Otherwise Engaged by Lindsey Palmer
Published: February 26, 2019
Publisher: Skyhorse
Pages: 304
Genres: romance, chick lit, contemporary fiction
Rating: 3 stars
Recommend to fans of: character studies, women whose lives aren’t happily ever after
Foodie Vibes: wedding cake tasting and then hitting the local bar afterwards
Synopsis:
Life is sweet for New Yorkers Molly and Gabe: They’re young, in love, and newly engaged.
But when Gabe sells his first novel—a thinly-veiled retelling of his wild love affair with ex-girlfriend Talia—and it becomes a national sensation, Molly can’t help but feel like the third wheel. To make matters worse, Talia reappears in Gabe’s life, eager to capitalize on the book’s success and to rekindle what she had with Gabe… at least, that’s how it seems to Molly. But even more concerning? Gabe doesn’t seem concerned at all. Instead, he’s delighting in his newfound fame and success.
Jealous, paranoid, and increasingly desperate, Molly starts to spin out of control. Her social life, work life, and love life all go to pieces. As fact and fiction, and past and present, begin to blur, Molly realizes the only way out of this downward spiral is to fight her way back up. But what—if anything—will be left of her life and her relationship when she arrives?
Review:
Thank you to NetGalley, Skyhorse, and Lindsey Palmer for an ARC ebook copy to review. As always, an honest review from me.
Like:
- The character of Sam – she’s unsure about life, but she tells it like it is
- It’s a character study
- The storylines with Molly’s mom — so sweet!
- Watching a far from perfect relationship unfold
Love: —
Dislike:
- Gabe’s book — the writing is so cringe worthy
- Doesn’t go very in depth into so many hard hitting topics such as uncertainty in relationships, becoming a mother, addiction, medical fraud, and more. There’s so much potential to really understand the characters’ feelings about experiences about these struggles.
- People cheating on each other — ahhhhh, one of the things I really dislike in books
Wish that:
- Molly had just finished reading Gabe’s book, because then maybe she wouldn’t have freaked out so much
- I liked more of the characters. None of them really resonated with me, and I wanted to shake them out of so many of their bad actions.
- Was marketed correctly – I thought I was getting into a fluffy romance novel, but that wasn’t the case.
Overall, I feel like this is either a book you’ll love or go “meh” about. I’m in the later category. For me it’s less about the quality but more about the fit between the book and reader.
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