The Wedding People

 The Wedding People by Alison Espach

Pheobe, a young woman whose husband left her for her now ex-best friend - arrives at a resort hotel planning to have one last good meal then end her life quietly in beautiful surroundings. Through a booking error she finds herself the only guest not part of the large wedding party commandeering the rest of the hotel. 

Lila, the bride-to-be, has the week meticulously planned. After a brief encounter with Pheobe, in which Pheobe has been remarkably open about why she's there, Lila makes it clear she does not want her wedding week ruined by a suicide. And it won't be, simply because Phoebe's cat's painkillers, which she hopes will do the job, are not as powerful as she thought they'd be.   

Over the next week she gets to know the various wedding people, is able to be of help with a number of their problems, and in many ways becomes exactly what they - and she - needed.

The first few chapters seemed a little unrealistic to me. I couldn't quite believe a bride could be that high maintenance, but I've been assured since that they can indeed, and apparently it's my good fortune that I've never known one. Anyway...she and the other characters gained depth as the story progressed, becoming more credible and the story more interesting.

It might have been a better story if the cringy and unnecessary "sexting" messages had been left out. They seem to have served only for shock value or maybe they make the book more marketable, who knows. And there was an inexplicable scene about a man having sex with a car, the details of which I'll spare you.

In the end I did get quite involved in the story and found some of the characters  relatable. I liked it, but didn't love it as some in my book club did.