4 Star
Bee wanted the perfect wedding; she got the “Singles.”
Back in her single days—before she met the man of her dreams—Beth
“Bee” Evans hated being forced to attend weddings solo. Determined to
spare her friends the same humiliation, she invites everyone on her list
with a guest. Much to her chagrin, however, Hannah, Vicki, Rob, Joe,
and Nancy insist upon attending Bee’s lavish Chesapeake Bay nuptials
alone. The frustrated bride dubs them the “Minus-Ones” and their
collective decision wreaks unintended havoc on her otherwise perfectly
planned wedding weekend.
Lydia - 4 Star
I enjoyed this lighthearted tale of singles converging at a mutual friend’s wedding. Having been in this position more than once during my lifetime, I could relate to how difficult the position can be. In the promotional material received with this novel, The Singles was likened to the movie Bridesmaids, but I couldn’t see that much of a connection really. It wasn’t nearly as funny, so I might have been a bit disappointed in that respect after reading this comparison. Overall, though, I really liked all the complicated and confused characters but unfortunately I felt we didn’t get to see enough of them.
I
really wished this novel was longer. It took over 100 pages to be introduced
to each character as it was told from their individual perspectives and
much of that was back story about how they all met or knew each other or
grew apart before they actually arrived at the wedding. I knew as soon
as I hit this point that The Singles would be too short as there were
only 140 pages left for something monumental to actually happen. Because
there were so many people and so few pages devoted to each that I
didn’t feel like the novel captured enough of each character and I found
myself wanting more from each of them. I wanted to get to know them
better and see more interactions and events to occur between them than
actually did.
I
loved that the singles were a variety of ages which gave different
perspectives and stories. The characters weren’t caricatures either.
They were each unique with unusual, quirky issues and interactions and I
liked how the wedding gave them all perspective about their lives and
the impetus to move on or in a new direction.
Regardless
of its short and sweet nature, The Singles is still a fun read and is a
novel that everyone who has ever sat solo at a wedding should be able to relate to.
And even those who haven’t. There are coupledom antics and those wedding
clichéd folks we all know and loathe – the overzealous bridesmaid, the
overbearing mother of the bride, the drunken dancers, the long winded
speech maker – I could go on, but dancing around the quirky cast of main
characters, there are enough amusing wedding antics and characters that
anyone who has ever attended a wedding can relate to.
If you’re looking for a light-hearted read with a wedding theme, pick up The Singles.
Thank you to Plume for our review copy!
Connect with Meredith Goldstein here:
Website
No comments:
Post a Comment