Nice to Come Home to...Review

About the book:
A funny, entertaining novel of love and family for our times: a single woman who fears she's lost her chance at a family of her own, begins to accumulate an ad hoc one around her.

Everyone around Prudence Whistler, thirty-six, seems to be settling down. Her once single girlfriends have married and had babies. Her gay best friend is discussing marriage with his partner. Even her irresponsible younger sister, Patsy, is the single mother of a two-year-old. But when Pru panics at losing her mediocre boyfriend of two years-and begins to see the door to her traditional family life closing-she accidentally finds something even better: a new definition of family and happiness. First, it's the crazy cat who moves into her apartment. Then come Pru's headstrong sister and two-year-old niece. Then the niece's dog, the sister's ex-boyfriend, and, ultimately, Patsy and Pru's widowed mother. With the strength of her modern new household, Pru musters the confidence to open the dress shop she's always wanted in town-and discovers an extended family of sorts in the community of shop owners and devoted customers. It's only then that she ends up with the man of her dreams. Endearing, romantic, and satisfying, Nice to Come Home to is a charming, crowd-pleasing debut.

This book was a let-down for me. I'd seen so many good reviews that I was excited to read it. And, I liked Prudence. In many ways I could relate to her, and her quirkiness. At 36, she loses her job and her boyfriend, and realizes that life has passed her by. Her self-confidence is gone, her biological clock is ticking and she's not sure what she wants to do with her life. Unfortunately for me, it took too much time for Pru to find herself.

On paper, this seems like a promising novel. Very well written with a great heroine, it's got colorful and quirky supporting characters and a funky DC neighborhood. In reading it, however, I found myself anxious for it to be over. For all my relating to Pru, I found that I didn't really care about what happened to her. It should have only taken me a day or less to finish it, but I kept putting it down and making myself go back to it.

There is mild profanity, but it's not too distracting.

Thanks to my local library for having a copy I could borrow.  You can purchase your own copy here.

Read 10/08

* * 
2/5 Stars

Comments

  1. It's frustrating when you're reading a novel where you don't care what happens to those in it. It does make it drag on and on. Too bad though because this one did sound like it had a really intersting premise.

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  2. It is so upsetting when you so look forward to reading a story and try as you might, you just can't get into it like you had wanted to or hoped.
    Great review and honesty toward your thoughts on the book!

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