Alison Espach, the summary of the book talks about a woman who goes to stay at a hotel but is the only guest at the hotel who is not part of the wedding and everyone starts telling her their secrets. I was ready for a fun comedy centered around a wedding but I was wrong.

Phoebe Stone's whole life has crumbled over the pandemic and she has decided to go to a fancy hotel in Newport Rhode Island to kill herself, but she is the only hotel guest not attending Lyla and Gary's wedding. In the first chapter, Phoebe tells the bride her plan.

After the depressing beginning of the book I was hopeful it would change, I would fall in love with the novel, or it would change into a funny scenario but none of that happened. While Phoebe doesn't kill herself and she stays at the hotel she learns a lot about herself and the bride has self-realizations through her friendship with Phoebe. Phoebe may also have a growing interest in the groom Gary.

The depressing underlying storylines and monotone voice the story is told through did not help the story or improve it for me. A major piece of the novel is about each character dealing with the aftermath of the pandemic a topic I feel has been written about several times and something that most people don't want to revisit. Phoebes ends up building positive relationships with the bride, groom, and wedding guests but it never takes the story in a positive direction.

While each character grows and learns what they want the story never becomes a page-turner or a funny positive story. I felt blah all the way through while hopeful it would get better but it never did.

I was excited to read The Wedding People by Alison Espach but it was a disappointment and not a book I would recommend.