Tonight both the husband and the boy child are away for the evening, and I have four 10-year old girls singing karaoke at the top of their lungs on the floor below me, so I figured it was a great time to catch up on some book reviews. I’ve had The Wedding People finished for more than a couple of months but haven’t come around to writing the review yet. *wrist slap*

Synopsis

Phoebe Stone always planned to visit the Cornwall Inn in Newport, Rhode Island, in the company of her husband, where the two would spend a lavish romantic vacation together. As their marriage begins to crumble, her husband leaves her for a woman who is a work colleague to both of them, a woman who can give him what Phoebe can not. With the rest of her life seeming to crumble around her, Phoebe decides to spare no expense and books herself a room at the Cornwall. She will pamper herself for the one night that will act as her last night. Upon arriving, Phoebe realizes she’s the only one at the Cornwall who is not a guest of a massive wedding spectacle, and when the bride finds out about Phoebe she’s less than happy. And when she finds out Phoebe’s plans, she is hell bent to stop her from ruining her wedding by leaving as a corpse. As the two women start to infiltrate each other’s lives, they may find themselves making a greater impact on each other than they’d imagined.

Review

I really wasn’t sure what to expect when I picked this audiobook. I knew it was making waves, and I assumed it was more of a mystery/thriller type, but it certainly wasn’t. It’s a much more human story about the choices we make that lead us down unintended and unexpected paths and the certain moments in our lives that provide opportunities for redemption and new beginnings. The cast of characters is very robust, full of colorful people that feel completely pulled from life. In some cases (ok… several cases) this means they are completely annoying. I’m not complaining about that because it lends to the authenticity of the book, but it could be grating at times when it wasn’t just humorous. Beneath the humor, it’s a very emotional story. I found myself identifying quite well with Phoebe, and I was really rooting for her to find herself and regain her power as a woman, an identity not tied up in her relationship with a man or her mediocre job that hasn’t quite met her original expectations.

While I originally found the Bride, Lila, to be positively insufferable, she really did grow on me as she grew into herself and I saw all the ways she was also stifling her own inner Goddess to cater to the expectations of other people. More than anything, this book is a testament to how much we women need the support of other women, and sometimes it’s that support that allows us to see ourselves for who we really are rather than the twisted version of ourselves that often lives in our heads. What starts as a difficult book with some pretty dark themes winds up coming together into a cohesive journey that feels really good upon completion.

Published July 30, 2024 by Macmillan Audio. ASIN B0DLSTBNWS. Runtime 11 hrs 49 mins. Narrated by Helen Laser.