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Guide to Awesome
Contemporary Romance
Ballantine Books
2/23/16
In this powerful and uplifting novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber, a mother and her daughter-in-law bravely leave their troubled marriages and face the challenge of starting over. Leaning on each other, Nichole and Leanne discover that their inner strength and capacity for love are greater than they ever imagined.
When Nichole discovers that her husband, Jake, has been unfaithful, the illusion of her perfect life is indelibly shattered. While juggling her young son, a new job, and volunteer work, Nichole meets Rocco, who is the opposite of Jake in nearly every way. Though blunt-spoken and rough around the edges, Rocco proves to be a dedicated father and thoughtful friend. But just as their relationship begins to blossom, Jake wagers everything on winning Nichole back—including their son Owen’s happiness. Somehow, Nichole must find the courage to defy her fears and follow her heart, with far-reaching consequences for them all.
Leanne has quietly ignored her husband’s cheating for decades, but is jolted into action by the echo of Nichole’s all-too-familiar crisis. While volunteering as a teacher of English as a second language, Leanne meets Nikolai, a charming, talented baker from Ukraine. Resolved to avoid the heartache and complications of romantic entanglements, Leanne nonetheless finds it difficult to resist Nikolai’s effusive overtures—until an unexpected tragedy tests the very fabric of her commitments.
An inspiring novel of friendship, reinvention, and hope, A Girl’s Guide to Moving On affirms the ability of every woman to forge a new path, believe in love, and fearlessly find happiness.
Picking Up the Pieces at Any Age is a Challenge;
We All Need a Girl’s Guide to Moving On
We have all had “the break-up” that leaves us totaled. Sometimes, we’re lucky enough to have friends experiencing the same hardships when we need someone to understand.
But what if that someone is your soon-to-be-ex-mother-in-law? (that’s a LOT of hyphenation!)
In A Girl’s Guide to Moving On by Debbie Macomber, Nichole’s husband is a lying cheat. The problem is that his father is ALSO a lying cheat and has been for most of his married life. When Nichole refuses to stand by and take it when she finds out about her husband’s infidelity, her mother-in-law also finds the strength to leave a decades-long lonely marriage.
Nichole and Leanne must figure out how to leave behind their lifestyle, their homes, their friends, and everything they have known. They must also secure a loving environment for Nichole’s child, and begin the healing process.
So, to the review part….
I.loved.this.book.
I have never read a Debbie Macomber book before this one, but if they’re all this wonderfully constructed, I would be really pleased to read more! Macomber seamlessly interweaves the lives of the two women, their individual trials, potential romances and histories. The romances don’t feel forced, or contrived, which is saying a lot given this genre.
What do I mean?
I love reading romance novels, but either the female protagonists in them are desperate to find a replacement man immediately, or they have “sworn off men”. In this case, both women remain at least subconsciously hopeful that they can love again, if their list is any indicator. They have also waited several years from the horrific “ends” of their marriages, and though they aren’t looking for love, they never come off as completely closed off to it either, albeit scared and insecure.
Back to my original point, we can all relate to that lost feeling of a painful breakup, some of us to a broken marriage – or to the horror of someone you love seeking affection from someone else. We’ve all experienced changes in life, or reworking our lives. We’ve all been Leanne or Nichole at some point.
If you can say that, a book has done what it’s meant to do. I suggest you pick this one up; I finished it in one night because I couldn’t help myself and I doubt you’ll have a different reaction. Buy it here.
Check out Debbie Macomber’s author page on LitBuzz!
Meg, AKA the Queen Bee (QB) founded LitBuzz in 2015 as a way for her favorite authors to more-readily provide books to a legitimized reviewer. At the time, she never thought it would grow to include a dozen people, hundreds of authors and thousands of reviews.
Most of the time, you can find her with a bulldog at her feet in her home office in Pittsburgh, writing content or developing brand campaigns for clients – or sneaking a quick read of a new release.
She’s married to a great guy, has two amazing grown daughters and more animals than sense. 😉