Tuesday 23 July 2013

Review: Wedding Night by Sophie Kinsella

Wedding Night by Sophie Kinsella
Publisher: Bantam Press
Publication date: April 23rd 2013
My rating: 3 stars


Lottie just knows that her boyfriend is going to propose during lunch at one of London’s fanciest restaurants. But when his big question involves a trip abroad, not a trip down the aisle, she’s completely crushed. So when Ben, an old flame, calls her out of the blue and reminds Lottie of their pact to get married if they were both still single at thirty, she jumps at the chance. No formal dates—just a quick march to the altar and a honeymoon on Ikonos, the sun-drenched Greek island where they first met years ago. Their family and friends are horrified. Fliss, Lottie’s older sister, knows that Lottie can be impulsive—but surely this is her worst decision yet. And Ben’s colleague Lorcan fears that this hasty marriage will ruin his friend’s career. To keep Lottie and Ben from making a terrible mistake, Fliss concocts an elaborate scheme to sabotage their wedding night. As she and Lorcan jet off to Ikonos in pursuit, Lottie and Ben are in for a honeymoon to remember, for better . . . or worse.

Sophie Kinsella is my always go to author whenever I need a quick pick me up. Her books are light and fluffy reads and are always quick to bring a smile to my face. However for the first time the initial reviews I had read for her latest book Wedding Night hadn’t been that great, but it was a Kinsella book so I knew I would be reading it regardless.

Lottie has been waiting for the night that her boyfriend Richard will propose for a long time now. He’s been dropping hints for a few days now and she can’t contain her excitement any longer. But the night that was meant to be the night of her dreams ends up going wildly wrong. Lottie’s known to make rash decisions when things have not gone her way, so her sister Fliss has every right to be worried. And Lottie proves her right, after things didn’t go to plan with Richard; she gets a phone call out of the blue from her boyfriend of 15 years ago Ben. They end up going for a meal and decide to get married. (This is a few days after her break up with Richard). Fliss tries to do everything she can to stop this charade from going ahead, but Ben’s best friend Lorcan ends up frustrating Ben so much that they have a rush marriage and go off to spend their honeymoon where they first met 15 years ago in Greece. But Fliss decides she’s having none of it and that the only way they can get out of the sham of a marriage is by not consummating their marriage in the first place. So she gets the manager of the hotel they’re staying at involved to stop them from consummating their marriage any way possible until she gets there!

Usually when it comes to Kinsella’s books I’m able to overlook the far-fetched stories or extreme lengths some characters may go too, but I think with Wedding Night, it was a bit too much for me. Which sister goes to extreme lengths to prevent their sister from consummating their marriage? I know Fliss cared, but there were other ways she could have gone around this. Lottie was a little head strong and sort of had tunnel vision ideas where everything she thought she was doing was right. She would never stop to think about the consequences until afterwards. I did initially have a really hard time connecting to Lottie’s character because of this and was thankful to the dual pov’s that we were given in this book. Because I think if I had Lottie’s pov throughout I probably would have knocked another star off my rating. The story however and Lottie did begin to grow on me as soon as Fliss got the hotel staff involved, it was funny seeing another butler intervene whenever things were hotting up for Ben and Lottie. And I really enjoyed learning about Fliss’s back story and her trip over to stop Ben and Lottie was a truly eventful one.

Wedding Night was a fun read, but unfortunately I didn’t end up enjoying it as much as I’d hoped. I think if I was able to overlook some of the issues that I had and may be the ending didn’t up the way it had I could have given Wedding Night four stars. But despite Wedding Night not being Kinsella’s strongest read for me, it has not put me off from picking up any of her future books.


23 comments:

Tanja - Tanychy said...

I'm not much of a chick-lit lover but my friend made me read almost all her books. I must admit that I actually enjoyed Can you keep a secret?. But this one doesn't sound enjoyable. Like Kinsella pushed some things too far with this one. I'm glad it was fun at least! :) Great review Jasprit :)

Keertana said...

I'm glad to see this isn't as bad as a lot of the early reviews made it out to be. It certainly sounds a lot more implausible than most of her titles, which makes me certain I won't be reading this, but I'm glad to see it hasn't deterred you from future works. I'm hoping her next book is considerably stronger!

Siiri said...

I have read very few books like this and I have yet to read a book by Sophie. I know people love her books a lot and I haven't even seen any of the movies. *_* I really should read something soon. I'm sorry you didn't like it as much as her previous work. When I read from your review what this book is about, it made me really want to see it as a movie though. I don't know how it works as a book, it sounds more like a movie script lol. I hope you have better luck with her next book:) PS. I'd never intervene in my sister's life as Fliss did. Wth, lol.. :D

Anonymous said...

Aww! I'm sorry this wasn't as great as Sophie Kinsella's other books for you, Jasprit. I think for now, I'm going to stay away from this book. It does sound like what her sister does is sort of far-fetched. I'm surprised the hotel staff agreed to it. I also don't think I would like Lottie. She doesn't sound anything like the smart Becky was!
Thanks for the great honest review, Jasprit! I'm glad that despite its shortcomings you did have fun reading it. :)

Mary @ BookSwarm said...

I do enjoy Sophie Kinsella's books but I think I might have DNFed this one due to a lack of patience on my part and inability to suspend my disbelief. Nice review!

Melissa (i swim for oceans) said...

Oh no! I love Sophie Kinsella, but I suppose it's not too surprising that she has weaker works, as well. It doesn't sound like there's much plausibility to the story, and if I don't love a character and their motives, I know I'll struggle. Thanks for the honest review though, Jasprit!

Sophia said...

I've yet to read a Kinsella novel but I've heard quite a bit about them! This one seems slightly more far-fetched than her other ones though, haha. If I were Fliss, my first idea to stop my sister's wedding wouldn't be to prevent the couple from consummating their marriage! Haha, but it does sound like a fun read. I'm sorry the implausibility affected your reading experience, Jasprit, as well did Lottie's POV. I guess the dual POV was a really good thing for this novel then! Anyway, lovely and candid review, Jasprit!

Jenny said...

Bummer Jasprit! It's always extra disappointing when a go-to author misses the mark a bit, but I'm glad it was at least still a fun read even if some of the behavior was over the top and just too extreme even though you went in ready to suspend belief. I always have to go back and read one of my favorites by the author when this happens to me:) Lovely review as always though!

Unknown said...

Glad to see I'm not the only one that felt that way about this one. SUCH a disappointment because Sophie is totally my go-to gal for light fluffy stuff too. Fingers crossed her next one is an improvement. Great review! :)

brandileigh2003 said...

sorry it wasn't all you wanted it to be. I haven't read anything by Sophie

Unknown said...

Oh nooooooo! I'm the same as you, Sophie Kinsella is a go-to author when I need a pick me up. Shame that this one got a bit too farfetched :(
At least it hasn't put you off her others!

Sam (Realm of Fiction) said...

Sophie Kinsella's books were among the first that were recommended to me as a blogger! I haven't tried any of them (I'm not always a huge fan of chick-lit), but I'm glad to hear you're a fan, even if this one didn't blow you away. Brilliant review as always, Jasprit! :)

Ruby Jo @ Bookishly Ruby said...

*pout* I'm still waiting to read this one (I'm embarrassed to say that yes, I forgot about it. I was so sure it was coming out in September). I'm sorry it wasn't what you expected though. I loooove Sophie Kinsella. Well, I'm not a huge fan of her Shopaholic series. I love her stand-alones more. By the way, have you read her earlier books, the ones written as Madeleine Wickham?

Heidi@Rainy Day Ramblings said...

I have only read this author's first two shopaholic books and I wasn't exactly a fan. I hate it when an author everyone loves writes a book that totally misses for me. I had that experience with the book I am reviewing tomorrow. I will definitely pass on this one. The whole thing about trying to prevent a marriage consummation sounds a little far fetched for me.

Jen (Books and Other Happy Ever Afters) said...

Oh I've always wanted to pick up a Kinsella novel! This one sounds really cute, but really far fetched, and I'm not too sure I would like that, especially when you had a hard time connecting with Lottie. I'm glad you still enjoyed it though. Great review, Jasprit!

Amanda said...

I also turn to Kinsella when I want something light and funny. After reading some reviews of Wedding Night, however, this may be one that I have to pass by. The idea is humorous enough, but really, the challenge is to stop them from consummating their marriage? What century do they live in? That's absurd to an extreme degree, and just...ugh. Doesn't sound like my cup of tea. That's wonderful that reading this hasn't turned you off from Kinsella's books, since it doesn't sound quite as strong as her others, but for me, I think I'll wait for another one to get published.

Unknown said...

I am a huge Kinsella fan, and am ashamed I haven't read her last several books. This sounds like such a fun read, and I'm sorry you didn't enjoy it as much as you'd hoped.
Great review, Jasprit!

Maji Bookshelf said...

awww sucks that you weren't able to enjoy this one as much as you wanted it to be! But Wedding Night still sounds like an interesting read! Thanks for your review!
- Farah @ MajiBookshelf

Jasprit said...

No I haven't read them yet, are they any good?

Ruby Jo @ Bookishly Ruby said...

No, not yet. I was a little... well, scared to be honest. Since they're her earlier works and I'm scared her humor isn't as good as in her other books. But I will read them. Soon. I hope.

Jess said...

Sophie Kinsella's books are a bit hit and miss with me. I didn't really enjoy her last one so decided not to pick this one up. I also struggle with the far-fetched storylines. Sorry you didn't enjoy this one as much as you hoped! It sucks when that happens! :|

Lauren @ Love is not a triangle said...

You know, I totally agree with your statement that Kinsella books are go-to for you. For me as well, although Shopaholic can be overwhelming. I really love her standalones. And I agree that Kinsella has an amazing ability to make quirky, silly heroines really endearing. However, I started this one and just couldn't get past the ridiculousness of the characters or the plot. I agree, that the dual narrative was different and fun, but I ended up just dropping this b/c of Lottie's stubbornness and Fliss's meddling. Anyway, a thoughtful review. Hope her next book is a winner. My favorite is still Can you keep a secret

Jenni said...

huh this doesn't sound like one I would like at all. I would hate the one sister for doing such stupid things and I wouldn't find the one trying to stop it all believable. I haven't read anything by Kinsella, but I know I won't be starting here.

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