I was a little put off by how naive the protagonist was. I found her to be a clueless dimwit who, supposedly, all of a sudden develops a backbone. She reads a self help book and then, overnight, she has a stronger personality. In reality, she continues to rely on her friend Beth to make everything better, her teenage twins leave her out of their personal lives and everybody seems to get what’s going on but her. Predictably, all works out in the end and everybody is happy.

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy of this book. I was quickly drawn into the book and ended up reading it through in one setting. The main character, Allie, is a woman who is navigating life at a time when her children are entering adulthood, she is getting divorced, her mother has serious health concerns and there is family friction. In other words- she's dealing with all the things that life can throw at you. Throughout the book Allie is on her own journey of self discovery and enlightenment and there is a bit of psychological self help mixed in. Revenge, forgiveness, and the importance of relationships are woven throughout the story line. A few of the 'surprises' of the story were able to be figured out from some of the clues sprinkled throughout, but it still was an enjoyable read. #netgalley #goodreads #betterchoices #integrationpress

Better Choices was a quick, fun read with sassy characters and family secrets. Allison has spent her life being a push over, but as everything falls apart around her she finally figures out how to stand up for herself. I enjoyed going on this journey with her as she stumbles around trying to learn how to live her life without a man calling the shots. The family dynamic reminded me of southern drama (along the lines the Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood). I felt like part of their crazy family and I laughed along with every antic. The one drawback is that the family secrets were a little predictable, but the predictability didn’t take away from the heart of the story.

If you like family drama and sassy characters, this book is for you.

Thank you to the publishers for this ARC. It was a delightful read.

I wish to thank Net Galley and the publisher Integation Press for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book. I have voluntarily read and reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book was not at all what I expected. It was so much better and a perfect delight to read. I did not want to put it down. I found it amazing that it was written by two men. They certainly understand the female psyche and created characters of all age levels that will readers will love. The story deals with all the normal family dysfunctions. There are also amazing success stories in the teenagers, business double dealings, and friendships that have bonded over many, many years and cannot be breached. There is marital conflict and so much more. Just when you think you know the ending, the story explodes with new excitement. I highly recommend this book and would like to read more from this team. I do need to add that I do not believe the title of the book accurately reflects what follows.

This gets a three because there were characters I enjoyed in the story. I should have known there would be irritations in a book categorized as women’s fiction written by TWO male authors. Trust me, we women do not refer to taking a cleansing breath that often in our lives.

This was an Advance Reader’s Copy (thank you Net Galley) so I’m not supposed to comment on things like grammatical errors that will be fixed (I hope) in the final edition, but good grief, how could spellcheck allow you to submit this?

This could have been a fun,light-hearted romp with sassy but precocious teenagers, feisty older women, and a 50-something finding herself, but it was just too, too.... And by the way, “dark family secret” is a stretch.

I enjoyed the fast pace of this book. This book was well written and very interesting to read. This book had a few surprises and and at times you just wanted to say, huh, I didn’t see that coming. I was confused by the title, however, as I am not sure it fit into the storyline that well. This book was more about the twins of the main character and less about the choices that the main character made. With a little reframing of the storyline, I think this would be a better fit for a teenage reader.

Better Choices is a lighthearted and quick read with fun characters. I actually hope there is a sequel because a continuation of their lives would be interesting.

This novel was a fun, light read. It’s the story of the O’Conner family- starting with Grandpa Charlie and all the way down to great grand children. The family owns a home building company , started by a Charlie and goes right through the generations. It’s almost like a fairy tale with a very happy ending.
Very enjoyable!

Better Choices, by Rod Pennington and Jeffrey A. Martin, is a quick and perfect beach read. Allison Clark is having a bad day. Her philandering husband’s latest conquest just called to say he was leaving her, her brilliant but rebellious twins are in trouble again at school, and her cranky, independent mother has been rushed to the ER with heart trouble. To make matters worse, her brother has been running the family construction business into the ground since their father died and her beloved Aunt Tillie’s life partner, Jolene, a famous self-help author, is slowly slipping into dementia.

As she navigates the challenges of that day and those following with the help of her best friend and attorney, Beth Woodward, Allison discovers that those closest to her are hiding big secrets. Her teenage son and daughter have become scheming business tycoons, money is disappearing from the family business on a regular basis, and her new young sister-in-law has unexpected news. How could she have missed all that has been going on?

When an old love encourages Allison to adopt her “Aunt” Jolene’s philosophy of making life decisions based on intellect rather than instinct, she begins to realize how others have been manipulating her and she embraces her new realities – including the best-kept secret of all – someone in her life shares a much closer connection than she realizes!

“Better Choices” by Rod Pennington
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I received this ARC through Netgalley!
I really enjoyed this book! I’ve never read anything by this author, so I was intrigued. This was a super easy and fast read.
When Allison’s mother gets sick and doesn’t have much time left; herself, her rebellious wicked smart twins, and opinionated aunts move in to help. Her twins eighteenth birthday is fast approaching, so there is no time like the present to make her divorce final. She quickly realizes that she has spent the last 20+ years making everyone else happy, but herself. She picks up her Aunt Jolene’s self help book and
quickly realizes how many bad choices she has made to protect others. She decides it’s time to put an end to it and start making better choices that will make her life happy. In the meantime the family drama over her parents estate rises. Her mother puts an end to the quibble by revealing a family secret. Can they all work together to honor the O’Connor estate and business? Can the company her father built be saved? Can she repair her relationship with her dying mother?
This is a story about a family coming together in a time of sadness. It’s about family, friendship, money, loyalty, and legacy.

The description of this book caught my attention, because I normally like family dramas. However, this one felt a little flat to me. The cast of characters was a bit quirky and fun, but none of them really endeared themselves to me. . Although I felt bad for the main character, Allison, because she had endured many years in a miserable marriage, I just didn't really like her. Her teenage twins were major characters, but I felt like we never got to know them very well. They came off as rich and entitled and the storyline revolving around them was very unrealistic. Also there was a fair amount of business talk that was frankly over my head. I enjoyed the easy writing style and the bit of mystery that transpired toward the end of the book. But all in all, I thought it was just okay. Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy.

Better Choices by co-authors Rod Pennington and Dr. Jeffery A. Martin is not a book I would likely pick to read. For one thing, it is written by two people, which, in my experience, usually leads to an uneven manuscript as each author's distinct style alternates with the others. But this was an ARC manuscript from NetGalley and the publisher so I elected to read it. And I'm glad I did. Thank you for the chance to review.

What fun and what a romp of a novel. Written rom the first person perspective of Allison, a 50ish soon to be divorcee, mother of two extraordinary teenage twins, and daughter of a dying curmudgeon.. (The two male authors do a less than spectacular job of being a believable female narrator, but hey.) Allie's almost 18 year old twins are found to be not just brilliant students, but incredibly mature business minds. She discover this when she finds them selling designer sneakers they have cornered the market on and clearing $250,000 while managing a student sales force.

Add to the mix an aunt and her long term lesbian lover who is a world-renowned professor and author and you have a funny and entertaining mix. Add some new age and pop psychology lizard brain/meditation/science and the mix is complete. It's a fast and fun read no matter who you are. ( Only criticism: With a number of people having the same names in different generations, some alive, some dead, it's a constant struggle to keep everyone's relation ship straight.) You might even have some fun looking up the previous books of Dr. Martin.

For fans of stories about big messy families, this well paced story is one you won't put down. Multi-generational tale of strong women who support one another.

Better Choices
by Rod Pennington and Jeffery A. Martin
Oh, those O’Connor women (and men, to a degree), so full of mischief, wit, and wisdom. The teasing is fun, but when the chips are down, “we’re family. We take care of each other.”
This was a lovely escape from Shelter at Home, a bit of vicarious adventure, possibilities of one’s own making, and life lessons. I think I’d have enjoyed having the twins in class and applauded their creativity . . . and quietly helped them maneuver out of the way of the evil administrator. (I’ve done it before ;-) I found myself thinking of the Weasley twins’ departure from their final exams, and a neighbor who told her pre-school charges, “Think now. I hope you make a good decision.”

This book is about Allison, a wealthy mother of 17 year old twins, who is on the verge of divorcing her husband. Among an array of very talented and admirable women, Allisn stands out as the weakest character in the book. We are supposed to believe that Allison finds her backbone and stops listening to her "lizard brain" . The plot and characters were amusing but Allison was a disappointment.

Allison is having a bad day. One of her husband's mistresses calls her to tell her that her husband wants to leave her because they are in love, she is being summoned to her twin's school to talk to the vice principal and her mother has been admitted to the hospital with a major cardiac event.

This has quite a cast of characters. Allison just goes along to get along. Her mother tells it like it is and doesn't take any crap. Her sister-in-law, Tillie, is very outspoken and likes sports and drinking. Her long time partner, Jolene, is a professor and well known for her self help books. Add in Allison's best friend, Beth, the twins, Charles and Angela, and Allison's brother, Robert, and his new wife, Gabrielle.

There was a plot but it is not easily summarized. The dialog was witty but the whole idea that Allison would finally read one of Jolene's book and change her whole personality and start standing up for herself is rather far fetched. This was an easy read, I liked the characters and it was a fun story.

I LOVED THIS BOOK!!! This story was total brain candy - I really enjoyed the relationships between the characters -especially the twins! In a time where everything is all up in the air and it's just one bad thing after another - it was pure joy to have a "happily ever after" kind of story that grabbed my attention - and HELD it from beginning to end. I would absolutely recommend this book - it was a wonderful escape <3

I received an ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.

This was a lighthearted family mystery – a quick and easy read. Pennington & Martin scratched the surface of each secondary character in a way that has me wanting to learn more about their individual stories. Throughout they story found myself being proud of Allison’s growth, amazed by the intelligence and resourcefulness of her twins, and humored by her mother’s attitude. All-in-all a perfect read to pick up anyone’s mood. I look forward to reading more by the authors.

Received an ARC from Netgalley for an honest opinion.

Wow! what can I say? this one just was like always going and there was always something new and the ending just wow! This one didn't have any dull moments, and was just a really good ride. I recommend this if you need a quick read that will keep you engaged and has a happy ending. it made me cry at the end, so it's going to get five stars because if there's emotion then yeah it's going to get five stars.

I didn’t have expectations for this book but the synopsis had me interested - I love a good family drama. The format of the writing is not typical for me but I assumed that this would be a lighthearted, cozy weekend read. I wanted to see what Allison would uncover and quickly dived in.

The book started at a great pace and I was completely in until about chapter 5. I do believe that the book was slightly all over the place, unrealistic at times and the big reveal was somewhat anti-climatic. I am, however, happy that Allison was able to find happiness in the end and the story definitely ties in with the title of the book. The cover of the book is bland and I did detect hints of transphobia and 1 off-handed racist joke which was off putting for me. Overall, I think that the book was but just not for me but I can see it’s appeal.