Julia Dorning is in a rut. She has lived in her parent's basement for ten years, been at the same mundane boring job for ten years and she has no self confidence.
When handsome hunky Jared Moody is hired in HR at her company, her life begins to change in ways she never saw coming. Is Jared the catapult to get her moving again?
Julia is afraid of change. That is why at 32 - she still live with her parents (technically, it was their basement). Still unhappily employed in a company for ten years, she managed to go to office day by day - catch gossip with her friend Brown during break hours and just bake when the situation calls for it. She hated change and would stick to whatever she has now rather than starting from scratch and doing what is unfamiliar to her.
Then here comes Jared Moody - the newly hired HR. Somehow, he made her workplace more palatable. She still wasn't happy with the job, but she enjoyed it more because Jared was there. He spends time with the gossip girls (her and Brown) and takes time to get to know her.
It was not just about Julia, there's Jared who had secrets of his own that I didn't see coming. (Well, I was expecting something else). The sibling rivalry between Julia and her sister - they didn't like each other since they were young, but things happen that will allow their relationship to change as well. And of course the parents - who were with her through thick and thin. They were very supportive of her decisions - even though sometimes it wasn't for the best, but once she needed them, they were ready to give her all their support and love.
It may start out slow and I might have get tired a little of the rantings Julie got inside her head (I swear, just be patient, it will really get better)- but I dig this character. She does not like change - and I was rooting for her to start changing as soon as possible. But change doesn't happen in a blink of an eye. Ms. Monson slowly unveiled an amazing character beneath the ordinary exterior. In addition, what I love most about this book is that the author didn't picture Julia as the perfect woman - she was ordinary. Someone you would pass by in the streets and not offer a second glance.
Change is the only permanent thing in the world. In this book - Ms. Monson offered her readers (especially those past their 20s) HOPE. Nothing is ever too late if we take the risk. Who knows, the risk, no matter how dangerous it might me, would be worth it.
RATING:
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I’m not going to lie. It took me over an hour to come up with this e-mail. Other drafts consisted of “Cupcakes up in the break room, y’all! Go and get ya some!” and “Yo, cupcakes in the break room. Peace.”
I’m feeling pretty solid with the one I went with.
It’s ridiculous that I’m all in a tizzy (yes, that’s right I said tizzy) about these cupcakes. I’m feeling... I don’t know how to describe it… vulnerable? I think I might know why.
So here is the deal with me: I live inside my head a lot. This has always been a part of who I am. Perhaps it’s not that abnormal. Of course, I have to because as I have already established, apart from work and baking, I have no life. So I tend to exaggerate things in my head a bit. I say this because it is highly possible that, in the late hours I was up making cupcakes, I may or may not have had a few, ahem, fantasies about the new guy, Jared. And no, they were not those kinds of fantasies.
They mostly consisted of… no really, they are just too stupid to admit. Okay, fine. They mostly consisted of him taking one bite of cupcake and falling madly in love with me and then we ran away into the sunset. It varied a little, but that is the gist of it. In my fantasies, he was no longer the job-stealing-smirking-jerk that he actually is, but this incredible guy who says and does everything right. You know, the type of guy who doesn’t actually exist.
It’s ridiculous, right? I mean I don’t know the guy at all. If I honestly think about it though, it’s not that ridiculous. Not the part about me fantasizing about a guy I don’t even know – no, that is totally ridiculous. But I work at an office full of complete and total nerds (and, by the way, I looked up “nerd” in the dictionary, and it said: “an unstylish, unattractive, or socially inept person”, which is so incredibly fitting, it’s scary) and along comes someone who is so not a nerd, well, I couldn’t help myself. Jerk or not.
By day, Becky Monson is a mother to three young children, and a wife. By night, she escapes with reading books and writing. In her debut novel, Becky uses humor and true-life experiences to bring her characters to life. She loves all things chick-lit (movies, books, etc.), and wishes she had a British accent. She has recently given up Diet Coke for the fiftieth time and is hopeful this time will last... but it probably won't.
Glad you enjoyed the book!
ReplyDeleteI really loved this review! Very descriptive and thoughtful! Thank you!! xoxo - Becky Monson
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