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kalemary's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Pregnant, 2 guy best friends.
heatheradoresbooks's review
4.0
4.25 corndog pact ⭐
Gah, this was the cutest! And the slowest slow burn I think I've ever read, but it didn't bother me at all.
Josie is going through a divorce when she learns she's pregnant. With hardly any money and no place to go she has to move back home to live with her parents.
Josie, Ben and Kevin were high school friends. Now it's 12 years later when they run into each other at the fair. Each of them aren't exactly where they expected to be at this point in their life at age 30. They have a nice chat and decide to move in together and make a pact to have their lives together within a year.
I really enjoyed watching their friendship regrow. And the boys were so cute helping Josie get ready for the baby and making sure she was taken care of ~ expect for all the junk food they ate. They just doted on the baby when he was born too.
I liked that each chapter had a fun title. The Christmas gift that Kevin gave was super cute too. I would not mind a sequel with more on Ben and Josie's relationship, as well as what happens next with Kevin.
Narration:
Sophie Amoss ~ 10 hours 1 minute ~ nice job
*Thanks to [a:Dreamscape Media LLC|19425262|Dreamscape Media LLC|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png], [a:Stephanie Eding|17824402|Stephanie Eding|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1521066825p2/17824402.jpg] and NetGalley for the advance audiobook. I am voluntarily leaving my honest review*
Follow me ➡ Heather Adores Books
Gah, this was the cutest! And the slowest slow burn I think I've ever read, but it didn't bother me at all.
Josie is going through a divorce when she learns she's pregnant. With hardly any money and no place to go she has to move back home to live with her parents.
Josie, Ben and Kevin were high school friends. Now it's 12 years later when they run into each other at the fair. Each of them aren't exactly where they expected to be at this point in their life at age 30. They have a nice chat and decide to move in together and make a pact to have their lives together within a year.
I really enjoyed watching their friendship regrow. And the boys were so cute helping Josie get ready for the baby and making sure she was taken care of ~ expect for all the junk food they ate. They just doted on the baby when he was born too.
I liked that each chapter had a fun title. The Christmas gift that Kevin gave was super cute too. I would not mind a sequel with more on Ben and Josie's relationship, as well as what happens next with Kevin.
Narration:
Sophie Amoss ~ 10 hours 1 minute ~ nice job
*Thanks to [a:Dreamscape Media LLC|19425262|Dreamscape Media LLC|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png], [a:Stephanie Eding|17824402|Stephanie Eding|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1521066825p2/17824402.jpg] and NetGalley for the advance audiobook. I am voluntarily leaving my honest review*
Follow me ➡ Heather Adores Books
_basicbookworm's review against another edition
4.0
Josie’s life is falling apart. Her husband cheated on her and now they are getting a divorce, she moved back to her hometown with her parents, and now she’s pregnant. When she runs into Ben and Kevin, her friends from high school, the three decide to move in together and get their lives together.
I adored this book. It was full of heart and sweet moments and Josie’s journey was so beautiful. I loved watching her really start to feel like she found herself despite all of the struggles she was going through. I loved the unconventional family she Ben and Kevin created and how they truly encouraged each other and were an incredible support system for one another. Josie was the sweetest main character - she was funny, she was relatable, and she was such a kind person it was impossible not to root for her. The slow slow burn second chance romance between Josie and Ben was so sweet and I loved them together. The romance definitely takes a backseat in this story, and is more of a women’s fiction, self-discovery journey, so be aware going in. Overall, I loved this book so much and am so happy I read it.
I switched between audio and ebook and loved both formats. Sophie Amoss was the narrator and did an amazing job bringing Josie to life. I loved her narration and found myself listening to almost the whole story before realizing it was suddenly almost to the end.
Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca, Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the advanced copies.
I adored this book. It was full of heart and sweet moments and Josie’s journey was so beautiful. I loved watching her really start to feel like she found herself despite all of the struggles she was going through. I loved the unconventional family she Ben and Kevin created and how they truly encouraged each other and were an incredible support system for one another. Josie was the sweetest main character - she was funny, she was relatable, and she was such a kind person it was impossible not to root for her. The slow slow burn second chance romance between Josie and Ben was so sweet and I loved them together. The romance definitely takes a backseat in this story, and is more of a women’s fiction, self-discovery journey, so be aware going in. Overall, I loved this book so much and am so happy I read it.
I switched between audio and ebook and loved both formats. Sophie Amoss was the narrator and did an amazing job bringing Josie to life. I loved her narration and found myself listening to almost the whole story before realizing it was suddenly almost to the end.
Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca, Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the advanced copies.
karierene's review against another edition
3.0
This was definitely a solid three star book! It was adorable and sweet with just enough plot to keep you moving forwards. I would have liked to see more of Ben/Josie’s relationship and I would have liked to see more of the relationship with Grant and baby and Josie. It left a little to be desired and it was sluggish at the beginning but it was cute and sweet.
booksbystephanie's review against another edition
3.0
Okay hear me out. This book follows a pregnancy and I didn’t hate it! It takes found family to a whole new level and had a bit of “Three Men and a Baby” vibes. I thought Kevin was hilarious and the slow burn romance was actually done better than I anticipated. Messy characters are my jam and this book had plenty of them! Could there have been more depth and introspection, probably. But I still connected with them and kept me wanting to know what happens!
3.5 ⭐️ 0
3.5 ⭐️ 0
mindfullibrarian's review against another edition
5.0
(free review copy) So unique and an absolute breath of fresh air in the saturated and cookie cutter women’s fiction space. I LOVED this story!
zarahzoe's review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Just a huge missed opportunity for a throuple romance
vikie_vi's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Made me so happy relaxing into this book. It felt like I was part of the friend group working to get my life together
thebritishbibliophile_'s review against another edition
4.0
Thank you to Sourcebooks Casa for sending me an ebook Advanced Reader's Copy for me to read and review via Net Galley. This is my honest and spoiler-free review.
---------------------------------------------------------
I picked the opportunity to read 'The Unplanned Life of Josie Hale' via NetGalley, for something different to read. A change of pace from the novels that are my usual go-to and/or comfort zone reads. The Unplanned Life of Josie Hale' promised just that.
✔ Found family
✔ Second chance romance
✔ Single Parent/Surprise Pregnancy
✔ Coming of age
✔ Roommates
✔ Slow burn
All of the above tropes appealed to me in some way, especially since I've not read too many novels with as many tropes within one novel. Usually the above tropes were either spread across a book series, or one was the central trope, so I was intrigued to see how Stephanie Eding would weave them all together, and how the final product that is The Unplanned Life of Josie Hale would fare.
Although this may be the life of Josie Hale, as promised in the title, we very much get more than we bargained for. Again, much like Josie did herself. We get Ben and Kevin, former friends and now roommates of Josie and her unborn child. Josie has connections to both and they meet unexpectedly after several years apart, bonding over the many woes and disappointments several of us go through in life here in the real world, Here, Stephanie injects an element of realism into this novel which most authors would not choose to do. Novels are often referred to and are sources of escapism from the unpleasantness of real life, but Stephanie choses to toe the line and include and raise awareness to those experiences.
In a bid to rid not only Josie of her current plagues bringing her life down but all three of them, a mission is set into motion which you all will become familiar with as a continuous element mentioned throughout the entire novel. This pact is what binds the three together and entwines their fates, as well as getting one another involved with the personal lives of everyone within their household. Everything about their lives is affected by this mission, and Kevin, especially, is keen to see it to completion to the amusement and annoyance both, of his two roommates.
The Unplanned Life of Josie Hale, among the many things, is a story about no one, but three stories of second chances. Throughout reading the novel, we join Josie, Ben and Kevin in searching for and discovering the true meaning of what it means to be family outside of the traditional, 2.2 children, nuclear family-enforced stereotype of a 'family' most of us grew up being told was THE definition of family. We see the evolution of this from the first day of Josie living with the pair, to her pregnancy bringing the three closer--and the things that happen along the way--, to the birth and the moments that follow. The novel takes the time to slowly explore this and many other evolutions, rather than suppressing this to a chapter or two as a mini-arc.
Although lacking in any steam, smut or intimacy, The Unplanned Life of Josie Hale makes up for those things with the close bonds of friendship, going the extra mile for the ones who you love, general wholesomeness and pushing of positive messages and lessons.
I would love for a second book to follow after this, as I would like to see how Josie's life goes from unplanned, to even more unplanned as her baby grows up and a whole new chapter of life for them both can and will be explored.
4.5 stars!
---------------------------------------------------------
I picked the opportunity to read 'The Unplanned Life of Josie Hale' via NetGalley, for something different to read. A change of pace from the novels that are my usual go-to and/or comfort zone reads. The Unplanned Life of Josie Hale' promised just that.
✔ Found family
✔ Second chance romance
✔ Single Parent/Surprise Pregnancy
✔ Coming of age
✔ Roommates
✔ Slow burn
All of the above tropes appealed to me in some way, especially since I've not read too many novels with as many tropes within one novel. Usually the above tropes were either spread across a book series, or one was the central trope, so I was intrigued to see how Stephanie Eding would weave them all together, and how the final product that is The Unplanned Life of Josie Hale would fare.
Although this may be the life of Josie Hale, as promised in the title, we very much get more than we bargained for. Again, much like Josie did herself. We get Ben and Kevin, former friends and now roommates of Josie and her unborn child. Josie has connections to both and they meet unexpectedly after several years apart, bonding over the many woes and disappointments several of us go through in life here in the real world, Here, Stephanie injects an element of realism into this novel which most authors would not choose to do. Novels are often referred to and are sources of escapism from the unpleasantness of real life, but Stephanie choses to toe the line and include and raise awareness to those experiences.
In a bid to rid not only Josie of her current plagues bringing her life down but all three of them, a mission is set into motion which you all will become familiar with as a continuous element mentioned throughout the entire novel. This pact is what binds the three together and entwines their fates, as well as getting one another involved with the personal lives of everyone within their household. Everything about their lives is affected by this mission, and Kevin, especially, is keen to see it to completion to the amusement and annoyance both, of his two roommates.
The Unplanned Life of Josie Hale, among the many things, is a story about no one, but three stories of second chances. Throughout reading the novel, we join Josie, Ben and Kevin in searching for and discovering the true meaning of what it means to be family outside of the traditional, 2.2 children, nuclear family-enforced stereotype of a 'family' most of us grew up being told was THE definition of family. We see the evolution of this from the first day of Josie living with the pair, to her pregnancy bringing the three closer--and the things that happen along the way--, to the birth and the moments that follow. The novel takes the time to slowly explore this and many other evolutions, rather than suppressing this to a chapter or two as a mini-arc.
Although lacking in any steam, smut or intimacy, The Unplanned Life of Josie Hale makes up for those things with the close bonds of friendship, going the extra mile for the ones who you love, general wholesomeness and pushing of positive messages and lessons.
I would love for a second book to follow after this, as I would like to see how Josie's life goes from unplanned, to even more unplanned as her baby grows up and a whole new chapter of life for them both can and will be explored.
4.5 stars!