I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This is my first book by these authors and I'm not sure how I feel about the book. It was a bit unusual in the writing and the characterization. The plot was kind of a jumble of different things. I couldn't really tell where the book was going as I was reading it but it eventually came to an interesting ending. Enjoy! 📚

Better Choices is the newest offering by author Rod Pennington and his collaborator Dr. Jeffrey A. Martin. The story unfolds over a few months period of time from a little before Memorial Day until a bit after Labor Day. To put it simply, middle aged Allison Clark is having a bad day, including spilled coffee, errant twins she has been called to a school meeting to discuss, and an emergency phone call from the hospital her ornery mother, Edna O’Connor, has been taken to. Allison, a champion of poor decisions, is just trying to remain invisible and move along. Her philandering husband, her rebellious/enterprising high school senior twins, and her mother have other ideas.
When Allison decides she, along with her twins and aunts, will stay with her mother when the prognosis is dire, there is a real change in her personality after reading some of her Aunt Jolene’s writings. As though a switch has flipped, Allison is a new and surprising person with a take charge attitude. Accompanied by her best friend and attorney, Beth Woodrow, she takes the school by storm, finalizes divorce papers, and is finally welcomed into the O’Connor sisterhood.

This delightful novel, while dealing with very serious subjects such as divorce, dementia, and end of life issues, treats the unfolding story with humor, quirky characters, and lightheartedness, allowing the reader to become a first hand witness. I very much enjoyed this book and have found a wonderful new author to add to my bookshelves. I do recommend this book

This review will be published on the below-mentioned blog and social media on 19 June.

Book Title: Better Choices

Author: Rod Pennington & Jeffery A.Martin

Genre: Fiction / Family Saga

Publishing Date: 12 June 2020

Line Summary:

Its a family saga of the O'Connor Family, their secrets, rivalry, the better choices they could make, and the science behind that.

My Review:

After continuously reading some usual romance books this one is a refreshing story of family dynamics! I love this book! From the very first chapter, it hooked us and we straight away dived into the story! All the characters were crisp, lovely, and energetic! The dialogues were witty, quirky, and to the point without an over descriptive background! The narration is rapid with lovely energy! The plot is a simple fun-filled family with its own secrets and struggles. A lot of business dealings and bank numbers were there yet it’s not over-described or boring to read! On the other way, the explanations were simple enough to intrigue the mind. The teenage entrepreneurs were interesting to read but unbelievable. (At least to me!!) This book is so simple and a quick read but with a lot of energy-filled chapters to enjoy! This is my first book from the author duo already I loved their work and digging up their other books! For the plot, this book is surprisingly a page-turner! I highly recommend this for a happy read!

Thoughts while reading :
Seriously this book is a game-changer! Unlike the usual family drama books, it surprisingly handled quite different family dynamics!

The business dealings were nice and catchy yet quite understandable with its simple explanations!

All the diversified characters were lovely! And I love the way the story portrayed all the female characters! All are having their own individuality and sense of humor!

The story is narrated from Allison’s point of view and her character is described as an easy push over one who came out of her cocoon! But without her suffering background, we couldn’t register much of her out coming!

However convincing and enjoyable the teenage entrepreneurs part is I couldn’t believe it as practical!!

The part of lizard brain explanations and how to make conscious choices is wonderful and worth to experiment on us!
Overall I enjoyed this book and finished it in one sitting as it’s never bored or lagged in any phase! I hope you too enjoy it!

Thanks to #netgalley and the publisher #integratedpress  for this ARC. This review is straight from my heart, not biased in any way.

Bright, sassy teenagers, plucky grandmother and mom trying to work it all out in this romp through family challenges. Everyone has secrets, each of revealed in drop dead surprising ways. Fun summer read.

The description of this book does not really say what this book is about. It focuses on one person out of this very large family, and it just one piece of this puzzle.

This book is centered around Allison and her two ambitious twins. Allison is on the verge of a divorce that her and her husband have been waiting to complete, waiting for their kids to graduate. Her twins are co-valedictorian’s of their school and also successful entrepreneurs. When Allison’s mom falls ill she and her kids decide to move into the family home to help care for her.

This quickly turns into a pretty large family drama. There are siblings, cousin’s, exes that are all around. You have your typical family bickering. What overshadow’s this, is Allison’s Mom huge secret, that will rock this family.

Up until the last 25% of the book, I was very meh about this book, however the last bit saved it. It had a partial revenge story that really gave this story life. Other than that, the story is mostly forgettable. It is not bad, just does not have any shine to it.

Thank you NetGalley and Integration Press for an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Once I've finished reading this book, I decided to wait for the richness of it to find its place inside me before giving away any feedback. This need doesn't happen frequently but when it appears I know I have some thinking to do.
Allison Clark stands in front of a serious decision. She can go on with her life like it's been or she can try to change it, fortunately, for the better. Her marriage hasn't been working out for a long time and her brilliant twins are ready to leave for college. Adding to that her mother's issues with age and the relationship with her brother she needs to refocus on the direction she wants to take. She is in front of a turning point. Walking along with her best friend and successful professional Beth, is she ready to take the next step?
The authors worked exceptionally well the various characters of this story and their individual development into the great scheme.
It's been a great read and I hope to read more from them.

Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was an entertaining read about finding yourself and living your best life. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy.

I will leave a review on Amazon or B&N on June 12, 2020

A new author for me I was pleasantly surprised at how well I loved the book. I loved the family drama and the amazing characters in the storyline. The twins are scary they are so smart, full of plans and always seem to be getting into trouble. For me this was a quick read and would be perfect for a beach read. I loved this quirky family, and would love reading more books about them in the future. I would certainly recommend this book to others.

I received a copy of a Advanced Readers Copy from NetGalley and the publisher, and this is my fair and honest review.

A Life Well Lived
This is a very refreshing book that I hated to see the end. The central personality is facing more than a few mid-life defining moments. She is juggling her mother's life coming to an end, her children turning 18, divorcing their father, and finding a life for herself. Most of the characters in the story are growing and surprising others.It is such a good story with so many people finding their full stride that it kept a smile in my heart. I received this ARC book for free from Net Galley and this is my honest review.

I received this book from NetGalley for an honest review. Well, I can honestly say that I thoroughly enjoyed it. I loved that it is a multi-generational set of characters. They are bright and witty and work well with each other. I didn't know where the story was going which always makes it more fun for the readers. If you enjoy Debbie Macomber and Patricia Wiggs then I think you will be equally pleased with this feel-good story.

I wasn't sure if I'd like Better Choices when I started reading it, but the story of the O'Connor family and their bad choices and complicated relationships drew me in so I soon felt like part of the family. Allison Clark is getting ready to enjoy her empty nest. With her twins heading off to college in the fall, Allison feels like she can finally divorce her philandering husband, Lindsay, and enjoy the slower pace of life. Her mother, Edna O'Connor suffersa medical emergency and Allison was told Edna could no longer live alone. Her brother, Robert, and his second wife, the very young Gabrielle, are expecting a baby. Robert is pushing hard for part of his mother's estate, even though he was given control of the very successful O'Connor construction company. Allison's twins, Charlles and Angela, are graduating high school in a few weeks and for some reason are consistently skipping school, though their stellar academic record shows no effects. When rushing home to get some things for her mother, Allison happens upon the twins conducting business in the driveway selling not drugs, but shoes. Even more shocking is when her best friend, Beth, a gifted lawyer, shows up and not only knows about the "business" but purchases a pair of $700 shoes at the friends and family discount. Allison's only recourse to care for her mother is to move into her childhood home to keep an eye on the wily Edna. Allison is pushed to the limit by almost ex-Lindsay, who continues to carry on with mistresses, her cantankerous mother, and her brilliant children. To top it off, her Aunt Tillie moves in to care for Edna as well. Tillie's companion Jolene, a renowned author of popular self-help books, is suffering the beginning stages of Alzheimer's but can still amazingly lucid moments where she can discuss her work and cook fabulous meals.. As Allison nears the end of her rope, sick of people keeping things from her, Jolene's books help her to take a stand and stick up for herself with astounding results.

Better Choices was such an enjoyable read. Insightful and thoughtful, and funny as all get-out it reminded me a little of John Grisham's humorous works. The characters are very well developed and the plot thickens, and resolves nicely. I appreciate the chance to read the ARC and I look forward to reading more by Pennington and Martin.

When a book hits that sweet spot between fiction and reality, it males you want to tell everyone about it. This is that book. Allison could be any of your friends, putting her kids first and trying to make the best with her life as it is. But when things come to a head and she realizes the family business is going under and her family is rapidly falling apart, as her mother's health declines, she learns that sometimes you have to find your inner tiger and take the reins of your life. That creates a domino effect for everyone in her life and she realizes how unhappy everyone has been, keeping secrets for years. As the family searches for solutions, she realizes she is her mother's daughter, and her kids take after their grandfather, and that is a good thing, This is the book evertone will read this Summer,

Found this book on Netgalley. It felt like it was waiting right there for mr. I requested the book and it was immediately downloaded. I was surprised how much I liked this book as it has a female main character and written from her POV by two male authors. They really did an excellent job with all their character development. This was a family story with some drama, some jealousy, some surprises both good and bad and tears of joy and sadness. A well written easy to read book.

Very good book because it was an easy read and the storyline was interesting. It’s a feel good book with no sex, swearing, or murderous blood and guts. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book and give an honest review. #netgalley. #betterchoices

I really loved this book. It was refreshing. The characters were all really likable. It was a different style of book than I normally read. It was about family. I don’t want to give anything away. But I highly recommend this

On her twins' 18th birthday, Alison's dying mother reveals a secret that has implications for the whole family. The twins are smart and resourceful, making a lot of money selling sneakers. The family company is in the hands of Alison's brother Robert, who is basically running the company under. The twins come up with a plan to set things right...

The book was pretty far fetched. The poor mom was so naive and gullible. I felt sorry for her. Especially For the way Her kids treated her. Everything “worked out” without much depth to the story. I probably would not recommend this to anyone.

Better Choices is a good book - there are a lot of concepts there, which common people wouldn't typically know, like non-performing loans and buying them from banks. I love that these were introduced in this book, and were taken advantage of by the twins.

The story is decent, but the growth and change was drastic, and the woman did not hesitate to make them. For someone who was not used to being that way, she readily and eagerly stepped into her new "ME", without second-guessing herself much.

The dialogues were a bit too scripted and curt.... and sometimes dramatic - everything the lawyer (Beth) or the author (Jolene) or Tillie(?) always made everyone stunned and had them clapping and cheering for them, which was doesn't really happen in real life all that much. In the meme world, the category is called "things that never happened".

Overall, it's a good story, was a decent read... but I am not fully excited for it!

This book flowed like lyrics in a song. It was a story of family. There were secrets and lies and cover ups. It wasn't my favorite book but it did keep my interest. Your really get to know and love (or hate) the characters. It is a good light read for the beach, vacation or just after a book that was very deep.

Thank you to #integration press & #netgalley for the ARC of this book

A lighthearted look at family dynamics that is truly just plain fun to read! This will make a great vacation read.

Take a stubborn (cranky?) grandma, a woman frustrated in an unhappy marriage, a pair of young adults with huge aspirations, and toss in a man stuck in a job he's just not good at, a semi-closeted aunt and her partner who speaks fluent French when provoked, and you've the cast of characters of "Better Choices."

These are not typical family dynamics, but these are not typical people. Allison (the woman frustrated in an unhappy marriage) is just beginning to open her eyes to the truths that surround her. Whatever we may be overlooking in our own lives, Allison’s rebirth is almost certainly more entertaining than real life.