This summer, I didn’t read many books on my bucket list because of my busy schedule and the horrible reading slump I fell into. But one book stuck with me a month after I finished it—The Wedding People by Alison Espach. The funny thing is, I didn’t even want to read it because it’s outside my usual genre (romance), like the previous book I attempted to read, Remarkably Bright Creatures.
Still, for some reason, I decided to pick up The Wedding People. I heard about the book while scrolling through BookTok but never fully caught on. At first, I was skeptical, but then I couldn’t stop reading.
The Wedding People follows Phoebe Stone’s perspective during her stay at a beachside hotel in Rhode Island, where she meets the wedding people, who are there for Lila and Gary’s wedding.
The author writes about Phoebe, the main character, and her world so entrancingly that it made me feel like I was a guest at the Cornwall Inn, the setting for the book. Espach’s writing was witty and clever; I immediately understood why “Humor” is one of the genres the book is listed under. Although it took me about a month to finish the book because of my busy schedule, every time I picked it up, I was immediately transported back.
Every time I read a book, I usually find ways to relate to the characters through actions, personalities, or dialogue, but with The Wedding People, it was the first time I related so much to a book character like Phoebe. I saw myself in her in how she overthought everything in her life before she went to the Inn. Seeing her learn to live again gave me a new perspective on life.
This book reminds me of “Mirrorball” by Taylor Swift. Phoebe says, “But what else can a person do but keep trying?”, and I think that’s beautiful. She felt like she was born again and started caring less about others’ well-being and more about hers. She began to ask for the things she wanted because she realized she shouldn’t feel ashamed.
While the bride, Lila, was irritating at times, her banter with Phoebe was so fun to read. It reminded me of the banter I sometimes have with my friends or siblings. Another aspect I enjoyed was the number of literary references made. With Phoebe being a literature professor, the quotes from various classic novels influenced me to read more classics.
The author’s reflection about loving to read also resonated with me. “[Phoebe] is so good at predicting what will happen in books, so bad at predicting what will happen in life. That is why she has always preferred books — because to be alive is much harder.” With a perfect ending, The Wedding People quickly became the best book I’ve read in 2026.