The Wedding People-- Should I Pick This for Book Club?

Book Chosen for March: The Wedding People by Alison Espach

How I read: Audiobook

The premise of the book: Phoebe Stone is unhappy with her life. She books a night at a fancy hotel to kill herself (not included in the online blurb but since this is a major trigger warning for people I am going to include it) but ends up getting drawn into the wedding that is taking place at that hotel for the week and becoming the closest confidant of the bride, Lilah.

Thoughts:

Pros: This book started so strong for me. While suicide and infertility (two topics touched on from the beginning) are such sensitive topics, I feel as if the author handled them sensitively but humorously. Phoebe is a very likeable main character who is experiencing a mid-life crisis. I enjoyed reading about her life back home away from the hotel and common insecurities she had in her job, marriage, and friendships.

Cons: I thought the wedding festivities for the second half of the book were just an author trying to fill in funny things that could happen at a wedding but didn't add much to the story arc. While some were very funny (such as a sex therapist coming in for the day), most just felt a little random and not pertinent to the story at hand. Lilah the bride is also a very frustrating character to read about. Most authors have a hard time writing a flawed but endearing character and I feel as if Espach fell short with her. She was just SOOOO annoying.

Final Stars: 3.95/5 Overall, I did enjoy this and it was a quick listen. If I could have just read the first 50% it probably would have been closer to 5 stars for me! I would definitely recommend this book!