The Wedding People by Alison Espach

The Wedding People by Alison Espach

Alison Espach's third full size novel was just released in July of 2024 and has taken the world by storm. Winner of the Goodreads Choice Awards for 2024, Long-listed for several Best Books of the Year, a Read with Jenna Book Club Pick, and it was chosen for my book club's pick for May of 2025, the highest of honors. You'll read about light bullying, infidelity, infertility and miscarriage, cancer and the death of a parent, grief, a suicide attempt, and vomit.

Phoebe stone packs light and arrives at the Cornwall Inn looking fabulous. But inside, she's at rock bottom and has decided on one last big splurge in the place she wanted to come with her husband, back when she was still married. When she arrives, she realizes that she is the only guest at the hotel that is not there for this week's big event, a wedding at the Breakers. But there has been a big mistake - there shouldn't be anyone at the hotel this week that isn't coming to the wedding. Pretty soon the bride herself finds out about Phoebe and she is not pleased, but something about Phoebe makes Lila open up in a way that she can't do with anyone else. Phoebe finds herself enmeshed in Lila's life, invested in her relationships, and as a pivotal member of the wedding, all while realizing that maybe her life doesn't have to be at rock bottom anymore.

There is a reason that this book is on so many lists and that's because it is great. End of review. The characters are amazing. The main character Phoebe is hilarious and I love her, she is incredibly smart and knows a little bit about everything, but she doesn't ever come off as pretentious and has a great sense of humor. Lila is a spoiled rich girl who manages to win you over anyway, I was routing for her from the very beginning. The secondary characters are absolutely delightful - ranging from the mother of the bride who only drinks in the afternoon because her doctor said she can't drink at night anymore, the best man who has been "building" a sea plane for years, and the groom's daughter who would like everyone to call her "Juice". The writing is wonderful, insightful and reflective but not over done or overly serious. The novel takes place over a week but the pace did not drag at all. If I could change anything, it would be one small tweak when Phoebe has a run in with her ex-husband, but other than that I thought it was fantastic.

I'm giving The Wedding People by Alison Espach 5 stars. I loved the ending, I'm so happy about the choices the characters made but also that the author does not wrap everything up completely, allowing you to extrapolate their next steps.

For more from Alison Espach, see her website at https://www.alisonespach.com/

Pairs well with lemon sorbet (can be used as a palate cleanser) and having an answer to the question "what is literature?"