The Next Best Thing

So finally, I was able to finish a book from this author. This book was a roller coaster. For the most part, the story was pretty bland. If not for the black widows, I would've lost interest. They were hilarious and their bickering reminded me of The Golden Girls. The rest of the book seemed to me to be a bit whiny. Lucy is a widow and hasn't seemed to bounce back after a few years. Plot twist… it hasn't stopped her from sleeping with her brother in law whom she spends the entire book making comparisons to her dead husband. Her sister just had a baby activating her own biological clock. So she decides she wants to start dating and get married again so she can have a baby. Let the comparisons begin… every guy she spoke to or dated got compared to her late husband. In the meantime she tells her brother in law that she just wants to be friends and to stop having sex. Though never stops stinging him along out trying to jump his bones. It was a constant back and forth. Then there was this part of the story where all the women in the family feel that if they fall deeply in love with someone, they will die… so that plays a large part on the story and while some of the situations are funny, it gets exhausting after awhile. Ugh. I really wanted to like this but just couldn't.

There was some good humour, and Lucy is definitely surrounded by some amazing people. I don’t we can’t judge how another person grieves, but why wasn’t someone, anyone, honest with her. I had difficulty too with the voices the narrator used for the Black Widows, only because there is no way they are as elderly/frail as they sound. It is a sweet story.

I love this narrator. She narrates a lot of this author’s books. While it was easy to guess what would happen in this book, I still enjoyed listening to it. The author has a dry wit and I love the comical way she describes large ethnic families. It reminds me of My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

Enjoyed the book overall. However I thought Lucy hung onto the death of her husband to long. I know everyone grieves differently (I lost my husband at age 49) however, she played with Ethan’s emotions to much. I also thought the business of the bakery was not portrayed truthfully. It is hard work, with exhausting hours. They needed to step it up a little bit more to complete with Starbucks. Starbucks good/pastries are crap. The family business should have monopolized on it more.

A really sweet book - and I loved how funny the lead character is.

Love the way this author write and brings the characters to life. The narrator is terrific