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The Good Life
Between workouts, charity events, and shopping, Ann Barons keeps her days as full as her walk-in closets. She shares an immaculate house with her CEO husband, Mike, and their two teenagers, Nate and Lauren. It’s a luxurious life, far from her homespun childhood on a farm in eastern Pennsylvania…which is why Ann is wary when her elderly parents ask to move in temporarily.
Ann prepares in the way she knows best—hiring decorators and employing a full-time nurse for her dementia-stricken father. But nothing can prepare her for the transformations ahead. Soon, her mother Eileen is popping in to prepare soups and roasts in Ann’s underused kitchen, while the usually surly Nate forms an alliance with his ailing grandfather. Lauren blossoms under Eileen’s guidance, and even workaholic Mike finds time to attend high-school football games. But it’s Ann who must make the biggest leap, and confront the choices and values that have kept her floating on life’s surface for so long.
Timely, poignant, and wise, The Good Life is a deeply satisfying and beautifully written story about the complex relationships between parents and children—and the gap that often lies between what we seek, and what will truly make us whole.
Ann prepares in the way she knows best—hiring decorators and employing a full-time nurse for her dementia-stricken father. But nothing can prepare her for the transformations ahead. Soon, her mother Eileen is popping in to prepare soups and roasts in Ann’s underused kitchen, while the usually surly Nate forms an alliance with his ailing grandfather. Lauren blossoms under Eileen’s guidance, and even workaholic Mike finds time to attend high-school football games. But it’s Ann who must make the biggest leap, and confront the choices and values that have kept her floating on life’s surface for so long.
Timely, poignant, and wise, The Good Life is a deeply satisfying and beautifully written story about the complex relationships between parents and children—and the gap that often lies between what we seek, and what will truly make us whole.
352 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2013
123 people are currently reading
723 people want to read
About the author
Susan Kietzman
7 books162 followersSusan Kietzman grew up in Fairfield, Connecticut. She went to Connecticut College, where her mother, aunt, and grandmother went before her. After graduation, she worked in Manhattan just long enough to realize that she feels more at home in the country than in the city. This conviction did not prevent her from going to journalism school at Boston University. Kietzman next moved
to Mystic, CT, where she worked at a weekly and then a daily newspaper. Along the way, she met and married Ted and had three sons.
The family spent time in Aurora, Ontario, and then moved Midland, Michigan, where Kietzman wrote fiction in the early morning, taught English composition at a community college, and worked for various public relations firms, creating content for corporate clients. When the family moved back to Connecticut, she continued teaching community college students and started writing grants for Mystic Seaport. She has since left the classroom and the Museum and is focusing all her writing time on fiction.
She spends her free time enjoying the outdoors – walking, hiking, biking – and reading good writing.
to Mystic, CT, where she worked at a weekly and then a daily newspaper. Along the way, she met and married Ted and had three sons.
The family spent time in Aurora, Ontario, and then moved Midland, Michigan, where Kietzman wrote fiction in the early morning, taught English composition at a community college, and worked for various public relations firms, creating content for corporate clients. When the family moved back to Connecticut, she continued teaching community college students and started writing grants for Mystic Seaport. She has since left the classroom and the Museum and is focusing all her writing time on fiction.
She spends her free time enjoying the outdoors – walking, hiking, biking – and reading good writing.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 75 reviews
October 20, 2014
An Albanian born, American author, Besa Kosova has quoted about money as:
“Money can't buy happiness, but it certainly is a stress reliever.”
Certainly for 40-something, Ann Barons, "money" was a stress-reliever, but was not an object for gaining happiness in her life. But for Ann Barons "money" acted as a cushion to all her problems and sadness. In Susan Kietzman, an American author's, debut novel, The Good Life, the author has put the limelight on the having a good life with or without money and material possessions, where, Ann Barons, her protagonist is put on a position where she has to choose between money and love.
I'd like to thank the author, Susan Kietzman, immensely for giving me this opportunity to read and review her debut book.
Ann Barons has everything- a wealthy and good-looking husband, Mike, two teenagers, Nate and Lauren, who can literally take care of themselves without involving Ann, a 24*7 house help, a million dollar house in the upscale location of the town. And among Ann's many talents, Ann loved redecorating her million dollar house most of the time by hiring some celebrity decorators and throwing charity events and charity dinners at her home and loved wasting her time and body by working out. She was a work-out freak, even at 40-something age, Ann had an unbelievable figure of size 2. It definitely sounds like Ann had indeed a good life, until her Alzeimer-sticken father and mother comes to live with the Barons. Everything falls apart for Ann. Ann's mother; Eileen takes over the control of Ann's very own kitchen to winning away the hearts of Ann's kids in an instant with her talent of cooking exotic and mouth-watering dishes. Ann was beginning to feel left out from the small cocoon of happiness that was starting to bloom in the very core of her house. To drown her sorrows, Ann started drinking and made herself more shut out from her very own family. But will Ann be successful in getting back the life she is most fond of? Will Eileen be successful in getting some sense into Ann's head?
Frankly speaking, from the very moment, I started reading the book, the pace was very slow, but once, I was down to 150 pages, I felt myself revolving along with Ann among her posh-ness and wealth and feeling sorry for Ann's pleasures. It is quite evident that too much money makes you a lonely person and there was no doubt that Ann was a sorry, lonely woman who forgot to enjoy and feel proud about her children's joy and success, forgot to compliment her own mother, and most above all, she became self-centered and self-obsessed with herself. Eileen is the perfect mother, who tried to bring some control in Ann's messed up household, and tried to feed up good food to her grand children. A very mesmerizing and thoroughly heart-touching family story that helps to instill the family values like praying before dinner, complimenting one-another, caring for one-another, spending time with one-another, etc. It's a must read for all those, who have forgot to look back to your parents for whom you have become what you're today!
The characters have enough depth to pull you into the story. The narration and flow of the story was quite strikingly penned by the author. And the author has unfolded her story with love, pleasure and warmth, and you can almost feel the warmth in author's carefully chosen words.
So folks grab this book to feel the love about those who matter the most in your life.
“Money can't buy happiness, but it certainly is a stress reliever.”
Certainly for 40-something, Ann Barons, "money" was a stress-reliever, but was not an object for gaining happiness in her life. But for Ann Barons "money" acted as a cushion to all her problems and sadness. In Susan Kietzman, an American author's, debut novel, The Good Life, the author has put the limelight on the having a good life with or without money and material possessions, where, Ann Barons, her protagonist is put on a position where she has to choose between money and love.
I'd like to thank the author, Susan Kietzman, immensely for giving me this opportunity to read and review her debut book.
Ann Barons has everything- a wealthy and good-looking husband, Mike, two teenagers, Nate and Lauren, who can literally take care of themselves without involving Ann, a 24*7 house help, a million dollar house in the upscale location of the town. And among Ann's many talents, Ann loved redecorating her million dollar house most of the time by hiring some celebrity decorators and throwing charity events and charity dinners at her home and loved wasting her time and body by working out. She was a work-out freak, even at 40-something age, Ann had an unbelievable figure of size 2. It definitely sounds like Ann had indeed a good life, until her Alzeimer-sticken father and mother comes to live with the Barons. Everything falls apart for Ann. Ann's mother; Eileen takes over the control of Ann's very own kitchen to winning away the hearts of Ann's kids in an instant with her talent of cooking exotic and mouth-watering dishes. Ann was beginning to feel left out from the small cocoon of happiness that was starting to bloom in the very core of her house. To drown her sorrows, Ann started drinking and made herself more shut out from her very own family. But will Ann be successful in getting back the life she is most fond of? Will Eileen be successful in getting some sense into Ann's head?
Frankly speaking, from the very moment, I started reading the book, the pace was very slow, but once, I was down to 150 pages, I felt myself revolving along with Ann among her posh-ness and wealth and feeling sorry for Ann's pleasures. It is quite evident that too much money makes you a lonely person and there was no doubt that Ann was a sorry, lonely woman who forgot to enjoy and feel proud about her children's joy and success, forgot to compliment her own mother, and most above all, she became self-centered and self-obsessed with herself. Eileen is the perfect mother, who tried to bring some control in Ann's messed up household, and tried to feed up good food to her grand children. A very mesmerizing and thoroughly heart-touching family story that helps to instill the family values like praying before dinner, complimenting one-another, caring for one-another, spending time with one-another, etc. It's a must read for all those, who have forgot to look back to your parents for whom you have become what you're today!
The characters have enough depth to pull you into the story. The narration and flow of the story was quite strikingly penned by the author. And the author has unfolded her story with love, pleasure and warmth, and you can almost feel the warmth in author's carefully chosen words.
So folks grab this book to feel the love about those who matter the most in your life.
April 10, 2013
The book was interesting and drew you into the characters but... I don't think I was left wanting more. To me it did not seem to go far enough with Ann. I just really did not get this character nor did there seem to be a resolution. While it was an interesting read and made me want to read it... I was just left feeling like that's it?
February 18, 2014
Really??? Main character remains selfish and self-centered with no redeeming traits. Strange ending.
July 16, 2017
Sometimes it takes a little love, patience, and compassion to have someone realize life is not all about money.
April 15, 2013
This is a story about Ann Barons who is married to a very successful CEO, has 2 teenagers and more money than she knows what to do with. When her mother calls one day and tells Ann that she needs help with her father, who has dementia, Ann reluctantly agrees to let them come stay until a room opens up at a assisted living home. She decides to put them in the guest house, hires a decorator to redo it telling her to replace the furniture with inexpensive wood composite furniture that Ann could simply donate to the Salvation Army when her parents left. The two kids, Nate and Lauren, don't really know their grandparents and aren't happy that they are coming even for a short time. Ann assures them that the grandparents will only come over to the main house on Sundays for dinner and the rest of the time stay in the guest house away from them. But her mother Eileen has different ideas.
This book brings out so many emotions and it was interesting to see the kids change under the loving hands of their grandmother. Ann is the only one that is unlikable throughout the whole book. Because Ann wanted to forget her simple upbringing on the family farm, she rarely visited her aging parents. She has it all and yet is reluctant to share even the slightest bit with her parents. All her mother wants is to spend more time with her only child and all Ann wants is for her mother to stay in the guest house and leave her alone to her drinking which is what Ann does best. When Mike points out to her that her drinking is getting out of control all Ann has to do is pout and tell him he is being mean for Mike to once again turn a blind eye to it. Not only does Ann not have time for her parents, she also doesn't have time for her children, she doesn't cook for them, attend their sporting events, doesn't even take the time to know their friends. At one point Mike says "The kids will be out of the house in a few years" and Ann responds with "God, I dream about that." Mike is not quite as shallow as Ann is but in thinking that he is providing a good life for his family he feels justified in not having any interaction with his children.
The book for me was about watching Nate and Lauren go from kids who didn't want to be in their grandparents presence to wanting to be with them all the time. As Lauren learns to cook with her grandmother and other life lessons Nate forms a bond with his grandfather that is so heartwarming. The only two people who really don't get it is Ann and Mike. Right up to the end I kept waiting for the parents to think of what would be best for Nate, Lauren, Eileen and Sam but Ann and Mike stayed just as self absorbed and selfish to the last page, which I think was written in an attempt to make the reader like Ann. At the end when Sam pulled Nate in for a hug and whispered "You are my best friend" I could not quit crying.
Read this book if you want to read a feel good story. You will fall in love with Eileen, Sam, Lauren and Nate. This book was so good I read it in one day, I simply could not go to sleep until I read the last page. I won this from LibraryThing Members Giveaway and I highly recommend this book.
This book brings out so many emotions and it was interesting to see the kids change under the loving hands of their grandmother. Ann is the only one that is unlikable throughout the whole book. Because Ann wanted to forget her simple upbringing on the family farm, she rarely visited her aging parents. She has it all and yet is reluctant to share even the slightest bit with her parents. All her mother wants is to spend more time with her only child and all Ann wants is for her mother to stay in the guest house and leave her alone to her drinking which is what Ann does best. When Mike points out to her that her drinking is getting out of control all Ann has to do is pout and tell him he is being mean for Mike to once again turn a blind eye to it. Not only does Ann not have time for her parents, she also doesn't have time for her children, she doesn't cook for them, attend their sporting events, doesn't even take the time to know their friends. At one point Mike says "The kids will be out of the house in a few years" and Ann responds with "God, I dream about that." Mike is not quite as shallow as Ann is but in thinking that he is providing a good life for his family he feels justified in not having any interaction with his children.
The book for me was about watching Nate and Lauren go from kids who didn't want to be in their grandparents presence to wanting to be with them all the time. As Lauren learns to cook with her grandmother and other life lessons Nate forms a bond with his grandfather that is so heartwarming. The only two people who really don't get it is Ann and Mike. Right up to the end I kept waiting for the parents to think of what would be best for Nate, Lauren, Eileen and Sam but Ann and Mike stayed just as self absorbed and selfish to the last page, which I think was written in an attempt to make the reader like Ann. At the end when Sam pulled Nate in for a hug and whispered "You are my best friend" I could not quit crying.
Read this book if you want to read a feel good story. You will fall in love with Eileen, Sam, Lauren and Nate. This book was so good I read it in one day, I simply could not go to sleep until I read the last page. I won this from LibraryThing Members Giveaway and I highly recommend this book.
June 11, 2018
I found some of the characters in this story difficult to like, but that is talent of Susan's writing: her people are sometimes flawed, sometimes great, sometimes likable, sometimes not, but ultimately, they are all, like us, believably human.
August 22, 2020
I liked it to the very end
March 28, 2017
I read this book on a recommendation, while I found it interesting with the subplot of parents moving in to live with their only child, the daughter was appalling ! I kept hoping she would get a clue and be humbled by her parents situation and show some compassion.
June 16, 2013
I don't usually read these kinds of books; I'm more into fantasy & paranormal. However, this book captured my attention from the start. The main character, Anne, is a really unlikable person. The more I read about her, the less I liked. She goes shopping at least twice a week, has nail appts twice a week, doesn't eat much at all, drinks too many lattes & wine. She claims to be too busy to be involved in her kids lives; they despise her. Then when her parents come to live with her because her father has Parkinson's & dimentia, she acts like it's such a HUGE inconvenience, though she completely ignores them. Even though she seems so different from me, I could see parallels... getting caught up in things we think are important. Her parents imparted some great family wisdom to her kids and she saw the effects, which made her realize she needed to make changes. The book is thought-provoking and interesting. I would recommend this to anyone and will definitely be rereading it.
June 18, 2020
An alternative title of this book could be "Lauren Learns to Cook From Grandma".
I don't know why this book kept me reading to the end. The characters, Sam (grandpa with Alzheimer's/dementia), Grandma (sweet), Ann (their anorexic, alcoholic, disconnected daughter), Mike (ineffectual husband and father), Nick (passive-aggressive 16 year old grandson/son) and Lauren (sweet, sweet and sweet) were all "too".
The nice ones (everyone but Ann) were "too" nice. The bitchy one (only Ann) was "too" bitchy.
The two sex scenes read like they came straight from Wikipedia.
Why did I finish? I kept asking myself that same question. I guess I was hoping for some type of happy ending...or some kind of break-through. Well...I sort of got one. Lauren learned to cook lasagna.
I don't know why this book kept me reading to the end. The characters, Sam (grandpa with Alzheimer's/dementia), Grandma (sweet), Ann (their anorexic, alcoholic, disconnected daughter), Mike (ineffectual husband and father), Nick (passive-aggressive 16 year old grandson/son) and Lauren (sweet, sweet and sweet) were all "too".
The nice ones (everyone but Ann) were "too" nice. The bitchy one (only Ann) was "too" bitchy.
The two sex scenes read like they came straight from Wikipedia.
Why did I finish? I kept asking myself that same question. I guess I was hoping for some type of happy ending...or some kind of break-through. Well...I sort of got one. Lauren learned to cook lasagna.
Read
September 14, 2015Heartwarming
A story of a family that had to reconnect and who else better suited to do this but ...... A Grandmother. Mike and Ann. Very well off lived with their children Nate and Lauren. Everyone seemed to do their own thing never really connecting. Until Sam and Eileen -parents of Ann - came to stay until their assisted living home was ready for them. What followed was a story of a family that needed to connect on a physical and emotional level. And a grandmother who made that happen.
A story of a family that had to reconnect and who else better suited to do this but ...... A Grandmother. Mike and Ann. Very well off lived with their children Nate and Lauren. Everyone seemed to do their own thing never really connecting. Until Sam and Eileen -parents of Ann - came to stay until their assisted living home was ready for them. What followed was a story of a family that needed to connect on a physical and emotional level. And a grandmother who made that happen.
March 9, 2016
It got really preachy. Like women can only be really happy if they stay at home, raise the children and cook hearty meals every night. Ann Barons was a really unlikable character, and she's supposed to be, because she's shallow and obsessed with things outside of her home. If she was a good little wife, she'd be likable.
December 5, 2014
Disclaimer: This ARC was given to me for free in exchange for an honest review from Netgalley.
This was pretty good writing. It was about a privileged housewife come to terms with her family and past.
This was pretty good writing. It was about a privileged housewife come to terms with her family and past.
June 7, 2015
Thought provoking read,but felt unsatisfied with the ending. The main character was very self absorbed and unlikeable, but I had hoped she would have some redeeming qualities by the end. Her issues seemed unresolved, but maybe that is the point.
May 13, 2019
I didn't like this book in the beginning because I did not like almost all of the characters. It is an easy read though. I did begin to like most of the characters as they grew and changed (which is the point). In the end I did like this book.
July 9, 2015
Great book
September 1, 2020
3.25 stars.
I'm going to be honest and say I thought from the first page I would dnf this. The attitude of Ann put me off, because her attitude was like "Ugh, my mom is calling me again. I just talked to her three weeks ago." She is presumably in her forties or fifties, yet she sounds like a spoiled teenager. Her attitude disgusted me, because she didn't seem to want a relationship with her parents. And then she is shocked when her dad, who has dementia, doesn't recognize her. I disliked Ann because it seemed like she didn't want to out in the effort to help her parents, and I know what that feels like. My grandparents have had medical problems and the past few years I have helped take care of them in whatever capacity I could. My brother, on the other hand, started distancing himself as soon as he got his license, and now he really doesn't visit my grandmother unless someone asks him to, and it hurts her. I may not always want to do the things I do, but I understand that my help is needed or would be appreciated and I sacrifice my time, and I don't have time for people who don't want t0 put in the effort. That being said, I kept reading because I assumed the point of the book was that the family would undergo a change as a result of Ann's parents moving in.
Ann and her whole family is rich, snobby, and spoiled. I hated the attitudes of Ann and her children. Mike was okay, but he didn't discourage his kids from acting spoiled. When they were at a fancy restaurant and Nate orders a burger and is told they don't server burgers, his dad doesn't insist that he get something else, but allows him to order the staff to make something special just for him, just because they're rich.
I was sort of into the story, but I felt at times the characterization was not consistent. At one point they are talking about why Sam acts in the ways he does and Nate supplies the answer that his brain doesn't work like theirs because of his disease, but I felt it would have been more realistic if Lauren had supplied that answer because she seems like she would be more perceptive of that. Maybe that was the author's original intention, because a few moments later, Nate asks the same question of someone else, which did not make sense. I feel the author didn't really capture what she was going for with the reluctant teenagers who change their minds. It just seemed abrupt because we don't really get much if anything from their internal monologues. I felt like a lot of the story in general was told rather than shown.
Spoilers!
I felt that certain events went too fast and could have been slowed down, particularly when the family is out looking for Sam. It was over so quickly, and I felt we could have been held in the moment more. I get that they were scared and frantic to find him because he was out in the cold, but I think more time could have been spent on this instead of resolving it so quickly.
I wanted to see Ann change a bit more by the end. Yes, she has realized that maybe she does have a drinking problem and that she enjoyed having her parents there, but I still felt like she would be the snobby rich woman who is trying to be better than other people. I know she wouldn't completely change overnight, but I would have liked to see a bit more change over time rather than just having a bit at the end.
I'm going to be honest and say I thought from the first page I would dnf this. The attitude of Ann put me off, because her attitude was like "Ugh, my mom is calling me again. I just talked to her three weeks ago." She is presumably in her forties or fifties, yet she sounds like a spoiled teenager. Her attitude disgusted me, because she didn't seem to want a relationship with her parents. And then she is shocked when her dad, who has dementia, doesn't recognize her. I disliked Ann because it seemed like she didn't want to out in the effort to help her parents, and I know what that feels like. My grandparents have had medical problems and the past few years I have helped take care of them in whatever capacity I could. My brother, on the other hand, started distancing himself as soon as he got his license, and now he really doesn't visit my grandmother unless someone asks him to, and it hurts her. I may not always want to do the things I do, but I understand that my help is needed or would be appreciated and I sacrifice my time, and I don't have time for people who don't want t0 put in the effort. That being said, I kept reading because I assumed the point of the book was that the family would undergo a change as a result of Ann's parents moving in.
Ann and her whole family is rich, snobby, and spoiled. I hated the attitudes of Ann and her children. Mike was okay, but he didn't discourage his kids from acting spoiled. When they were at a fancy restaurant and Nate orders a burger and is told they don't server burgers, his dad doesn't insist that he get something else, but allows him to order the staff to make something special just for him, just because they're rich.
I was sort of into the story, but I felt at times the characterization was not consistent. At one point they are talking about why Sam acts in the ways he does and Nate supplies the answer that his brain doesn't work like theirs because of his disease, but I felt it would have been more realistic if Lauren had supplied that answer because she seems like she would be more perceptive of that. Maybe that was the author's original intention, because a few moments later, Nate asks the same question of someone else, which did not make sense. I feel the author didn't really capture what she was going for with the reluctant teenagers who change their minds. It just seemed abrupt because we don't really get much if anything from their internal monologues. I felt like a lot of the story in general was told rather than shown.
Spoilers!
I felt that certain events went too fast and could have been slowed down, particularly when the family is out looking for Sam. It was over so quickly, and I felt we could have been held in the moment more. I get that they were scared and frantic to find him because he was out in the cold, but I think more time could have been spent on this instead of resolving it so quickly.
I wanted to see Ann change a bit more by the end. Yes, she has realized that maybe she does have a drinking problem and that she enjoyed having her parents there, but I still felt like she would be the snobby rich woman who is trying to be better than other people. I know she wouldn't completely change overnight, but I would have liked to see a bit more change over time rather than just having a bit at the end.
April 25, 2023
Characters were not likable, and their growth was negligible. The teenagers were not believable at all: the old-fashioned turns of phrase (“neat as a pin” “tramp”, “Mister”…speaking of old-fashioned: the names of all the secondary and tertiary characters in this book were jarringly out of date. Granted, it is ten years old now, but the teens (who’d be in their twenties now) have names popular in from fifty-sixty years ago (Jenny, Bill, Kevin, etc) and the forty-somethings (who’d be fifty-something now) have names that were popular seventy-plus years ago (Marge, Sally, Paula, etc). It was distracting.
The ending sort of let everyone kind of off the hook, and felt like the author was just sick of the characters.
The ending sort of let everyone kind of off the hook, and felt like the author was just sick of the characters.
February 16, 2017
No resolution at all in this book. Does Ann ever spend more time with her children? Go visit her parents? Stop Drinking? Stop spending money?
Never answers if she remains unhappy. I don't like books that leave so many questions unanswered. You don't need to button up every plot point, but it would be nice to have an epilogue to give some sense of growth in a character.
Ann is shallow and very unfeeling and my opinion didn't change from the beginning to the end of the book.
Never answers if she remains unhappy. I don't like books that leave so many questions unanswered. You don't need to button up every plot point, but it would be nice to have an epilogue to give some sense of growth in a character.
Ann is shallow and very unfeeling and my opinion didn't change from the beginning to the end of the book.
December 28, 2017
When starting this book and about 3/4 through it, I thought it was okay. I didn't really like Ann or Mike, although the other characters I loved. I noticed that a lot of reviews mentioned they didn't like the ending but for me it was great. Not everything was all buttoned up but left to your imagination and the journey for the characters to follow. I would like to read some of her additional novels.
November 22, 2022
This is one of the hardest books I have ever read, and the most rewarding. My mother had dementia, dying at 82. That’s what made it difficult to read this. Dementia sucks and the hallucinations can be really bad. If it got too much for she’d call and we’d talk thru it. I miss her every day, wanting to call her, to hear her say my name. We were fortunate that she knew who my husband and I were to the end. For that I am very grateful. I’m going to recommend this book to everyone I know!
May 20, 2025
I enjoyed the dynamic of the different characters, although, at times, it was difficult for me to tell which character POV I was reading from. I have a couple of favorite characters and some I don’t like as much but I’m not revealing names bc I don’t want to give anything away. There were a lot different things happening in the story that kept my interest. This book surely makes you think about what you really need in life to be satisfied.
January 4, 2018
SUCH a good story! Though I have never wanted to off a main character as much as I did Ann in this book. You’ll see! Also, very disappointed in the ending, but overall it was one of those books I couldn’t put down because I had to know where it was going.
September 10, 2020
Or is it?
Interesting family story about people who have a lot of material things but are empty in all areas that count and their healing by an extended visit from their grandparents.
Interesting family story about people who have a lot of material things but are empty in all areas that count and their healing by an extended visit from their grandparents.
January 6, 2021
3.5🌟
I liked it well enough to finish but I found most of the characters to be weak and utterly spoiled. While Ann, the main character, seemed to have a bit of an epiphany at the end, I didn't believe it because she was so horrible throughout the book.
The grandmother was maybe too perfect but was still my favourite. And definitely way too nice to her horrible daughter.
Unless you like super cutesy novels, I'd give this one a miss.
I liked it well enough to finish but I found most of the characters to be weak and utterly spoiled. While Ann, the main character, seemed to have a bit of an epiphany at the end, I didn't believe it because she was so horrible throughout the book.
The grandmother was maybe too perfect but was still my favourite. And definitely way too nice to her horrible daughter.
Unless you like super cutesy novels, I'd give this one a miss.
September 17, 2022
It was a good subject but I didn’t like the bad language and reading about Ann and Mike’s physical relationship.
August 6, 2023
I read reviews that the ending was disappointing. I must say the book just ending made me think that I missed a chapter
March 27, 2025
December 2013
April 29, 2025
This book is kind of a slow burn with flat characters, but it kept my attention nonetheless. A good book to spend time with, but nothing to write home about.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 75 reviews