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hmshd3's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
winnieismydog's review against another edition
4.0
I had initially wondered about the author's trigger warning around some of the topics the characters discuss. She didn't dwell on the details and was able to work them into the storyline in a meaningful manner. Overall it was a cute book.
vanessa_issa's review against another edition
4.0
It’s the first time I read a book by Liz Talley. I must say it was a great surprise for me, I honestly wasn’t expecting to enjoy it this much.
Chase’s been an actress since she was a child, and used to be very successful. She’s been nominated for an Oscar and even won a Golden Globe award for best actress. However, now in her twenties, she is facing several problems with drugs and alcohol, so her career is at great risk. She is constantly on the covers of gossip magazines, and has no sense of responsibility at all.
Conrad Santos, an important director, wants to give her one last chance of saving her career. He really wants her for a part, but only if she can stay clean and focused on her work. He hires Olivia Han, a life coach, to help her. They know each other from way back, so she is the only one he trusts for this job.
Olivia uses her own work method and takes Chase to spend some time in an old cabin of her family. At first, Chase isn’t so happy about this, but little by little she realizes how wrong everything is in her life. She enjoys learning to do simple tasks and has a great time with people from the small town. For once in her life, she has the chance of trying new things and actually experience a normal life. She also learns how important it is to be independent and in charge of her own decisions.
What I love the most about this book is that Chase isn’t the only one getting help. Olivia is also facing some demons from her past, and it’s amazing to see how this experience helped them both. I guess we always have something to learn from everyone.
This story shows how important it is to know who you are, what you want, and how to take care of yourself. Even though this may seem obvious, it’s easy to get lost along the way. Sometimes people think they know what’s best for you, but that’s something only your heart can tell you.
It’s a very beautiful and inspiring book.
* I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review
* Trigger Warning: discussion of substance abuse, depression, suicide, sexual abuse, and rape.
Chase’s been an actress since she was a child, and used to be very successful. She’s been nominated for an Oscar and even won a Golden Globe award for best actress. However, now in her twenties, she is facing several problems with drugs and alcohol, so her career is at great risk. She is constantly on the covers of gossip magazines, and has no sense of responsibility at all.
Conrad Santos, an important director, wants to give her one last chance of saving her career. He really wants her for a part, but only if she can stay clean and focused on her work. He hires Olivia Han, a life coach, to help her. They know each other from way back, so she is the only one he trusts for this job.
Olivia uses her own work method and takes Chase to spend some time in an old cabin of her family. At first, Chase isn’t so happy about this, but little by little she realizes how wrong everything is in her life. She enjoys learning to do simple tasks and has a great time with people from the small town. For once in her life, she has the chance of trying new things and actually experience a normal life. She also learns how important it is to be independent and in charge of her own decisions.
What I love the most about this book is that Chase isn’t the only one getting help. Olivia is also facing some demons from her past, and it’s amazing to see how this experience helped them both. I guess we always have something to learn from everyone.
This story shows how important it is to know who you are, what you want, and how to take care of yourself. Even though this may seem obvious, it’s easy to get lost along the way. Sometimes people think they know what’s best for you, but that’s something only your heart can tell you.
It’s a very beautiful and inspiring book.
* I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review
* Trigger Warning: discussion of substance abuse, depression, suicide, sexual abuse, and rape.
hannaterrah's review against another edition
5.0
So cute
Happy and heartfelt. This book was so sweet! Easy read and some surprisingly turns. Love always wins in the end.
Happy and heartfelt. This book was so sweet! Easy read and some surprisingly turns. Love always wins in the end.
joyyboyy's review against another edition
4.0
A fun and somewhat light read. There were tough moments of honesty and sadness, but friendship prevailed and everyone grew up a bit. Enjoyable story and laugh out loud at some points!
bookedonbooks2020's review against another edition
4.0
Adulting by Liz Talley finds actress Chase London in a place she has probably been before. Hung over, naked and in bed with a man she doesn't remember going there with. The dead court-issued SCRAM tracker on her ankle might be a reminder. Her surroundings are vaguely familiar but she doesn't know why. It takes seeing her mother in the kitchen and having Lorna spell it out that she realizes she is in her own Malibu beach house. Chase doesn't want to go back to rehab but she isn't going to have a choice this time.
Olivia Han is a life coach whose methods include a boot camp therapy aimed at teaching adulting. Contacted by an old friend, she agrees to take on the mess that is Chase London. Closed off and not dealing with her own issues, Olivia goes forward with the task of teaching an uninterested Chase how to be an adult. Going to her grandparents' cottage in the mountains brings up memories and betrayals from the past. The adulting boot camp becomes an emotional boot camp for Olivia and helps mend old relationships while new relationships grow.
Thank you so much to Liz Talley for allowing me to read an ARC of this book. I enjoyed the characters and wouldn't mind catching up with them again one day.
Olivia Han is a life coach whose methods include a boot camp therapy aimed at teaching adulting. Contacted by an old friend, she agrees to take on the mess that is Chase London. Closed off and not dealing with her own issues, Olivia goes forward with the task of teaching an uninterested Chase how to be an adult. Going to her grandparents' cottage in the mountains brings up memories and betrayals from the past. The adulting boot camp becomes an emotional boot camp for Olivia and helps mend old relationships while new relationships grow.
Thank you so much to Liz Talley for allowing me to read an ARC of this book. I enjoyed the characters and wouldn't mind catching up with them again one day.
echo_finished_cake's review against another edition
2.0
There were many things I liked and disliked about this book.
I will start with the things I did like. I liked the premise of the story-that the paths of these two women crossed with their ultimate destiny to heal each other. I liked the witty humor and how the author established the professional and personal relationship between Olivia and Chase. I also liked the setting of the cabin and Cotter's Creek as a getaway for both characters to face their troubled pasts and find love. The romances that blossomed in the story were cute and even a bit funny, but awkward nonetheless.
However, I do not care for the course this story took. The synopsis made you think the main storyline was going to be Chase's long, hard journey to sobriety and healing from her past, but it wasn't. I was shocked that it really turned out to be more of a romance novel, creating love connections and triangles that diverged from those hard topics presented in these characters' stories. That turned out painfully annoying to read. These romances took priority over what I think could have been a real good telling of a story of healing for both Chase and Olivia, which leads me to the main reason I am annoyed with this book. Ms. Talley creates characters with dark pasts of abuse, rape and family dysfunction. This, in a way, makes it stand out from other stories and created this potential for a relatable story of healing that could have really connected with readers. But that is not what the finished product was. I got annoyed that each time the story started touching on the healing process when the characters started talking openly about their pain, the story was real quick to change the scene when at least I as the reader wanted more of the raw vulnerability from the character. I think this happened too often in the story, making me feel disconnected from the characters and the storylines. It is like the author wanted to address these issues, but not in any real depth which made this story really not live up to it's potential. And that is quite disappointing.
Another disappointment I had with this book was the therapy program Olivia had. I was confused as to what it was really supposed to be. Was it therapy or life coaching because I do not believe it was supposed to be both. This Square One program seemed more like life coaching than any kind of mental health therapy, so for the author to make it to where Chase was so open and honest about her past was quite unbelievable. I am not buying it. I do believe she learned how to live independently and take charge of her own life through the program, though. And I also do not believe in Olivia's character as a therapist. I think while she was well intentioned, she was an utter hypocrite judging other people's lives and telling them how to live while she herself had issues to work through. And she seemed wildly unprofessional to the point I wonder how much research into the therapist profession the author did before writing this character or creating this fictional program. Some may say I am taking this too literally, but I say all this because I wanted to believe in this story, wanted it to stand out as one of healing and true character growth, but I just couldn't get on board with it.
Also, I found the writing style quite immature and unlikable.
And quite frankly, the epilogue was an utter was of the pen and readers' time. It annoyed me so much with how unbelievable it was.
I would not recommend this story to anyone, to be honest.
I will start with the things I did like. I liked the premise of the story-that the paths of these two women crossed with their ultimate destiny to heal each other. I liked the witty humor and how the author established the professional and personal relationship between Olivia and Chase. I also liked the setting of the cabin and Cotter's Creek as a getaway for both characters to face their troubled pasts and find love. The romances that blossomed in the story were cute and even a bit funny, but awkward nonetheless.
However, I do not care for the course this story took. The synopsis made you think the main storyline was going to be Chase's long, hard journey to sobriety and healing from her past, but it wasn't. I was shocked that it really turned out to be more of a romance novel, creating love connections and triangles that diverged from those hard topics presented in these characters' stories. That turned out painfully annoying to read. These romances took priority over what I think could have been a real good telling of a story of healing for both Chase and Olivia, which leads me to the main reason I am annoyed with this book. Ms. Talley creates characters with dark pasts of abuse, rape and family dysfunction. This, in a way, makes it stand out from other stories and created this potential for a relatable story of healing that could have really connected with readers. But that is not what the finished product was. I got annoyed that each time the story started touching on the healing process when the characters started talking openly about their pain, the story was real quick to change the scene when at least I as the reader wanted more of the raw vulnerability from the character. I think this happened too often in the story, making me feel disconnected from the characters and the storylines. It is like the author wanted to address these issues, but not in any real depth which made this story really not live up to it's potential. And that is quite disappointing.
Another disappointment I had with this book was the therapy program Olivia had. I was confused as to what it was really supposed to be. Was it therapy or life coaching because I do not believe it was supposed to be both. This Square One program seemed more like life coaching than any kind of mental health therapy, so for the author to make it to where Chase was so open and honest about her past was quite unbelievable. I am not buying it. I do believe she learned how to live independently and take charge of her own life through the program, though. And I also do not believe in Olivia's character as a therapist. I think while she was well intentioned, she was an utter hypocrite judging other people's lives and telling them how to live while she herself had issues to work through. And she seemed wildly unprofessional to the point I wonder how much research into the therapist profession the author did before writing this character or creating this fictional program. Some may say I am taking this too literally, but I say all this because I wanted to believe in this story, wanted it to stand out as one of healing and true character growth, but I just couldn't get on board with it.
Also, I found the writing style quite immature and unlikable.
And quite frankly, the epilogue was an utter was of the pen and readers' time. It annoyed me so much with how unbelievable it was.
I would not recommend this story to anyone, to be honest.
wintermdavis's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.0
aoifeprettypurplepolkadots's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0