20190316_175628.jpgToday I have a review of Trophy Life by Lea Geller as part of the blog tour sponsored by Suzy Approved Book Tours! Thank you to Suzy for the invitation!

About the Book:

A refreshingly honest, laugh-out-loud novel about losing the life you always wanted…and finding the life you were meant to have.

For the last ten years, Agnes Parsons’s biggest challenge has been juggling yoga classes and lunch dates. Her Santa Monica house staff takes care of everything, leaving Agnes to focus on her trophy-wife responsibilities: look perfect, adore her older husband, and wear terribly expensive (if uncomfortable) underwear.

When her husband disappears, leaving Agnes and their infant daughter with no money, no home, and no staff, she is forced to move across the country, where she lands a job teaching at an all-boys boarding school in the Bronx. So long, organic quinoa bowls and sunshine-filled California life. Hello, processed food, pest-infested house, and twelve-year-old-boy humor—all day, every day.

But it’s in this place of second chances (and giant bugs), where Agnes is unexpectedly forced to take care of herself and her daughter, where she finds out the kind of woman she can be. Ultimately, she has to decide if she prefers the woman and mother she has become…or the trophy life she left behind.

Authentic and sharply witty, Trophy Life is proof that granny panties and mom coats might not be the answer to everything; they’re simply comfortable (if slightly unattractive) reminders of what happens when one life ends…and real life begins.

My Thoughts:

Oh my goodness, I loved this refreshing story!

Agnes Parsons hasn’t had much to worry about. She has a home in Santa Monica with staff who take care of everything, and she simply has to look good and keep her much older husband happy. 

Until one day her husband disappears, and Agnes is all alone with an infant daughter with no staff…and no money. 

Agnes has no choice but to get a job teaching in a boys’ boarding school in the Bronx. East coast living teaching twelve-year-olds is quite the contrast to California dreamin’. 

As hard as the transition is on her, and with lots of humor, Agnes finds herself in these difficult circumstances. She sheds the trophy wife and becomes a real person who’s a proud mom. 

And then she has to choose between her new life and her trophy one. 

Agnes’ story felt so real! Like my best friend was telling me a story about someone she knows. The storytelling is clever and funny and always entertaining. You get to witness Agnes come-of-age here, and it’s a beautiful reckoning. Agnes was super likable, even if she wasn’t that relatable, especially in the beginning. She was human and fallible and that always connects me to characters. 

Overall, I had so much fun witnessing Agnes’ transformation and wondering what’s next for her. This book is about resilience of spirit, finding oneself at any age, and that it’s never too late to right a ship that’s meandered off course. 

I received a complimentary copy. All opinions are my own. 

About the Author:

Lea Geller is a recovering lawyer who lives in New York with her husband and children. She began her writing career by blogging about her adventures in the trenches of parenting, and got the idea for Trophy Life when her two sons were in middle school.

When Lea’s not eavesdropping on her children, she can be found running, drinking diner coffee, and occasionally teaching middle-school English. She enjoys embarrassing her family by posting pictures of her vegetable garden on Instagram (#IgrewDinner). You can follow her at http://www.leageller.com.

Have you read Trophy Life, or is it on your TBR? Happy Reading! ~ Jennifer THR