Bedside Book Review: Wedding Night by Sophie Kinsella

*Spoiler-free review.

Wedding Night is the first Sophie Kinsella book I have ever read, and I’ll be reading more books by her in the future since I already have some book recommendations. I purchased this book from Barnes & Noble several years ago whenever I went bargain book hunting but I hadn’t read it until this year.

What to expect: Lottie makes thoughtless, impulsive decisions whenever things don’t go her way. These mistakes are considered to be Unfortunate Choices, according to her older sister, Fliss. Instead of getting a new tattoo or piercing whenever she breaks up with her then-boyfriend Richard because he doesn’t propose to her, she hastily accepts a marriage proposal from an old flame that randomly shows back up in her life.

Fliss has a lot to say about Lottie’s marriage to a man who’s basically a stranger. Her solution? Sabotage the wedding night, as if that’s the first and only logical option. Lottie makes another poor decision and Fliss takes it upon herself to clean up Lottie’s life.

Positives

The story was super entertaining and I laughed at the many ways Fliss managed to sabotage Ben’s and Lottie’s honeymoon, although she does take it way too far at one point. The sisters are trying to piece their lives back together and numerous obstacles keep popping up.

As for Lottie and her new husband, they are quite a match, almost like they are the same person. I mean, they were on board with this crazy scheme and they hadn’t seen each other for 15 years! I was amused by the parallel of Lottie complaining about how Richard would nod his head at whatever she said, even if he didn’t understand what she was prattling on about. During a conversation with Ben, she did the exact same thing because she had no idea what he was talking about but took the credit for it.

Honestly, the one character I was rooting for was Lorcan, Ben’s business partner. He was reserved and driven, a little too consumed by work, but he was the most level-headed person in the whole book and I hoped for him to be happy. Fliss’ son Noah is entertaining too; he told the craziest stories that fanned the flame in the plot.

Dislikes

Within the first 30 pages, I quickly decided that Lottie isn’t someone I would be friends with. She is self-centered and incredibly narcissistic. I wanted to throw the book each time she would lie about something to make herself look better. One example is whenever she tells the women she met in the bathroom that she was the one to turn down Richard’s proposal. Also, she gaslit Fliss and turned the conversation against her whenever Fliss was just trying to comfort Lottie. She seemed toxic to be around and stubborn when it came to taking any advice. It was super irritating.

I genuinely found it difficult to root for the women at times. Fliss and Lottie share similar traits, especially lying for the sake of being right and being too prideful to be wrong. Fliss is the more rationale one, believe it or not. Lottie is 33 but her actions are reckless as a teenager’s when handling things. Fliss has her own personal struggles, but she’s not handling them any better. After all, she’s a grown woman, almost 40, trying to sabotage her little sister’s honeymoon.

I expected this flighty and manipulative behavior to occur, just maybe, if they were 15 years younger, but certainly not in their 30s. Fliss may be more level-headed, but even she had her own moments of being extremely self-centered and arrogant. I am saddened by her poor relationship with her almost ex-husband, but that is no excuse for her to meddle in her sister’s life.

Also, I’m not really a fan of the OKs in this book, but that’s just me being picky because I would rather see “okay” written instead.

Final Thoughts

Lottie’s lies unravel as truths are revealed, which probably would’ve changed some events in the story if the truth was found out at the time.

Lorcan was right. It’s Lottie’s life and she gets to make these [good and bad] decisions on her own, without Fliss trying to intervene.

As the book ends, the sisters find their own sort of closure and revelation and are able to handle the present situations they’ve been battling and avoiding throughout the book better.

Wedding Night has an absurd plot but it was amusing to see how things would play out. I’m giving it 3 1/2 stars because I really didn’t like the women, although Fliss somewhat grew on me at the end of the book. I enjoyed reading this novel but I’m not sure if I would read it again in the future.

Questions for you:

• Have you read this book? If so, what did you think about it?
• Do you have a favorite book by Sophie Kinsella?
• What are you currently reading?

Men who want to get married propose. You don’t need to read the signs. They propose and that’s the sign.

Lottie | page 58

Why do divorced men get married again? Bad memory.

Lorcan | page 316

‘Don’t come back,’ I tell all you young people. Don’t revisit. Youth is still where you left it, and that’s where it should stay. What are you returning for? Anything that was worth taking on life’s journey, you’ll already have taken with you.

Arthur | page 356

He has a synthetic quality, like orange soda instead of freshly squeezed juice. It’s orangey and bubbly and it quenches your thirst, but it leaves a bitter aftertaste. And it’s not good for you.

Lottie | page 373

Marrying Ben was like drinking all four double shots of vodka. For a bit, it masked the pain and I felt fabulous. But this is the hangover, and it’s not pretty.

Lottie | page 423