Wedding Party [Mass Market Paperback]

Robyn Carr (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2001

At 45, Charlene Dugan decides to remarry and settle down. But her decision proves to be a recipe for disaster. Her maid of honor is in a tizzy over a man 15 years her junior; her daughter decides to re-invent herself; the groom spends all his time with the wedding consultant; and her ex-husband, who still drives her crazy, makes a convincing argument for a second chance.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Carr offers a well-written, warm-hearted story and a genuinely fun read." -- Publisher's Weekly on the house on Olive Street

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Mira (October 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1551668394
• ISBN-13: 978-1551668390
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #322,120 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Robyn Carr is the New York Times & USA Today Bestselling author of many novels, including The Virgin River Series

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This story rings true!!, November 7, 2001

By 

Cindy "ChaosInBlue" (Jackson, WY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wedding Party (Mass Market Paperback)

Who hasn't panicked that they aren't living the life they should be? Robyn Carr has captured this worry with all the angst and hilarity it can involve!! I found myself laughing and crying as I read and that means this book is a true winner! The relationships in this book--famililial and romantic--ring true over and over again....

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars amusing romantic romp, September 23, 2001

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wedding Party (Mass Market Paperback)

After a disastrous marriage when she was too young, family attorney Charlene Dugan has no plans to marry ever again. Now forty-five and seeing someone for five years, Charlene appreciates the status quo of having her own home and a significant other in that own home. With her nerves on edge from a couple going through a horrific divorce, her daughter stuns Charlene when she tells her that does not want to end up like her mom, all alone. On top of that flogging, her mom seems to be showing signs of mental instability and her former spouse Jake, who seems to be around a lot, accuses her of not being able to commit. To prove they are wrong she proposes to Dennis and he gladly accepts.

However, preparing for the wedding turns disastrous. Denis seems more interested with the wedding planner than Charlene. Stephanie seems into a deeper funk because her mom is marrying before she is. Then there is Jake, who makes it clear that he is he one who should be her groom not Dennis. Can a marriage take much more of a spiral downward than this mess that Charlene wants to escape from before she goes insane.

THE WEDDING PARTY is an amusing romantic romp that slowly develops the cast so that the audience understands everyones reactions and actions. Once the characters motivations are established, the plot turns into a wild humorous ride down the aisle. Fans of contemporary craziness will want to attend Charlenes wedding reception as the story line has several additional subplots augmenting a delightfully funny novel.

Harriet Klausner

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A Bit Too Much, November 6, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Wedding Party (Mass Market Paperback)

While I enjoyed Carr's wittiness, I felt that there was just too much going on in this book at once. The insight into each character's life was enjoyable at first, but after a while I began to wonder what the point was. The author begins to delve into Pam's life (Why, though... what, in the long run, does her romantic life bring to Charlene's wedding story?), only to leave her hanging for a while. Then the story read like a hasty game of catch up. This seemed the case also with Stephanie, Charlene's daughter, and her boyfriend, Grant. Grant was given no character at all until the point where he decides to leave Stephanie. Then we're bombarded with him. I would have to say also that, though Carr defines each character's relationship with the others, their interactions seem forced.

Carr jumps back and forth between a myriad of characters yet they are never fully developed. Instead, she gives to them all a "everyone is happy now" ending that just doesn't ring true. In fact, much of this book rings false. Dennis is - continuously - described as a rock, steady, trustworthy, etc. But the second Charlene's back is turned he's after Agatha... and completely ignoring Charlene's hour of need.

Additionally, the book is repetitive. We spend pages reading of Charlene's "traumatic" childhood in detail, only to have her daughter give a thoroughly parrot-like recap (of her mother's THOUGHTS) to her father later (and the long-lost-father story was too much - let's face it... after a certain period of time, people need to stop whining about their childhood woes and Charlene can't really use a ragabout father as an excuse for being even more self-absorbed than her daughter). We are also told Merrie's life story several times (yet another character with no substantial purpose in the book; her story is convoluted and becomes even more difficult to track - Carr doesn't seem to know where she wants to go with it and it flies completely out of bounds).

I was very let down by this book; I had looked forward to reading it and to be honest I couldn't believe how much I disliked Charlene by the end of the book. She not only does NOT get over her controlling nature, nor does she curb it; she uses it on someone else. Truly I found her even more disgustingly self-absorbed than her daughter (why didn't Carr go into THAT aspect of things when discussing, quite unnecessarily, everyone's psyche?).

In all, for such a short book (I read it in one sitting) there were just too many characters and subplots at once (the stalking by Fred is completely erroneous here, as is Dennis' sister, Merrie, the woman with the goose, etc. and each lends precisely nothing to the plot which, according to all reviews and the book jacket, is supposed to be about Charlene). For the author to have thrown so much into so few pages served only to dilute the point she was trying to make (kind of like condensing "Gone With the Wind") and considering that no wedding actually gets planned, calling the book "The Wedding Party" is misleading.

Glad I only borrowed this one.