The People We Hate at the Wedding by Grant Ginder

Family weddings tend to be perfect memories, preserved in photographs where we all put on our best smiles, for family and friends. Anyone involved in a wedding will tell you there is much more going on beneath the surface of those perfect family photos.

It starts with an invitation, and a guess at how much the invitations cost. Siblings Alice and Paul have always been a pretty united front against their half sister Eloise, a woman who lived a life of privilege and ease that made their middle-class American life seem so ordinary. Now Eloise is getting married, insisting that they come to England for the event, and showing them the life they could never achieve.

Paul is happily partnered with Mark, living in Philadelphia doing kind of controversial work, that most psychologists would kill to do. Alice is on the West Coast, sleeping with her boss, and a still bit lost after Mexico. Being forced to face their mother, and their half sister is enough to push them to breaking points they didn't know they had.

Written in the same dysfunctional vein as Jonathan Franzen's The Corrections and Cynthia D'Aprix-Sweeney's The Nest, you won't be able to look away from the train wreck of a family in The People We Hate at the Wedding by Grant Ginder.

The Roanoke Girls by Amy Engel

Lane Roanoke is only fifteen years old when her mother commits suicide. With nowhere else to go, Lane moves in with her maternal grandparents and cousin Allegra on their farm in rural Kansas. Knowing little about her extended family, Lane is excited at the prospects of having a family to care for her. Lane quickly embraces life as a Roanoke, but it isn't long before Lane realizes that the Roanoke family has a dark secret to keep; one that sends her running far away from the small farming town in Kansas.

Years later, Lane still figuring out her life, receives a phone call from her grandfather telling Lane that her cousin Allegra has gone missing. Has Allegra run away like the Roanoke girls before her or is it something more sinister? Unable to get Allegra out of her mind, Lane returns to help ease the guilt she feels after having left Allegra behind. While Lane's homecoming means a chance for second chances, it also means that she must face the Roanoke secret that made her run.

Weaving between now and then, The Roanoke Girls is filled with twists and turns, exploring the lengths at which families will go to keep their deep, dark secrets and the love that they share.

The Art of Crash Landing by Melissa DeCarlo

Mattie Wallace has always been kind of a screw up, but this time she's really screwed up. Though she constantly thrives to not turn into her mother, Mattie can't help but see a strong resemblance to the mess of a mother she grew up with.

Broke, pregnant, and constantly fighting with her no good boyfriend, Mattie packs all of her possessions into six pillowcases, throws all of it into her ready-to-break-down car, and heads to visit her step-father whom she lovingly calls Queeg. Even now, long after Mattie's mom and Queeg have divorced and Mattie's mom has died, Queeg is the one Mattie goes to whenever she needs advice. Queeg, known for speaking in aphorisms, always tries to make Mattie see the silver lining. This time the silver lining is that Mattie is the sole heir to the estate of a grandmother that she's never met.

The catch? Mattie has to drive from the Florida panhandle to the small town of Gandy, Oklahoma to take care of the estate. Like any small town, Gandy is filled with peculiar characters. There's the local priest, who drinks too much, a staunchly old librarian, and so many busybodies Mattie can barely keep them straight. After spending some time in Gandy, Mattie realizes that her mother suddenly just vanished from the small town and nobody seems to know why. Realizing that she has no choice but to figure out the pieces to the puzzle of her mother's disappearance, Mattie realizes that this might be the way to save herself from the same downward spiral her mother faced.

Melissa DeCarlo's first book, The Art of Crash Landing, will grip you right from the start. Funny and poignant, this is a fast read that will make you laugh and make you think of all of those times as a teenager that you said you didn't want to turn out as your mother.

The Good Goodbye by Carla Buckley

Cousins Arden and Rory Falcone have been best friends since they were toddlers. They were inseparable, so much so that they shared a dorm room in college. Given that the girls are so close, everyone finds it extremely odd that the minute their relationship starts to falter, a suspicious fire breaks out in their dorm room. The fire left one dead and the girls severely burned and clinging to life in a local emergency room. Now the detective on the case is nosing around; digging up secrets and looking for answers.

Tension was already high between Arden and Rory's parents, thanks in part to a financial decision turned sour. With little else to do as the girls lay in hospital beds, Arden and Rory's parents are forced to take a look at their unraveling relationships and pray that their secrets stay buried. Ultimately wanting the best for both of the girls, the Falcones are forced to make a decision that might break up the once close knit family.

From author Carla Buckley comes The Good Goodbye, a suspenseful thriller about an estranged family, buried lies, and secrets everyone wants to keep hidden.

If You Only Knew by Kristan Higgins

Jenny Tate is a wedding dress designer. She's in the business of happily ever after, so imagine her surprise when she finds out that her perfect doctor husband is no longer in love with her. Unable to say goodbye to her ex-husband Owen, Jenny stays friends with him, his new beautiful wife, and their adorable baby. Sensing this isn't helping her move on, Jenny decides to move to her hometown to be closer to her sister. After moving into a flat, Jenny begins to develop feelings for her Julliard graduate, piano playing landlord, who continues to tell her that he's emotionally unavailable.

Jenny's sister Rachel has the perfect life. Modeling her relationship after he parents perfect marriage is what she's wanted to do since she was a child. She's married to a lawyer, has beautiful triplet girls, has the home of her dreams, and doesn't think life can get much better, until she realizes that her husband has been sexting and cheating on her with a co-worker. After devoting much of her life to being the perfect wife and mother, Jenny realizes that enough is enough. For the first time in her life, Rachel has reached her breaking point, and those around her better watch out.

Kristin Higgins' If You Only Knew is a humorous book about finding true love when least expected it, standing up for oneself, and the special bond between sisters.

Royal Wedding by Meg Cabot

Princess Mia is back in Meg Cabot's newest book Royal Wedding. Like the generation of girls who grew up reading The Princess Diaries books, Mia is all grown up. The original cast including Michael, Lilly, Tina, and Grandmère are back and witty as ever. Mia is still struggling with everything that comes along with being the princess of Genovia including dealing with hounding paparazzi who nearly keep her trapped in the Genovian consulate. That's until Mia's longtime boyfriend Michael plans a surprise trip to the Bahamas. While on their own private island, Michael gets down on one knee and proposes to Mia. As if a royal wedding isn't enough for Mia, there are more surprises in store.

The Royal Wedding is sure to resonate with readers who grew up reading The Princess Diaries books. A generation of teen girls grew up along with Princess Mia, and now we're all feeling the same way she is--faced with relationships, first jobs, and figuring out how to be an adult.  Written in her usual way, Meg Cabot's Royal Wedding pokes fun at current pop culture, gets you laughing, and makes you want to re-read all of The Princess Diaries books.