Wedding Season

I enjoyed this book. I found it to be something different than the "and everyone lives happily ever after" formula that so many novels stick to these days. (Nor does everyone die of misery at the end. If you want details of the story, read other reviews!) This is in no way "chick lit," at least in my opinion, and if you want a light fluffy vapid read to get ideas for your wedding, don't bother with this. I'm a little tired of the light and happy chick lit genre, and I found this to be a refreshing change. Good writing, Darcy Cosper! I look forward to more!

I'm glad I bought this book before reading the reviews here. Wedding Season has smooth, clean writing and a variety of characters that make the story both realistic and entertaining. If all chick lit were so intelligent, the entire genre would have a better reputation.

I'm pretty surprised at all the vitriol posted here. Perhaps the cover led some readers to expect a different kind of book--more of a "beach" read, wrapped up with a neat bow. Instead, bless her, Darcy Cosper delivers Joy Silverman, a protagonist who runs the most amazing business (I'm jealous) and who insists on thinking for herself, even when the cost is high. And it is high indeed: Joy, whose friends are getting married at an astonishing rate, has a pretty delicious boyfriend herself--but does not believe in marriage. Ultimately, she has to choose--heartfelt principles or delicious boyfriend. (Could it be the fact that she chooses her principles that has some readers so upset?) Along the way we get dialogue that snaps like fresh celery and a novel that refuses to fit into the usual molds. I found it a true pleasure.

I'm actually shocked that this book got such terrible reviews from readers. I found the protagonist, Joy to be a very relatable character and one that you can empathize with, and one who you root for throughout the book, despite the fact that you'll probably disagree with her a lot. Of all the chick-lits I've read over the summer, I found this one to be the most enjoyable. The characters were someone cliched but still colorful and enjoyable. The ending was disappointing, but I don't think this book ever tried to be story-book perfect. I found it much more realistic.

I feel like some of the reviewers on this board, misled by the book's cotton-candy packaging, might have bought Wedding Season expecting the typical chick-lit froth. In fact, Darcy Cosper's book is a far more sophisticated enterprise. I'd describe it as great, pointed social satire, with more than a splash of wit and verve. There's a lot of fine New York social portraiture, and vivid character sketches: one pal is described as "part hip-hip tomboy and part Hello Kitty kitch princess....She has a dozen little rhinestone barrettes holding her hair so that it sticks out in little tufts, and when she speaks, the tufts quiver like antennae."It's true that Joy, the narrator, obviously thinks of herself as a bit cérèbrale; but so what? I got a kick out of all of her little bon mots and mordant asides. Besides, Cosper doesn't seem to be holding Joy up as any sort of role model. She is obviously a flawed character, given to occasional bouts of stridency and self-centeredness. That's what makes her interesting. This sounds like an English-teachery point, but Joy really does go through an (ahem) evolution over the course of the novel - from a pretention-prone flibbertigibbet, to an actual grownup, who is trying to move beyond her specious theorizing and live a purposeful life that actually means something. I liked this book very much. I'm going to be recommending it to my book group, as I think it will spark some interesting debates on the social politics of marriage, the true nature of female friendship, etc.