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A review by nikiverse
The Goddesses by Swan Huntley
1.0
Nancy is a stay-at-home housewife and her husband Chuck works at Costco. Chuck has recently cheated on Nancy so they decide to move to Hawaii (with their two sons) to start a new chapter in their life.
Nancy starts taking yoga with Ana (pronounced On-a). Ana starts calling Nancy "Nan" and they start to hang out in a jacuzzi and hand out sandwiches to homeless people in their personal crusade to feel better about themselves (Sandwich Sistahs, holla). Nan starts leaning out and dressing boho chic while she rolls her eyes about her other stay-at-home housewife friends who are still dressing in mumus and 10# overweight.
As they story progresses, Nan starts bail out on her family by hanging out with Ana instead (and LIES about it for no god-damned reason).
Without spoiling the book - Ana starts to have serious trouble in her life and, as a result, Nancy helps Ana. Ana does some bullsh*t to which Nan responds by shrugging her shoulders and "going with the flow."
I hate the characters. Nancy's reactions didn't make sense. Her choices didn't make sense and she's a horrible representation of a 40-something mother trying to get her groove back. She lies or omits the truth from her family ("I settled on a half-lie"), she does not protect them, she runs from her problems, and has little to no meaningful growth throughout the book. She's also judgmental af.
EXAMPLES
Nancy is making leis with another housewife and comments how her friend "pushed her small wire-framed glasses up her big nose." Un-necessary.
Making leis with the other housewives: "I eyed the other women and thought they were homely. And very serious about their leis- almost sadly serious, because this was obviously the highlight of their day. I may have felt a little superior knowing it would not be the highlight of mine. I may have noted that my laid-back position in the chair and my who-cares workout attire suggested I had a life beyond stringing flowers. I may have also noted that everyone at the table had covered their flabby middle-aged arms with distracting floral fabrics while my shoulders were proudly exposed."
Nancy on her husband, Chuck: "On the side of the pool, Coach Iona with his hands on his knees said something to Jed [their son], and Jed untied his cap and smacked it on the concrete. Great, anger is inherited. Or learned. Either way, it was Chuck's fault." Dude can't fucking win.
Then, towards the end of the book, her son has a pretty life-changing experience (as a result of Nancy's choices), and Nancy seems to want to parent the child WITH the child and not include the father in the conversation.
"Are you going to tell Dad?"
"No," I said. "You're an adult [this is false, btw]. You choose what you want to tell your dad."
Nancy lies or omits the truth during the WHOLE book. She never calls herself out on her own bullshit.
This whole book is #whitepeopleproblems and has no soul. I can not wait to delete it off my Kindle.
EDIT: I got this book for free via netgalley bc I liked the book cover, so some of these quotes might not be accurate to the final copy. Maybe the author changed the whole book and it's not god-awful anymore too.
Nancy starts taking yoga with Ana (pronounced On-a). Ana starts calling Nancy "Nan" and they start to hang out in a jacuzzi and hand out sandwiches to homeless people in their personal crusade to feel better about themselves (Sandwich Sistahs, holla). Nan starts leaning out and dressing boho chic while she rolls her eyes about her other stay-at-home housewife friends who are still dressing in mumus and 10# overweight.
As they story progresses, Nan starts bail out on her family by hanging out with Ana instead (and LIES about it for no god-damned reason).
Without spoiling the book - Ana starts to have serious trouble in her life and, as a result, Nancy helps Ana. Ana does some bullsh*t to which Nan responds by shrugging her shoulders and "going with the flow."
I hate the characters. Nancy's reactions didn't make sense. Her choices didn't make sense and she's a horrible representation of a 40-something mother trying to get her groove back. She lies or omits the truth from her family ("I settled on a half-lie"), she does not protect them, she runs from her problems, and has little to no meaningful growth throughout the book. She's also judgmental af.
EXAMPLES
Nancy is making leis with another housewife and comments how her friend "pushed her small wire-framed glasses up her big nose." Un-necessary.
Making leis with the other housewives: "I eyed the other women and thought they were homely. And very serious about their leis- almost sadly serious, because this was obviously the highlight of their day. I may have felt a little superior knowing it would not be the highlight of mine. I may have noted that my laid-back position in the chair and my who-cares workout attire suggested I had a life beyond stringing flowers. I may have also noted that everyone at the table had covered their flabby middle-aged arms with distracting floral fabrics while my shoulders were proudly exposed."
Nancy on her husband, Chuck: "On the side of the pool, Coach Iona with his hands on his knees said something to Jed [their son], and Jed untied his cap and smacked it on the concrete. Great, anger is inherited. Or learned. Either way, it was Chuck's fault." Dude can't fucking win.
Then, towards the end of the book, her son has a pretty life-changing experience (as a result of Nancy's choices), and Nancy seems to want to parent the child WITH the child and not include the father in the conversation.
"Are you going to tell Dad?"
"No," I said. "You're an adult [this is false, btw]. You choose what you want to tell your dad."
Nancy lies or omits the truth during the WHOLE book. She never calls herself out on her own bullshit.
This whole book is #whitepeopleproblems and has no soul. I can not wait to delete it off my Kindle.
EDIT: I got this book for free via netgalley bc I liked the book cover, so some of these quotes might not be accurate to the final copy. Maybe the author changed the whole book and it's not god-awful anymore too.