I really liked this! I hadn’t heard anything about it but I got sucked into the story right away. Eliza is a recent “empty nester” who’s finding it’s gotten harder and harder to leave her house since her twins moved away. She eventually makes a reluctant trip to the grocery store, where she overhears two younger women talking about a Facebook Group called “Valley Girls”- a younger, edgier version of her page, “The Hudson Valley Ladies’ Bulletin Board”. She decides to spice things up by telling an anonymous little white lie on her page- a lie that turns out to be too close to true for some of the women in her neighborhood. We also meet Eliza’s childhood best friend, Mandy, who has recently come back to the area after her husband gets involved with a major scandal, Olivia, a young wife adjusting to new motherhood, and Alison, a high powered lawyer who’s also a new mother who has taken a year away from work to get out of the city.

When I first heard the story centers around this Facebook group, I thought it was going to be cheesy. But as I read on, I was so happy with how the author used it. It’s used to link the neighbors in the Hudson Valley and it kicks off the drama, but once the characters start to interact with each other it becomes much more about their friendship. The drama wasn’t petty AT ALL- which is really hard to do, I’d think, when you’re writing fiction that starts with social media drama. It was honestly really realistic- as you meet the different characters, they sometimes bring up a post they saw on the board and the neighborhood drama gets pretty amusing. There is depth here too- as it turns out Eliza’s rumor was rooted in truth for some of the neighbors and the women come together to help each other out. All of the characters are dealing with some of their own issues, but the plot walked a really nice line between serious and heartfelt. There’s even a little bit of really well used romance. I came to really enjoy these characters and loved how things came together. Someone recently asked me for uplifting book recommendations, and this would definitely make a good addition to that list. I recommend!

Eliza Starts a Rumor is about a group of women who are drawn together by circumstance. They all live in the same suburban community. They all follow the posts on an online local chat group called the “Hudson Valley Ladies’ Bulletin Board”. And they all have problems, big and small, that they are coping with. Eliza is an agoraphobic and the creator the chat group. Alison is a single mom who has taken time off from her busy law firm in NYC in order to adapt to motherhood and decide what is best for her and her newborn. Amanda, married to a Hollywood mogul accused of being a sexual predator, has come back to her hometown, with her children in tow, to lick her wounds. And Claire, a new transplant to the suburbs, is dealing with unexpected revelations about her life.

I can’t put a finger on exactly what I like about this book. There are too many options. I like the characters (most of them anyway), I like the writing style, I like the way the stories weave together, and I like how easy it is to read. At first it seemed as though it could be difficult to keep track of all the characters. But, after only a few pages, I became quite familiar with them and it wasn’t a problem at all.

Eliza Starts a Rumor isn’t perfect and neither are the characters. It deals with difficult subjects that can make a reader uncomfortable. But, at the same time, it’s one of those books with compelling characters and situations, and it’s difficult to put down. From one Jane to another, thank you, Ms Rosen, for a delightful and enjoyable story.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book for review.

Eliza Hunt created The Hudson Valley Ladies' Bulletin Board to help her as new mother. Fifteen years later, she uses it as glimpse into the outside world as her agoraphobia has returned from when she had it in high school. When she fears a rival website will replace hers, she decides to start a rumor of an incident she saw outside her window. However, her gossip is too close to the truth and will affect families

This is a very enjoyable book. Eliza's struggles with agoraphobia and not wanting her family to find out was rather heart breaking. The strength of this book comes from the friendships that are created and rekindled. In the end, women come together to help one another.

I have two problems with this book. The romance is dull. Poor Alison Le's romance is with a man who is pretending to be a woman on the bulletin board. He kept up the pretense long enough for it to creepy.

My biggest problem is that the author did a lot of head hopping. The POV would switch very quickly. Sometimes it would go from one POV to another in the same paragraph. As this is an ARC, I'm hoping that it won't show up in the finale product.

All it takes is one rumor. A simple post on a community bulletin board. Who is the post about? Whose marriage could be in trouble? An interesting read about the power of social media, our own self-doubts, friends, and frenemies. A good choice for a casual woman's book group to enjoy with a glass of wine and lots of conversation.

Good read about the power of social media but also the power of the sisterhood of women. I would recommend for a women's book club as there are a plethora of discussion topics throughout the book from abuse, harassment, marriage, loyalty, to the obvious- rumors .

Loved this story! I felt so much for Eliza. And the other women really grew as characters and people. Good entertainment and story., well written as well. I do recommend this book and look forward to reading more from Jane Rosen.

Eliza's attempt to keep her online community information bulletin board relevant leads her to post a scandalous fictional message. Little did she know, the message was seen by a woman who becomes convinced that she could, in fact, be the wronged wife described in the post. The wife, Olivia, begins to investigate her husband with the help of a new friend Alison, who is making a go of being a single mom after her regular hook-up abandons her upon hearing of the unplanned/unwanted pregnancy, Amanda, whose Hollywood producer husband is under #MeToo/#TimesUp fire when many young, up-and-coming actresses accuse him of misbehavior, and Eliza, herself, whose life is dominated by crippling anxiety and agoraphobia, the cause of which is revealed at the end of the book.

Great summer/vacation read! Several things to think about when reading this book: the power of social media, "fake news," and how one post can unintentionally create an implosion of many lives. Also, this is a story of strong women friendships, and the need for the type of support only these friendships can offer.

Eliza dreams up a post for female group alluding to someone being married to a man who isn't true to her. She never imagined what happened...

Berkley and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you). It will be published June 23rd.

The rumor forces several wives to wonder if their husbands are telling them the truth. They decide to check then out. A few of them were not telling the truth. The wives want to prove their infidelity to get a better settlement in the divorce.

You read about their spy work and who helps them bring a good case to court.

When Eliza realizes her fake rumor has caused divorces, she feels guilty. But the ladies thank her for making them see the truth. All because of a post on a bulletin board group...

I fell in love with this novel and it’s characters. Rosen does a phenomenal job introducing each one into the story and the chapters flow perfectly. I’m a huge fan of books that bounce back and forth between characters but never have I seen an author use more than one characters point of view between chapters quite like this author. It made the story even better! While I adored all the characters, Allison and Jack(ie) were my favorites and I would love to hear the rest of their story. I give this one 5 stars. I will recommend it to everyone and my book club will be reading it in the near future!

I so enjoyed this book! I also want to move to the fictional Hudson Valley town. Its a story of friendship and community, love and pain, and family. Perfect quarantine read.

Eliza Starts a Rumor is a modern day Peyton Place. Eliza is the author of an online bulletin board that was possibly getting a little "tired" with the content. When Eliza becomes aware of that fact, she decides to start a new thread. The rest of the story envelopes because of this catalyst.. The characters are very relatable and strong and the story is engaging. I couldn't put it down.

This book was only so-so. Some story lines were quite compelling - others not so much. I was surprised at the revelation at the end - the cause for Eliza's agoraphobia. I didn't care for the ending regarding Amanda.

Some years ago, Eliza started the Hudson Valley Ladies online message board. As she's gotten older and her twin children have left for college, it has become more and more important to her. Which is why, when she hears about a rival area message board, she posts an anonymous entry just to jumpstart her tired message board and get things going. She succeeds, but it leads to lots of complications. This is a great story that centers around several very appealing characters who eventually all become friends. Happy endings for all of them, which is much appreciated these days! Once I started this book, I couldn't put it down, and look forward to recommending it to other readers.

What I thought was going to be a typical rom-com, scandal in the suburbs summer read, turned out to be a delightful surprise. Some of the dialogue and descriptives were predictable, but perfectly fine and made for a quick read.
The full-on happy endings were a much needed tonic.

This is a real beautiful, sentimental, tear jerking, refreshing, motivational, friendship, sisterhood story! Bring out your napkins and prepare yourself cry and laugh at the same time because this book will conquer your hearts and steals a crucial part of it!

Eliza struggles with being middle aged. Her children already left the house. She needs a purpose, special aim, an anchor to achieve something concrete in her life. She loves writing about parenting at Hudson Valley Ladies Bulletin Board. She has been doing it for 15 years. But her page hasn’t been refreshed for a long time and other parenting forums threaten the only thing she enjoys! She already suffers from empty nest syndrome and agoraphobia! She has to keep her mind at ease.

She needs an inspiration to share with the community. Maybe a little cheating can create some spark! What about posting a rumor! Nobody can hurt because it is not even a small town gossip. She will just make something up and share it. That’s it! No harm done. She has no idea what she’s igniting and what kind of havoc she’s getting herself into! Because Olivia York from the other side of the town is not happy about what she just read. We’re also introduced Allison who fancies virtual friendship and Amanda is the long time best friend of Eliza. And we witness how those amazing women’s stories intercept.

It’s impossible not to love and feel for Eliza who tries so hard to brighten her life and find her new purposes as she deals with real problems. It’s so heartfelt and well written book about mental health, marriage, importance of forming real friendships to support each other, mother-daughter relations. It’s funny, entertaining, joyful journey!

This book is another literature medicine to heal our souls and emotional scars. I highly recommend you to read for feeling good, positive and hopeful again! It’s a real stress killer, mood brighter!

I’m giving my full, shiny, bright, feel-happy five stars!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for sharing this meaningfully poignant ARC with me in exchange my honest review.

I’m sorry but I did not finish this book. I just couldn’t get into the storyline. This is a light read about female friendship that I’m sure will appeal to some younger readers.

Eliza Starts a Rumor
by Jane L. Rosen
Berkley Publishing Group
You Like Them
Berkley
Women's Fiction

Just finished reading this quick read and it was just great! I finished it in two days and it was refreshing from the daily news we are hearing. I will recommend it to our patrons. Thanks NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for my ARC,

Eliza Starts A Rumor is a great book. The characters and story lines were so interesting that it only took me two days to read. The story centers on a few women in a suburb outside of NYC. It touches on our present day social media boards (Facebook) and how damaging it can be. A series of women become connected through a rumor on this board, and it has devastating effects. There is a silver lining among the dark clouds for all the women, and by the end, through courage and strength, all the women are on their way to flourishing.

First book I’ve read by Jane Rosen and I’m a fan!! Loved this book and it’s characters!! Rosen writes like Fannie Flagg & Elizabeth Berg. A truly delightful book.

Wasn't sure I was going to like this so I out it off...finally started to read and was very pleasantly surprised at how much I really enjoyed all the character inter-action...super fun!