You know what weddings are really about. Memories. Sharing old ones with friends and family and creating new ones. Weddings are truly about enlarging your family. It is supposed to be an inclusive event. Sometimes we forget that aspect but in WEDDING OF THE SEASON, Lauren Edmonton does not.
In the beginning, it seems as if too much time and emphasis are on a family’s history that is certainly not particularly wondrous nor perfect. But it is absolutely human and when looked upon with grace and love in a way kind of glorious. Lauren Edmonton did just that through her sometimes-fragile characters all created to be the foundation of a story about an impending wedding.
In one part of the story, Lauren Edmonton injects the word schadenfreude. Such a word craftsman. Made me sigh. But I digress. The perfect word to define the structure of the attitude of many of the family’s neighbors. As you read WEDDING OF THE SEASON you will instantly get that vibe.
At the end of the book, the author includes really well-thought-out talking points for book clubs and such. As in the book itself, Lauren Edmonton honed in on character relationships. The characters in WEDDING OF THE SEASON are truly some of the best I have met.
Central are Maggie, Archer, Cassie, Hope, and JP. This is the bride-to-be's family. They are what is called a Gilded Family. Generations of Coventry had settled in Newport. Built exquisite mansions. Won and lost fortunes. And in more recent years struggle to keep their property in shape. Most lost their battle, and the properties are bought by more nouveau riche. But the heart of Newport is those that stay year-round and support their community. That is the essence of the characters we meet in WEDDING OF THE SEASON.
A warm, whip-smart novel about two modern-day society families and the summer wedding that has all of Newport talking...
Despite its beauty, Newport is a place Cass Coventry would prefer to forget. But after an extended absence, she’s back in her hometown to celebrate her sister’s engagement—even if she’s marrying into the family that famously stole the Gilded Age Coventry mansion out from under them a decade ago.
The moment Cass pulls up to the estate, she’s in for one surprise after another. The bride-to-be is hiding a big secret. Her mother has royal-wedding aspirations. And, when the date is set for only three months away, a local gossip blog makes the two families its new favorite subject.
It's not long before Cass's weekend in town becomes a full summer of frenzied wedding planning and society drama—but also idyllic sails, starry nights, and a former love. As the grand affair arrives, along with new truths about her family, Cass must finally face her own thorny past in Newport and decide how to honor the Coventry legacy in all its chaotic glory.