Author: Suzanne Nugent
Narrator: Janina Edwards
Publisher: She Writes Press
Publication Date: May 2020
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Buy the Book: Amazon | BN | Audible
Description: The only thing reclusive bookworm Nora, high-powered attorney Christina, and supermom-in-training Leanne ever had in common was their best friend, Molly. When Molly dies, she leaves mysterious gifts and cryptic notes for each of her grieving best friends, along with one final request: that these three mismatched frenemies have brunch together every month for a year.
Filled with heart wrenching scenes and witty prose, Brunch and Other Obligations explores the intricate dynamics of girlhood acquaintances who are forced to reconnect as women. This upbeat novel reminds readers that there’s hope for getting through the hard times in life―with a lot of patience, humor, and a standing brunch date.
My Thoughts: If you go by the description of this book, like I did, you would expect this book to have mandatory tissues at the ready. Though this book gave me a few moments of the feels, I was quite surprised at how witty this story actually was and easy to relate to. We all have that friend in our lives that we consider our best friend even though she may be friends with other women who also consider her their best friend. The tricky part is you know these other friends, but having a mutual best friend does not make you friends with them. In fact, you barely tolerate each other.
The story begins on the heels of the death of Molly, best friend of three other women, Nora, Leanne and Christina. These women have all known each other forever but Molly’s friendship is the only thing they have in common. After Molly’s funeral, they gather at the home of Molly’s parents where they are each given an item that Molly treasured to take and keep. They are also instructed that they are to meet every month for brunch for a year and this is where I really thought the story got interesting. These women have nothing in common so the expected awkwardness and drawn-out silences run rampant and they can only talk about Molly so much before that subject runs its course too.
The chapters are broken up between the three women and their individual points of view where the reader gets the opportunity to know each of them better. Nora is reclusive and avoids contact with others as much as possible. Christina is struggling with her mother’s Alzheimer’s and Leanne is desperate to start a family. Their brunch dates also gave me a lot of understanding into Molly’s personality.
The author does a great job of drawing characters all struggling with the loss of their best friend while being thrust into uncomfortable situations and managing their own lives and struggles. This was my first time reading this author and I will be looking for more of her work. I paired the reading of this book with the audio format and Janina Edwards’s narration was excellently performed. Her performance gave me a lot of insight into the lives of these women which helped me to get to know them better.
My Final Verdict: Overall, I found this book very enjoyable and was probably just as surprised as they were when they started to become friends. I highly recommend this book to readers who enjoy women’s fiction and relationship driven stories.
Thank you to the publisher, She Writes Press, who provided an advance reader copy of this book via NetGalley.
No comments:
Post a Comment