The Wedding Season: A Novel

I can’t shout enough from the rooftops how much I loved Katy’s Birchall’s The Wedding Season! I absolutely adored the story’s main character, Freya who was recently dumped by her fiance the day before their wedding is forced to rejig her life sans Matthew (her ex) but she has several weddings still to attend over the next few months hence the term her friend pens, “the wedding season”. To assist in keeping Freya distracted from her current sadness, her best friends task her with hilariously funny assignments she must complete at each of the upcoming friends’ and family’s weddings. I also loved the supporting characters who were all fantastic and enhanced the story. The flashbacks of memories Freya has with Matthew really added to bringing the reader into her shoes on why she was having such a hard time letting go. It also allowed us to see how her ex was already moving on and it was a bit heartbreaking to read/listen to but essential to the story. The narration by Daphne Kouma was amazing and along with Birchall’s writing, had me laughing on my plane ride home from my vacation. Katy Birchall’s superb writing brings out all the feels, with laugh-out-loud antics to lump in the throat moments as you’re going through Freya’s growth towards happiness. This is one of the books that I hugged with delight not only for the entertainment but also for the heartwarming laughs. Thank you St. Martin’s Press for the advanced reading copy and Macmillan Audio for the advanced listening copy. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I loved this woman fiction! I loved to follow Freya in her quest to find her new happiness after her soon to be husband Matthew calls off their wedding practically at the altar. This part was heartbreaking. Freya is a wonderful character. Her friends Ruby and Leo are amazing supporting characters, kind, and caring. They helped her to go through the wedding season with some challenges, and it works! The storyline has it all. It is heart-wrenching, funny, flirty, and romantic. The story is very written, sweet, and engaging. I liked the banter, the humor, and the hilarious situations that happened in Freya's life. The narration was superb! Daphne Kouma’s voice is very pleasant to listen to. I recommend this audiobook.

When her fiancé ends their engagement, Freya spends the next weeks mourning the loss, figuring out how to feel normal again. She dreads the slew of weddings she's scheduled to attend over the summer. Her BFFs come up with a plan: they give her a series of challenges to complete at each event, each one more shocking than the last. Can Freya find the strength to move out of her comfort zone and learn to fall in love again? Katy Birchall has a strong, humorous voice that make this book fun to read. It's women's fiction, not romance, with the love interest playing a secondary role. The first quarter of the book consists of Freya grieving, with a few outrageous incidents to keep it from becoming maudlin. After that, the pace picks up, and the book develops more of a chick lit feel. Still, the specter of the broken engagement hovers over the book—the closure of Freya's relationship with her ex plays as large a role in the book as the new relationship with the love interest. Do I wish there had been more romance and less grief in this book? Yes. But that's not the story the author was telling. This is a funny, emotional read with a satisfying ending that should appeal to women's fiction and rom com readers alike. The audiobook narration was delightful and helped to counter some of the sadness. Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.