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3.27 AVERAGE
3.27 AVERAGE
⭐️ finished: 1/19/23
⭐️ rating: 8/10
⭐️ takeaway: Former lawyer Jane Morgan finds herself under home confinement for six months after a prudish neighbor calls the police on her for engaging in some *ahem* intimate acts on the terrace of her Manhattan apartment. She eventually learns of another resident in her building under home confinement, and after a few false starts and a friends-with-benefits arrangement, they fall in love (yay!). Along the way, there are interesting side plots like her fixation with the woman who reported her and the Polish royalty she used to nanny, making TikTok videos of recipes from the 1800s, and tension with her twin sister who is always just a little bit more “perfect.” This was a fun read with an interesting premise and a happy ending!
⭐️ rating: 8/10
⭐️ takeaway: Former lawyer Jane Morgan finds herself under home confinement for six months after a prudish neighbor calls the police on her for engaging in some *ahem* intimate acts on the terrace of her Manhattan apartment. She eventually learns of another resident in her building under home confinement, and after a few false starts and a friends-with-benefits arrangement, they fall in love (yay!). Along the way, there are interesting side plots like her fixation with the woman who reported her and the Polish royalty she used to nanny, making TikTok videos of recipes from the 1800s, and tension with her twin sister who is always just a little bit more “perfect.” This was a fun read with an interesting premise and a happy ending!
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
On the positive side, this light hearted rom com had likable characters and a cute premise with the romance stemming from Perry and Jane both connecting through their mutual 6-months of house arrest.
While this had so much potential to be a 5 star book with those qualities, I found the entire “Frances Fitzroy (aka the nosy neighbor) plot line to be super convoluted. I didn’t find that it added much to the story and actually detracted from the romance.
I also didn’t feel any real chemistry between Jane and Perry. There wasn’t an “sexy dialogue” and it was missing the banter that characterizes all of the romances that I give 5 stars. It’s a must for me!
While this had so much potential to be a 5 star book with those qualities, I found the entire “Frances Fitzroy (aka the nosy neighbor) plot line to be super convoluted. I didn’t find that it added much to the story and actually detracted from the romance.
I also didn’t feel any real chemistry between Jane and Perry. There wasn’t an “sexy dialogue” and it was missing the banter that characterizes all of the romances that I give 5 stars. It’s a must for me!
Every single character was dumb as a bag of rocks.
It’s perfect for what it is. For me, a nice palate cleanser from a run of literary fiction. Simple, fun, read with good writing and punchy dialog.
dark
funny
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Elinor Lipman brings a hilarious, heartfelt story to life in Ms. Demeanor. A story about siblings, second chances, and romance, this novel is such a refreshing breath of air, and a very quick read to boot. I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a humorous and light read.
Elinor Lipman is the award-winning author of sixteen books of fiction and nonfiction. Her first novel, Then She Found Me, became a feature film directed by and starring Helen Hunt, with Bette Midler, Colin Firth, and Matthew Broderick. She was an Elizabeth Drew Professor of Creative Writing at Smith College, a finalist in the New York Times's Nicholas Kristof Trump poetry contest, and the author of two New York Times Modern Love essays. She divides her time between Manhattan and the Hudson Valley. You can find her online at elinorlipman.com.
Jane Morgan is a valued member of her law firm—or, was, until a prudish neighbor, binoculars poised, observes her having sex on the roof of her NYC apartment building. Police are summoned, and a punishing judge sentences her to six months of house confinement. With Jane now jobless and rootless, trapped at home, life looks bleak. Yes, her twin sister provides support and advice, but mostly of the unwelcome kind. When a doorman lets slip that Jane isn't the only resident wearing an ankle monitor, she strikes up a friendship with fellow white-collar felon Perry Salisbury. As she tries to adapt to life within her apartment walls, she discovers she hasn't heard the end of that tattletale neighbor—whose past isn't as decorous as her 9-1-1 snitching would suggest. Why are police knocking on Jane's door again? Can her house arrest have a silver lining? Can two wrongs make a right?
Lipman writes so accessibly. The chapters are very short, and Ms. Demeanor is such a quick read. You'd have thought the opposite is true—Jane is stuck at home! What could possibly be happening to her?—but the pacing of the novel, the amount of characters that interact with one another makes it a really fast read. A lot is happening: Lipman juggles the relationships between these characters and their subsequent plot points well. I genuinely didn't want to put this one down, as I kept wanting to know what happened next.
I love what Lipman does with Jane and her twin sister, Jackleen. They are compared and contrasted so well, and a lot of the best humor came from their conversations, in my opinion. I have a sister (albeit not identical), but regardless a lot of the humor still applies to what I've experienced with my own sister. What's enjoyable about that, too, is that there are two women on the cover, and the whole story revolves around female relationships. I felt like Jane's and Jackleen's relationship was getting to the heart of the novel the strongest—what it's like to be a woman today, and a woman with other female relationships.
There's so much in here that's done well. The last thing I want to mention, though, is the romance. There's Jane and Perry falling in love, which is contrasted beautifully with Jane falling in love with herself and her situation. While Jane and Perry fall in love over the food Jane cooks, I love slowly watching Jane coming to terms with where she's at, and how she wants to achieve where she wants to be. While Jane's relationship with Perry is tied to that, it isn't equal to it. I thought that was brilliantly done, and made Jane's and Perry's relationship much more fun to watch blossom.
I will definitely be keeping an eye out for future Lipman books now, and possibly diving in her previous ones. You can find Elinor online at elinorlipman.com.
*This review can also be found on my blog, toreadornottoreadnm.blogspot.com*
Elinor Lipman is the award-winning author of sixteen books of fiction and nonfiction. Her first novel, Then She Found Me, became a feature film directed by and starring Helen Hunt, with Bette Midler, Colin Firth, and Matthew Broderick. She was an Elizabeth Drew Professor of Creative Writing at Smith College, a finalist in the New York Times's Nicholas Kristof Trump poetry contest, and the author of two New York Times Modern Love essays. She divides her time between Manhattan and the Hudson Valley. You can find her online at elinorlipman.com.
Jane Morgan is a valued member of her law firm—or, was, until a prudish neighbor, binoculars poised, observes her having sex on the roof of her NYC apartment building. Police are summoned, and a punishing judge sentences her to six months of house confinement. With Jane now jobless and rootless, trapped at home, life looks bleak. Yes, her twin sister provides support and advice, but mostly of the unwelcome kind. When a doorman lets slip that Jane isn't the only resident wearing an ankle monitor, she strikes up a friendship with fellow white-collar felon Perry Salisbury. As she tries to adapt to life within her apartment walls, she discovers she hasn't heard the end of that tattletale neighbor—whose past isn't as decorous as her 9-1-1 snitching would suggest. Why are police knocking on Jane's door again? Can her house arrest have a silver lining? Can two wrongs make a right?
Lipman writes so accessibly. The chapters are very short, and Ms. Demeanor is such a quick read. You'd have thought the opposite is true—Jane is stuck at home! What could possibly be happening to her?—but the pacing of the novel, the amount of characters that interact with one another makes it a really fast read. A lot is happening: Lipman juggles the relationships between these characters and their subsequent plot points well. I genuinely didn't want to put this one down, as I kept wanting to know what happened next.
I love what Lipman does with Jane and her twin sister, Jackleen. They are compared and contrasted so well, and a lot of the best humor came from their conversations, in my opinion. I have a sister (albeit not identical), but regardless a lot of the humor still applies to what I've experienced with my own sister. What's enjoyable about that, too, is that there are two women on the cover, and the whole story revolves around female relationships. I felt like Jane's and Jackleen's relationship was getting to the heart of the novel the strongest—what it's like to be a woman today, and a woman with other female relationships.
There's so much in here that's done well. The last thing I want to mention, though, is the romance. There's Jane and Perry falling in love, which is contrasted beautifully with Jane falling in love with herself and her situation. While Jane and Perry fall in love over the food Jane cooks, I love slowly watching Jane coming to terms with where she's at, and how she wants to achieve where she wants to be. While Jane's relationship with Perry is tied to that, it isn't equal to it. I thought that was brilliantly done, and made Jane's and Perry's relationship much more fun to watch blossom.
I will definitely be keeping an eye out for future Lipman books now, and possibly diving in her previous ones. You can find Elinor online at elinorlipman.com.
*This review can also be found on my blog, toreadornottoreadnm.blogspot.com*
Recommended by Jo. Check our catalog: https://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore/search/C__Sms.%20demeanor__Orightresult__U?lang=eng&suite=gold
Just okay. A good palate cleanser, but the story didn't feel fleshed out enough.
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes