Three Weddings and a Proposal by Sheila O’Flanagan

My thanks to Anne Cater of Random Things Tours and the publisher, Headline for inviting me to take part in this blog tour and for providing me with an ebook of the novel. This review forms my honest opinion.

Blurb

Delphine is at a wedding when the shocking news comes. Suddenly her life changes for ever.

Delphine has worked hard for her success and she knows she’s got everything she wants. But not everyone agrees. Her opinionated family aren’t convinced that living alone with no plans to ‘settle down’ could possibly make her truly happy, and no one appreciates it when she drops everything, day or night, whenever her boss Conrad calls. Yet Delphine wouldn’t change a thing. And when Conrad makes her a surprise offer, it’s clear that her hard work is going to pay off.

A few short days later, Delphine’s life is unrecognisable. The man who once broke her heart has suddenly reappeared, and a shocking tragedy turns her world on its head.

Delphine must rethink everything that matters to her, and to those around her, and decide, once and for all, if love, family and a little compromise should come before career, security and independence… and if she’s prepared to make that choice.

Review

Sheila O’Flanagan is one of those authors who has been on my radar, but I’ve inexplicably never actually read. I therefore leapt at the chance to read Three Weddings and a Proposal for this blog tour.

Set in a post-pandemic world (I’d like to go there right now, please) the story focuses on Delphine Mertens, a wonderfully independent, career minded woman in her late thirties.

I loved Delphie. There was so much about her that resonated with me. I was once very career minded, working in the city and mixing in high flying circles. All of that was very familiar to me, and so I completely understood her devastation when everything came crumbling down. Having gone through a similar shift myself, it all felt very real to me, and I found myself mulling over my own past decisions. That I felt such a strong connection with Delphie had me powering through Three Weddings and a Proposal at a rapid rate.

This is not at all a traditional love story, it is instead one woman sifting through life in examination of what it is she actually wants vs what everyone thinks she wants. The lines are blurred and I felt this so deeply myself, society despite the claim of being progressive is sadly blinkered when it comes to a woman’s role in the workplace and in relationships. I’ve been at the mercy of such thinking myself, and it’s really confidence denting. Delphie’s story however was so uplifting and one that championed female strength and solidarity.

I can’t comment on how this measures up to previous novels by the author, but for me I was really impressed. I was completely immersed and engaged throughout, and that I took so much from it on a personal level speaks volumes.

Three Weddings and a Proposal has been a really enjoyable, thought provoking read for me, and I will definitely read a novel by Sheila O’Flanagan again (any tips on where to start? There’s quite the back catalogue it seems!!)