The Overdue Life of Amy Byler by Amy Byler

CLICK ON IMAGE FOR FULL REVIEW

BOOK DESCRIPTION

An Amazon Charts and Washington Post bestseller, and a Goodreads Choice Award finalist.

“A laugh-out-loud funny, pitch-perfect novel that will have readers rooting for this unlikely, relatable, and totally lovable heroine, The Overdue Life of Amy Byler is the ultimate escape—and will leave moms everywhere questioning whether it isn’t time for a #momspringa of their own.” —New York Journal of Books

Overworked and underappreciated, single mom Amy Byler needs a break. So when the guilt-ridden husband who abandoned her shows up and offers to take care of their kids for the summer, she accepts his offer and escapes rural Pennsylvania for New York City.

Usually grounded and mild mannered, Amy finally lets her hair down in the city that never sleeps. She discovers a life filled with culture, sophistication, and—with a little encouragement from her friends—a few blind dates. When one man in particular makes quick work of Amy’s heart, she risks losing herself completely in the unexpected escape, and as the summer comes to an end, Amy realizes too late that she must make an impossible decision: stay in this exciting new chapter of her life, or return to the life she left behind.

But before she can choose, a crisis forces the two worlds together, and Amy must stare down a future where she could lose both sides of herself, and every dream she’s ever nurtured, in the beat of a heart.

VISIT HERE FOR ALL YOUR BABY PRODUCTS AND GAMES

Release date 

MAY 1, 2019

MY REVIEW

The first part of this book was a lot stronger than the latter, it went on a little too long and I started to get bored. There are definitely some funny parts in this book, I even laughed out loud a couple of times.

Amy's world gets turned upside down when her estranged husband comes back after three years to try and work things out with the kids. Unfortunately, John isn't written with much personality, and I found it hard to get a read on his character. I was also confused about their financial situation, Amy goes on about how hard it was for three years on a single income, but John seems to have plenty of money. Why wasn't he paying child support? Why didn't Amy demand a big check when he came back? Why did she feel guilt about using his credit card?

After letting the kids spend the summer with their father, Amy goes to New York for her "momspringa". And from there the book lost steam. It's mostly Amy getting a makeover, free clothes, free spinning classes and lots of dates from men who think she's hot. She dwells on why her husband left, "did I wear sweatpants too often?", wondering if she'd made more "effort" the outcome would have been different. I wonder if her husband ever wondered if his clothing/appearance was the problem. I bet not.