Customer Reviews

The Wedding Day

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This was a great book, very entertaining, funny, well written and a story that gets you so intrigued that you can't put it down. The adventures of Annie and everyone around her are both hilarious and endearing at the same time, a real page turner that will put you in a great mood and make you forget about everything else.

I don't know how Alliott keeps all the balls in the air at the same time while still maintaining the reader's interest in each character. Not only do we root for Annie as she tries to write her novel and straighten out her lovelife (ex-husband, fiance, rugged American houseguest) in a lovely Cornwall cottage, but we also become sympathetic towards her perfect, annoying, controlling sister and her own marriage. We feel for Matt, Annie's American houseguest, as he deals with his horrifying ex-wife in a fight for his son, and enjoy Annie's daughter Flora as she struggles with teenage angst. Alliott writes with such sensitivity and humor. Characters are never stereotypical; plotlines are never boring. This is a great read.

Romantic fiction is nothing if not formulaic, and it wouldn't be particularly difficult to create a computer program that manipulated the finite number of available characters and subplots into a variety of possible combinations.

That's really not the point. Okay, you can play 'spot the subplot' all you like, as well as identifying the set characters who pop up in each of Catherine Alliot's books under a different name. Yet this is well-written stuff by the standards of the genre. You may be pretty sure what the ending will be, but it's always a puzzle quite how Alliot will get her heroine that far, given the obstacles she blithely throws at her characters.

If mildly witty dialogue, comfortingly predictable yet sympathetic characters, and a happy ending isn't your sort of thing, then you're certainly in the wrong corner of the bookshop. So, you go and find something challenging to read, I'll sit here quietly with a pot of tea, my Catherine Alliot novel, and a packet of biscuits, and we'll see who enjoys their book the most...

What a great light-hearted read. Very chick-lit with the usual splash of humour, sex, romance and just the right amount of predictability - excellent for a holiday/weekend read.

I am a huge fan of Ms Alliott; she is my favourite chick lit author, and the only writer who ever makes me laugh out loud. I have read and enjoyed all of her books. Sadly, I found THE WEDDING DAY to be distinctly weaker than her previous wonderful novels. The endings to all the sub plots were way too predictable and it was clear from the get go who Mr Right would turn out to be - I won't reveal him here in case it ruins it for any other readers. Normally Catherine Alliott's plots are fairly detailed and complex and quite unpredictable, and this is one of the most enjoyable aspects of her writing. But in this book it is very simplistic and the so-called 'surprise' revelations just feel contrived. Having said all of this there are still some very funny moments and I will still be buying her next book.

I really liked this book, this is the first of hers that i read, i came accross it on sale in WH Smith and thought id give it a try.
I really enjoyed it, i found Annie really funny and I laughed out loud on a number of occasions at her prediciments. I could imagine this book as brit rom com with famous brit actors paying out the roles!
Ive read some of the comments where other people have said they thought it was predictable and unrealistic ... i do agree a little with these comments, i did guess the end and at some points i was thinksing .. yeah right as if!!! but it didn't spoil the enjoyment of the book beacuse its well written and funny so you just kind of go with it and laugh - its a bit cheeesy in places too but its all in a good way. Great holiday read ... give it a go!!

This is the first book of Catherine Alliott that I have read, and it certainly will not be the last.

Annie is divorced, with a nearly teenage daughter, she was married to Adam who likes nothing better than women. Annie is engaged to a Doctor, who rescued Annie and Flora when they were in need of rescuing themselves from despair after her failed marriage, but David have had things happen to him in the past that he has not revealed to Annie.

David, Aunt Gertrude offers Annie her cottage in Cornwall for the summer, so she can finish writing her first novel, so Annie and her daughter Flora move to the cottage for the summer holidays, with David visiting for the occasional weekend. The cottage is everything they wanted with its own beach. On there first night at the cottage, the daughter here's someone moving about downstairs, they go down to look and they find a man at the cottage, fireworks start, Matt is a very arrogant and rude American. David's Aunt forgot all about that she agreed to let the cottage for a while to Matt, so they all agree in the end to live in the cottage as there is plenty of room.

Matt son Tod joins them after a few days and Matt has problems of his own regarding his son Tod and his ex wife, but as you can guess, Matt and Annie start getting on well together, she has David who she is engaged to, and then there is Matt who she starts to see in a different way.

The book also has sub-plots, Clare, Annie sister, Rosie, Annie best friend, and a small part of the book is Annie mother.

A very enjoyable book, I gave it a 4* instead of 5*, I did feel in places that the book was a little long winded.

Catherine Alliott writes some excellent books in this genre, and it is no surprise to me that Marian Keyes rates her as "one of her favourite authors". 'The Wedding Day' is a fun and mostly light-hearted romp, for an interesting group of characters as Annie tried to get her wedding organised and her first novel completed.

Where Catherine Alliott veers away from "traditional" chick-lit, and what makes her books so absorbing, is the sudden plot twists that hit you, and the darker undercurrent to her characters. But life is like that! Nice people have horrid things happen to them out of the blue, 'perfect' people have a darker side that you don't normally see. She writes about real life, but dresses it up to make it fun.

I became totally caught up in this story once the scene was set, and the main characters introduced. And yes, it is slightly escapist - who wouldn't fall in love with David, the dashing doctor - and who wouldn't love to have access to the family stately mansion in rural Cornwall, with its own private beach! But Annie has her own sets of problems, including a timid and lonely mother, an overbearing (but fragile) sister, an almost-teenage daughter with a complete set of neuroses, and an ex-husband who fails to appreciate that they are actually divorced. Flora, the daughter, would love her parents to get back together, despite adoring her new stepfather-to-be, and Annie is constantly torn in two directions. Enter Matt, the difficult 'lodger' and suddenly she has another man to contend with. With his own set of truly horrific problems.

There are light-hearted moments galore. I loved the letters & emails from her prospective publisher, and the scene where she finally gives Adam a piece of her mind is divine!

I read this in about 3 days, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Can't wait for my next Catherine Alliott to read :-)

This was my first Catherine Alliott book and it was very enjoyable. I read it fairly quickly and was eager to get back to read it. The story flowed really easily and I could imagine all the characters in their various situations (crucial to a good book in my opinion).

So, why did I give it 4, and not 5, stars? Well, everything was just a bit perfect. Real life's not like that! Also, many scenes were incredibly rushed (especially the ending, giving nothing away).

I liked this book and I will read more by her. I just didn't love it x

I just read "Not that kind of Girl" and LOVED it!
So I got all excited because I thought I`d found a fantastic and gripping writer. So I picked up a copy of "The Wedding Day." So didn`t enjoy it. Found the characters wooden and unrealistic. The book dragged and I ended up giving up. I think I`ll try another of her books because I loved "Not that kind of girl" so much.
Please Catherine....how about a book where none of the characters lick their lips! Ahhhhhhhhhhh! Enough already!