3.5 stars. First I must confess I have never enjoyed books that are classified as Women Fiction but this book's description caught my eye. It describes a woman who will soon lose her mother and as I have recently lost mine I wished to give it a try.
First I must say I loved the characters especially the twins. They have a great brother and sister relationship. They are also extremely smart and come up with the idea that saves the day.
I was so glad the main character found happiness at the end. She had pit up with a husband that cheated on her constantly. To be fair though it is pretty much stated that she put up with it for years for the kids.
Another great character is Beth the lawyer who is smart and the best friend who is always there when needed.
I really did not have any issues with this book but I admit that having not read other Woman Fiction books I may not be the best judge. I will say that this book has impressed me so much that I plan on reading other books in this genre.

I enjoyed Better Choices by Rod Pennington and Jeffrey A. Martin. Allison Clark is a fifty-ish woman who’s children are about to turn 18. That is the magic age that she and her soon-to-be ex-husband decided would be a good time to divorce. She discovered that her children are engaged in what she first thinks might be a shady money-making venture at the same time she discovers her mother is gravely ill. . Allison finds herself making changes and taking responsibility for them more than she had ever done before. This was a breezy, pleasant story of families and their foibles and the love that is at the bottom of these relationships. There were some parts of the story that didn’t flow well, and I didn’t care for the reptilian brain theory. Nevertheless, it would recommend it.

Overall an enjoyable read but somewhat predictable. I enjoy family dramas and sagas. This book was entertaining for a lazy Saturday but did not keep me entirely engaged and I did not really care for the protagonists or her children. The supporting cast of older adults- mom, aunts were charming but everyone else felt very cookie cutter. I read this book as a free NetGalley read and I did enjoy it from that perrspective

I had absolutely no expectations for this book, having read no reviews and nothing by these authors prior to reading it. NetGalley provided me with an ARC, for which I am grateful, but all opinions are my own.

I was surprised by this one! It was a quick read and generally an easy one, but dealt with some interesting family dynamics, to say the least. I really liked the characters in this book and was pretty immediately invested in them. I especially liked Charles and Angela, the twins, and their story arc. Allison originally seemed exceedingly gullible and like she had her head in the sand about everything, but as the story went on, she grew immensely and came into her own, becoming a much more likable narrator. I have been reading a lot of multiple narrator and alternating timeline books lately, so it was refreshing to read a single narrator book that progressed so smoothly. The book assumes intelligence of the reader and does not overexplain.

I'd be interested in exploring more of these author's works in the future.

Better Choices is an unexpected gem filled with insight and very interesting characters. The O’Conner family is facing multiple challenges: the matriarch is very ill; the daughter is getting divorced; her twins are about to graduate high school; the brother has a second wife who is half his age; the family business is in financial trouble. Helping the family navigate through is Aunt Jolene, author of many self-help books and the partner of the matriarch’s sister. While the list of problems sounds depressing, this story actually is very uplifting, psychologically informative and often humorous. I voluntarily reviewed an advance copy of this book from NetGalley. Most highly recommend.

At the end of the day it's just a meh kind of book, not spectacular but gives you something mildly interesting to read for a while. I have to say though that it's unfortunate that one of the main characters was so annoying. I did not care for Allison at all and if this book was just about her I wouldn't have enjoyed this book at all. I loved all the other characters in the book though, Edna and Tillie were a delight. It was little annoying that the twins were constantly written as the smartest teenagers in the world but I enjoyed their characters as well so it was okay. As for the story I really enjoyed it and even though the big secret was a little predictable I enjoyed the journey to get there.

If you're a fan of family drama and funny tough old birds I would recommend this book.

I enjoyed the book. In all fairness Allison is enough at times to make you bang your head on the table. Her mother Edna is fierce so it makes Allison a little disappointing to me. This is a tale of family, love and secrets.

At the most superficial level, this book was annoying. But as I ran the mental commentary in my head and listened under the commentary, under the superficial annoyance, I would nod my head or grin widely or have an, "Oh, yes," or "Ah, ha," moment of self discovery. The subtext shines and the annoying story line accessories fade. As an example of what I denominate an annoying accessory is the seeming protagonist, Allison. Screamingly dense. Beyond naive, either utterly lacking in awareness and presence, or truly dense. One wonders how a women deemed to alpha and bright could be so lacking in insight or awareness. Yet, how much of my disdain is simply because I like to avoid mirrors?
The message gets 5 stars, the annoying accessories 3, and so far only Austen and Conan Doyle get 5 anyway