A #MyNewLife Novel

SASCHA DARLINGTON’S REVIEW

Getting A Grip is filled with irreverence and snark that will appeal to a lot of readers, who identify with Elena, the main character. Elena has recently been divorced, seen her husband marry within months of that divorce to his secretary who he was banging, and is facing hitting 40 with sagging breasts.

There are a lot of funny moments, unfortunately some are choked of all of their humor after multiple go-rounds. Elena’s best friend, Callie, is hilarious. In fact, for about one-third of the novel, I was hoping she would ditch her husband and take up with the blonde haired, Adonis, Greg. Alas, somewhere around the middle Elena became more like Callie and that was okay. Elena is a good mother and some of the best scenes are ones in which her kids are around.

A lot of familiar territory is covered: husband leaving for younger woman, ex-wife grappling for more money, wife’s insecurity. Some of it is dealt with in a fresh manner, some not.

The writing for the most part is good, very conversational, although several chapters at the beginning had far too much “tell” for my taste.

Now there is no warning in the blurb that this has a cliffhanger. (Tsk) And, you may know how I feel about cliffhangers. And, for this particular one, a brief Google search would have declared the cliffhanger without substance. (Why don’t authors use Google or do minor (or major for that matter) research?) So to say I was dissatisfied with the ending might be an understatement.

This is going to be one of my “your mileage may vary reviews.” There are a lot of women who will see themselves in Elena and will adore the novel. There is something ultimately satisfying in seeing a woman gain revenge by getting a cute, younger man. This one is for you.

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