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adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Infidelity, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
How easy to be dead. How lucky to be alive, even for just one day.
"The Wedding People" by Alison Espach is a great summer read for people who don't want a typical summer read. It was nothing like I expected it to be, but I found myself pleasantly surprised. Phoebe, our protagonist was immediately likeable to me and I could see myself in her in so many ways. I also really enjoyed Alison Espachs writing style; it pulls you into the story right from the jump and always made me want to keep reading. There were some moments where I genuinely had to laugh out loud and there were lots of moments that made me smile, probably because the characters were so incredibly likeable.
However, something that really bothered me was the depiction of depression in "The Wedding People". Depression is something incredibly complex and the protagonists overnight change from suicidal to pretty much perfectly okay may be something that could potentially happen, but in most cases it's very far from reality. I liked the overall hopeful tone and message of the book, but Phoebe's "healing journey" felt extremely rushed and fake after the first quarter of the book. Her initial struggles kind of felt like a second priority then and while I enjoyed the romance plot and the themes of loyalty and friendship I just wished there would've been more room left for Phoebe to recognize that just because she's doing better, her depression hasn't magically disappeared.
But overall, I have to say that I had a good time reading "The Wedding People" and I think the characters are going to stick with me for some time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt
I liked the beginning of this book. The story, main characters, and setting drew me in. However, the writing became very choppy as the book went on. The book definitely could’ve used more editing because some scenes and pages were written very well while others were written poorly (repetitive sentence structure and word choice).
I also felt the characters were rushed and didn’t have much depth to them.
I also felt the characters were rushed and didn’t have much depth to them.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infertility, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Suicide attempt, Pandemic/Epidemic
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt
Minor: Miscarriage
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infertility, Miscarriage
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
What an amazing book. It felt so human, so real.
It felt like it had many different parts: At first, it's mysterious. Then, it's heartbreaking (this part specifically was incredibly done, it deeply touched me). After that, it changes and it becomes more curious, hopeful and you aren't sure where it's going. You're even afraid of where it could go. But it has a nice ending where everything strangely works out.
Through it all, it's full of beautiful, interesting glimpses of what being human is like, of what connecting with others is.
I loved it.
It felt like it had many different parts: At first, it's mysterious. Then, it's heartbreaking (this part specifically was incredibly done, it deeply touched me). After that, it changes and it becomes more curious, hopeful and you aren't sure where it's going. You're even afraid of where it could go. But it has a nice ending where everything strangely works out.
Through it all, it's full of beautiful, interesting glimpses of what being human is like, of what connecting with others is.
I loved it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infertility, Infidelity
Moderate: Miscarriage
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
really enjoyed getting to know each character and seeing their relationships with Phoebe develop. plot was unlike anything i’ve read before which made it more interesting, but i did find it to be slow at points.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Suicide attempt
Moderate: Death, Death of parent
Minor: Vomit
miscarriage, fertility issues
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infertility, Miscarriage, Suicide
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is my favorite book of 2025 so far. It's worth noting that I was worried this story would be too depressing for me since it involves suicidal ideation at the beginning; it's certainly heavy material, and if that feels like it would be triggering, it might be best to skip this book. In my reading I found the frankness with which characters discuss struggling severely with mental health to be refreshing, in that they shed a lot of the stigma that exists around depression. Any heavy material throughout was handled with sensitivity, and the focus ends up being on catharsis, feeling those experiences honestly, recovering, and finding humor, hope, and belonging in unexpected places.
The hopeful tone of the book kicks in pretty early on, when Phoebe discovers how an abrupt shift in surroundings, priorities, and people can provide the jolt needed to break out of a depression, and that forging new relationships can bring clarity to the root causes of hopelessness in old relationships. And despite all of the heavy topics, I found myself laughing aloud quite a bit. The chemistry and longing between certain characters was subtle yet magnetic, the quippy conversations were so satisfying and clever that I wanted to be there to partake, and the whole premise of starting fresh in every way was a great escape.
Helen Laser's audiobook narration was also phenomenal—she brings the perfect tone and sass to Espach's dialogue. At one point when a character was flossing and talking at the same time, it genuinely sounded like she was flossing haha. 10/10. Didn't want it to end.
The hopeful tone of the book kicks in pretty early on, when Phoebe discovers how an abrupt shift in surroundings, priorities, and people can provide the jolt needed to break out of a depression, and that forging new relationships can bring clarity to the root causes of hopelessness in old relationships. And despite all of the heavy topics, I found myself laughing aloud quite a bit. The chemistry and longing between certain characters was subtle yet magnetic, the quippy conversations were so satisfying and clever that I wanted to be there to partake, and the whole premise of starting fresh in every way was a great escape.
Helen Laser's audiobook narration was also phenomenal—she brings the perfect tone and sass to Espach's dialogue. At one point when a character was flossing and talking at the same time, it genuinely sounded like she was flossing haha. 10/10. Didn't want it to end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt
Moderate: Animal death, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy
Minor: Cancer, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Dementia, Toxic friendship
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt