Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

Phoebe Stone has always wanted to stay at the Cornwall Inn in Newport, Rhode Island. She envisioned visiting with her husband, but now he's left her for a colleague at the college where they both teach, so she goes to the Cornwall alone, intent on killing herself. Except when she arrives, she finds the hotel taken over by a large wedding party. The bride, Lila, finagles her way into Phoebe's room and begs her not to ruin her wedding day with suicide. Then an emotionally intense encounter in a hot tub changes Phoebe's perspective, and she thinks maybe she can move forward, with honesty. Except the man from the hot tub turns out to be the groom, Gary, there with his sullen preteen daughter. To complicate matters further, Lila's maid of honor is a no-show, and she begs Phoebe to step in. Hijinks ensue—too many Jims to count, the panda-sex expert—but The Wedding People is so much more than a funny story (though it is very funny). Espach (Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance, 2022) has penned a keenly observed novel about depression, love, the ways women make themselves small, and how one woman got over it. Fully realized and completely memorable.

Publishers Weekly
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Espach (Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance) offers a sparkling and slightly macabre novel of a 30-something woman finding a new lease on life. After adjunct English professor Phoebe Stone’s husband leaves her for her colleague, she declines an invitation to return the next semester, unable to stomach seeing her husband’s new lover. Unable to find another teaching job, she checks into a luxury hotel in Newport, R.I., where she’s always wanted to stay, and plans to end her life with her cat’s painkillers. She doesn’t count on the hotel teeming with wedding guests, or meeting the 20-something bride, Lila, who, after hearing of Phoebe’s plans, does everything she can to keep Phoebe alive, worried a suicide would mess up her perfect wedding. During an early morning soak in the hotel’s hot tub, Phoebe is drawn to a handsome stranger and buoyed by their connection, even though he lets her know he’s taken after she brazenly hits on him. The next day, Phoebe learns he’s the groom. Over the course of her brief stay, Phoebe, having chosen to stay alive, musters the courage to break her old patterns and stop letting people walk over her, which leads to a triumphant finale. Readers are in for a treat. (July)

Library Journal
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Espach's latest (after Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance) brings Phoebe Stone to an exclusive small hotel in Newport, RI, where she quickly discovers that everyone else is there for a six-day, million-dollar wedding extravaganza. Phoebe is there to kill herself. After several unsuccessful rounds of IVF, losing her husband to another woman, and the death of her cat, she figures the solution is to give up on life, but in style at this dream vacation spot. Phoebe has no qualms about telling the wedding's bride, Lila, why she is there, and Lila is as incensed—a suicide during her wedding week is not on the agenda. Lila recently lost her father, whose dying wish was for her to get married, and he left her the money to pay for the lavish ceremony. Lila harangues Phoebe into joining the wedding festivities, and they spend quite a bit of time together. Sometimes, it is easier to confide in a relative stranger than a loved one, and both women learn quite a bit about each other during the wedding week. VERDICT Witty dialogue is just a bonus in this engrossing read centering on complex women making life-changing decisions. Recommend to readers who enjoy Sally Rooney, Curtis Sittenfeld, or Elizabeth Berg.—Stacy Alesi