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A New Attitude
Marilee Abernathy's life is a mess. Everyone in Chickpea, South Carolina, knows about her husband's affair with the town floozy. But when her dignified farewell—complete with pearls and impeccably applied Mary Kay cosmetics—turns into a spectacularly unsuccessful attempt to hang herself from a fake ceiling beam, Marilee figures there has to be a better way to cope.
Marilee needs a new attitude—at least, that's what her neighbor Sam Brewer thinks. Between his demanding mother and his crazy ex-wife, though, the last thing he wants is another woman whose life is out of control. But Marilee's learning on her own that a little attitude can go a long way—suddenly she's taking charge and taking chances she'd never imagined. And watching her blossom reminds Sam of some long-forgotten dreams of his own. Now he's just got to convince her to turn some of that attitude his way….
Marilee needs a new attitude—at least, that's what her neighbor Sam Brewer thinks. Between his demanding mother and his crazy ex-wife, though, the last thing he wants is another woman whose life is out of control. But Marilee's learning on her own that a little attitude can go a long way—suddenly she's taking charge and taking chances she'd never imagined. And watching her blossom reminds Sam of some long-forgotten dreams of his own. Now he's just got to convince her to turn some of that attitude his way….
384 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 1, 2001
44 people are currently reading
418 people want to read
About the author
Charlotte Hughes
68 books330 followersCharlotte Hughes published her first category romance in 1987, a Bantam Books’ Loveswept, titled Too Many Husbands, which immediately shot to #1 on the Waldenbooks Bestseller list. She went on to write almost thirty books before the line closed in 1998.
Although Charlotte is widely known for her laugh-out-loud romantic comedies, she went on to pen three Maggie-Award winning thrillers for Avon Books in the late nineties, before resuming her first love, funny stories about people falling in love. She thrilled readers with her hilarious books, A New Attitude and Hot Shot, the latter of which won the Waldenbooks Greatest Sales Growth Achievement in 2003.
Her books received so many accolades that she was invited to co-author the very popular Full House series with mega-star author Janet Evanovich.
With that series behind her, Charlotte began her own, starring psychologist Kate Holly; What Looks Like Crazy, Nutcase, and High Anxiety, creating a list of somewhat kooky but always loveable and funny ensemble characters.
Charlotte is currently launching Tall, Dark and Bad, starring Summer Pettigrew and bad boy Cooper Garrett. She is writing a series set in the Lowcountry that is a WIP.
www.readcharlottehughes.com or her blog at http://blog.readcharlottehughes.com"
Although Charlotte is widely known for her laugh-out-loud romantic comedies, she went on to pen three Maggie-Award winning thrillers for Avon Books in the late nineties, before resuming her first love, funny stories about people falling in love. She thrilled readers with her hilarious books, A New Attitude and Hot Shot, the latter of which won the Waldenbooks Greatest Sales Growth Achievement in 2003.
Her books received so many accolades that she was invited to co-author the very popular Full House series with mega-star author Janet Evanovich.
With that series behind her, Charlotte began her own, starring psychologist Kate Holly; What Looks Like Crazy, Nutcase, and High Anxiety, creating a list of somewhat kooky but always loveable and funny ensemble characters.
Charlotte is currently launching Tall, Dark and Bad, starring Summer Pettigrew and bad boy Cooper Garrett. She is writing a series set in the Lowcountry that is a WIP.
www.readcharlottehughes.com or her blog at http://blog.readcharlottehughes.com"
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
January 25, 2015
After having read Full House by Janet Evanovich and Charlotte Hughes, I decided to see if it was truly Hughes writing that dragged down "Full House" since that was what all the other reviews were saying. And for some reason, I had this book A New Attitude by Hughes. (I have no idea where it came from.)
"Full House" was by no means great but it was a better read than this, overall even if they both rated 2 stars. I can't give "New Attitude" a 1 due to the fact that I finished it and I can't give "Full House" a 3 because I didn't really like it so it looks like they equl out to the same rating, but for different reasons.
First off, Marilee is 35 years old. Yet, I could not stop thinking of her or her friends as anyone younger than 60. I read parts of this out loud to my 80-something year old grandmother and she laughed. All the females come off as older, prim women even Winnie, the 17 year old. Marilee is suppose to be a 30 something rebuilding her life after he husband leaves but the story read like a 70 something that had lost her husband, not to divorce but to death. Her friends are just as old and stuffy feeling as Marilee and the early menopause plot point just added to the feeling of these woman being much older.
I have read things like The Red Hat Club & The Hot Flash Club where the woman are older and I tell you, they had much better story-lines and characters that I actually cared about way more than this book did.
I was fine with Marilee being a Christian and soon to be ex-minister's wife. After all, I am from the South myself and know how it works having your faith as well as a life and not always sticking to the straight and narrow, but this book was published in 2001 yet reads like it was written in the 50s. Marilee is playing the piano in a nightclub?! *gasp*, the horror, the indecency!!! This outdated view shared by her "friends" only added to the "Seriously? These woman are only 35?" train of thought. I mean, my 60 year old mother is more accepting and open minded than these woman and she has unshakable faith like you would not believe due to being one of those strong, southern baptist type woman they like writing books about nowadays. Her two kids have tattoos for crying out loud and so pardon me for finding the characters behavior more distracting from the plot than moving it along.
The overall arc of the story seemed like a good one but Hughes overstuffs her books with details that slows the pacing. This book should have been half this size as it all reads like filler. I was fine with the no-sex and was expecting it so to get to 30 pages from the end only to have Sam and Marilee hook up...?/ It felt forced and added. And yet another throwback feel to the book? The woman is barely single after years of marriage (and happy marriage at that, at least to her) before she is just soooo in love with her new guy and everything works out. Jeez, couldn't the book span at least a year so that we can pretend it is believable?
I think I got a Evanovich book laying around somewhere that I am going to read just to make sure that my comparison is correct but I think that I just might be in agreement with some of those reviews of "Full House" now that Hughes drags down the story even if at the time that I read "Full House", it didn't seem that out of line with the Plum novels that Evanovich is so famous for.
"Full House" was by no means great but it was a better read than this, overall even if they both rated 2 stars. I can't give "New Attitude" a 1 due to the fact that I finished it and I can't give "Full House" a 3 because I didn't really like it so it looks like they equl out to the same rating, but for different reasons.
First off, Marilee is 35 years old. Yet, I could not stop thinking of her or her friends as anyone younger than 60. I read parts of this out loud to my 80-something year old grandmother and she laughed. All the females come off as older, prim women even Winnie, the 17 year old. Marilee is suppose to be a 30 something rebuilding her life after he husband leaves but the story read like a 70 something that had lost her husband, not to divorce but to death. Her friends are just as old and stuffy feeling as Marilee and the early menopause plot point just added to the feeling of these woman being much older.
I have read things like The Red Hat Club & The Hot Flash Club where the woman are older and I tell you, they had much better story-lines and characters that I actually cared about way more than this book did.
I was fine with Marilee being a Christian and soon to be ex-minister's wife. After all, I am from the South myself and know how it works having your faith as well as a life and not always sticking to the straight and narrow, but this book was published in 2001 yet reads like it was written in the 50s. Marilee is playing the piano in a nightclub?! *gasp*, the horror, the indecency!!! This outdated view shared by her "friends" only added to the "Seriously? These woman are only 35?" train of thought. I mean, my 60 year old mother is more accepting and open minded than these woman and she has unshakable faith like you would not believe due to being one of those strong, southern baptist type woman they like writing books about nowadays. Her two kids have tattoos for crying out loud and so pardon me for finding the characters behavior more distracting from the plot than moving it along.
The overall arc of the story seemed like a good one but Hughes overstuffs her books with details that slows the pacing. This book should have been half this size as it all reads like filler. I was fine with the no-sex and was expecting it so to get to 30 pages from the end only to have Sam and Marilee hook up...?/ It felt forced and added. And yet another throwback feel to the book? The woman is barely single after years of marriage (and happy marriage at that, at least to her) before she is just soooo in love with her new guy and everything works out. Jeez, couldn't the book span at least a year so that we can pretend it is believable?
I think I got a Evanovich book laying around somewhere that I am going to read just to make sure that my comparison is correct but I think that I just might be in agreement with some of those reviews of "Full House" now that Hughes drags down the story even if at the time that I read "Full House", it didn't seem that out of line with the Plum novels that Evanovich is so famous for.
May 20, 2016
Marilee Abernathy's life is a mess. Everyone in Chickpea, South Carolina, knows about her husband's affair with the town floozy. But when her dignified farewell—complete with pearls and impeccably applied Mary Kay cosmetics—turns into a spectacularly unsuccessful attempt to hang herself from a fake ceiling beam, Marilee figures there has to be a better way to cope.
Marilee needs a new attitude—at least, that's what her neighbor Sam Brewer thinks. Between his demanding mother and his crazy ex-wife, though, the last thing he wants is another woman whose life is out of control. But Marilee's learning on her own that a little attitude can go a long way—suddenly she's taking charge and taking chances she'd never imagined. And watching her blossom reminds Sam of some long-forgotten dreams of his own. Now he's just got to convince her to turn some of that attitude his way….Alot of twists and turns. Keeps you on the edge of your seat. Very addicting. 4 stars.
Marilee needs a new attitude—at least, that's what her neighbor Sam Brewer thinks. Between his demanding mother and his crazy ex-wife, though, the last thing he wants is another woman whose life is out of control. But Marilee's learning on her own that a little attitude can go a long way—suddenly she's taking charge and taking chances she'd never imagined. And watching her blossom reminds Sam of some long-forgotten dreams of his own. Now he's just got to convince her to turn some of that attitude his way….Alot of twists and turns. Keeps you on the edge of your seat. Very addicting. 4 stars.
July 7, 2019
Starting over
This book allows you to see how life can devastate you and how with the help of good friends you can rebuild your life and become a stronger person. Marilee did just that.
This book allows you to see how life can devastate you and how with the help of good friends you can rebuild your life and become a stronger person. Marilee did just that.
April 23, 2010
Simply put.......GREAT BOOK!!
March 1, 2016
Laughing
At times I wanted to slap Marilee ! Just shows you what a good author does. Puts you right into the story.
At times I wanted to slap Marilee ! Just shows you what a good author does. Puts you right into the story.
May 15, 2019
Failing at trying to end her life, Marilee decided to move forward with her life and not look back.
November 20, 2017
I thought that 'A New Attitude' would be your run-of-the-mill, coming-of-age chick lit whereby the recently dumped heroine would discover herself and get a HEA. Don't get me wrong, the book was exactly like that, but it wasn't in a traditional chick-lit way. 'A New Attitude' read more like a romance novel that had forgotten the romance, or at least had gone very light on the romance. While it was still enjoyable, I didn't feel that it had the punch to be classed as a great example of either chick-lit or romance.
The supporting characters were the jewel in the crown. Each were well-developed and likeable with unique voices and stories. The character progression was genuinely very well done, with each of their subplots interweaving with the main to create a well paced and full novel.
Winnie was by far my favourite character; sassy and funny, she didn't take any s**t from anyone, and was determined to make a success of her life regardless of the hand she had been dealt. Likewise, I loved Josh who was an understated character but had such a wonderful story and a real depth of character.
In comparison, the leading lady, Marilee, felt superficial, empty-headed and too cookie-cutter perfect. Marilee baked for people who were rude to her, she offered a room to the ex-husband who cheated on her and then left her, she took in strangers and made them part of the family… she was perfect and that was boring to read. Every character in a novel should have a flaw to make them more human and to offer realistic obstacles, but Marilee did not. She felt like she had no backbone, and yes, this was addressed and developed toward the end of the novel, but she just didn't have the depth or grit that the others had.
Sam was saucy and I liked that he ruffled Marilee's feathers, but we didn't ever get to know him. Sam was barely part of the story, popping in and out where convenient but having no real impact. Their love was instant and unsubstantiated.
There were a number of subplots, but rather than bogging down the book, they actually kept the pace and it was in these plots that the character development came. However, there were a few subplots that I just couldn't help but roll my eyes at, they made a mockery of the rest of the novel, like parodies of a rom-com in the middle of reaffirming chick-lit. They disjointed the flow of the plot, and beside instant, high action, added nothing to the characters or plot.
Overall, I thought that it was an okay read for a Sunday afternoon. Light and reaffirming, it straddled the line between Romance and Chick-lit. The characters were the shining star, but Marilee and Sam needed more development so that their romance wasn't just a subplot buried among several others. If the high-action, low-impact events had been better developed or removed entirely, then page time could have been given to developing their relationship, and I would have enjoyed the novel more.
The supporting characters were the jewel in the crown. Each were well-developed and likeable with unique voices and stories. The character progression was genuinely very well done, with each of their subplots interweaving with the main to create a well paced and full novel.
Winnie was by far my favourite character; sassy and funny, she didn't take any s**t from anyone, and was determined to make a success of her life regardless of the hand she had been dealt. Likewise, I loved Josh who was an understated character but had such a wonderful story and a real depth of character.
In comparison, the leading lady, Marilee, felt superficial, empty-headed and too cookie-cutter perfect. Marilee baked for people who were rude to her, she offered a room to the ex-husband who cheated on her and then left her, she took in strangers and made them part of the family… she was perfect and that was boring to read. Every character in a novel should have a flaw to make them more human and to offer realistic obstacles, but Marilee did not. She felt like she had no backbone, and yes, this was addressed and developed toward the end of the novel, but she just didn't have the depth or grit that the others had.
Sam was saucy and I liked that he ruffled Marilee's feathers, but we didn't ever get to know him. Sam was barely part of the story, popping in and out where convenient but having no real impact. Their love was instant and unsubstantiated.
There were a number of subplots, but rather than bogging down the book, they actually kept the pace and it was in these plots that the character development came. However, there were a few subplots that I just couldn't help but roll my eyes at, they made a mockery of the rest of the novel, like parodies of a rom-com in the middle of reaffirming chick-lit. They disjointed the flow of the plot, and beside instant, high action, added nothing to the characters or plot.
Overall, I thought that it was an okay read for a Sunday afternoon. Light and reaffirming, it straddled the line between Romance and Chick-lit. The characters were the shining star, but Marilee and Sam needed more development so that their romance wasn't just a subplot buried among several others. If the high-action, low-impact events had been better developed or removed entirely, then page time could have been given to developing their relationship, and I would have enjoyed the novel more.
December 31, 2024
I loved the characters in this book. There were parts that were really funny which made the characters lovable. But the sex scenes I could do without. Insinuation is great in scenes like that just like in the old movies. Best left to your imagination. That's why I gave it four stars. Never got into the romance books. My sister gave me five paperbacks that she had read by the same author. I'm assuming the stories are basically the same kind of romance stories. She's into that kind of book. I'll read other books I've started and maybe someday I'll get back to another one of her books.
June 20, 2021
A laugh-out-loud story! I have now read it numerous times since I purchased it years ago and find it just a fun and funny as the first time. If you like farcical writing, this one's for you. LOVE Winnie's strong personality and the ability to say exactly what she thinks. Lot of southern charm in this story too, which can seem over the top to us "northerners".
May 10, 2017
I mostly skimmed through this. Too clean and nice for me, and it felt dated, even though it's not that old. A later-in-life romance with all the complications of exes and children and health problems. Eh.
February 7, 2024
Sweet Book
This was a sweet book. It was a book that reflected a gentle romance which I enjoyed. Of course it would be hard to find a person like the heroine in real life but it's nice to hope.
This was a sweet book. It was a book that reflected a gentle romance which I enjoyed. Of course it would be hard to find a person like the heroine in real life but it's nice to hope.
July 23, 2021
It was a cute story but I did find it dragging in spots, it did have a nice ending.
February 2, 2022
Ho sempre desiderato leggere un romance in mezzo alle signore cristiane del Texas
February 21, 2024
So fun
My 1st Charlotte Hughes book. I loved every hokey part of it. Made je laugh, made me smile, just a fun feel good read
My 1st Charlotte Hughes book. I loved every hokey part of it. Made je laugh, made me smile, just a fun feel good read
October 21, 2024
An enjoyable story
This is a new author to me. This story was good. It was heartwarming and funny. The characters were likeable, mostly. 😃
This is a new author to me. This story was good. It was heartwarming and funny. The characters were likeable, mostly. 😃
August 18, 2025
Sympa!
August 14, 2013
Primo racconto contenuto nell'antologia NON c'E' DUE SENZA EX.
Romanzo davvero delizioso, costruito in modo semplice, umoristico, eppure profondamente toccante. E' la storia di una rinascita di una donna colpita da un duro fallimento matrimoniale, che dopo un'iniziale, comprensibilissimo, profondo sconforto, si rimbocca le maniche e lotta per rendersi indipendente, per riconquistare il figlio e riavere indietro la propria vita. Ma non solo: la rinascita per questa donna sarà l'occasione per ricostruire la vita di moltissime persone che, appoggiandosi le une alle altre si rinforzeranno esponenzialmente e raggiungeranno risultati davvero fantastici, che da soli non avrebbero potuto neppure lontanamente pensare di conseguire.
Un romanzo d'amore, d'amicizia, ma, soprattutto, di speranza!
Romanzo davvero delizioso, costruito in modo semplice, umoristico, eppure profondamente toccante. E' la storia di una rinascita di una donna colpita da un duro fallimento matrimoniale, che dopo un'iniziale, comprensibilissimo, profondo sconforto, si rimbocca le maniche e lotta per rendersi indipendente, per riconquistare il figlio e riavere indietro la propria vita. Ma non solo: la rinascita per questa donna sarà l'occasione per ricostruire la vita di moltissime persone che, appoggiandosi le une alle altre si rinforzeranno esponenzialmente e raggiungeranno risultati davvero fantastici, che da soli non avrebbero potuto neppure lontanamente pensare di conseguire.
Un romanzo d'amore, d'amicizia, ma, soprattutto, di speranza!
January 20, 2020
I don't normally write reviews because all I can usually think to say is that I enjoyed the book, but I do want to comment that the heroine in this book plays the wrong song at a funeral and her boos covers for her. I spent several months looking for this book and that was all I could remember. So now that's recorded in the ether just in case someone else wants to find this book and that's all they remember about it!
August 17, 2016
At first this book's heroine wasn't very likable. One of those too stupid to live types. The first impression of her friends are "with friends like those who needs enemies" however if you are able to get past that they grow on you.
It was a pleasant journey seeing Marilee find her strength and a new love.
It was a pleasant journey seeing Marilee find her strength and a new love.
March 12, 2016
A New Attitude by Charlotte Hughes
I chose this particular rating because of the movement of the story
Marilee the main character in the book is the one that has to get a .......
Hopefully you will enjoy the story too.
I chose this particular rating because of the movement of the story
Marilee the main character in the book is the one that has to get a .......
Hopefully you will enjoy the story too.
June 7, 2024
Ruim demais, as vírgulas todas fora de lugar me deram até dor de estômago.
Mas é tão, tão ruim que fica bom. Li rapidinho, só não li rapidão pq a cada poucas páginas tinha que parar para me recuperar do tanto de bobeira que essa autora escreveu
Mas é tão, tão ruim que fica bom. Li rapidinho, só não li rapidão pq a cada poucas páginas tinha que parar para me recuperar do tanto de bobeira que essa autora escreveu
October 19, 2007
A little too fluffy for my tastes, but a good light read.
July 12, 2008
About a preacher's (ex) wife. A fun read that keeps it clean (for the most part).
December 28, 2009
easy read to distract your mind from real life
November 2, 2009
bleh! Boring and not worth the read.
December 1, 2010
Another light and fluffy romance from Charlotte Hughes, easy to read when you need a book that you can pick up and put down multiple times.
Read
July 28, 2011Very cute story about women's friendships.
November 1, 2011
Stopped on pg 17
January 2, 2014
Ugh. Bothers me for various reasons.
June 18, 2014
Such a cute funny book...lots of laughs.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews