A review by hdunscombe
The Wedding People by Alison Espach

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

5.0

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.
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