Unfortunately I just couldn't get into this story, there didn't really seem to be anything that drew me in as a reader.

This story was a sweet second chance romance although I did find the story to be slightly lackluster. Sometimes is was awfully predictable and others completely unbelieveable. The author clearly has potential and I'm excited to see how she grows.

Gotta say, this was cute. I marked this book as reading a week ago but didn't start it until today and finished it today. It's a light quick read.

Maxima Anderson, a twenty year old aspiring actress is practicing her winning Oscar speech when Henry stone asks her out only to get rejected by her, because why would someone as beautiful, talented and popular as herself go out with a spotty, scrawny nerd like him?

Eight years later, Max is unemployed, having given up on her chances to become an actress due to past demons she still has yet to face. When her sister-in-law finds her a job working as a housekeeper/babysitter little did she know that she'd be working for none other than Henry Stone himself, and soon finds herself falling for him. But nothing comes without its complications.

So Max was obviously a very selfish and shallow person years ago, although she's changed over the years. She's actually hilarious most of the time but has her inner struggles and issues which it delves into and addresses at crucial moments and also how she overcomes these issues as well.

Henry isn't your typical charming, dashing, romantic guy. He's still his nerdy self but an adorable nerd and he's got an endearing quality to his character. I liked him. I liked the both of them together. They just suited. He was so patient with Max when she was being a bit of a pain, thinking he won't understand her, bless him.

And Lucien, the nephew of Henry, is a nine-year-old riot and I adored his relationship with Max and his smartass comments.

This was an enjoyable read, and I did really feel for both Max and Henry and was so happy when they got the happy ending they deserved. And loved that Max was still heading towards her dream, with Henry encouraging her.

I knew from the description of this book that the heroine was going to be a jerk. And wow, was she ever. I honestly don’t know what made me keep reading this book. I’m a sucker for a geeky hero and I guess I wanted to see how she redeemed herself. The storyline was a good one, and would have worked if I didn’t dislike Maxima Anderson so much. Henry was what made this book worth my time.
The book begins with a flashback to ten years ago when they are in college. Maxima “Max” Anderson is an aspiring actress and Henry is the theater helper who admires her from afar. The one time he gathers the courage to approach her, she not only shoots him down, but she finds it amusing as hell. If you looked up shallow, egotistical, bitchy and tactless on Wikipedia, you would see a picture of Max. I hated her in that moment, and my opinion didn’t change much throughout the book.
Fast forward to present day when Max is homeless and unemployed, having left Hollywood because of a relationship gone really bad. She has no job, no direction, and no real motivation to do anything other than provide part-time help to her sister-in-law’s catering business so she can earn room and board at her brother’s apartment. Even though New York City is a far cry from Hollywood, acting opportunities are a dime a dozen, but Max has lost her muse. Her self esteem and self confidence are in the toilet and she has no idea which direction to take her life.
A chance encounter with a help wanted ad for a housekeeper reunites her with Henry Stone. This time around, Henry is the one with everything going for him. He is wealthy, has a beautiful apartment, is close to his family – especially his nephew – and is now an absolute hunk. To say that Max has to eat crow when she sees him again is an understatement. To his credit, Henry never treats her badly. He’s a nice guy, and seems to have forgiven how awful she was to him. He needs a housekeeper and babysitter for his nephew, and Max gets the job.
What follows is a quirky, entertaining story of Max finding herself way out of her element but figuring it out as she goes. Henry is somewhat of a beta hero, which I’m not always a fan of, but in this case it worked. He was strong enough to be a leading man, but nice and down to earth and endearing. I don’t know how the romance between these two worked, but it did. I never warmed up to Max at all, and would have given this book a much higher review if she had been even the tiniest bit likable.
I give Henry and Me 2.5 stars

this book was fun to read, I liked the characters and the story line was very good. Real world situations made it believable. At times it felt a little stiff to me. It was well worth a read if you like a little bit of mystery and crime and a lot of romance.

Henry & Me is a cute story. Really. I read it in one sitting, mainly. There is a precocious kid. There is a nerdy hero. And a few other nerdy characters… Second chance romance, anyone? There is family. There is humility. And there is love.


A few things that caught my attention:
• The heroine, Max is dumb. Seriously she is not the brightest lamp in the room. Even the kid she babysits knows it. But she is gullible and super sweet! And she tries to make herself better but learning new things, like imaginary numbers. Math hurts my brain so I applaud that!
• It reads NA…BIG TIME! That might go back to the dumb thing. I’m sorry…is dumb too mean? Max seems very innocent and naïve, even if she has her bitchy moments. Maybe it’s because she is a little bit broken? She is an out of work actress who recently came home and abruptly decided to quit acting.
• Henry is smart! That makes up for the d word thing, right?! He’s such a nerd. I love nerds. And he loves Max. I knew it from the beginning even if Max did not.
• Henry is WAY too forgiving! She was sooooo mean to him back in college. Like, she really doesn’t deserve him, mean.
• There is a little comic relief. Max is an actress and not a housekeeper/nanny, after all. Plus she is always dreaming up her Oscar acceptance speech, which was amusing.
• Diversity! Kind of, sort of, maybe not really because our protagonists are white. BUT Max’s brother is married to a first gen Korean American. And Ji-ae is awesome! She is really there for Max, she shows her how true family is, true friends act. She is awesome and she plays a great role in this story. And the author touches on Ji-ae’s mixed race marriage with Ji-ae and her husband. It reads very true…at least to this white girl.
• Easy to read! I think I read this book in a matter of hours without putting it down. That is saying something coming from a busy mom of 3, who are running her ragged in the summer months.
• The chemistry! Max notices Henry (in present day) and the longing and the realization, the knowing what you want is there and you just have to grab hold of it. But for Max it is not that easy. She is coming off of a tough time; she really has some healing to do.

Favorite Quotes:

She flips open her phone, scrolling through the world’s premier international gossip registry— otherwise known as Facebook.

“I was housekeeping staff at the Four Seasons in LA briefly.” Ha, that was a nightmare. Cleaning and I are mortal enemies, and will remain so for the rest of my life. But I can’t say that to Henry, so I modify the truth a little. “My boss constantly praised the high standard of my work, so you have nothing to worry about there.” It’s thanks to my acting ability that I pull that lie off so easily. In reality, my boss at the Four Seasons fired me because I always left the rooms messier than I found them. But hell, this is an interview, and a little embellishment is standard. It’s not like I’m an inveterate liar or anything.

He proceeds to give me a tour of the house, explaining where all the cleaning equipment and supplies are stored, and giving me pointers on the way he likes things to be organized. I brought a notepad along, so I take exhaustive notes (actually I doodle his face).

“I’m not a maid,” I clarify. “I’m a domestic helper and child-care expert.” I got those words from the internet, when I was watching a YouTube video on how to do laundry. They make me sound infinitely more professional, so I’ll use them.

You know what they say about judging a book by its cover. Henry might look boring, like historical fiction, but he’s actually an erotica novel.
My Review:

I adored this cleverly amusing book from start to finish. While I didn’t always love the characters because, well, there were times that Max was an obnoxious, vain, arrogant, and self-absorbed diva, but regardless, Max never failed to hold my attention and she did redeem herself. Henry and his quirky and precocious nephew Lucien were hands-down my favorite characters. But oh, how the mighty had fallen… After years of humiliating and harsh doses of reality, Max gave up on her dreams and was not the same narcissistic person she had been in college. Written from a first person POV of Max, the writing quality was top notch, I was well established in Max’s head and was highly entertained by her colorful inner musings and humorous observations. The plot was fresh and entertaining and the storyline was crisp, amusing, insightful, and clever. This was my first experience reading Ms. Clinton’s work and I quickly rose to the level of fangirl admiration before concluding the first chapter. I frequently smirked, chortled, gasped and giggle snorted, although there were also several heart-squeezing and angsty moments in between her bumbling misadventures.

Oh dear, having said I don't like to write mean reviews I find myself writing a second one within days!

I love a rich/ popular girl learning the value in a nerd/ hard work kind of story; heck I love Hallmark movies, Movies 24 and pretty much every high school film there is. But the key thing is that the rich/popular/beautiful girl has to have some redeeming qualities, she has to be thoughtless not spiteful. I didn't think that Max had any redeeming qualities, she was borderline stupid, clumsy, self-absorbed, she had no work ethic, she felt no compunction about lying to her employer, she rummaged around in her employer's personal possessions, she was egotistical, she scrounged off her brother and his wife whilst also bad-mouthing her sister-in-law and she judged people on their looks. By page 21 I had decided I didn't like her. This is supposed to Max's chance at redemption but she doesn't seem to take the opportunity.

The writing was stilted and awkward, for example:
"I'm really good at speaking in front of people because I studied acting."
or maybe
"Rob, stop using your strength to intimidate me. I'm not the cowering kitten I once was."
At times Max sounded like a twelve year old girl, but that's okay because the nine year old boy sounded like a cross between a five year old and a 40 year old.

But if Max was unpleasant and unlikeable Henry was a cardboard cut-out. The nerd who was rejected by Max at Harvard (yep, you can have difficulty tying your own shoe laces but get into Harvard to study acting) has now become unbelievably wealthy and successful. Yet when he runs into Max again and gives her a job as his housekeeper/ nanny to his nephew he falls in love with her all over again. And I just kept thinking, why? She was unpleasant at college and she is still unpleasant in the present day but apparently he falls for her and I can't understand why, it doesn't make sense. He is such a Pollyanna it's nauseating.
"When I was sick, I realized how fortunate I was t have people to look after me. I wanted to be useful to them in my own way. because I couldn't move, or even talk much, all I could do was smile. That way, I could at least cheer them up. Since then, I've decided not to be grumpy or get mad at anyone."


And don't get me started on the two Michelin Star restaurant which you can just walk into off the street and get a table (try a three month waiting list), which serves mozzarella sticks, tomato an basil "something", shrimp and chocolate cake. It sounds more like a chain restaurant!

I can only assume that this was supposed to be satire of some kind because it wasn't funny and the plot was unrealistic. (view spoiler)

I really wanted to like this book but it totally missed the mark for me, maybe others will find Max and her misadventures hysterically funny.

Henry & Me, Sasha Clinton
Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews

Genre: Romance , Women's Fiction

Well, I loved Sasha's NYC singles 1 ( and have just borrowed the next two on KU) so was keen to read this.

Wow, what a b itch Max was back then. she can't just reject him politely but has to humiliate him, astonished that a guy with zits can have the audacity to ask a hot, popular girl like her out. She really decimates him in her refusal, and I so felt for him.
She's convinced she's on her way to the top, but when we catch up with her six years later her plans have gone wildly astray. 

Max is a very different person now, much more likable, thinks about others, cares about not hurting people. At first I still wanted to hate her for how awful she was to Henry but she'd changed so much.
That change came at a huge price though, and her career was a casualty of things that happened to her which have left lasting effects. They make acting out of the picture now, her dreams are dust, she can't seem to want to pick herself up and try again, she's too scared.
As for relationships and love, they're a no-go. I felt for her, she'd had a tough time and yet she was still a happy, cheery person even with the problems she was facing.
She's living with her brother and sister in law in a tiny flat, so getting a job and then hopefully a place of her own...well, a share of a place anyway, is priority. 

I love her sister in law, such a fantastic person, full of confidence, and always ready to knuckle down and work for what she wants. She's not letting Max slide either, and soon accompanying her to an interview she's arranged.
She's like a tiny steamroller, so forceful everyone cant help but go with her plans. 

Its Henry though who wants the housekeeper, and a nanny for his 9 year old nephew Lucien.
I loved that kid, full of clever humour, snark, and ways to play the restrictions his overbearing, over protective mother sets.
She's a heart surgeon and Lucien isn't allowed sweets, sugar, fat, carbs, flavour and ...well.. anything 9 years olds love, but he manages to sneak around Max and get some fun and treats.
He's only 9 but at times feels 29 in experience and ideas, full of knowledge that make him seem so much older. I love his conversations with Max. 

So there's Max, housekeeping for Henry, who's lost the zits, made loads of dosh and is a really lovely guy. How could she not fall in love with him, but for her relationships are out. From her past its the one thing she just can't do, it makes her physically ill. Henry though has plans...

Its a great fun read, full of humour, with characters that feel so real. they aren't perfect but flawed and that makes them feel as if I know them, and Henry, well...I'd love to know him!
There some really emotional moments here too, sad ones but also ones that leave you cheering, such as when she meets Rob. Way to go Max!

Stars: four, a real fun read which made me smile, and also had the sadness, heartbreaking emotions, the part that made me wonder if all could come right, that I love. 

ARC supplied for review purposes by Netgalley and Publishers

Cute story about karma and making things right again....

Max was the it girl in college. She was lead in all the plays at Harvard (all I was thinking was who goes to Harvard for acting!?!?!?)... when geeky Henry asks he out, she was mean and rude. WAY mean, WAY rude... and now 10 years later, Max is now desperate for work, so she applies work for Max as him nanny and housecleaner... oh how times have turned.

I found the story very slow. The only thing that kept me reading was Henry's Lucien, who I enjoyed. His antics were funny.

I didn't really care for Max. She was not one of my favorite characters... she started out so mean, I couldn't shake it for the rest of the book.