Phoebe has had it. She’s checked in to the last available room at the hotel in Newport, where, in spite of the wedding celebrations going on, she will proceed to experience her final evening, alone, in the luxury she so craves for once in her life. Well, alone, until the bride, Lila, barges into her room, demanding she alter her plans so as not to ruin the wedding she’s spent a fortune to plan. Phoebe almost admires Lila’s bald, self-centered honesty, and finds herself matching it with her own snarky bluntness. As Phoebe gets sucked into the drama of the wedding and the family dynamics, she finds it more and more challenging to remain the outsider she has always felt herself to be.
This novel was a delight to read. Even when describing Phoebe’s moments of darkness, it was always done with tenderness, relatability, even humor. And in spite of the moderate predictability of the plot, there were plenty of zany anecdotes and splashy characters tossed in to embellish and entertain and thereby to compensate for it in spades.
I believe my favorite character was actually Juice, the groom’s 13-year old daughter. She was written so beautifully, as a young teen deserves to be. She bounces from pouty silence to spicy irreverence to honest exhilaration, just as an adolescent might. She also observes the adults around her with an innocent but incisive eye and still elicits the gentle care from very adults.
I highly recommend this one – take it on a beach vacation, read it by a fire, or just cuddle up with it in your pajamas and enjoy!
kindread spirits 