This book was largely light-hearted and a joy to read. I admit that I love reading books set in small towns with cozy characters, and this book provided in spades. The Southern charm rings true in this book's telling, and the revelation of Marcus' sudden departure from his former life make you love these characters even more.

I have never read anything from this particular (LGBTQA) genre before, and this was a nice introduction.

This was a book where a majority of the side character made the foundation for the rest of the book. The title was picking my interest not only because it was helish long. The blurb also did the rest and when I started the book, I was hooked.

I liked Marcus right from the start and the way how life hit him hard is… some heart clenching but also you see he is a fighter.

The books stars pretty in medias res, we get the background of Marcus’ past, of course a few events are confusing first but if you recall them later or keep them generally in mind it makes pretty sense.

Although it has a funny title and promise a light story it isn’t this light as you might expect. There is a slight angst when you realise what’s the reason for Marcus’ sudden escape from his former life.

The story is actually unexpected deep and next to see how a person who hasn’t a family gains something from a passed member, from a family member who cares for one, the book is about finding a home in the unexpected way and in places you never thought about.

I liked the light, absolutely hilarious atmosphere in the dinette Marcus is finding himself during the book daily, the people around him, the “Do-Nothings”, a club of old ladies, who’s major task is… actually doing nothing. These ladies stir the cities life up, they gossip and banter, have to say to nearly every topic somethings but you can’t be mad of them. 😀

The southern charme in the book is really sweet and you are enchanted by the way how everybody in the city, Marathon, is in genuine interest to make you happy – and don’t care if they overstep bounderies because they mean no harm.

Between the banter and witty chatter of the old’s ladies and the dinette’s staff there is the love story of Marcus and Hank, the local mechanic, set. And it is pretty sweet but has here and there a slight angst, reaches its dramatical peak near the end of the book. Luckily the HEA is guaranteed although you have worries until the very end. 🙂

A story which is unexpected deep, with charming, but slighty overwhelming characters, a love story set in a crazy community but as comforting as a housemade (apple) pie. :3
4.5 out of 5 stars. 🙂

Review originally posted on my blog with added content on Mikku-chan / A world full of words

Sweet and funny read about a small town of nosey do-nothings. A unlikely place for Marshall to find a home, as well as a romance and love. This was an enjoyable read filled with laugher and love. recommendable!

I totally adored this book, it had me chuckling and smiling all the way through.

Marcus was a fun and interesting MC, with a good back story that was linked into the current story realistically. You could argue that the love interest Hank, wasn't developed enough but I can forgive that because honestly the book is so much more than the (slow burn) romance. It's about the small town and its cast of amazing characters.

So many wonderful, quirky characters each with a distinct voice. It was a joy to read about them all and feel there should be a series about this fabulous small town.

The thought of a book about a small town centered around a place of comfort and tasty diner food was what drew me Lunch With the Do-Nothings..., but the book that I picked up wasn't really comforting nor would I describe it as tasty, the kind of book I want to read again and share with everyone.

The writing gave me the sense that it was trying to be a charming women's fiction novel, full of quirky characters and small town heart. It didn't attain that level of substance, in my opinion, because the characters, Helen Warner in particular, felt like cardboard cutouts that the author was using to map out the book rather than full-fledged people.

Another thing was that, while I couldn't tell the time period Dinner With the Do-Nothings... took place in for sure. Not having confirmation, I think it was somewhere between 1997 and current day because Netflix and GPS in a car are mentioned. Still, I found myself shaking my head when Marcus arrived in Marathon, the beneficiary of his grandmother's will, and had his sexuality revealed. The attitude and things Inez Coffee, one of Helen's and Marcus's grandmother's friends, said were baffling. It wasn't horrible, I don't think, but it was kind of weird.

There was something amiss in Marcus's story, too. I can't speak for if anyone else will notice this, but to me the story, his interactions with people and so on, felt like the author had written the book with a female main character and then switched the gender to make it a man (aka Marcus). The examples were subtle, just the way something was said or the way Marcus responded. This isn't to say the actions were wrong, but something felt off around 27% and I kept noticing it as I went further.

The final reason why I decided to stop reading the book at 45% was that I felt like I'd read it all before. There are overreaching archetypes and all, but Lunch With the Do-Nothings felt so bland that I could almost swear this same book was on the shelf a dozen times over. There wasn't anything unique to give it life, so I set it aside to look for something that did.

I enjoyed this piece of eccentric country life. The characters were so much fun and all I wanna do is go down to the diner with the Do Nothing's and hang out and people watch everyone. The writing is so well done. While some of the end felt a tiny bit cliche, I still loved every minute of the book. The characters are so well developed they jump off the page and feel so real. A great read!

This was like reading a Hallmark Channel movie. It was cute and fluffy, but lacked the emotional impact I really was looking for based on the description. It did have me giggling a few times, and the little old ladies were a delight. If there was ever another book set in this town, I might not rush right out to pick it up, but if I could get it as a library book I would definitely read it.

An easy reading, sweet and funny romance with a delightful cast and setting, perfect reading for a lazy afternoon.

This book is hard to review because I just… feel nothing. It’s hard to come up with opinions on a book when you can’t even point to specific things and say that I liked this, or I didn’t like that. All I can do is vaguely gesture at the entire thing and say, this didn’t work.

The blurb promises “lovable busybodies”, but the titular Do-Nothings didn’t really inspire any love in me. While I could see the effort to put a distinct personality in each lady, they all felt sort of bland and almost caricature-ish. In fact, most of the characters in this book felt that way. And the Do-Nothings’ meddling in Marcus’s love life felt too heavy-handed for me to view it as adorable.

As for the romance… I just don’t know what was missing. Maybe we didn’t see enough of it before the book ended for me to be invested in it, or maybe it took too long to get off the ground (their second interaction doesn’t happen until halfway through the book, and the time spent in between their first and second meeting is hardly filled with pining). But while I didn’t dislike Hank or Marcus, I just didn’t care all that much about whether they got together.

I feel bad giving a perfectly nice ownvoices book such a lackluster review, but while this book wasn’t bad, under no circumstances was it good. The time when I most enjoyed the story was in the first 3% of the set up, which quickly gave way to jerky transitions and too much filler chatter. It could have been so good, but it just wasn’t.

Thank you to NetGalley and interlude Press for the review copy.

This was, well… would folksy be the right word? Homely? Perhaps just a tad twee? 3.5 stars

Marcus has had a nomadic upbringing as his Mom moves from place to place, diner job to diner job, from man to man…and drinking. Abandoned by her at eighteen, he drifts into cooking at a diner and into a relationship with an older, jealousy-prone man, Robert.

Just at the right time, rescue appears in the form of an inheritance from a never-encountered grandmother and Marcus heads for Marathon, Georgia.

There he meets a nurturing band of elderly ladies, the “Do Nothings” and hunky mechanic, Hank. He gets work at the Tammy Diner.He makes friends with young Skeet.

A relationship develops between him and Hank, but Robert turns up out of the blue to put a spoke in things.

Will it all turn out happily?

This question is answered to an extent, but many others are left unresolved, perhaps for a sequel.

There is nothing inherently wrong with this novel. It is well-written, at times amusing, at times rather sad. However, it is all a bit flat. The characters do not leap off the page. Even the drama is low-key.I was left rather unsatisfied, as after a meal that the chef does not quite pull off.