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  • The Wedding People

  • By: Alison Espach
  • Narrated by: Helen Laser
  • Length: 11 hrs and 37 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (18 ratings)

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The Wedding People

By: Alison Espach
Narrated by: Helen Laser
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Publisher's Summary

The #2 New York Times bestseller
A Read With Jenna book club pick
'UTTERLY CHARMING' PANDORA SYKES

'WICKEDLY FUNNY' JENNY JACKSON

'A PERFECT NOVEL' CATHERINE NEWMAN

'THE BEST READ OF THE YEAR SO FAR' THE TIMES

It's a beautiful day in Newport, Rhode Island, when Phoebe Stone arrives at a grand beachside hotel wearing her best dress and least comfortable shoes. Immediately she is mistaken for one of the wedding people - but she's actually the only guest at the Cornwall Inn who isn't here for the big event.

Phoebe has dreamed of coming here for years. She hoped to shuck oysters and take sunset sails with her husband but now she is divorced and depressed, and not sure how to go on. She's not been sure how to do anything, lately, except climb into bed and drink gin and tonics and listen to the sound of the refrigerator making ice.

When the bride discovers her elaborate destination wedding could be ruined by this sad stranger, she is furious. She has spent months accounting for every detail and every possible disaster - except for, well, Phoebe . . . Soon, both women find their best-laid plans derailed and an unlikely confidante in one another.

Uproariously funny and devastatingly tender, The Wedding People is an irresistible novel about love, friendship, dysfunctional families, and the unexpected paths that lead to happiness.
©2024 Alison Espach (P)2024 Orion Publishing Group Limited

Editorial Review

I’ll toast to that!
Feeling salty about beachfront displays of affection? As am I, along with Phoebe Stone, the spiraling protagonist of Alison Espach’s latest novel, who, newly single and depressed, has hot summer plans to self-sabotage in style at an elegant Newport resort. However, upon her arrival, she unexpectedly befriends a cohort of, you guessed it, wedding people, who would rather count Phoebe as an extra head for the caterers than have her potentially ruin the ceremony by being left unattended while erratically heartbroken. It doesn’t take long for Phoebe and the bride to bond over their underlying anxieties, and narrator Helen Laser’s spot-on delivery of all the witty insights embedded in this novel certainly makes it easy to fall for the vibrant cast of characters. So, if you too are in need of a summer pick-me-up, take a page out of Phoebe’s book and vicariously masquerade as a posh, pearl-clad sophisticate while opening up to this cynical yet ultimately heartfelt listen. — Haley H., Audible Editor

What listeners say about The Wedding People

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Not my usual genre but well worth my time.

I enjoyed the growing conviction and strength of the main character and the way she progresses. The other key characters had good depth to them as well making them interesting.

I struggle with too many characters in dialogue at once. Even the best narrators can only do so many voices before they start to sound the same. That’s when I’d rather read the book. But in this instance the narrator pulled it off.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Loved the premise

The quirky setting and idiocentric characters made this exploration of life totally original and engaging. Loved it!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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fabulous narration

what a fun story. the narration was great, with each character bought to life. such an easy listen

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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The way some of the delicate themes of this book was handled spoke to me.

I loved how the delicate themes like mental health,grief, and infertility were handled in such a way that is not heavy yet shining spotlight on these issues. I liked that the MC was able to identify with her mental health and chose self love and decided to be the real her. This novel reminded me of my favorite song People pt.2 by Agust D, where he says/ explains that people want sincere connection with each other and that life is really a struggle against loneliness rather than resistance and submission and that sometimes its okay to cry,if you can't it hold back.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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Occasional weird AI narrator

I really enjoyed the plot, and the narrator most of the time, however every once in a while it was like they had to redo a part of the original narration but used AI to do it... It was very noticeable, and pulled me out of the story every time it happened.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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What an amazing book!

I lived this book, it’s not my usual kind of book but I loved every second of it. The performance was incredible!

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Witty dialogue

A great story with an original premise likable and flawed characters and funny - the only thing I found slightly annoying was the ‘Gary said’ ‘he said ‘, ‘she said’ within the close narration . Mostly it was clear who was saying what but it did detract from the story at times .

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