There’s something about summer approaching that makes me want to read about family drama and when a blended family gets together over one long weekend for a college graduation you just know drama will be at the forefront. You have exes and parents of the graduates, Meredith and Roger and then both of their spouses as well as the kids themselves. Blended families are never easy and when there are secrets and lies floating around things get pretty juicy.

While my own kids are nowhere near college graduation age I still found Meredith to be relatable in the way she worries about her children, does a mother’s anxiety ever decrease even when her kids are full fledged adults? I don’t think so. The ensemble cast of characters were quite the lively and quirky bunch, they were all fun and authentic, they type of people you would encounter in your own life. Add in some scandals, a beautiful New England setting, sharp wit and a light mystery and this is a great summer read!

i was not very impressed with this book, i found that it dragged a lot and stating the same thing over...and over...and over again in just a different way. i understand the character is going thru empty nesters issues...but 3 pages of it to say it different ways i didn't like. it had a good story background to it, family drama, mixed family relations all gathered for a weekend to celebrate a graduation. even tho i did not like the writing,

Five years ago I read Wendy Francis' Summer of Good Intentions, about three sisters dealing with the death of their father, and loved it so much that it made my list of the Most Compelling Books of 2015.



So I was happy to hear that she has a new book out this week, Best Behavior. Set over a long college graduation weekend, Meredith has to deal with preparing to be an empty nester as her twins, Dawn and Cody, are graduating from her alma mater, Bolton College in Boston.



Meredith is a NICU nurse married to her second husband Joel, a high school guidance counselor. Joel couldn't be more different from her first husband Roger, a highly sucessful Boston lawyer who cheated on his wife and left Meredith when the children were youngsters. Joel is steady, kind and a wonderful stepfather.



Roger is remarried to Lily, a gorgeous Instagram enhancer (not be confused with an influencer) not much older than his children. They live in a huge oceanside mansion where the kids' graduation party is being held.



Change is hard for Meredith. She is sad that this part of her life is over, and her children are setting out on their own lives now. Dawn will be moving to Chicago with her boyfriend, working at a marketing job. Cody is going to North Dakota to teach at a Native American high school.



Dawn feels deeply, is stubborn and was a ballerina until high school. She and her mother had the typical mother/daughter stresses in high school , even moving in with her father in Boston for a year, which upset Meredith greatly.



Cody is the golden boy. He is rock solid, smart, and a football hero. She never had to worry about Cody, although something is bubbling up about him over this graduation weekend that could possibly spoil the celebration.



Trying to be on her best behavior, Meredith decides that she will be as graceful as Jackie Onassis this weekend. She is tested when Roger shows up uninvited to a pre-graduation dinner hosted by the college. Following the ceremony, Roger hosts a graduation at his second wife's favorite restaurant and much to Meredith's chagrin, Lily is there too.



The story culminates at the graduation party where things all come to a head. Can Meredith remain on her best behavior? Anyone who has had to deal with exes, and manuever family gatherings with gritted teeth, will recognize the issues that Meredith must face.



I enjoyed finding a new slang word here- "dosey", which means a person someone can take in small doses. I have a feeling I will be using this word in the future.



Best Behavior took me back to the days of my sons' college graduations and the mixed emotions that I felt. It's a time of reflection, pride, joy and wistfulness. Wendy Francis excels at writing about families at the turning points of life, and she makes you feel a less lonely as you relate to her characters. I recommend Best Behavior.


Thanks to Harlequin for putting me on their Summer Reads Blog Tour.

Perfect summer read! I started reading it during quarantine and it was one of the few books to keep my attention. I loved the family drama, laughs and a view on a modern day family. I definitely recommend!

BEST BEHAVIOR
BY WENDY FRANCIS

This novel of contemporary literary fiction was a slow burn character study of all of the underlying dynamics of a blended family. Told mostly from Meredith's point of view as the mother of fraternal twins named Cody and Dawn. The premise is about Meredith coming to terms being an empty nester and she is emotional but everyone in this story is trying to put up a facade and be on their best behavior over a period of 72 hours. Everyone involved is trying to get through this college graduation. Meredith and her ex husband Roger have a prickly relationship. Roger has brought his trophy wife named Lily who is young enough to be his daughter. Meredith is also remarried to Joel who is a school guidance counselor.

Cody pulls a prank during the college commencement and the family is stunned when Meredith's mother Carol asks both twins to see their college diplomas and Cody's is missing from the envelope. Instead is a note to see the Dean who suspects that Cody wrote a psychology paper in exchange for some adderall. The Dean only has a photograph of Cody and another male exchanging a backpack with a paper with an anonymous note. Since he hasn't any real proof of Cody's wrongdoing Cody gets his college diploma after Roger obnoxiously takes the Dean out in the hall to have a private chat using his lawyer skills.

Throughout this 72 hour period this dysfunctional family experiences very different emotions. For Meredith it represents the beginning of the period of time that she will lose her two kids. For Lily who feels isolated and alone it represents becoming part of the family. For the twins it's a chance at finally striking out to build a new season of their lives and becoming independent. Cody is moving to North Dakota at the end of the Summer. For Dawn she is moving with her boyfriend Matt to Chicago.
Why do you think we all put forward our best behavior around the people who are supposed to love us the most? Throughout this novel perceptions change about one another. Also the past and present collide time again and again.

Thank you to Net Galley, Wendy Francis and Harlequin Trade Publishing for providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Publication Date: May 5, 2020

#BestBehavior #WendyFrancis #HarliquinTradePublishing #NetGalley

I really liked this book Best Behavior was an easy breeze book for me. Often humorous and it help my interest from beginning to end. Not the typical empty nest womens fiction. I recommend it.

Best Behavior is about a blended family that has to interact over a graduation weekend. Cody and Dawn are graduating from college. Meredith, their mother and her husband Joel, have been their consistently for them. Roger, their father, and his new wife Lily are planning an extravagent party. Throw in the grandparents, friends, an overdose, a scandal, and emotions and It's a weekend no one will forget. I liked Joel and Carol the best. Carol's acerbic comments were hilarious. Meredith was overbearing and acted like her kids were 7 instead of 21.

First, I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.
I really enjoyed this book! I thought the writing style was very easy to get into and flowed very well. As for the actual story, its about a woman whose twins are about to graduate from college and enter the real world 1,000 miles away from her (ND and Chicago, respectively). She is a woman who has really found her identity in her role as a mother, so the idea of them living so far away is really hard for her. All the empty-nest emotions, combined with the idea of spending a full weekend with her new husband, ex husband, his new wife, her ex in laws, and the whole crazy crew feels like a lot. She's going to try to be on her "best behavior" through all of the festivities, but its definitely not easy! What follows is an entertaining and realistic feeling story about the beauty and drama of blended families. There are some drug issues, some academic cheating issues, and an appearance from the one who got away. I thought our main character was really relatable and the relationship between the twins was pretty true to life. Both have their own issues, but they look out for each other and seem to be great friends. Overall this was a very fun ride with enough deeper issues to keep it interesting and realistic.

SPOILERS AHEAD:
Meredith is married to Joel now. She used to be married to Richard and together they had Cody and Dawn. Cody has always been the golden boy, gifted at football and academics. Dawn was a little more of a wild card. She was a very gifted ballerina but then gave it up when all of the restriction and rigor got to be too much. She's not as gifted academically and she feels like 2nd best. As the graduation weekend progresses, we learn more about all of the characters. Cody has been abusing Adderall and also wrote one kids paper for him. Dawn got in trouble for academic cheating, but she was actually innocent. I liked that we saw the gray sides of them and that defining either as good or bad (troubled or not) is dangerous. Dawn's situation ended in a change in testing policy, but Cody is still in danger of not graduating. He gets off the hook in the end, but theres a lot of drama surrounding his cheating and drug use. As for Meredith and Joel, I thought their relationship was very sweet and Joel seemed like the ultimate husband. He put up with so much and also comforted her and supported her in her times of insecurity. However, he runs into Kat-- his "one that got away" at the graduation festivities because she also has a daughter graduating. The drama is quickly nipped in the bud though when we find out that Kat is now married to a woman! Richard and his new wife, Lily, also had an interesting story line. Lily is new to the family (married 6-7 months as opposed to Joel's 6-7 years) and shes MUCH younger than Richard. However, she's not the bimbo type you often read about in books. She's smart and is genuinely trying to make nice with the kids and Meredith. She's hosting a lot and she's so stressed about it, she starts taking Oxy that she had been taking from Richard's injury stash, and then from a dealer. The book ends with her passing out from an OD and Meredith coming to the rescue to save her. The very end is super sweet with Meredith, Joel and the kids taking a picture that reflects their joy and love for each other and the whole crazy family!

I wanted to love this one, however, this was a slow and somewhat predictable read for me. Meredith is freaking out about her children graduating from college (nevermind they've been out of her home for 4 years already) and has become the poster-child for empty nester angst. From the very beginning when she was annoyed rather than complimented by her book club members praising her children for graduating and trying to make it a celebration I knew that Meredith and I were going to have issues. Then we she started attributing her son's athletic ability to her letting him turn the den into a weight room, I decided that this was a woman who only defined herself by her children and her role as a mother, which was ridiculous considering her wonderful and admirable career. Honestly, it just got on my nerves and never stopped.

Regardless I gave it a chance and it ended up being a not very exciting story of emotional issues, drugs, drinking, lying, secrets, and so on. Most reviews so far are very positive, so it may just be me and I didn't click with this novel, so give it a try for yourself.

*Thanks to NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I thought the summary sounded interesting, but the story didn't quite hit the mark for me. Some parts were a bit too slow and "overdone." A quick, average read overall.

I didn’t care for this novel in plot nor characters. Pretty simplistic empty-nester feels loss. Rather boring to me
Thank you netgalley and the publisher for this arc

Best Behavior is a uniquely woven story of the complexities of generations navigating the ever shifting roles of adulting. The added perspectives of blended family members makes this an interesting, thought-provoking read. The strength of family ties is beautifully and convincingly woven throughout a weekend of celebration for twin college graduates. The different point of views depicted as the blended families navigate a planned series of events for this special weekend deepens empathy and awareness of others as each generation attempts to keep the focus on the celebratory event while exploring the coping mechanisms employed by each character to be on his/her best behavior. This novel depicts a beautiful depiction of how people should work unselfishly for the greater good of the group rather than thinking only of themselves. The variety of choices and relationships examined is fascinating and brings to light so many applicable, important topics that should be considered and discussed. The portrayal of “we” combined from generational “me”s is riveting! The value of choices provided through educational opportunities is an underlying thread impacting each generation and their complicated family relationships. A great exploration of varied perspectives depicting an eventful weekend full of possible fireworks!

Breezy read that doesn’t go deep but perhaps that is what differentiates literary and women’s fiction. I liked that the plot line is compacted, for
me the opioid theme took away from rather than moved the plot and character development forward. I liked the ensemble feel of the characters, as individuals I got a blurred and stereotypical takeaway. May be relatable for upper middle class empty nesters.

Meredith is a neonatal nurse, who is dealing with the college graduation of her twins. She has an ex husband who is married again, and a new husband. The twins have secrets, the parents (4) has lots to deal with and they do not deal well together. A funny brutally honest look at family relationships. Thanks to the author, the publisher, and Net Galley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a novel that felt real. Meredith had her faults but really wanted the best for her kids. Lily could only do so much but her perfect facade was marred by her addition to pills. Dawn and Cody were strong kids and were lucky to have Joel.

Slow at first, this book really got my attention. Really liked all the sides of the characters. Great book.

Thanks to author,publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read book. While I got the book for free,it had no bearing on the rating I gave it.