I'm only about halfway through Juliet McDaniel's Mr. & Mrs. American Pie which comes out in paperback today but so far I am loving it.
It is 1969 and Maxine has made a picture perfect life working her way up the Palm Springs social ladder until her husband drops a bomb at a most inopportune moment sending Maxine into a meltdown of epically comic proportions. It is a time and place where women are still thought of as little more than props to a man's success leaving Maxine with few options especially after the scene she made. She moves to a new city but with few practical skills and little life experience outside of the pageant scene, Maxine is learning to work with what she's got, pulling a tavern owner with his own secrets and two self-reliant children into her wake. Maxine's schemes and larger than life personality make for some hilarious moments but beneath the brass and sass, I think Maxine has a sensitive, generous soul.
I can't wait to see how this turns out.

Unique, hilarious and so so fun! What a refreshing story! I loved how McDaniel managed to make a 1970s setting so relatable to current readers and she also managed to take completely out-there characters ones that I ended up rooting for and getting deeply invested in. The epilogue might be one of my favorite parts of the book :-)

From the second I started reading this, I was laughing hysterically. McDaniel does an amazing job with imagery. Her Thanksgiving scene in the beginning was unfortunate but what Blockbuster hits are made of. I cannot wait to see if this gets picked up because whoever would adapt this to the big screen would have some pretty hilarious scenes.
Maxine is a character to be reckoned with. Her antics never surprised me and the leaps and bounds she makes to reach her goals in the book are hilariously cringeworthy. As crazy as she is, I found her to be very likable with quite a few redeeming qualities for all of her questionable ones. Charles is utterly adorable and Jim and Dawn's life really pulled at my heartstrings and Maxine, as crazy as she is, does do some great things for the two of them with Robert along for the crazy ride. I'm not always on board with stories told from different points of views for each chapter. I can sometimes find them daunting and I often find myself struggling to pay attention when I'm reading a chapter focusing on a character I haven't connected with but this book does a great job. The different POV's lead to more satire and show how ridiculous the lives of the Hogarth's really are during this beauty pageant. Getting Robert's take on everything also helped bring the over the top antics back down to reality.
Although silly, this satirical read is well worth it to pick up. I found it very funny it was a great change of pace for my darker reads lately.

Campy, ridiculous, unbelievable, loveable, refreshing. Maxine goes from being a social climber in Palm Strings to lugging her own pool chair up and down the condo stairs in Scottsdale. But she keeps her eye on the prize: the title of Mrs. American Pie. In probably the most unconventional manner, Maxine puts together a family for the competition and reminds the reader that sometimes we can define our own world. A must read for anyone forced to eat Spam as a child, wear matching outfits with their moms on vacation, or who likes to smile while reading.

This was such a fun beach read! Set in the 70's, it tells the story of Maxine, a wealthy and pampered wife in Palm Springs whose husband leaves her on Thanksgiving. She finds herself out of her beautiful home and in a condo in Scottsdale within days and starts to hang out at a local bar where she tries to figure out how to get her old life back.

The characters were fun and quirky, and the 70's time period details were hilarious. I highly recommend this book.

Thanks to Inkshares and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Novembre 1969 : Maxine est l'épouse parfaite de Douglas, cadre d'une compagnie aérienne, qui passe son temps à comploter pour faire avancer la carrière de son mari et à subir les remarques et les vacheries des autres mondaines qui fréquentent le country club à Palm Springs. Quelques secondes avant le repas de Thanksgiving qu'elle prépare depuis des mois malgré les réticences de son mari, celui-ci lui apprend qu'il la quitte pour sa secrétaire, une gamine enceinte de lui. Il lui demande pourtant d'accueillir ses invités comme si de rien n'était. Évidemment, Maxine pète les plombs, surtout quand elle se rend compte que ses « amies » du country club sont toutes au courant. (Comme je m'y attendais, cette scène manque totalement d'originalité et j'ai failli arrêter le livre.) Maxine pense pouvoir négocier les termes du divorce sans avocat et se rend chez celui de son mari pour apprendre que la notion de torts exclusifs n'existe plus en Californie grâce à une loi de ce cher gouverneur Ronald Reagan. Elle qui a abandonné ses études pour épouser Douglas n'a à son actif que son titre de Miss San Bernardo. Son mari lui laisse un appartement à Scottsdale en Arizona, une voiture (elle part avec la Jaguar) et 250 000 dollars : elle en voulait 10 fois plus, mais avec la loi Reagan, l'avocat ne lui proposait aucune pension. Elle a également l'interdiction de remettre les pieds à Palm Springs (où elle n'est après tout qu'une étrangère malgré ses 17 ans de mariage) pendant trois ans pour que le scandale retombe. Maxine s'exile donc en Arizona. Pour retrouver celle qu'elle était avant son mariage, elle décide de se présenter à l'élection de Mrs. American Pie, qui récompense la meilleure famille du pays, et accessoirement la meilleure femme d'intérieur. Le seul problème : elle doit trouver un mari et des enfants.

Là encore, c'est la couverture qui a attiré mon attention. Le titre aussi, il faut le dire. Il me fallait une lecture plus légère après les nouvelles de Gaito Gazdanov. J'ai eu peur un moment que ce soit trop guimauve pour moi, mais finalement les facéties de Maxine m'ont fait rire (pas aux éclats toutefois). Même si j'ai trouvé la fin un peu facile et quelques ficelles un peu grosses (situer de manière opportune l'action dans les années 70), la lecture dans l'ensemble m'a paru plaisante. Au milieu de cet humour, il s'agit d'une réflexion plutôt intéressante sur le rôle de la femme.

Merci à Juliet McDaniel, à Inkshares et à NetGalley pour cet exemplaire en avant-première.

This begins in the year 1969, when Palm Springs socialite Maxine Simmons has a meltdown at the dinner table on Thanksgiving. Right before the dinner her husband drops the bombshell that he is divorcing her and is going to marry his secretary. Maxine, understandably, makes the dinner an unforgettable one for their closest friends/acquaintances, by getting drunk, telling everyone her "news", throwing few things and then landing in the pool with the turkey. Thus begins Maxine's new life.
I don't know when I have ever laughed so hard. The characters were hilarious and the situations Maxine got into (always willingly) were so much fun, you wish you could be there to see the train-wreck in person. I look forward to reading so many more books by this very talented author!

This book was absolutely hilarious! I fell in love with Maxine, Robert, and Charles, and really enjoyed that the story is told from all of their points of view. Maxine might be my new favorite character of all time and is truly one of a kind. I loved watching her grow and embrace all the challenges life throws at her. The closure that the ending provided was perfect and was exactly what I was hoping for! Highly recommend to anyone looking to laugh out loud while reading.

Juliet McDaniel has written a hilarious novel about hypocritical American society in the sixties. For those of us who were old enough to remember what married couples were like, this is an eclectic walk down memory lane.

Maxine Simmons, the protagonist, begins the novel with a major meltdown at her own Thanksgiving extravaganza done in a tropical style. Maxine disgraces herself in front of the country club hu ha's and her starched, upper-crust husband, Douglas. The next day she is out on the street, relegated to a condo Douglas owns in Scottsdale, Arizona. Gone are her glory days in Palm Springs, California. Despite trying to negotiate with Douglas's attorney and managing to get a relatively small settlement, she is leaving her life of luxury, deleted.

On her way out, smart Maxine changes cars and drives away with hubby's Jaguar. She is delighted with that sweet victory. She drives to Scottsdale and her new life. The condo is tacky, ugly, lonely and on the wrong side of town. Maxine starts putting her new life together and comes up with some bright ideas as she moves along. She meets a bartender, Robert, and finds a dear friend in him. He is handsome and an excellent listener. She adds a young boy, Chuck, to her new circle of friends. Chuck is eleven years old and takes care of his toddler sister since his Mom works a lot and has many boyfriends. Chuck proves to be a great problem solver. These three characters take turns narrating their story. It is delicious.

Maxine decides to put all of them together as a family and enter the Mr. and Mrs. American Pie Pageant, a beauty pageant of sorts but more complicated with husband and kid expectations as well. The show takes place in Palm Springs, and it involves much work and near misses to get them there and into the top twenty.
The story is funny and sad and shows the meanness of people and the glorious goodness of most of us. Mr. and Mrs. American Pie is a novel for today as much as it was about 1970.

Thank you, NetGalley and Inkshares for the opportunity to read this e-ARC.

I thoroughly enjoyed Mr. and Mrs. American Pie, a delighful and fun story of love, loss, beauty pageants, and putting a family together. A wonderful saterical story of a former beauty pageant winner and her attempt to win another title with a "fake" family, after her first husband leaves her for his very young secretary. It's fun, full of laughs and true loving sentiment, a perfect beach read. Cheers to chuckles! Thank you NetGalley!

A debut novel by Juliet McDaniel is an absurd presentation of a socialite’s life, Maxine Simmons, in the late 60s – early 70s California – Palm Springs. Satirical, witty and VERY addicting – «Mr. & Mrs. American Pie» is a perfect summer read. Don’t need to look any longer if you are hunting for some books to take with you on summer vacations.

After many years of strenuous work, Maxine finally reached the top of the elite society of Palm Springs. A perfect outfit, a perfect house, and a perfect life – or make it look perfect even if it is not. In Palm Springs it was all about the appearances and Maxine knew exactly how to play that game.

Until that Thanksgiving dinner, where Douglas, her husband, announced that he was leaving her. And not just leaving, there was also a 19-years-old secretary, who was pregnant with his baby. As Maxine’s world crumbled before her eyes, she had to start over in Scottsdale, Arizona.

DETERMINED TO GET HER REVENGE, MAXINE STARTED TO PLOT HER RETURN.

The first person who she met in Arizona was Robert Hogarth, a bartender. Robert was marveled by Maxine:

«That woman can spin a yard, as we say back home in Illinois».


The second person to get bemused by Maxine was Charles Thomas Bronski. A teenager who lived in the same condo in Scottsdale and whose mother was never present. Thus, Charles was left to take care not only of himself but also his little sister, Dawn.

Charles’ first impression of Maxine Hortance was: «Strange blond lady. (strange = loud, cussing, and wearing her night clothes outside.»

This strange blond lady was not only running outside in her night clothes, she also devoured books full of Napoleon’s wisdom in her spare time. Maxine was coming back to Palm Springs with a BANG! Even if it involved lies, deceits and many acting lessons in her local church!

Hilariously absurd and satirical, Maxine Simmons was one of the most memorable characters, who made me laugh and “sad smile”, and feel very warm and fuzzy.

What a fun read!

I don’t normally read or like chick-lit, but this was too, too good! I couldn't put it down and read it in one sitting!

Maxine was the composite of many women I’ve known! The contest was a parody of so many modern day pageants I’ve read/heard about.

The finale was good. This was a feel-good, laugh out loud, fabulous book!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a delight-filled afternoon with this ARC!

This was a wonderfully funny story and a great beach read. Of course, I got alot of stares laughing like that on the beach!!!

What happens when you mix beauty pageants, Spam and Richard Nixon all together?
You get a hilarious, fun-filled and somewhat satirical novel from Juliet McDonald entitled Mr. & Mrs. American Pie.
Set in Palm Springs, California, circa 1969, McDaniel introduces us to thirty something, Maxine, a self-absorbed former beauty pageant socialite married to Douglas Simmons, a wealthy businessman.
Maxine is the stereotypical social climber who worries about everything that is material in nature and the approval of her equally superficial “girlfriends.”
Her husband, Douglas, chooses Thanksgiving Day to extract his freedom from Maxine. After a meltdown of epic proportions and some unfavorable divorce terms, Maxine finds herself exiled to pedestrian Scottsdale, Arizona but vowing to come back to Palm Springs one day.
Maxine, now divorced is determined to recreate the life that she once had. I found myself laughing so hard with tears rolling down my cheek at Maxine’s adventures. She enlists the unknowing help of a local tavern owner, Robert, and Charles, a young 12 year old, along with his sister to plot her comeback.
This book was a nonstop hilarious trip that could have been titled, “Maxine’s Wild Ride” but McDaniel uses her journey to remind us of some real social issues in the turbulent seventies.
Don’t start reading this book too late in the evening because you will definitely find yourself sleep deprived the next day.
Thank you to Netgalley for the advance copy of this book. My review is fair and unbiased. #netgalley #mrandmrsamericanpie

This was a riot and a half. My idea of a “beach read”!

Maxine has climbed and elbowed her way up the social ladder, finally finding herself the host of a much envied Palm Springs elite Thanksgiving dinner— but the morning of her husband Douglas announces his plan to leave her. She proceeds to make the most outrageous scene (after imbibing a few too many cocktails plus a “vitamin” to relax) at dinner, when the friend she was trying to impress drops the ultimate bomb: Douglas is leaving her for his 19-year-old secretary who is with child, and she was the last to know.

She threatens more torturous scenes and manages to leave the marriage with $250k of Douglas’ money and a condo he was holding onto in Scottsdale. The terms are she has to stay away from Palm Springs and give up her married name. In the tail end of 1969, in a strange new (pedestrian) place, with her new old name, a small fortune and plenty of time on her hands, Maxine befriends the local barkeep, Robert, and grumpily keeps an eye on a neighbor kid, Charles, in the complex as she hatches a plan for her next step: go back to pageants and redeem herself by winning Mr. & Mrs. American Pie. The only problem? Finding a husband and kids.

The dry, satirical humor is over the top in just the right way. Maxine is absurd and yet I couldn’t help but love her. The chapters alternate between Maxine, Robert and Charles as she drags them all along for the antics she has up her sleeve.

Not much to my liking, even though there were some laugh out loud moments. Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is outrageous. The characters are true to the era- 1969-1970. Maxine is a determined, vengeful, dumped wife who is forced to retreat to Scottsdale, AZ. She plots and schemes, utilizing a twelve year old plus a tavern owner for her own devices. The whole enterouage participates in a beauty pageant with surprising results. The Thanksgiving scene is hysterically epic, one for the annals. Some of the plot is fairly far fetched, but overall readers will enjoy the sauciness.

I attempted to read this book twice. For personal reasons, this book just wasn’t for me. I DFN at 88%.

What an adventure! This book was thoroughly entertaining and the main character, Maxine, is a riot. The time period the book is set in (1969-1970) has a lot to do with the hilarity that ensues. Maxine is a woman ahead of her time. I can only hope to see her again in a future book.

I would absolutely recommend this book to friends.

Juliet McDaniel has produced a frothy, laugh out loud, delightful summer read. I was initially drawn to this title because of its Palm Springs connection (I live there) and there was enough local content and satirical humor about the resort lifestyle to make it fun for anyone. But, the book offers more than that.

It started off a bit silly and I was tempted to put it down, but it was a story of grit and determination wrapped in slapstick humor. I thoroughly enjoyed it and it would make great light reading while traveling or on the hammock. This is not great literature, but it is highly entertaining.