Better Choices by Rod Pennington and Jeffrey A Martin
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Allison Clark has made some bad choices in her life. Now her twins are graduating high school and she is about to file for divorce. When her mother has a health scare, the whole family comes together, giving time for reflection, secrets, long overdue conversations to happen.
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This book surprised me with how much I enjoyed it! It was a lot of fun following Allison as she learned how to start making better choices and also came to terms with some truths about herself and her family. I loved her twins and their go-getter spirit. I loved her bestie, who was a major girl-boss. I loved the “strut into the school” scene. And the scene in the garage.
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4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I was delighted to read this book and wish I hadn’t slept on it so long.

This book was a little hard to get into. I sometimes overempathize with characters but not with this one. I just didn’t find it relatable.

Thank you for the advanced copy!

This book was terrible. Was is a novel or a self help book? Was it trying to push us to understand out lizard brains? nothing in this book was believable. I found this review on Good Reads and I agree with every word:
I finished the book-despite my reservations, I wanted to see how it ended. The characters were not realistic, the plot was unbelievable, the weird self-help component was odd. The whole thing was just too much, and the lack of realistic dialogue made this a chore to plow through. I should have known there would be issues with a novel being marketed as woman's fiction written by two men.

This was a quick read that kept me going! I enjoyed this light-hearted, happy-ending, type of read. I would definintly place this in your "to-be-read" pile!

I think we can all related to making bad choices...I was more intrigued by the description than the actual book. I didn't hate it but I probably wouldn't recommend it.

Allison has made many bad choices in her life, not the least of which is that she married the wrong man. Now was her divorce is finalized, she must deal with her mother and the secret that her mother has concealed for her entire life.

I enjoyed this book, and it was not quite what I expected. Most of the contemporary fiction I read is written by women, and this had a little different flavor. There were a lot of interesting characters, some a little sharper and less conventional, and some not so believable. Allison really NEEDS to make better choices in her life, so obviously that is the recurring theme. She and her husband should have divorced years ago, but are just now doing it. Her precocious, intelligent, and very unbelievable twins are about to graduate from high school, and her mother’s health is declining. So what should Allison do with HER life besides wander around cluelessly? Fortunately she has a best friend who always knows what should be done, and is the rock who can help do it. The good guys generally win out, and the “bad” guys get their comeuppance, so it is satisfying. It was a fast, fun read.
Thanks to Netgalley and Integration Press for a ARC in exchange for a fair review.

I really enjoyed the way this book allowed me to get to know the members of the O’Connor family. They are well developed and kept you interested. It’s a story about a family. And, as we all know, there is no perfect family . . . and drama is sure to follow. What a thoughtful read and entertaining. Put this on your to-be-read list.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kindle for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

Allison Clark doesn't know it yet, but she's about to have the best day ever. I don't think that was the point of the whole book, but once she started standing up for herself, everything was going her way. Everyone has always thought she was kind of a pushover. Her husband was a serial philanderer, but they stayed together for appearances til their twins graduate high school. Her mother holds her brother up as the perfect child, and bosses Allison around. Allison was the apple of her father's eye, but since he's passed, she's just the mother to her amazing kids (almost adults now). Her friendship with her forever best friend Beth is the only relationship that leaves her feeling like an independent adult.

As Allison finds out everyone has secrets, she also finds her voice. It was like Karma took on a new life as Allison stood up for herself and her family, and everything went her way. While her husband was a lousy husband, he was still a good businessman and father, and he steps in to help with some family drama and making sure their kids get their share (although these spunky teenagers are already smart and pretty good at sticking up for themselves).

This was a fun read, if a bit polly-anna. Everything goes right for this woman once she decides what she wants! Yay! I'd give it 3 out of 5 stars and recommend it as a great summer read. It reminded me of the thrillers I love with vigilante justice - no violence in this one, but the right people got their just desserts.

This book was a pleasant read. At times I found it a bit slow, but it was a fine story of a large multi-generational family. I thought the main character, Alison, a bit sappy, but really liked her Aunts.

This was a pleasant read. The character's were realistic and relatable. I enjoyed their quirky nature and getting to know them. The plot was interesting and kept my attention. I would recommend this as an enjoyable easy read.

After receiving word her mother Edna was in the hospital after suffering a heart attack, Allison Clark made the decision to bring Edna home, and move in to her childhood home with her seventeen year old twins in order to care for her. Once she arrived at the house, Allison was confused about the line of senior citizens by the back trailer, and also why her children, Charles and Angela, weren’t in school. She was stunned to find out that her children were successful entrepreneurs who had made nearly a quarter of a million dollars through their resale sneaker business. Arriving at the hospital, Allison found her aunts Tillie and Jolene visiting, and making plans to care for Edna once Tillie got her new sneakers from Charles and Angela.

I really liked Allison, and enjoyed the way she learned to roll with the punches and accept the many changes in her life. By allowing Charles and Angela to continue in their entrepreneurial spirit, and include the family in the choices they made, she found a measure of grace that was unavailable to her prior to her divorce from the twins’ father. This was a fun read, the characters were well developed and interesting, and the surprise twist at the end was unexpected but welcome.

I really enjoyed the characters in this book and the twists and turns of the plot as Allison, though the mother of almost-grown twins, seemed to come of age herself. The book had a lot of humor mixed with serious emotional issues. I thought Allison was a tad too naive and the twins were really pushing belief as child prodigies, but if I was able to stifle my disbelief long enough to really get into the story and enjoy the surprises revealed toward the end of the book.

This book is difficult to categorize as it deals with the consequences of the choices we make in life. This story focuses on Allison and her family with a secret alluded to in the story blurb. Allison seems to exist in a fog as she has no clue what is going on around her with her children, brother and other extended family. Her children (twins) are wise beyond their seventeen years and habe built a sizable fortune with a scheme that everyone knows about except their mother. Her mother and aunts are hilarious and supportive of their family. Her best friend turns out to be the secret which is not revealed until the end of the book. There is an epilogue that ties the book up nicely. I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it.
***Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with a copy of this book to read and review. My opinion is given freely.***

I love when I get to the end of the book and want the characters to live on.
It's bittersweet really.
I honestly did have a hard time reading this straight through but I always came back to it and I'm glad I was drawn to finish it.

I chose this book because of the description. Who can resist wanting to know someone else's family secrets? I did enjoy some of the characters, and storyline, but I did feel the beginning of the book was a little slow. Allison was an interesting character. She prefers to not know what's going on, but in the end it never does her favors. I couldn't relate to their rich lifestyle, and the whole 'everyone is moving in' to take of Edna was a little hokey to me. I wouldn't read this book again, and probably wouldn't read another book by this author. The description was more compelling than the actual story.

4.0 out of 5 stars A good fun read!
Reviewed in the United States on November 4, 2020
Wonderful characters inhabit this well written story with twists I did not see coming. Very enjoyable read. I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher and this is my honest opinion

I received this book "Better Choices" from NetGalley and all opinions expressed are my own. This book was okay. I couldn't relate to the characters. The whole storyline was a bit too much. Plus the whole self help aspect was not what I was looking for in a book.

Thank you netgallery for the eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. I felt like this was a good book, and I really enjoyed the characters in it. I did feel like a lot of the book happened towards the end, and the beginning is a little slow. I did feel like this was a story that was relatable, which I enjoyed. Overall, it was a good book and I would recommend it.

Allison Clark has made many bad choices. Now, she finds herself caring for her aging mother, waiting for her teens to graduate from high school, and anticipating a divorce from her cheating husband. But the failing family business, an ongoing argument with her brother and an ominous secret threaten her peace and plans.
"Better Choices" tells the story of a woman coming into her own - better late than never. It's a lighthearted chick lit book that also includes life advice about how we make choices and how we can change those choices.
I wanted to connect with Allison, but I never did. Her upper-class lifestyle and that of all the characters is way out of my league and unrelatable. I did like Tillie and Jolene. Their relationship is one that oozed with love and understanding.
The authors included interesting and helpful information about the psychological reasons for many of the decisions we make. But some of the sections were preachy instead of flowing organically.
This book is okay. I'd recommend it as a beach read.