Meternity by Meghann Foye

2 out of 5 stars

I won this book as part of a Goodreads First Reads giveaway.

Unlike some of the reviews I have seen on other sites, I actually read the book. Funny enough, I thought that book reviews were only written by people who read the book and wanted to share their opinion with other readers, but I guess I was wrong. Silly me.

Anyway, my genre of choice is usually something in the mystery or horror category, but once in awhile I need a good chick-lit or rom-com to lighten things up. I saw this book while browsing the Goodreads section, thought it fit the bill and decided to enter, not really knowing anything about it. I won! I guess I should state, due to the topic of the book, that I am a mother. Our children are adults now, but I remember juggling work and family. Now I mostly juggle work and Netflix. So, with that said, the theme of the book didn't bother me at all. Oh, I guess I should also mention that I hardly ever get offended over anything. I mean anything. It's pretty rare. And I'm certainly not going to get offended over a book written by someone I don't know and who doesn't know me. So, with that out of the way, here is my review on the book. The one I actually read.

I didn't like it. *sigh* I know. I could stop there I guess, but I won't. The thing is I wanted to like it. The idea behind it was interesting and should have been entertaining. Woman pretends to be pregnant to get all the "benefits" she seems to think pregnant women get at work. It could have been a great book. Sadly, it wasn't. The main problem for me was that it was so wordy. Not that I don't like words. I do. I love them actually. Use them all the time. But I felt like a lot of the words used in this book were just filler to make it a longer story than it needed to be. It dragged on way too long. It could have been a funny, yet shorter story. Instead it was a boring, longer one.

The main character, Liz Buckley, would have been much  more likable if she wasn't whiney and incredibly dense. I tried to like her, but the farther the story got, the more I just couldn't believe she was smart enough to pull the whole thing off. I spent most of the time doubting her throughout the entire story. Meanwhile, her friends whose names I cannot remember, spent most of their time desperately trying to find "the one" while sipping drinks, singing karaoke and wearing man catching clothes at the local bar. Too much stereotype there to get into.

So, let's skip to the love interest, Ryan! You know what's bland? Beige. You know what Ryan was? Beige. He was just your standard rom-com guy but more dull. I will say he was about the only tolerable character though. Boring, but tolerable. That's really all I have to say about him.

Now, the moms. They were everywhere in this book! Not surprising. Of course about every single one of them was a completely pretentious snob. I've met a few of those so I was glad to see the personalities were pretty much dead on. The holier than thou because they have experienced the miracle of childbirth. We've all been in the room with at least one before. But come on, not every mom is a mom-tator. In all actuality, most aren't, so the overdose of them was a bit on the bitter side for me.

As for the story itself, it really was unnecessarily lengthy. I can't help but harp on that. And by lengthy, I don't mean actual page count. I read a book that was over 1000 pages but it was so well written and engaging that it felt like a short story by the time it was done. This story, at 368 pages give or take, was not as well written, not that engaging, and seemed to be more like 1000 by the time I finished. It was tough to get through. To be fair though, it was also unbelievable and read more like a YA novel. More than once I thought the characters were a bunch of teenagers rather than grown women. We all have our moments of immaturity, but these ladies reeked of it. Getting upset and deleting people off your Facebook friends list because they made you mad? I guess you showed them! Being excited because the boy you like added you as one of his friends and liked an Instagram post? Woohoo! <insert eye roll here> Yes, these things happened....and we are talking about 30 year olds. The other problem is that it ended far too clean. I mean seriously, consequences are a part of life. It's ok to use them in a book. May have made the whole thing a little more on the believable side.

Anyway, that pretty much sums up how I felt about this story. It wasn't the idea of it that was bad (hence the 2 stars), it was the execution (hence the not being more than 2 stars). And, as I'm sure you have noticed, I tried to use as many words as possible in my review so you could see how I could have kept it simple and entertaining but instead decided to make it a bit more long winded and let it drone on. I also threw in a few things that really weren't necessary just so I could pad it up. Maybe I should write a book.....

Total pages: 368, paperback

Available on Amazon at the link below:

Meternity by Meghann Foye

Keep Me Posted by Lisa Beazley

4 out of 5 stars.

I won this book as part of a Goodreads First Reads giveaway.

Sisters Cassie and Sid Sunday don't really keep in touch. The once close sisters went on to lead very different lives. It also doesn't help that Sid absolutely can't stand all forms of social media while Cassie spends lots of time on her Facebook. Sid decides to issue a communication challenge to her social media addicted sister, and also hopes to bring them closer together again. Her challenge? Old fashioned letter writing. The experiment seems to go really well, that is until Cassie makes one of her infamous lapses in judgment. The letters end up on the Internet. See what happens when the intimate secrets you shared with your sister suddenly goes viral.

I enjoyed this story much more than I thought I would. The description definitely made it sound interesting since most people utilize social media in one form or another and the idea that something so personal could end up on the internet for the world to read is more of a reality than fiction so I entered the giveaway and ended up winning. I’m glad I did. The book was engrossing and I had a hard time putting it down. I actually looked forward to the letters they wrote to each other and while I read them, would pick out which parts would make me wince the most if other people had access to them. When comparing the sister’s letters, Cassie’s were far more personal than Sid’s. Which I think is why I found myself really rooting for Cassie and hoping everything would work out for her. I admit that at first I really didn’t care for her character much. Once the letter writing with her sister began, I started to dislike her even more. She just complained too much and never seemed satisfied even though her life seemed pretty good for the most part. The more I read however, the more I began to “get” her. After years of marriage and children, life can seem boring for some. I think most women can relate. Cassie’s thoughts and feelings aren’t really shocking or any more surprising than most women when things start to get too routine or stale. The only real difference being that those thoughts and feelings aren’t usually broadcasted through a not so private blog for the whole world to read, which did make for some uncomfortable and also, humorous moments.

Sid, Cassie’s sister, was a little harder for me to relate to. Her character seemed too perfect and, as I stated above, her letters didn’t quite seem as personal. Of course in all fairness, the story is Cassie’s so you get to know her better than her sister. At least that’s how I felt.

It was a fun, at times light hearted and at other times heavy, read. The characters are relatable and the story believable. Thanks for the opportunity to read it.

Buy your copy from Amazon on the link below:
Keep Me Posted