Reinventing Amara Leventis

by E.D. Hackett

She wants everyone to think she’s got it together. So where did it all fall apart?

Providence, RI. Amara Leventis craves validation. So when her best friend and roomie gets engaged, the twenty-five-year-old single girl fears she’s losing her soulmate… and her apartment forever. Reeling from the sense of abandonment, Amara turns an interview for a work promotion into a shocking pink slip.

Humiliated and effectively homeless, the frazzled woman begrudgingly returns to rural Connecticut and her parents’ Greek bakery. But when a fight gets her bounced from the wedding party and she discovers her dad’s troubling secrets, Amara wonders if life will always be sour instead of sweet.

Will she ever find the right recipe for happiness?

Reinventing Amara Leventis is a richly drawn women’s fiction novel. If you like relatable characters, family dramas, and laugh-out-loud moments, then you’ll adore E.D. Hackett’s entertaining read.

246 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 1, 2022

About the author

E.D. Hackett has dreamed of being an author since she was a child. Life got in the way and her writing was placed on the back burner for most of her adult life. One day, she decided to write a novel, write it well, and write it scared. She lives at home with her husband, two kids, and three fur-babies in Massachusetts.

Reviews

[Olivia Caridi · Rating 3 out of 5]

By the end of this book, I looked back and thought it was a really cute book that reminded me a bit of one of my favorite movies ever, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants! So fun to read the names of Greek desserts and about the dynamics of a Greek family. The only issue I ran into is that, for 70% of the book, the main character Amara is just SO unlikeable. Just takes selfish to the absolute max, so I'm sitting here as this new boy likes her and tells her she's great and I'm thinking, "How the heck does he like this girl that is sooo blatantly selfish?" It was tough because it really was so much of the book, and then her transition into being a "good person" happens really abruptly toward the end. But hey, I'm glad she made a change and saw the light, worked out her friendship, and landed the hottie boyfriend - ultimately, it was a sweet story, but I found myself wanting to scream, "Girl, get yourself together!!" I still recommend it, it was definitely cute, I guess it's just a high five to the author that this character was really well written! Thank you to Book Sirens and E.D. Hackett for this ARC. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Bookishdays · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amara's life is about to have a 360 degree change, when her best friend and roommate becomes  engaged. At the same time she makes some mistakes in her job and she is let go. Now she needs to find a new job and a new place to live. Amara decides to go back to her parent's house and needs to help in the family business, a Greek bakery. But, this is not a smooth transition. Amara is mad with her friend, has some serious problems with money and overall a bad attitude.I liked this book, especially because I liked Tyler from the beginning and I was curious to know how Tyler and Amara will be together. When Amara starts to change, this becomes more exciting and fun. She is a good friend after all. This book represents in a good way the difficulties of female friendship.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Sky · Rating 5 out of 5]

I. LOVE. THIS. BOOK. SO. MUCH!
E.D. Hackett wasn't joking when she said the characters are so relatable. I mean, I saw myself in this book.

"Some dream of fortunes, other dream of cookies." Aha, the irony!

I had a great time going along with Amara Leventis through her ups and downs in life. The struggle that Amara had gone through was very realistic, without having the author exaggerating it. I like the writing style a lot–easy to read. The storyline is great, and the fact that I actually gained something else from my reading was so exhilarating! The Greek pastries and whatever George baked sounded scrumptious to me (sorry, I didn't remember their names). I also learned few things about Greek tradion and culture which are very interesting. Kudos to the author for mentioning them in her book!

PLEASE! I love Amara so much and also some other characters that you'll get to know once you pick up this book. Believe me, you won't regret reading this. Personally I would recommend this book to my bestie. I should get off the keyboard now before I spoil the book content LOL.

If you're in the mood to find some motivation on what to do with your life or you just don't know what to do with you life, I think this book would be a perfect read for you.

This is that kind of book that I would reread again next time. Unique, entertaining and informative at the same time.

[Chloë Blyth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is perfect for fans of My Big Fat Greek Wedding and Confessions of a Shopaholic! 🇬🇷 👜

It has...
• Hardworking Greek family dynamic.
• A lovable main character who can't seem to get anything right.
• Characters who grow.
• Friendship that is tested.
• A slow burn romance on the side.

In Reinventing Amara Leventis, Amara and Bethany's friendship is well and truly tested. Besties since college, they are inseparable until Ryan comes along.

What do you do if you don't like your best friend's boyfriend, who soon becomes her fiancé?

Tell her, obviously.

And in Amara's case, soon find yourself homeless/forced to move back in with your parents and sleep on a mattress on the floor of your little sister's bedroom... ouch.

Amara can't get anything right. I don't want to let any spoilers slip so I'll just say work-life, family-life and wedding-event-life all suffer disasters in some shape or other despite her best efforts.

This is a light and quick read which made me laugh and smile but also shocked me and made me feel the pain of a friendship torn apart by a man. Fortunately, the clue is in the title, Amara is able to reinvent herself with a little bit of help from the adorable Tyler and bit by bit, things fall into place for her.

Love and friendship win, and karma's a b*tch. (Got to love some karma, and boy oh boy did this person deserve it!)

This is a great, heartwarming read, I highly recommend.

[Gail Dwyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was happy to be an early reader of this book and thrilled to share my thoughts with other readers. Reinventing Amara Leventis is an enjoyable, light beach read that will have you rooting for Amara and her family, her friendships, and her romance!

[Meghan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book early. All opinions of this book are my own. This book was an easy read because I didn’t want to put it down. I was drawn into Amara’s life. I kept wanting to see where she would go next or how she would end up. There were many plot twists, which made the book interesting and enjoyable. The descriptive details in this book really help you picture what is happening. Put this book on your summer must read list!

[Annie Ballard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amara is a tough cookie. That's her view of herself, and she's determined that everyone will see her exactly as she wants them to. That only works as long as it works, but when things take a serious turn, she ends up back in the life she's tried to distance herself from. Her immigrant parents work long and hard, supporting not only their family but others in need, and without telling anyone. Unbelievable to Amara, who is all about herself...at least at the beginning.

I found her a little hard to like at first, but that's the story....how she becomes someone I liked and who even could like herself. Lots happens! It's a fun read, and moves right along.

[J L · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story was well written and held my interest all the way through, and I particularly enjoyed the many details about Greek foods and traditions. I thought it was difficult to sympathize with Amara for the first half of the book, since she seemed to want to blame all her problems on others instead of taking responsibility for her own actions. But she finally recognized that and did work to "reinvent" herself!

[Andrea Hagan · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's been ages since I've read a women's fiction book, and I really enjoyed this one. Think My Big Fat Greek Wedding meets Confessions of a Shopaholic vibes. At times I did get frustrated with Amara, but she's young and not perfect, and we see some great character development. Throw in all the yummy Greek desserts, and this Hallmark-esque story will hit the sweet spot!

[Andrea Brothers · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great women's fiction read! Loved how the main character evolved throughout the book...lots of funny moments too. I could definitely relate to some of Amara's feelings as her best friend got engaged and their friendship changed. It's a feel-good story that I highly recommend!

[Iris March · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a sweet story of a young woman figuring out who she is the hard way. It's about friendship and forgiveness, especially forgiving yourself. The details about Greek desserts are still making me look up where to get the baked goods and how to make them! An enjoyable read for sure.

[Suze82 · Rating 3 out of 5]

struggles
Not only does Amara struggle with her situation, I struggled to keep reading this book because she really rubbed me the wrong way. If life throws you curveballs, it doesn´t give you the right only to think of yourself.

[Katie Pulnik · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was awesome! The characters were well developed, and I loved seeing how Amara developed throughout the story. Well written and engaging!