I didn’t officially make a resolution or anything, but I have been trying to make a concerted effort to tackle some of the ollllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllld reader copies that reside on the ol’ Kindle because (at the moment) I am doing a better job of requesting things far in advance of their release and not getting 27 library books at one time. I’ve also been tearing through like one book per day the past week or so (or in the case of this one TWO books in one day – that’s just pathetic) and need to blow the dust off as many of these as I can while I’m still in beast mode when it comes to book reading. So there’s the unnecessary info dump behind me finally diving into Smothered. Unfortunately, it missed the mark for me.

The story here is of Eloise Hansen. Recent Columbia University summa cum laude graduate (with a pretty worthless degree), Lou has to bite the bullet and move back in to her childhood home. That’s okay, though, because she has a firm 9-month plan on how she is going to get a job, get on her own two feet, and get out in the world.

I appreciate what this book was trying to do. Kind of a revamped Bridget Jones for the post-college sect. It’s not terribly written, uses “mixed media” of texts/e-mails/internet/etc. that I enjoy, and is over-the-top-silly (on purpose). The problem I had???? The characters. So annoying.

First of all, we’re dealing with some real first-world ancillary people here with an “Instagram celebrity” younger sister and a vapid mother who is able to charge tens of thousands of dollars monthly and never really have it catch up to her. But the real problem is Lou. Now I know I’m old and cranky, but I 100% sympathize with youngsters today trying to make it upon graduating. The job market is hard and the housing market is nearly impossible. I’m pretty sure I couldn’t afford to buy my house today – and that sumbitch is pretty much an effing dump. However, I do not want my reading experience to make me feel even more curmudgeonly than I do on the regular and this one had me seriously channeling my inner John Witherspoon.

I mean maybe don’t major in Philosophy if you’re planning on immediately being able to obtain a paycheck upon receiving your degree, but at minimum be prepared to apply for jobs! - ANY jobs. Retail, coffee shop, ANYTHING. JFC, who does this girl think she is – Cousin Eddie?

The only likeable character in the whole mix was the boyfriend, but even he was a knock-off of Adrian Grenier’s chef character in The Devil Wears Prada . . . . and also he should have dumped Lou’s a$$ for being ashamed to introduce him to her parents.

This one is getting shelved under "maybe I'm too old for this $hit." because it made me feel like a geezer, but I’m not certain it won’t be a big hit for those of you who are (sadly) decades younger than me.

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, NetGalley!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review.

What a great fun beach read! I love when I get books like these after reading a few heavy ones.
This was just a great story of mother and daughters filled with humor and love!

If you are looking for a light read and a few laughs out loud, this is the book for you! I enjoyed this book and the "real life" adventures and viewpoints of those who are hoping to go out on their own!

The way Smothered is laid out makes for such a pleasure-able and quick read. The content is relate-able. What does every college grad dread? Moving in with their parents and under their rules and watch again. Chiklis does a great job of making you feel like you're in her shoes.

Unfortunately the downloaded copy of this book was corrupted and it has since been archived, leaving me unable to read and review this.

I loved the format of this book and it was the main reason that kept me going, considering I wasn't really connected to the plot itself. The books tackles with ease many modern social media problems that the millenial generation faces nowadays. I loved the humour and the witty remarks on many dialogues and passages.

Overall, 3 out of 5 stars, and I think I want to read more books by this author, even if this one didn't stand out a lot to me. Thank you for the oppotrunity, NetGalley!

I loved part of the format for this book. Text messages, IMs, emails, etc are one of my favorite formats to read. It's so fun!

While the format was fun, I had a hard time getting into this book. It went super slow for me. I am a recent college graduate, but I have been out on my own for some time now. Due to this, the characters were hard to relate to. The mom seemed to be too over-the-top.

Overall, this could have been a really good book. In some aspects, it was. It just wasn't the book for me.

Modern day, text and, journal entries, social media... Felt very millennial.. and very old at the very same time, I think it was ok, but I didn't love it. I sometimes got very frustrated with the main character Lou.

Would be no stars if possible. DNF'd very early on--writing was cringe-worthy. I was disappointed because the premise sounded like a book I would be interested in, but overall, it was such a disappointment. I couldn't even force myself to get through it. Definitely one to skip.

I was excited to read Smothered because it sounded pretty relatable. A postgrad moves back to her childhood home because she doesn’t have a job lined up after graduation. Unfortunately I only got about twenty percent into the book before I DNFed it. It was just too privileged and too over the top that I kept rolling my eyes and wasn’t enjoying it at all. There was also a section about their housekeeper who is “part of the family” but then the main character goes on to say that no one in her family can talk to her because she only speaks about ten words in English, also she jokes about how she might me an undocumented immigrant. Nope, not funny. I don’t think I’m missing much by not reading the rest of this book.

This was quite the fun little read! it was very light hearted and kept me reading on! This got me through my summer reading slump and renewed my love for books in this genre.This is a great laugh out loud book and fans of sophie kinsella are sure to love this one.Written in diary style you cant help but fall in love with the main character and see what goes on inside their head... super totes adorable book!

A fun chick-lit romp that i found to be highly relatable. There was a distressing lack of pug pictures though.

Hilarious and fun read about a college graduate living at home with an overbearing mother and all the stereotypes of LA. I liked the style of writing - diary filled with text convos, emails, IG and FB posts. A good book to read on vacation.

I loved this book!!! It reminded me of being a recent college grad and the anxiety that came with job hunting.

I also liked the journal-format of the story, it makes me read it faster. And loved all the text messages!

Highly recommend this book if you are looking for a fun, but still an insightful read.

If you are graduating soon or are a recent graduate, I think this book will speak to you. It’s a good story and is one of the few that addresses this part of an adult’s life. I think that it is a relatable story, even if the characters are a bit of a parody of themselves. I’m sure everyone will find someone or something to relate to in this story.

This read was flipping hilarious. All of the characters in this book has a comedic side to then.

Lou is this bright young woman fresh out of college with no job and is not rooming with parents. Theo is Lou's boyfriend that graduated from college and has now move to LA to be with Lou and also for his new job. Val is Lou's younger sister who is this social media queen.

Then you have Momma Shell, which is Lou's mother. This character will drill her Prada shoe into your heart and just plant herself there. She maybe a smothering hot mess with her Algie shots but she is flipping awesome.

And let me tell you there are other funny characters in this book but mainly these guys here were my favorite.

I love how the author added the emails, text messages, and articles in this book.

While reading this book I sure did learn yet another lesson. Life is too short and if you love something go for it....Even if that someone looks like a serial killer from a distance.

Omg while reading this book Katy Perry California Girls was playing over and over in my mind.

Happy reading!

This was such a fun, humorous and witty novel. This was a enjoyable read for me. I would recommend this to everyone because it’s not a long novel and it will have you laughing and enjoying every minute reading this novel.. This is a young adult novel but even if you are an adult you would still enjoy this novel. Lou is a fantastic character that made this novel even better for me. I love the characters in this novel because for me the characters are the best part in this story.

Everyone always talks about how your time in college/university will be the highlight of your young adult life, but no one talks about the uncertainty that comes right after finishing school. When I saw this book on NetGalley, I got super excited to get to read a book about the phase of my life that I am currently in. Unfortunately, I got my hopes up too high and found that I even though I am fresh out of college, I could not relate to this book at all.

Smothered follows Lou, a recent college graduate who moves home because she didn't get a job right out of college. Her long term boyfriend moves across the country to be in the same area as her, but here's the catch: she refuses to tell her mother that he exists. She goes to such ridiculous lengths that one of her friends ends up stranded in another country because of an ailment that she made up to hide Lou's boyfriend. It's insane and far fetched to the point that it's not enjoyable. 

Lou reminds me a lot of Rory from Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life. She expects everything and works for nothing. She has a checklist of her short term, middle term, and long term goals, but she never really does anything to achieve them. As someone who just landed their first post-college job, I totally get that the job market is tough right out of college, but it's really annoying that she just expected a job to fall into her lap. She barely applied for any jobs, then threw a fit when she was kindly told she was overqualified for one. She treated her loving boyfriend like dirt and lied to everyone around her. The most killer part of this book for me, was that there was no real redemption or learning moment for Lou. She never really showed any remorse. She blames most of her actions on her mother and never takes ownership for herself.

Lou's mother is the other major reason I didn't like this book. She's protective and a helicopter parent to an insane degree. She stalks Lou on Find My Friends, forces her into crash diets, makes inappropriate comments about her daughter's dating life, and tries to set her daughter up with any attractive male she knows without asking if Lou wants it. She grows a bit more than Lou does in the end, but it's almost too little too late. She's also just very judgmental and represents a lot of things I don't agree with.

This book just did not work for me. I wanted to like it so badly, but between the insane characters, the poor plot and the moral of the story, I couldn't get into this book. I kept almost quitting because the book was so over the top and ridiculous. I'd give this book 1/5.

Smothered is a light and well-paced book that I enjoyed reading this summer. It wasn't the most original, but still good entertainment and I'm happy I had the chance to read it!

Lou Hansen was successful in college, but doesn't know how to get her life on track. Instead of trying to do something, she moves back home and puts her life on pause.

While the premise sounds nightmarish at this point in my life, I could relate to Lou and how she felt at that stage. After putting all that effort into school, you feel like you SHOULD be doing something important because otherwise what was all the hard work for. She didn't want to let her parents down while simultaneously recognizing that they have moments of the ridiculous. Her mother just happened to have WAY more ridiculous moments than most. I think this book may alienate people at times when Lou starts complaining from her giant rent-free house with maid service when that sounds like a vacation to most. Despite that, I found myself genuinely laughing at times.