Holly Banks was a funny, smart read and Rom-Com is not my number one genre. Author Julie Valerie does an amazing job of creating the perfect little Village of Primm, that I could have sworn I've been there before or maybe even lived there! Then add Holly, who's family has newly relocated to Primm. She is desperately trying to fit into the mold of "perfect mom" as her daughter enters kindergarten. Of course her first day is a hilarious mess. To add more "angst" to Holly's life she is dealing with the seemingly perfect mother and PTA president who will stop at nothing to add Holly to the list of volunteers. and embarrass her along the way. Although the story is laugh out loud funny, any mom will relate to the feelings of doubt and stress we put ourselves through. And just as with Holly, we usually find that those "perfect" moms are not quite as they appear. The author also adds some mystery and family drama to the story. Hard to believe this is a first novel. I am definitely looking forward to more adventures of Holly Banks.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I was very unsure when I started reading Holly Banks Full of Angst because I don’t typically read contemporary with a splash of comedy.

I was also worried that I wouldn’t connect to the story because I’m not a mom and I don’t have a kindergartner.

BUT I LOVED IT!! And Holly is so relatable even to me, a 24-year-old hot mess.

Holly Banks is delightful and hilariously relatable! Holly just wants the best for her family and herself and I can appreciate that so so much.

Besides Holly, the other characters are extremely entertaining.

Mary-Margaret can be a lot to swallow when you begin reading. But, she found her own special place in my heart.

My favorite moments (that had me belly laughing):

• Cookie fight

• the scrapbooking fiasco

• school drop off OTD (outfit of the day)

Moments that made me sad:

• dead topiaries

• Plume’s fate

Nothing can compare to this book. I am so happy that I picked it up and was able to review it for Julie!

Holly Banks Full of Angst comes out December 1 BUT if you have Amazon Prime you can select it as your Amazon First Reads choice! Which I highly recommend 😉

Thank you to NetGalley and Julie Valerie for my review copy!! But, all opinions are my own!

This book is absolutely adorable. Holly Banks and her husband Jack and daughter Ella move to the village of Primm for Jack's new job. It happens to be the picturesque perfect town, with an outstanding elementary school, beautiful homes, and a brag-worthy PTA.

Between Holly not being able to get it together and have Ella catch the school bus, to hitting a school bus while wearing pajamas and a sports bra, to being bullied by the PTA president Mary Margaret St. James, this was LAUGH OUT LOUD funny. The banter between Holly and some of the town residents is hysterical and really made the book.

So excited to see a 2nd book in this series was already announced.

This is one of the best, funniest books I have read in a long time. The characters are fun, vivid, and relatable- I have BEEN Holly in occaision! I am telling everyone about this fun, light-hearted book!

Thank you Julie + Netgalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Holly Banks was one of the funniest books I’ve read in a long time. Holly moves into a new home in a new town, and desperately wants to fit in. She chooses this house because it is in one of the best school districts, as her daughter is starting Kindergarten the next day!

Mary Margaret Saint James is the head of the PTA, and makes it her mission to have all the parents volunteer! Holly just wants to settle into her new home and start unpacking her house. But, that is not an option in Mary Margaret’s world.

I am not a mother, but I could easily see how relatable this book would be to other mothers. Holly try’s to be the perfect baker, crafter, and have the most Pinterest worthy home. The author does a wonderful job of showing how there’s more to life than being perfect. I highly recommend this book. It is super funny, so relatable, and just overall a great book!

Holly Banks Full of Angst by Julie Valerie

So when I first started this book, I didn’t know what to think of it. I absolutely disliked the president of the PTA, which I know I was supposed to, but it bothered me so much that it was making me not enjoy the book as much as I wanted to. And I also wanted to shake Holly and tell her to stick up for herself.

Then I kept reading, I tried to ignore the b*tchy PTA president and focus on Holly and what she was going through. It has to be hard for any mom who is in a new place meeting new people, all while your 5 year old starts kindergarten for the first time in a new school. That’s a lot on your plate. I laughed, I got angry, and I was happy with how Holly handled sooooo many obstacles throughout the story. The last 25% of the book was my favourite. Also, I don’t like cherries but even I wanted some cherry pie! Holly and her quirky mom’s relationship turned out sweet and I am looking forward to reading the second instalment of Holly Banks and the Village of Primm! Hip! Hip!

I’m glad I took my time to think of the book before rating right away. I was going to give 3 1/2 stars, but I changed my mind to 4/5!! Hip! Hip!

Thank you Netgalley, Lake Union Publishing and Julie Valerie for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Hip hip! Welcome to Primm! Population: one giant peahen, an overbearing, narcissistic head of the PTA and her merry band of pink shirted volunteers, a judgy cable guy and one email psychic Betty. Think Pleasantville crossed with the Stepford Wives, and you have something close to the village of Primm, filled with immaculately put together families, topiary and PTA committees. (Or is that PITA committees??)

Holly Banks feels she’s finally ‘made it’ in her new place. Completely Pinterest - worthy, yet lacking in storage, it just needs some time (and porch ornaments) to feel like home. Except Holly can’t seem to get unpacked. Or get her daughter Ella on the bus on time. Or make herself sign on the dotted line for the PTA groups. Or bake enough pies to satisfy the pie mums. And what is up with her husband who seems rather jittery and absent all of a sudden? Can Holly fit in and finally get Ella on the bus on time?

The book had so many laugh out loud moments with Holly first trying to blend in, stay afloat and then slowly start to reclaim her own identity and put herself maybe not first, but certainly not last.

It’s such a relatable book that shines light on the mental load and the ridiculous pressures we often place on ourselves to be ‘perfect’ mums. Interestingly, when we see it in others, we’re quick to recognise it as unrealistic, but we don’t seem to show the same level of kindness to ourselves! The book really questions this idea of perfection, and the lengths people go to to feel like they’re achieving it. After all, you don’t have to be perfect to be a loving wife, daughter and mother to your loved ones!

🌟🌟🌟🌟💫

Holly Banks and her family relocates to a new town where Holly gets thrown into the PTA to work alongside Mary-Margaret St. James, who is like the equivalent of Regina from Mean Girls. Their strife with each other will have you rolling in the aisles. I literally picture this book as a film the entire time as I reading it. .
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Holly Banks Full of Angst had me laughing beginning to end. I am so sad to leave the Village of Primm. I have grown to love this community and everyone in it (including the plants). I'm not a parent, but I found Holly to be so relatable and wanted to sit on the porch and just drink coffee with her and Struggle.
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I absolutely adored this hilarious, witty, and genuine debut from Julie Valerie. This "quirky, woebegone, and prim" novel comes out December 1st, and I cannot wait to get everyone I know a copy (yes, including myself)! It's a definite favorite of the year! Hip, hip!
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Thank you @netgalley, @lakeunionauthors , and of course sweet @julievalerieauthor for giving me the chance to read this book first! What a lovely gem!

I have never read a book with such a relatable MC. While I may not be a parent, I can appreciate the struggle. I can already tell you, I will be the mom in my PJs dropping off my child. This book was laugh-out-loud funny, with some uncomfortable situations. It not only tells of the ups and downs of surviving parenthood and overbearing PTA presidents, it also shows the imperfections of everyday life in a family.
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This charming and witty book is set to release on December 1st and I would recommend it to pretty much anybody and everybody. Especially to the moms out there that are feeling like they can’t keep up. Just know that no one is perfect and we are all just trying to survive. Hip Hip!
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Thank you to @julievalerieauthor and @netgalley for providing me with an eARC in return for my honest review.

I wanted to love this book but it just wasn't for me. That being said I know many people who have read it and loved it so please give it a read and judge it for yourself

Ok, I'm just gonna be honest and say this book wasn't for me.

The story centers on Holly Banks who recently moved to the upscale Village of Primm right before her daughter starts kindergarten. Holly is basically a hot mess compared to the picture perfect mothers of Primm, and she has a heck of a time making a good impression and fitting in. But as she gets to know the families around her, she realizes that everything inside the house is not as manicured and perfect as their front lawn's landscaping. This is pretty obviously a satire of sorts, with the ultimate lesson being there is no such thing as a perfect mom.

The vibe of the book reminded me a bit of Gilmore Girls and American Housewife, but more crazy. If I were not in the anxiety-ridden trenches of first-time motherhood, I could see this being really funny. But right now, it just wasn't my jam. I had to read it in incredibly small doses because it stressed me out so much!

However, so many of my bookish friends LOVE this book and I am wholly recognizing that my dissatisfaction is in the minority. So take my review with a grain of salt.

This book,y'all. It's so good and it gave me so many feelings. It made me laugh out loud multiple times which is always a big thing for me when reading. It's more than that though, it's relatable. I felt like I could have been the main character in different stages of my life. One of the characters of the story is the Umbridge of their world. If you can write a story that makes me feel that strongly towards a character than you're doing something right! I also really enjoyed the pop culture references. Read this book. You won't be disappointed

I was lucky enough to receive an advanced E-Copy of Holly Banks Full of Angst and I’m so happy I had the opportunity to read this book. It was funny (really laugh out loud, funny) relatable and entertaining.

Holly Banks’ family has just moved to the prestigious town of Primm. Where the lawns are manicured, the schools are notable and the PTA is full of “perfect” moms. Holly’s daughter Emma is starting kindergarten and thus begins the start of chaos. Holly just wants to be a good mom and in second-guessing herself and being intimidated by the other moms, she clumsily navigates her way through Ella’s first week of school.

I really loved this book. Holly was so relatable. I saw myself in her and other characters. It was a funny look into being a mom and constantly second guessing whether you’re doing things right all while comparing yourself to other seemingly perfect moms. I would highly recommend this book!

Sn: To all the Mary-Margaret’s, sports bras do not make your ta-tas look like blah-blahs!

Thanks so much Julie Valerie and Netgalley for my copy.

This was such a fun read, and I loved how relatable the characters were. Julie Valorie really captures what it feels like to be a good mom, but to still feel like you don’t always measure up. The story is well paced, and I absolutely love Julie’s writing style - I laughed out loud as I read Holly’s inner monologues and emails to Psychic Betty. I don’t think it’s easy to write in a way that’s comical but still meaningful, but Julie has pulled it off.

Overall, a playful and enjoyable read that I would recommend to anyone - but especially mothers everywhere! A big thank you to Julie Valorie, Netgalley and Lakehouse Publishing for an advance copy of this book.

Holly Banks moves to the perfect suburb of Primm. Every house is perfect, every school mom
Is perfect , Holly is trying to survive and be herself.
But it’s do hard when you need to donate , gluten free, peanut free, non gmo, vegetarian, snacks to your kids school .
This book was a hilarious look at

This has gotten great reviews on Instagram, but it wasn't for me. I did not love the character of Holly Banks and did not agree with some of her decisions/actions. I thought she had a lot of excuses and poor behavior and just did not think very highly of her and ended up DNF-ing after she spit food out at another mom, in her daughter's school, and did not clean it up. Thank you for the opportunity.

Thank you Julie Valerie and Netgalley for the advanced copy.

OK, I don't even know where to start with this review! It was hilarious and is a must read for any mom striving to keep up with those other perfect PTA moms (you know who they are). I found myself snort laughing so often because not only was the book funny, but I could relate to Holly Banks in so many ways.

Holly moves to a new neighborhood, the Village of Primm, which I pictured as one of those picture perfect wealthy communities in Connecticut or the suburbs of NYC. Where the moms wear designer workout clothes, drive designer SUVS, have perfectly perfect houses and kids and husbands. So anyway, Holly moves in and her daughter immediately starts kindergarten...so Holly is thrown into the world of...PTA moms. Specifically Mary-Margaret St. James, who I wanted to throat punch approximately 394873985723045720 times before the end of the book. She was an AWESOMELY awful character, stereotypical crazy ass PTA president. Loved it.

Anyway, Holly has to navigate a new town, a new lifestyle, a new school, and is quite the hot mess doing so. I will definitely recommend this book to anyone wanting a good laugh! The best part is that I could totally see this happening in real life...that's how nuts some people can be!

This is a perfect book for any young mother who is new in town, who feels like she can't do anything right, finds herself faced with perfect PTA Moms who expect over the top volunteer help. Holly Banks has recently moved into the perfect town of Primm. Mary Margaret is the perfect PTA president, totally outrageous and you might want to smack her. The whole situation will make you cringe, but you can't help but laugh at the overwhelming ridiculous tasks assigned to Holly and then - wait- how she handles things - you will wonder what could possibly top this or happen next. The first day of kindergarten for her daughter Ella is not what any mother would want to happen. Although a bit long with descriptive and unbelievable events, you are sure to like this witty, hilarious satire.

This was such a fun read! I thoroughly enjoyed Holly's exploits as a mom in a new, upscale community. I could completely relate to her feeling out of place and not being the artsy craftsy uber perfect mom that so many of the other women seem to be.

Before school even starts she makes a fearsome enemy in Mary-Margaret St. James, the PTA president who rules with an iron fist. Then she hits a school bus on the first day of school - while wearing her pink piggy pajama bottoms. And it all goes downhill from there.

This is one of the funniest and sweetest stories I've read this year. Whether it's eating too many cookies, trying to get her kindergartner to stop sucking her thumb or dealing with her free-spirit and completely irresponsible mother, Holly is hilarious and sweet and unassuming. She is also smart and determined to make the most of it as she faces one obstacle after another.

I enjoyed Holly's inner monologues and how she imagined her life might look on the big screen. She is, after all, a filmmaker at heart. This was such a fun, lighthearted, and enjoyable read that I sped right through it. Yet it also offers pointed commentary about parenting and being the "perfect" mother as well.

I loved this book! Julie has done a fantastic job. The narrative of the main character Holly was witty with internal monologue and external banter that reminded me of Lorelei Gilmore. The village of Primm and it’s utopia likeness reminded me of Big Little Lies. I cannot wait until the sequel! Hip Hip!