She Effin' Hates Me: A Love Story

by Scarlett Savage

Molly has arrived home from Vassar to reveal that she has an important announcement to make. Her mother, Suzanne, is convinced that Molly’s news is history repeating herself - and that she’s about to become a thirty-six-year-old grandmother. Suzanne’s mother, Ava, develops a case of impending great-grandmother fever-that is, when she’s not spying on the new next-door neighbor, Buddy McKinley, who turns out to be a blast from her past.Decades earlier, Buddy was the business partner of Ava’s late husband, as well as his best friend during the Vietnam War. Ava feels she has good reasons for hating Buddy-she blames him for the fall of their business, an Irish pub that was a staple of the community. The loss not only destroyed her husband but also pushed her headfirst into the vodka bottle.Suzanne eventually finds out that Buddy and Ava’s past goes back much further than either has admitted. She begins to wonder whether Ava truly hates Buddy, or whether her feelings are much more complicated, as are her own when Molly announces that she’s not pregnant, but gay.Based on the award-winning play, She Effin' Hates Me is about three women relearning to love one another for who they are … and more importantly, for who they’re not.Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade, Yucca, and Good Books imprints, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in fiction-novels, novellas, political and medical thrillers, comedy, satire, historical fiction, romance, erotic and love stories, mystery, classic literature, folklore and mythology, literary classics including Shakespeare, Dumas, Wilde, Cather, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Genres: Chick Lit, Fiction, Romance, Humor, LGBT, Amazon, Audiobook

265 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 4, 2014

Reviews

[Jenner · Rating 1 out of 5]

Clever title, that's about it

This book can be summed up in two phrases: nearly ALL dialogue and a lot of waiting around for something, anything, to happen. The author tried way too hard to be funny so everything came off as stilted and awkward. The pointlessness was frustrating.

[Adriana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Such awkwardness. This book was not for me.

[Sarah Stewart]

good

[Kendall Pickenpaugh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, so sweet. 😊

A fun modern multigenerational glimpse into a family of women just stepping into themselves. Nicely crafted, believable characters struggling with 21st century relationship issues. As to who ends up in bed, this post menopausal woman was tickled if that doesn't require a spoiler alert. 🤔🤷💃

[Lise · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nothing about any of the characters is like-able, I found myself not caring if they found happiness or not because they were so terrible. Plus the author confused herself and her readers by getting subjects in paragraphs mixed up. For example:

"He (Jimmy) didn’t want to pressure you about it, because, well, he was brought up in a strict *Catholic* household and he didn’t want your soul to be damned for all of eternity.” Ava rolled her eyes all the way back in her head and snorted. Many an argument they’d had was about how Ava’s nondenominational God was a lot nicer than Jimmy’s *Baptist* one."

Is Jimmy Catholic or Baptist? The author doesn't seem to know! Some may say that's a little thing but it's not. Get your story straight!

Also the secondary character Laura who was the "perfect high school cheerleader" is now supposedly a witch as an adult and runs a spiritual store. No big deal except she says things like:

"I’ve come to realize that you’re not unlike me, well, apart from a law degree and a professional witch’s license, that is.”

Professional witches license??? WTF?!?

"Well, hello, you!” she greeted her. “Or rather, ‘Blessed be,’ as we say in the business."

'As we say in the business' ??? Really?!? It's like the author once went into a "witch shop" and looked around for 10 minutes, made a ton of assumptions but did ZERO research and came up with a highly offensive caricature of what she thinks a pagan spiritual store owner is. No one who is pagan would say "Well, hello, you!” she greeted her. “Or rather, ‘Blessed be,’ as we say in the business." any more than a Catholic priest would say "as we say in the business" after blessing someone.

The characters are all self-centered assholes who blame everyone else for their problems. Ava, the matriarch, holds a grudge for 20+ years when she knows for a fact she is wrong. I'd go on but there's no point, they all suck.

So, DON'T BOTHER WITH THIS BOOK!

[Joan · Rating 2 out of 5]

The dialogue felt forced and juvenile. The characters did not feel real to me. I just didn't connect to them. These were not people I would ever meet and think that I would like to get to know them better. I never really got what the plot was. I kept reading thinking there was going to be more to the story and there just never was. I found it to be a boring read.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great dialogue and a positive story about three generations of strong women. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

[Weegamama74aol.com · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute story!

I liked the 3 generations of women and where they were in their lives at the time. It was a cute and lovely book and yet made me tear up a few times. Greatly enjoyable.

[giakris · Rating 3 out of 5]

i actually wasn't mad at this book. usually, books about southern hospitality make me a little bored. i loved the relationships between the three. i also was scared that i would hate the side characters, but i actually really liked them. laura was probably my favorite character; she really helped suzanne go on the right path. i also liked that it didn't demonize her divorce and i didn't have to suffer through several pages of her ex talking. other than that, i didn't have many thoughts.

[Maggiendp · Rating 1 out of 5]

When I read that this was a book based on a stage play, it made a bit more sense. I found the characters annoying, the "humour" juvenile and predictable and the "suspense" annoying. In a play, it likely would make more sense and play out like a farce. The only reason I finished this book is because I was travelling and had limited access to books to read ( curse of the carryon luggage, and not loading enough books on my iPad.).

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure the novelization of this stage play was successful, as it's still entirely dialogue driven, and I'm not sure that the characters come to life on the page as they might on stage or screen. The three generations of women finding their way through life was sweet, though the story was quite predictable. 2.5 stars, rounded up.

[Djanderson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I tried to read this book over the course of a year. I could not finish it. The stars indicate what I did read. The book reads like a lot of chatter and in my opinion, it just never took off--at least for me.

[Alison Ivey · Rating 1 out of 5]

Awful.
Recommended as funny. No. Badly written, very badly edited, overly dramatic silly stuff going on.
He’s standing talking to her then he gets up. She’s an alcoholic and they have cider. There’s water under the bridge but it’s polluted. I could go on. Appalling writing.

[Carol McKenzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it

This book has everything. Mothers and daughters, modern issues and folks my age. I recommend this book, highly. Its sad, funny and very entertaining.

[Nancy Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dreadful title and the writing style takes a little getting used to, but found myself really enjoying it.

[Ginny Mielenz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nice thoughtful story

Nice story with some thoughtful moments - what would you do in some of these instances. I liked it or I wouldn't have finished it.

[Sandra Koch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun Story.

This was a down to earth love story with a great family of 3 women who come together after many obstacles.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can’t wait for the sequel

I loved each character, can’t wait to get to know the rest more intimately.
Hope there are going to be more than just the one sequel.

[Nancy J Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read

Loved the three generations reacting off each other. Setting was also interesting. Well written easy read worth the time on a lazy summer day.

[susan p poole · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nice people but their lives, loves, arguments, reconciliation, really boring.

[Suzieh · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title of the book caught my interest but unfortunately I felt nothing for any of the characters. I was bored throughout the book. Basically a 2.5 rounded up to a 3

[Maryanne Gustafson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was alright, nothing special it was about Suzanne and her daughter Molly so I don’t understand the title that seemed to be about suzannes mother Ava and the dads best friend Buddy

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

m,ust read. so enjoyable

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

So much of this book is taken up by the mom’s navel-gazing liberal homophobia. Hard pass.

[Isabella Swanepoel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love this book.
Three generations of women going through changes and growing closer.
Not a love story per se but rather a story about their love lives.
Loved the narration too

[Randi · Rating 3 out of 5]

ANTICLIMACTIC!

[Julie Frye · Rating 3 out of 5]

Certainly funny but so over dramatic

[Barbara Eisemann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bought it because it was cheap on Bookbub. Fair, not great.

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Complimentary copy provided by the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Suzanne is thirty-six years old, the mother to an eighteen-year-old daughter, Molly that is getting ready to head to Vassar for her freshman year. Suzanne has also just left her husband of eighteen years and has moved back in with her recovering alcoholic mom, Ava while she figures out how to put her life back together. One weekend, right before school starts, Molly comes home and she has a big announcement to share with the family; she also has her “friend” Brandon in tow. Suzanne is afraid that Molly is coming home to announce she’s pregnant, repeating the mistakes she made in the past, ending up just like her.

Molly has watched her mother work herself day and night in order to provide for the family. Steve, Suzanne’s soon-to-be ex hasn’t worked a day in his life. He’s a self-proclaimed “musician”, which means he stays in his home studio all day while playing on his synthesizer doing bong hits. It’s only when Molly has graduated from high school that she is able to finally leave Steve and go on with her life. Molly has convinced her to go back to school and finally make the life for her that she deserves.

Ava is in her early sixties and she’s one, hot, grandma. She does yoga, stars in the stage shows produced by the senior living village in which she lives, and goes for daily walks. She’s been sober for seventeen years, finally getting her act together for the sake of Suzanne and Molly. She is a widow, her husband and soul mate Jimmy dying years before, and she is ready to get back in the dating scene. She is active in AA as well as meddling in the affairs of her daughter. (That’s what moms do, right?)

While the dynamic between the three Applebaum women (Applebaum being Suzanne’s maiden name) is funny enough in its own right, Ava suddenly finds herself with a new next door neighbor…a man that happens to be her dead husband’s best friend named Buddy. She hates Buddy because she blames him for losing the restaurant and bar they used to co-own. She has never forgiven him, even though there is far more to the story than either Suzanne or Ava knows.

She Effin’ Hates Me is a story of lost love, new love, unrequited love, self-discovery, beginnings and endings. It has it all and it does it with humor. I enjoyed the book from cover to cover, but I feel that for as much as was going on in the book there could just be….more. Especially in the case of Suzanne, I want to know what happened next. And Ava…is it really ever too late for true love? It seems to me that if there was ever a book that was ready to be made into a series, this is it!

She Effin’ Hates Me is a solid four star read. The book has been adapted by the stage play of the same name and I can imagine that play itself would be downright hilarious. I found myself laughing out loud several time because I could see so much of my own family in this book. Ms. Savage has developed characters that women of any age can certainly understand and relate to, as well as the challenges they face in their everyday lives. The lessons of empowerment and strength are so important and the author really could take this even farther if she wanted to. I know I would be on board for more!

[Sarah Becking · Rating 3 out of 5]

The dialogue in this book is pretty good and flows quite beautifully. But that's about it for good stuff to say about this story. It's a little lacking in the plot department though; I assumed from the beginning that the story would be about Molly's "big secret" but instead it jumps back and forth, and instead focusing on Ava and Buddy? It's just really boring and predictable. The writing and characters are lovely and dynamic, but I just don't get what the focus of the story is supposed to be. Is it Ava and Buddy? Is it Suzanne and Molly? If the author was trying to write the story from the views of the three generations of women, then it would have been useful for the POVs to be more concrete and to have sections/chapters given to each of the three women. That way the stories would be complimentary but still separate enough that they don't get all muddled together into a confusing, plotless mess. This book was ok and it was definitely full of great humour sometimes, but it just wasn't poignant enough for me to really be engaged. (also side note: it really annoys me when women say "girlfriends" when they're talking about their female friends. just say frackin friend of best friend or gal pal or something else. saying "girlfriend" is just annoying as hell and contributes to lesbian/bi/pan women being misunderstood when they talk about their REAL girlfriends. so stop. ok rant done). This book is just a total... meh ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ bored.