I can’t even remember the last time I went to a wedding—that’s how far “wedding season” is in the rearview mirror for me, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love reading about them! When I came across The Wedding Season by Katy Birchall (in stores May 3, just in time for the wedding ramp up), I was hoping to live vicariously through the main character as she tackled eight weddings in one summer. After all, who doesn’t love getting the wedding experience without actually needing to leave your couch?

Synopsis
Freya Scott is getting married. Her wedding to Matthew, her long-term boyfriend, is the first of eight in her calendar this year, and as someone who prides herself on being meticulously organized, Freya is intent on making it the perfect day to remember.

But when Matthew calls things off hours before they walk down the aisle, Freya’s entire life plan goes up in smoke. Humiliated and heartbroken, the last thing she wants is to attend a summer of other peoples’ nuptials on her own.

Fortunately, her friends have an idea: together they devise a series of outrageous challenges for Freya to complete at each event, designed to distract her from Matthew and what might have been. From getting stuck in an old church bathroom and needing to be rescued by the vicar to making out with a barman at a French chateau, Freya realizes that despite herself, she might just be having fun.

By the time the final wedding arrives, she will discover that the road to a happy ending sometimes has unexpected detours, that “I do” is only the beginning—and that perhaps her own love story isn’t over just yet.

My musings
I really don’t want to spoil this too much for anyone who’s going to read it, just I’m going to keep the review short and sweet this time. The characters are all great in their own way (I wish I had friends like Ruby and Leo!), the plot is fun yet believable and not hoaky like these light, summery reads sometimes are, and there’s my favourite romance trope—enemies to lovers! You felt Freya’s heartbreak and as a reader you follow her on her journey to rediscovery at the end of a long relationship. It was just a lot of fun and I feel like no matter what I say, I couldn’t do it justice.

I wish I still had a season of weddings coming up, but those days are long behind me.

4 STARS

“I stand in the hall, learning back against the wall. A sad end to our love story. Nothing anyone can do. No grand gestures, no words that can change the tide. It just didn’t work out.” —Katy Birchall, The Wedding Season

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced copy, and to Anastasiia Chepinska on Unsplash for the featured photo.