The Wedding People - Alison Espach

The Wedding People

By Alison Espach

  • Release Date: 2024-07-30
  • Genre: Fiction & Literature
Score: 4.5
4.5
From 3,693 Ratings

Description

The runaway New York Times bestseller
A Today Show #ReadwithJenna Book Club Pick, New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice, and a #1 Indie Next Pick
Named a Best Book of the Year by The Guardian, Time, Chicago Tribune Biblioracle, HuffPost, US Magazine, Elle, Real Simple, and Glamour

A propulsive and uncommonly wise novel about one unexpected wedding guest and the surprising people who help her start anew.

It’s a beautiful day in Newport, Rhode Island, when Phoebe Stone arrives at the grand Cornwall Inn wearing a green dress and gold heels, not a bag in sight, alone. She’s immediately mistaken by everyone in the lobby for one of the wedding people, but she’s actually the only guest at the Cornwall who isn’t here for the big event. Phoebe is here because she’s dreamed of coming for years—she hoped to shuck oysters and take sunset sails with her husband, only now she’s here without him, at rock bottom, and determined to have one last decadent splurge on herself. Meanwhile, the bride has accounted for every detail and every possible disaster the weekend might yield except for, well, Phoebe and Phoebe's plan—which makes it that much more surprising when the two women can’t stop confiding in each other.

In turns absurdly funny and devastatingly tender, Alison Espach’s The Wedding People is ultimately an incredibly nuanced and resonant look at the winding paths we can take to places we never imagined—and the chance encounters it sometimes takes to reroute us.

Reviews

  • Predictable but lovely beach read

    2
    By dbm217
    Predictable but lovely beach read
  • Great summertime read

    5
    By Azchicana1993
    I think we’ve all been Phoebe in one way or another. Covid was a depressing time for so many and the lack of human contact did impact millions of people, which made Phoebe’s character relatable. We all have had to learn to readjust to society, school, shopping, travel, etc. I enjoyed this book. The writing kept me engaged and I enjoyed the characters and their growth at the end.
  • Fun but a little too predictable.

    3
    By Sabrina Alfin
    This book was funny and engaging, but I felt like I knew how it was going to end from the moment I read the hot tub scene. No surprises here, but an enjoyable beach read.
  • Just Okay

    3
    By Lischne
    It was okay, not great.
  • Great read!

    5
    By slimsheana
    It was a fun journey to go on and come out the other side
  • Relatively predictable

    3
    By Rlgoo14
    Amazing writing. Relatively predictable though.
  • Great find

    5
    By laurenmaggie
    Loved every page of this. Thank you to the author for writing this very thoughtful romance.
  • Such a good read

    5
    By Breanna Becks
    So good!!
  • Loved the characters, easy read

    5
    By MissJMills
    This book surprised me—in the best way. It’s darkly funny and quietly devastating. Weird, sad, funny, and kind of magical in that offbeat, low-key way I didn’t know I needed. Not a typical love story at all—it’s more about the spaces we make for ourselves when we’re lost, and the strange, unexpected ways we connect with others. The characters felt so real—messy, confused, but still trying. I loved it. I’ll be thinking about it for a while.
  • Not what I expected. So much better.

    5
    By erinwb
    I literally adore this book.