Wasp's Nest

by Kat Stoddard

A modern retelling of The Philadelphia Story, Wasp’s Nest is a witty, gripping love triangle unfolding over the course of seven chaotic days at a Cape Cod wedding

Tess wants nothing more than for her upcoming society wedding to overshadow the failure of her first marriage. Her fiancé Warren, a steady soon-to-be state senator, is nothing like her first husband. Tess’s relationship with working-class artist Peter was a passionate crash-and-burn, and a chapter of her life that she's ready to forget.

Peter hasn’t seen Tess in five years, so he’s shocked to receive an invitation to her wedding. But he’s moved on too, and it wouldn’t hurt to prove it by showing up with a handsome younger man as his plus-one. Mitch, an aspiring writer, is intrigued by Peter and jumps at the chance to pry into the lives of his Waspy ex-in-laws. What he’s not bargained for is developing serious feelings for both Peter and Peter’s ex―Tess, the bride. But Peter and Tess have complex desires of their own, and Mitch is dangerously close to uncovering them.

Wasp's Nest is a fast-paced, humorous, and heartfelt exploration of the shape of our affections that proves real love triangles connect on all sides.

Genres: Romance, Fiction, LGBT, Queer, Contemporary, Adult, Audiobook

272 pages, Hardcover

First published June 30, 2026

About the author

Kat Stoddard lives with her daughter in Baltimore. Wasp’s Nest is her debut novel.

Reviews

[Jaime Fok · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was SO ready for a juicy, toxic, biting story. And unfortunately I did feel underwhelmed reading this one :(

For one, I feel like the writing style was very much telling, not showing. And sometimes this can actually work very well - especially for a book in this genre. But in this case, I just felt like I didn't get deep enough into the characters minds to feel entertained by their toxic personalities. Somehow, this story also felt quite slow-paced, which I normally wouldn't expect with a book that spans over just the course of 7 days. I expected chaos, and the majority of this book felt like we were meandering through... up until the end.

I think ultimately, many plot points just felt very half-baked. The lead up to the chaos at the end didn't feel fully formed, so the outcome of it all didn't feel deserved. The buildup moments didn't feel exciting in that juicy way. We had characters professing their love after knowing someone for 2 days. Just felt like characters going through the actions vs authentically experiencing these moments. Then with the ultimate resolution, it just felt like a bit of a nothing situation for me.

There is definitely some potential here! Some of the dialogue I think and little subtle moments were done well. I was just waiting for that moment for everything to click for me, and it unfortunately just didn't happen.

[Meagan (Meagansbookclub) · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 ⭐️

Unfortunately, this was a miss for me. I love dysfunctional families, but the writing never got the depth and emotion that I was hoping for.

[Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got to work on this book!!! yay!!! <33

[dani · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

oh this was so wonderful and such a fun ride. the characters were so so messy and reading this truly felt like watching a show where my eyes are glued to the screen.

i loved the way this progressed. in the beginning i wasn’t sure what would happen and towards the second half the plot just continued to thicken & left me on the edge of my seat. but nonetheless, i loved it. i loved the three of them and the dynamic they all had with one another and as a group. i was so glad for that ending & it made me very happy, especially for peter and tess.

totally recommend if you love flawed characters, messy relationships & drama worth sitting for

[Molly Lavin · Rating 5 out of 5]

favorite book of the year!!!!!!

[Andria Rice · Rating 2 out of 5]

Comparing this to The Philadelphia Story was a big miss to me. I expected a lot more wit and fun, and much less regret, bad behavior, and angst.

[Ellie Kinney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn’t put this book down! The characters were very nuanced, and each layer of their entwined relationships that was slowly revealed had me completely hooked.

The descriptions of the stunning Cape Cod scenery took me back to the days of visiting my grandparents in Orleans every summer as a child (and witnessing all the WASP-y displays of wealth infiltrating the Cape). It would’ve been interesting to see the Lowell’s lifestyle juxtaposed against some of the less lavish realities that full-time residents of the Cape deal with, like the opioid epidemic (but perhaps would be too much to delve into on top of all the complex character journeys).

Absolutely loved this depiction of a true love triangle – I’m of the belief that it doesn’t count unless there’s romantic attraction on all three sides! It was a wonderful queer summer read, and a very impressive debut novel.

[Kristina Bulovic · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25

Give me a story about dysfunctional families and/or marriages and I'm happy! The unexpected humor kept drawing me in... it's like when you're talking to someone you've known forever and don't mean to be funny, it's even better.

The only character I truly always enjoyed was Sebastian, though the others had their moments. It felt a little forced at times and a little flat at others. Some of the triangle dynamics I just couldn't understand the purpose of, but I've never read The Philadelphia Story so that might be why.

This story jumps right in and makes no apologies, which I appreciate. Love the cover and LOVE the title!

[Bookaholic__Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wasps nest is centered around three main characters. Tess who is preparing for her upcoming wedding, Peter her ex husband who ends up invited to the wedding and Mitch who comes as Peters plus one. Lingering emotions and uncertain feelings lead to a bit of a love triangle and things get a little messy. Will there be a wedding after all?


Honestly I loved how complex these characters are and how their relationships pushed back against the norm. There was quite a bit of tension between the characters which felt authentic given the situation.


Some parts are a bit emotional while others are humorous and entertaining. The story was actually quite fun overall but the ending pissed me off! I wanted a definitive happily ever after and I didn't get one. I'm still not sure where any of the characters stand with each other.

Maybe there will be a second book? If there is I will definitely be reading it.

I received a copy in exchange for my honest review.

[lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

A perfect spicy (without spice scene tg) filled family drama perfect for the summer. This inventive retelling of The Philadelphia Story was so much fun !! It didn’t change my life but I had a good time

[ReadingTilTheBreakOfDawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love messy relationships and dysfunctional families. And add in a love triangle or 2 to boot and I thought I would love Wasp's Nest. While it had its moments, I think this is the sort of book that would play out better on the screen than on the page with the layered relationships in this upper crust sort of world. Fortunately, I was able to listen to the audiobook narrated by Major Curda, Mia Wurgaft and Eric Yang and they seemed to bring Tess, Peter and Mitch to life in all their glorious messiness. They definitely weren't perfect people by any means, and not always likable, but it was fun watching them navigate their feelings.

Exes. Family. New loves. Old Loves. Marriages that shouldn't happen. Relationships that should've never gotten as far as they went. It's all there and it's some crazy soap opera fun that you won't want to look away from. I don't think I would've enjoyed this book as much in print, but the narrators performances gave this beachy read life.

[Jenna Velardi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay first of all I cannot wait until this book comes out so I can talk with anyone I see about it!!!! Thank you for this ALC🎧🎧

Wow okay now let’s dive in. I saw “Cape Cod” and “love triangle” and said hell yeah and just went for it.

How many love triangles are in this book you ask??? An infinite number!!!!!!! This must be the hottest group of people on the planet because everyone is hot for everyone.

Tess- damn girl get your shit together. You make big life decisions without blinking an eye and get yourself into a ton of shit. You deserve love tho seriously.

Peter- everyone loved him, I loved him. Had his life shit but was so (almost crazy) calm about everything. I cannot relate to being so calm and unbothered. I would have fought everyone in this book if I were him.

Mitch- cut it out

Warren and Georgia- figure it out

I did feel like I needed a bit more info on why Tess left Peter in the first place like it seemed like her friend was just like leave him and she listened without even thinking twice?? (Goes back to impulsiveness but maybe there was more to it???)

This book was so good it kept me on the edge of my SEAT. If they make a movie Hudson Williams better be Peter.

[Molly Galler · Rating 4 out of 5]

This writing - wow. I was hooked immediately and would keep following these characters forever. The book is a series of intimate conversations and I could easily see this as a stage play. Highly recommend for anyone who enjoys family dramas.

[Ashton Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Peter is invited to his ex-wife’s lavish Cape Cod wedding, old feelings, unresolved tension, and an unexpected love triangle threaten to upend the bride’s best laid plans for her next chapter. Wasp’s Nest reimagines The Philadelphia Story for a modern audience, blending delicious family drama, romance, and biting social and class commentary into a summer read you won’t want to put down!

This book was a wild ride — salacious and thrilling in a way that I always crave when I’m considering my summer reads. While the premise itself should be enough to draw you in, I found the real power of this novel to be in the quieter observations about class and belonging; the allowance of each of these (wildly) complex characters to explore the full range of both their regrets and desires; and the ability of the queer characters in this narrative to just exist. So often (and for good reason), LGBTQ+ lit focuses on the trauma of the queer experience, but it is so refreshing to read stories about queer people who the author allows to just be. Their queerness is not a plot point to be manipulated but rather one of many facets of their personhood to be explored.

Even though this is Kat’s debut novel, she has clearly already mastered the art of realistic, organic dialogue, which was (IMHO) what grounded this novel and what gave Kat the opportunity to play with familiar tropes (second chance romance, forced proximity, love triangle) in unfamiliar ways.

If you’re looking for messy (but messy with depth and emotional payoff), Wasp’s Nest is for you!

[Melissa Rodriguez · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story of a wedding week is told from 3 points of view - Peter - the ex-husband of the bride, Mitch-his date, and Tess - the bride to be had an interesting premise. When Peter receives an invite to the wedding of his ex from his early 20’s, he feels like he wants to go for closure but brings a man he just met as his date. Some chaos ensues. The premise drew me in and I felt like it would be very frothy but it just didn’t do it for me. It had some good ingredients but something just didn’t fit for me. I liked the short timeline but a lot of the drama just didn’t feel high stakes enough for me and I wasn’t sure what I was rooting for the whole time - I wanted both a messier story but also more of a love story as well.

Thank you NetGalley and Celadon Books for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

[Patience · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wasp’s Nest was a retelling of one of my favorite classic movies A Philadelphia Story, which starred Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart. Stoddard quickly captures the same humor of the stressful wedding weekend as in the classic film but offers a greater depth to the character development and relationships.

When Peter receives a surprising invitation to his ex-wife’s wedding he decides to attend and brings along a waiter he recently met to play the role of devote boyfriend. Mitch, the waiter and aspiring writer, seizes on the opportunity as inspiration for a novel. When Peter and Mitch arrive they discover it was not Tess who sent the invitation, and she is in fact not thrilled at their presence.

The story is told from Tess, Peter and Mitches perspectives. It gently weaves the present wedding weekend with details of Tess and Peter’s previous marriage. It explores class, substance use, and the complicated nature of relationships. The writing was thoughtful and tender.

I listened to the audiobook and would recommend it. The narrators brought the story to life!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher Celadon Book for the advanced copy of the audio book

[Phoebe C · Rating 5 out of 5]

so fun!!!!!!! so messy!!!!!!!!! perfect book for any fans of weird dynamics

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

ARC: huge for enjoyers of messy drama ! book of the year!

[Demetri Papadimitropoulos · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Wedding That Couldn’t Outrun the Portrait
How Kat Stoddard’s “Wasp’s Nest” turns a Cape Cod remarriage plot into a sharp, yearning study of love, class, art, and the selves we fail to discard.
By Demetris Papadimitropoulos | May 18th, 2026


The empty poolside becomes the book’s first confession: a stage of wealth, sunlight, and absence where the old life waits just off the deck.

A second wedding, in Tess Lowell’s mind, should prove that the first one did not count. It should show her friends, her family, her future voters-by-marriage, and perhaps most importantly herself, that the old version of Tess – the one Peter Hyun painted, loved, wounded, and left wounded in return – has been folded away. Not destroyed. Tess is rarely so wasteful. Just stored somewhere tasteful, out of sight.

In Kat Stoddard’s “Wasp’s Nest,” Tess has planned her Cape Cod wedding with the zeal of a woman determined to look convincingly mended. The hydrangeas will do what hydrangeas are paid, in atmosphere, to do. The dress will fit. The steady fiancé, Warren Ashley, will stand in the proper place. The old guesthouse, the old portrait, the old watch, the old appetite for the wrong kind of man – all of it can remain in exile.

Naturally, the past arrives with luggage.

“Wasp’s Nest” borrows the old machinery of Philip Barry’s “The Philadelphia Story” and loosens the screws: an old-money bride, a second marriage, an ex-husband, an outsider with writerly designs, and a weeklong boil in which manners begin to sweat through their shirts. But Stoddard’s best mischief is not in modernizing the setup. It is in disturbing the old romantic contract. In the remarriage plot, recognition is supposed to sort people into their approved pairs. Here, recognition ruins the seating chart. The more clearly Tess, Peter, and Mitch see one another, the less possible it becomes to pretend that longing accepts assigned tables.

Tess is preparing to marry Warren, an old family friend and soon-to-be state senator whose social papers seem to have been embossed before birth. He is steady, educated, diplomatic, politically useful, and exactly the sort of man a woman might choose after surviving a beautiful error. Peter, that error with a face, a watch, and paint under his nails, is a working-class Korean American painter and adjunct professor. His marriage to Tess began as patronage, collaboration, argument, lust, and a mutual rescue, mutually botched. It ended in addiction, rehab, and divorce.

Peter has been sober for five years when he receives an invitation to Tess’s wedding, which Tess did not send. The culprit is Sebastian, Tess’s gay younger brother, an affable saboteur with a vape pen, tender damage, and a better instinct for plot than anyone gives him credit for. Peter accepts anyway. He brings Mitch Mitchell, a handsome, restless, bisexual aspiring writer who has not yet written much but is magnificently ready to make life submit to notes. Mitch is meant to serve as Peter’s alibi: proof that the ex-husband has not arrived merely to haunt the floral arrangements. Instead, Mitch becomes the live wire. He wants Peter, is fascinated by Tess, and mistakes access for immunity until the week begins to draw blood.

The book lasts seven days, but it moves by pressure: breakfast plans, dinner traps, storm warnings, rehearsal etiquette, and the tick of a ceremony that begins to sound less like romance than a countdown. Stoddard rotates among Tess, Peter, and Mitch, and the shifts in point of view keep the book from hardening into anyone’s preferred version of events.


Before the storm, the gazebo holds Tess and Peter at a distance – close enough for recognition, far enough for the wedding to remain temporarily standing.

Tess curates. Peter retreats. Mitch takes notes before he understands.

Each believes he or she has the story by the throat. Tess tells herself Warren is the adult choice and Peter the youthful disaster. Peter tells himself he has come for closure, with a little vanity folded discreetly into the luggage. Mitch tells himself he is gathering research. By the end, the tent is wrecked, the ring is off, the engagement is over, and nearly everyone has learned that “moved on” often means “unprocessed” in better clothes.

The premise invites farce; Stoddard keeps handing the farce a bill. Her comedy has teeth because objects remember what people deny. Hermès mules slide on damp planks. A watch from a failed marriage rubs against Peter’s wrist. Champagne flutes remain packed in tissue. A grocery-store cake arrives iced with an apology. A phone is kicked into a swimming pool. A wedding tent swells and collapses in the storm like a creature with opinions about matrimony. Stoddard writes in clean, flexible sentences that know how to carry a joke to the exact place where it becomes an x-ray. People betray themselves by what they notice, what they own, what they assume someone else will clean, and what they cannot bear to throw away.

Class, here, wears its best clothes and insists they are merely practical. Tess’s world never says money when it can say quality, never says class when it can say standards, never says inheritance when it can say family tradition and then order better linens. The Lowell property is not just a setting; it is a machine for turning privilege into atmosphere. Peter, who once lived partly inside that machine and partly as its decorative rebellion, understands how refinement can conceal appetite. Mitch, arriving from Missouri by way of precarious New York service work, is both dazzled and suspicious. He is right to be fascinated by the Lowells. He is wrong to think curiosity can protect him from harm.

The three central voices are distinct without becoming tricks. Tess’s sections are controlled, evaluative, funny in a way that often leaves a bruise. Peter’s are visual, dry, and watchful, trained by portraiture and sobriety. Mitch’s are hungry, associative, self-dramatizing, full of bright improvisations and sudden exposure. Stoddard does not paste labels on these voices. She lets pressure tug the seams loose. Together, they make looking the book’s first form of desire: Peter paints, Mitch watches, Tess arranges herself to be seen and then resents the exposure.

The book is sharpest when it treats art not as expression but as evidence – especially when the subject is still nearby, pretending not to look. Peter paints Tess, and in painting her gives her a version of herself she cannot discard. Tess manages Peter’s career, turning love into advocacy, advocacy into control, and control into something she can mistake for devotion. Mitch writes from the raw material of the week, borrowing pain before he has earned the right to understand it. Everyone wants to be seen. Everyone fears being made useful.

The portrait of Tess is the object the book keeps returning to like a guilty witness. Peter assumes she destroyed it after the divorce. She did not. She left it at her aunt Julia’s house, where Mitch eventually finds it: a younger Tess alive with paint, hair unsettled, gaze bright, not yet sealed into the woman who can organize a wedding but not bear the feeling inside it. The revelation matters because it disproves Tess’s preferred story about herself. She did not erase Peter. She preserved what he saw. The painting is not a romantic souvenir. It is evidence.

Stoddard handles longing with a fine instinct for cross-contamination. Tess and Peter were real. Peter and Mitch are real. Tess and Mitch, in their disastrous way, are real too, though their encounter is volatile, ethically bruised, and soaked in panic. The book does not ask the reader to approve of everyone. It asks for the harder response of understanding how each person becomes briefly intelligible. When Tess sleeps with Mitch, it is not a mere betrayal twist. It is grief routed through another body, jealousy disguised as experiment, and want tangled with the wish to occupy the place someone else holds. Mitch is not seduced like a helpless lamb led toward a very expensive slaughter. He participates, partly out of longing for Tess, partly out of longing for Peter, partly out of the terrible knowledge that Tess once stood at the center of Peter’s life in a way Mitch fears he never can.


The locked pool room turns privacy into exposure, with storm glass, blue-green water, and small objects carrying more danger than any confession.

Mitch’s queerness matters because Stoddard does not give him a neat label-and-liberation story. His bisexuality is awkward, embodied, hopeful, embarrassing, charged with class longing and artistic hunger. He does not simply “find himself” through Peter; he finds several versions of himself, not all of them noble. The same generosity of complication extends to Tess, who could easily have become a brittle rich-woman obstacle. Instead, she is the book’s most dazzling weather system: snobbish, anxious, cruel, magnetic, wounded, intelligent, ridiculous, and much funnier than she intends to be. Tess can ruin the day and still be the most interesting thing happening under the sky.

Peter is drawn with equal care, though his danger is quieter. His self-control can look like grace until it begins to resemble evasion. His sobriety is treated seriously without turning the book into a lesson. After discovering Tess and Mitch together, he does not drink the beer in the guesthouse fridge. He opens the cans one by one and pours them down the drain. It is an act of discipline, yes, but not virtue. Soon after, he reads Mitch’s unfinished manuscript without permission. Stoddard is too alert to let restraint become sainthood. Peter can save himself in one moment and betray someone else’s trust in the next.


In the hospital waiting room, the week’s polished arrangements flatten into fluorescent stillness, where injury and secrecy sit among the empty chairs.

The relatives do what relatives in such novels must: arrive with luggage, grievances, private weather, and at least one match too close to the curtains. Sebastian is the finest comic invention, a wastrel with a pulse and better timing than anyone deserves. Georgia, Tess’s older sister, deepens beautifully in the final third, when her buried history with Warren reframes the supposed safety of Tess’s second choice. Julia, Tess’s aunt, appears late but lands cleanly, telling Tess that it is not too late with the blunt mercy of a woman who knows what a wedding can conceal. Nia, Tess’s best friend and maid of honor, brings polish, fatigue, and loyalty under strain, though her romantic subplot with a senior colleague remains more echo than fully opened chamber. Warren is the thinnest of the major figures. He must be good enough for Tess to choose and divided enough for her to leave; he fulfills the role, but he never acquires the density of Tess, Peter, Mitch, Georgia, or even Sebastian.

The rotating structure lets misreadings accumulate with elegant patience. We know Peter arrives before we know why he truly came. We know Tess insists she has moved on before we know how carefully she has arranged her life around not looking back. We know Mitch is writing before we understand that his fiction is less exposé than confession by other means. We see Warren and Georgia’s awkwardness before we know its history. What follows is not a chain of cheap surprises, but a series of altered readings. Earlier scenes keep changing their clothes.

The pacing is strongest in the first two-thirds, where dinner parties become interrogations, flirtations become data-gathering, and every seating arrangement feels faintly dangerous. Stoddard understands that in a comedy of manners, a meal is never simply a meal.

It is a trial with silverware.

The last act occasionally tries to seat too many emergencies at the same table. The storm logic is theatrically satisfying – blood, rain, blocked roads, a broken pool door, a collapsed tent, exposed secrets, stranded guests – but the final movement requires consequence to sprint. Mitch’s injury, Peter and Mitch’s intimacy, Tess and Mitch’s night together, Peter’s discovery, the punch, the canceled wedding, and the open final gesture arrive in tight succession. The book remains exciting, but a few of its revelations could have used more air. One senses Stoddard wanting every charged line to spark at once. Most do. A few could have burned longer.


The collapsed wedding tent becomes the book’s most civil ruin: cream canvas, bent poles, and good manners undone by weather.

Still, it is difficult to begrudge a debut this much nerve. “Wasp’s Nest” is alert to the absurdity of social performance, the unequal risks of spontaneity, the private brutality of sensible choices, and the way money with manners can make even collapse look well catered. The book never turns sideways to lecture. Its social bite arrives under the napkin: the curated wedding, the political optics, the old money pretending to be mere comfort, the artist trying not to be owned, the writer trying not to steal, the bride trying to prove that a beautiful life is the same as a true one.

The final pages refuse to turn cancellation into cleanliness. Tess ends the marriage before it begins because she sees, finally, that Warren loves Georgia in the way Tess wants to be loved, and that she cannot accept being anyone’s beautifully dressed second choice. Peter and Mitch are leaving, bruised but not finished. Tess walks toward the guesthouse, where the men stand with their luggage. Peter sees her. The shock on his face softens. He smiles. She smiles too.


At the guesthouse threshold, the faded red Honda holds the book’s unfinished goodbye – less resolution than a new way of seeing.

That smile is not closure, not absolution, not quite invitation. I’d rate “Wasp’s Nest” 87/100, which maps to 4/5 Goodreads stars: a sharply made, emotionally perceptive, socially alert debut whose crowded finale slightly overstrains its otherwise elegant design. The wedding fails, the tent comes down, the ring is left behind, and the old arrangement loses its authority. What remains is more precarious and more truthful: three people at the edge of the lawn, all scripts ruined, looking at one another as if the first real ceremony may be the one no one planned.


Early thumbnail studies test how little the image needs to say: pool, hedge, chaise, sky, and the pressure of absence.


The pencil underdrawing fixes the poolside’s emotional architecture before color arrives, leaving the empty chair to do the first work.


The first wash lets the scene begin to breathe, with pale pool blues, hedge greens, and unfinished paper finding the book’s uneasy calm.


The swatch sheet translates the cover’s weather into working pigment – pool water, hedge shadow, stone, cream, and a wasp-yellow pulse.


The border study searches for the right frame: honeycomb, hedge, pool coping, and the faint geometry of enclosure.


The gesture sheet studies the figures removed from the final image, proving that absence can be more revealing than a body.


The value study tests the quiet opposition at the image’s core: pale water against dark hedge, leisure against watchfulness.


The chaise study asks one empty object to carry the body, the secret, and the afterimage of someone who has just left.


The author portrait imagines Kat Stoddard inside the book’s visual weather: poised, witty, slightly strange, and framed by the quiet hazards of “Wasp’s Nest.”

All watercolor illustrations by Demetris Papadimitropoulos.
Watercolors are done on 140lb vellum and then scanned into the computer using an Epson scanner. From there, they are finalized in Procreate. All art and opinions are my own.

[Mary McBride · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Zoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Layered, simmering, and dramatic!⁣
⁣
𝐖𝐀𝐒𝐏’𝐒 𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐓 is an immersive, multi-generational story that explores the complex bonds and emotional scars that shape family relationships and romantic partnerships. It draws readers into a deeply human tale of confronting the past, accepting what cannot be changed, facing difficult truths, discovering one’s authentic self, and finding a way to move forward.⁣
⁣
The prose is nuanced and fluid. The characters are conflicted, self-absorbed, and impulsive. And the plot, told through multiple perspectives, unfolds as an intriguing tale of life, loss, secrets, resentment, desire, need, acceptance, forgiveness, friendship, and family drama.⁣
⁣
Overall, 𝐖𝐀𝐒𝐏’𝐒 𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐓 is a rich, compelling, character-driven novel by Stoddard that reminds readers that life can be complicated, challenging, heartbreaking, messy, and fleeting.⁣

[Julia Jenne]

This felt like the Cape Cod Summer version of that Diane Keaton Christmas movie where the adult children exchange partners at the end but it’s no big deal because everyone is super progressive

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I saw that Wasp's Nest was a retelling of The Philadelphia Story, I was immediately intrigued. The Philadelphia Story, which was based on the play by the same name, came out in 1940 starring Katherine Hepburn, Cary Grant and James Stewart, and is one of my favorite movies. The original plot takes place over the course of several days, leading up to the wedding of socialite Tracy Lord, and when her ex-husband turns up unannounced with a reporter to blackmail her into letting them write an article about the wedding, rich-people-behaving-badly chaos ensues.

We have a lot of the same elements here: it takes place over the course of a week; it’s centered around the upcoming wedding of Tess Lowell to her Senate hopeful fiancée Warren; and her artist turned professor ex-husband, Peter Hyun shows up having “accidentally” been invited, with Mitch Mitchell, a wannabe writer/out of work waiter in tow as his fake date. The story follows a similar rhythm as the original but it had enough originality to give it a life of its own while keeping the main heart of the story. The biggest divergence in the plot is that Peter is bisexual, and so is Mitch, which leads to a different take on the original love triangle element. This plot point didn’t take up as much space as I had hoped going into it, but on reflection it was just what was needed here, if it had been anything more it would have detracted from the story.

Our three POV’s are Tess, Peter and Mitch, and it’s written in third person present tense. I usually have a hard time with that narrative style, but in this case it worked, and it stopped bothering me fairly quickly as I was immersed in the characters. When we meet them, Tess is somewhat cold and rigid, Peter is aloof but observant, and Mitch, bless his heart, is earnest and eager to experience life, which makes for three very distinct narratives as they all cautiously circle each other. Peter was the character that didn’t feel quite as full to me as the others, he held himself back so much and didn’t give too much of himself away. However, that air of mystery and hidden depth also lent some credence as to why both Tess and Mitch would gravitate towards him; he had a quiet calm about him while they were both in the midst of their own personal storms. Nearly all of the side characters had enough depth that it kept them from feeling merely like background props or only there to further the plot; Sebastian and Anna were my personal favorites.

Now, would I have loved this as much as I did if I hadn’t had the previous iteration to root myself in? I can’t honestly say. It was hard for me to separate the two, and I kept seeing enough echoes and shadows of the original that it made me feel nostalgic, which could have influenced my overall opinion. I have always loved how the story centers on realizing people can change and grow, and that sometimes the expectations we have aren’t always realistic when it comes to loving people (and ourselves) well. I thought those themes still came through beautifully in the book.

The author does a good job of painting you a picture (art pun intended) of these people and who they are at their core; while still letting you clearly see all their faults and foibles. Despite their messiness, you want to root for them, even if you can’t quite agree with some of their choices, and I found the ending, while maybe not super clear, fitting for the purposes of the story. I think anyone who likes a character study with messy people figuring things out will really enjoy this one.

Thank you to Celadon books for allowing me to read an advanced copy! All thoughts and opinions are my own and freely given.

[Leanne Hale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many thanks to Celadon Books and NetGalley for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Wasp's Nest is a retelling of The Philadelphia Story, a movie starring Katherine Hepburn, Cary Grant, and Spencer Tracy, in which a socialite's ex-husband comes to her wedding in order to blackmail her. I know the plot of this movie, but have never seen it. And while I get that it's a retelling, I think that sets up false expectations for this book, and I think that's a shame.
Tess and Warren, the perfect WASP couple (as in White Anglo-Saxon Protestant) are getting married at her parent's home in a wealthy Northeastern coastal enclave. Somehow, Tess's ex-husband, Peter, an artist whom Tess also once represented, has been invited. He is perplexed by this since they haven't spoken since their divorce 5 years prior, but with some encouragement from friends, decides to to go. He also decides to take Mitch, a young man he has just met at a dinner party, as his fake date to make himself a bit more comfortable, and we must surmise, Tess a bit less.
I ended up enjoying this much more than expected, and most likely for reasons others aren't. Stoddard brings out the WASPyness of Tess's family here; she is emotionally distant and disconnected and does a lot of shoving down and ignoring of her feelings and gut instincts. Peter, while certainly not a WASP- he is Asian American and working class- often does the same, but we also get glimpses of why. He is bisexual man from a very religious and unaccepting household. Stoddard gives us just as much of this backstory as we need to understand, which I appreciated. The wild card here is Mitch, younger, naive, inherently decent, also bisexual, and certainly a fish out of water. The train wreck ensues.
These people make awful decisions. There are clearly many things going on here that no one is seeking to actively resolve, and no one is talking about- at least not directly. There is definitely a love triangle (like a FOR REAL triangle) or maybe two. This should be melodramatic and overwrought and full of tropes... but it's not. The emotional distance the characters keep somehow makes this story feel different, as does the queer angle. And even though I wanted to shake them all, I ended up feeling so much empathy for them, and really wanting the best for everyone. Unlikeable maybe (usually a green flag for me as I find it typically means "interesting") but not trying to actively do harm. They just can't get out of their own ways.
Back to The Philadelphia Story- while there are laughs here, it it not really comedic, and there is most definitely not the charm here found in the trio from the movie. It's edgier and a bit darker and no one is trying to be cute. I'm not sure who I would I recommend this to, because I don't think it's going to be what most are expecting, but it was win for me precisely because of that, and I look forward to seeing what Stoddard does next.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for this gifted audiobook.

📝 Short Summary
Wasp’s Nest is a tense family centered story filled with complicated relationships, emotional dysfunction, buried tension, and characters struggling to navigate the messiness of family dynamics and personal connection.

💭 Review
The audiobook narration was honestly the strongest part of this experience for me. The narrator did a really solid job bringing the emotional tension and uncomfortable family dynamics to life, which helped keep me engaged even during moments where the story itself felt slower or harder for me to emotionally connect with.

I usually really enjoy books centered around dysfunctional families because I love messy relationships, emotional tension, layered characters, and complicated family dynamics. Those kinds of stories are usually exactly my thing. Unfortunately, this one just didn’t fully click for me the way I hoped it would.

For me personally, the biggest issue was feeling emotionally disconnected from parts of the story and characters. The tension was definitely there, and I could appreciate what the book was trying to do emotionally, but I struggled to fully invest in everyone the way I wanted to. Sometimes with family centered stories, I need at least one character or relationship to emotionally hook me, and I never completely found that connection here.

That being said, I still think the audiobook itself was well done. The narration helped carry the atmosphere and emotional discomfort in a way that worked really well for the story. There were moments where the family dynamics felt painfully realistic, awkward, and emotionally messy, which I think a lot of readers who enjoy slower character driven stories may appreciate more than I did.

This ended up being more of a middle ground read for me overall. I didn’t dislike it, but it also wasn’t one that emotionally grabbed me the entire way through.

✅ Would I Recommend It?
I would recommend it to readers who enjoy emotionally messy family dramas, character driven stories, and uncomfortable dysfunctional family dynamics, especially in audiobook format.

[Larry H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tess is getting ready for her second marriage. She’s marrying Warren, an old friend of her family’s. He’s running for the state senate and he’s a dependable, serious, steady man who loves her.

Warren is quite different from Peter, Tess’ first husband. They met while Peter was a talented art student and Tess had just graduated from college. She had family money, he worked as a cater waiter to make ends meet. But Tess was intrigued by his talent and soon after, they fell into a tempestuous relationship which led to an impulsive marriage.

The marriage ended when Peter got out of rehab for alcoholism. Both have tried to put their past behind them. But Peter is shocked to receive an invitation to Tess’ wedding, and an opportunity to bring a plus one.

There’s really no reason Peter should go to the wedding, but if Tess has seemingly moved on, shouldn’t he show that he has too? He decides to bring Mitch, a handsome young man and aspiring writer, and they’ll pretend they’ve been dating for a while. Mitch is excited to find inspiration in the wedding and the reunion of exes. He’s also hoping that Peter will be interested in him romantically.

No one is counting on all of the drama that will ensue. Peter’s appearance dredges up a lot of past hurts and recriminations, and forces both him and Tess to re-examine their relationship and their feelings for each other. Mitch starts to fall for both Peter and Tess. And as other secrets emerge, no one is quite sure what the actual wedding will bring.

I thought this was a really well-told story and an exploration of a fascinating set of relationships. Tess wasn’t particularly likable but as she starts to spiral out of control, she becomes (slightly) more sympathetic. I’m a big fan of family dynamics and dysfunction, and this book gave me lots of both!!

See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com.

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[Ruben Martinez Jr. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 3.7★

Wasp’s Nest is one of those books where I never quite knew where things were headed, and that’s largely what kept me turning the pages. Part romance, part modern-day comedy of manners, with a dash of mystery, it unfolds almost like a whodunit, except instead of trying to figure out who committed a crime, you’re trying to figure out where everyone’s hearts are actually going to land by the time the wedding day comes around.

The setup is delightfully messy. An ex-husband unexpectedly invited to his former wife’s high-society wedding, the ex-husband's handsome younger "boyfriend" (we love a fake relationship trope), the bride-to-be's new safe, boring, predictable groom (or is he?), and enough tangled feelings to keep everyone (including the reader) guessing where this is all headed. Even when I wasn’t entirely convinced by the characters’ decisions, I appreciated that the novel consistently refused to take the easy path.

That unpredictability won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, though. I found the Mitch character to be particularly erratic, in a way that didn't feel in line with the rest of the cast (who certainly had their moments of chaos, but felt a bit more believable overall). From quitting his job on a whim to follow a man he’d barely met to a Cape Cod wedding, to repeatedly making impulsive decisions throughout the week, he often felt as though he existed to stir the pot, rather than being a fully grounded person. Whether that’s intentional or simply part of the heightened, screwball tone of the novel, I’m not entirely sure, but it occasionally made it harder for me to buy into his perspective.

Still, the pacing is excellent, the spice is spicy, the ensemble cast is entertaining (can we get a standalone Sebastian novel?), and the book remains engaging precisely because it never settles into a familiar groove. If you’re looking for a love story where the destination is never obvious, Wasp’s Nest is an intriguing ride.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance review copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Christin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Wasp's Nest is a delicious exploration of what happens when you throw three people with unfinished business into one place and let the tension simmer. The Cape Cod setting provides the perfect backdrop for all this chaos—beautiful, contained, impossible to escape.
Tess is getting married to Warren, a man who represents everything steady and safe after her first marriage to Peter imploded spectacularly. When Peter shows up at the wedding with Mitch, a charming younger man he's presenting as his boyfriend, the carefully orchestrated narrative Tess has constructed about moving on starts to crack.
What I loved was the absolute mess of it all. This isn't a neat love triangle where everyone has clearly defined feelings. It's complicated and contradictory and honest about desire in ways most books shy away from. Mitch develops feelings for both of them, which could feel contrived, but instead it feels inevitable given who these people are and what they're drawn to in each other.
The Cape Cod setting crackles with tension. There's something about that world of old money and social expectations that makes the emotional chaos feel even more charged. Everyone knows everyone, appearances matter, and maintaining the veneer of propriety while everything underneath is falling apart creates constant friction.
What makes the book work is that the author doesn't judge any of these characters for wanting what they want. Peter and Tess have genuine history and unresolved feelings. Warren is just a guy caught in the crossfire. Mitch is searching for something real and finding it in two people who are equally searching.
The pace keeps you moving, and the humor comes from recognizing how absurd it all is while also understanding exactly why these people are behaving this way. By the end, you're rooting for all of them to figure out what actually matters.
Disclaimer: I received an advance reader copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

[Read_with_Beans · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5 stars - story
5/5 stars - audiobook


Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC of Wasp's Nest by Kat Stoddard, narrated by Eric Yang, Major Curda, and Mia Wurgaft.

This program features multicast narration
Duration: 9 Hours, 48 Minutes, 35 Seconds

Messy, messy, messy. That is the only word that can be used to describe this story. The author did an excellent job putting a new spin on the classic film, The Philadelphia Story. This book, Wasp’s Nest, is a witty, gripping love triangle unfolding over the course of seven chaotic days at a Cape Cod wedding. And in case you were wondering, yes, it is THAT wasp. (W.A.S.P.)

For those unfamiliar with The Philadelphia Story, this book takes place when the FMC is getting ready for her big society wedding in New England, and yes, it is her second marriage. What could make the stress of a wedding even better when her ex-husband shows up and brings a plus one, who is a man. The fact that the plus one is a man isn’t the issue; the issue is that the plus one soon develops feelings for the bride and her ex-husband. See what I mean about messy?!?!

The book is told in multiple POV, with each of the main characters having a perspective. This led to an incredible opportunity for the production of the audiobook. The multicast narration led to my enjoyment of the story. I felt like I was a guest at the wedding, and each of the characters was pulling me aside to tell me their thoughts. I thought the narrators were extremely talented and brought the story to life. Imagine all the drama of an episode of the Real Housewives (whatever city) but with less yelling and table-flipping. There were no issues with the narrators’ voices being recorded at different volumes, as I have experienced in other multicast narrated audiobooks. While I didn’t enjoy the story as much as I was hoping to, I did enjoy the audiobook. I would be interested in seeing what the author writes in the future.

[Sally · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book just didn’t do it for me, probably because of the heavy promotion to capitalize on its self-description as “A modern retelling of The Philadelphia Story.” That is a high bar and Wasp’s Nest did not meet it. The Philadelphia Story is charming, witty and funny, with sharp, rapid-fire dialogue and a family (and also the reporter and photographer) that may be at odds but still display care and concern for each other, even with their high-maintenance daughter. Social mores, values and expectations are touched upon. Wasp’s Nest has none of that. The only remote comparison between the movie and this book would be a wealthy East Coast family, an impending second marriage and a strong-willed daughter.

That said, without the hype and the attempt to become the next Philadelphia Story, Wasp’s Nest is a serviceable, intense look at a dysfunctional family, an impulsive first marriage that almost immediately didn’t feel right but has left some residual feelings, a looming second marriage that doesn’t quite feel right either but is being contemplated in part because it feels like the right next step for Tess to prove she’s matured and is done with her wild ways. The family dynamics are harsh and complicated; almost all of the characters are unlikeable and unrelatable. There are a few well-placed surprises and revelations and the ending is formulated to leave you wondering if you’ve picked up every little nuance.

I received advance print copy and an audio copy featuring excellent, varied narration by Eric Yang, Major Curda, and Mia Wurgaft from Celadon Press as a Celadon Reader. As always, Celadon has made a well-considered selection of a book that is unusual and interesting; even if it did not hit the mark for me I am sure many others will thoroughly enjoy it. I voluntarily leave this review; all opinions are my own.