I was really rooting for this book. I like the storyline, but it felt more like a YA novel as the story went on. The main character Gillian started off very mature. But as the plot thickened, she seemed to have stepped backward into a more immature way of thinking and handling the situation. As much as I wanted to like it, this book just wasn't for me.

I received an ARC through Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

I've never attended boarding school, so this book really sounded interesting. I enjoyed this glimpse into the lives of a boarding school student who comes back to be a dorm mom in the same building she lived in twenty years earlier. I did not feel much of a connection to any one character and found the story to be predictable. It's kind of a second chance story for several of the characters and I do like a redemption story.

I really liked the premise of this book, but it feels poorly executed. I had a hard time with the shifts between past and present. They weren’t always smooth transitions or set off in the text somehow. Also, the dialogue felt very juvenile. That’s fine for the high school students, but this 37/38 year old woman seems quite immature. She spends way too much time focusing on her high school days. Overall, I think the author attempted too many subplots poorly instead of narrowing down the storylines and writing them well.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin for providing this ARC.

I requested to read and review this book for free from Penguin Random House. I feel this book is about second chances. How sometimes in life we don't deserve another chance but truly we all do. This book has mystery, romance and drama. You will meet characters Gillian, Aiden and the 3 friends. You will struggle with them, cheer them on and know no matter what in the end the right choices were made. Sometimes in life you need to find a balance even if it takes many years and many do overs to figure it out. Have the courage to figure out what you want in your life. This book is for a mature reader and can be read anywhere!

This was a cute little book but that’s about the extent of it. I mean, I liked it but I couldn’t bring myself to fall all in with this book like I really wanted to.

Room and Board was a very sweet novel about a woman who is a publicist in NYC and after a series of unfortunate events, she is forced to abandon her NYC job and find solace in a job back at her alma mater. This story made me feel like I was living at a boarding school and enjoying all of the highs and lows that it entails. This story is all about second chances in life and finding out that what makes you happy is not always the life you had planned. I felt happy after reading this book and it was very easy to root for the main character!

I think Room and Board is a fun read that gives a little insight into what life at a boarding school might be like. The story itself was well-written and really painted a picture of the characters, campus and surrounding town. Gillian, the main character, comes back to her alma mater as a Dorm mom after her job as a publicist comes to an end. Throughout the first half or so of the book, she's a bit of a mousy character almost. At times she can come across as a touch needy or whiny. When a scandal at the school breaks, she really steps into her former publicist role and its quite a personality shift. Honestly it was almost off-putting at times I think because it seemed very drastic to me. But, overall, I liked the book. I think its a solid 3.5 so I'm rounding up to a 4.

A really engaging book that's all about getting a second chance. Gillian loses everything under scandalous circumstances, and has to leave her high-profile, high-powered career. She gets a lifeline when an old friend puts her in touch with the California boarding school she attended as a high school student. As luck would have it, they need a dorm mother for the upcoming school year, and Gillian accepts gratefully. She literally has no place else to go. Just as she's settling in and finding some happiness in her new life, another scandal threatens to take it all away again. Readers will cheer for Gillian as she fights for herself, her love, and her students.

I was really excited by the premise of this book, but it feels like the author has never spoken to a high school student. There is no way Gillian's arrival and experience would be nearly as seamless as its made to be; she's instantly loved and trusted and there is not one conflict with a student that causes issues otherwise. The dialogue in this was also very jilted and unrealistic. The "love" story was not something I wanted to root for; I didn't trust Aiden at all and I don't see how Gillian had matured from her high school experience to now. Overall, this was a letdown and I don't think I'd read this author again.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I received this ARC from NetGalley for review. I thought the book was enjoyable and had interesting subplots. The story’s protagonist is Gillian. She is a publicist who ran into some bad luck with one of her clients and had to shutter her business. She gets a job as a dorm mom at her former boarding school in California and runs into her high school love, Aiden.

Gillian and Aiden were part of a trio along with Miranda. Both girls have crushes on Aiden and make a deal to not date him. However, Miranda and Aiden eventually become a couple and that ruins all their friendships. Gillian does try to reach out to Miranda, but never hears back.

There was a lot of moping and rehashing the past on Gillian’s about how she was betrayed by her two friends. At one point, Gillian becomes jealous of one of one of the students being invited to dinner with Aiden and his daughter. I thought she was a bit whiny and immature. I was not liking Gillian at all.

However, she does redeem herself later when she helps two students out and uncovers a situation with the school’s administration.

Overall,it was a good light read and I would recommend it to readers of women’s literature.

Gillian’s career as a celebrity publicist in New York has just been imploded by a #MeToo client. When she gets an offer from her old high school in California to spend the year as a dorm mom, she jumps at the chance. Soon she’s in wine country, handing out cookies and giving advice on homework. Not to mention reconnecting with an old crush. It seems idyllic. But is there something more nefarious going on at Glen Ellen Academy? And will she know the right thing to do when it comes along?

This had such promise, and started out really well. I love a good boarding school novel, not to mention healing old hurts. But I was so frustrated by Gillian’s actions. No spoilers, but one of her end decisions made me want to throw the book across the room (and I was reading it on an ereader). There were unresolved plot lines. I didn’t feel like Gillian grew as much as she should.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC to review. All opinions are my own.

After finding herself on the wrong side of the Me Too movement, public scorn leads to a career shift for New York publicist Gillian Brodie. She returns to the familiarity of her California boarding school days as a dorm mother at Glen Ellen Academy. Although dorm life causes her to overthink her years and relationships at the school, she becomes popular with the senior girls and learns to love the job. When nerdy songwriting twins perform at homecoming and their song goes viral, Gillian puts her p.r. skills to work and handles the situation perfectly. When the father of one of her favorite students turns out to be the daughter of her lost high school love, she welcomes him back into her life. The she finds the biggest challenge of both her careers when an all encompassing scandal threatens the school.

Room and Board is a fun, fast read about second chances and do-overs. I really enjoyed everything that was there but missed what wasn’t. I want to know more about Aiden’s former partner. Why did he have a baby with a woman when he was still a teenager, right after he broke up with Miranda? Without spoilers, how did what happened at Glen Eagle go unnoticed for so long? And finally, why did the one mistake in New York cause Gillian to shutter her office and move cross country? It didn’t seem that bad. Maybe the success of the storyline bubbles these unanswered questions to the top. 4 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, PENGUIN GROUP Dutton and Miriam Parker for this ARC.

While I think this book is a super easy and fast read and started off strong, I have to say that the main character seemed very childish to me. I didn’t see much growth happening to her character even at the end of the book, and not only that but she still seemed super obsessed with high school even 20 years later! It seemed very juvenile to me to still be so hung up about high school when you’re an almost 40 year old woman at that point! I couldn’t really stand a lot of the conversations either, they seemed quite robotic and didn’t really seem to flow that well.

Thank you NetGalley, the publishers and the author for this arc! All opinions are my own!

Room and Board by Miriam Parker is a book about second chances. Ms Parker has wonderful characters that are full of life. I loved getting to know Gillian and the girls in her dorm.
I found the story to be heartwarming and interesting. I did struggle to believe that Gillian dwelled so much on her high school experiences.
There are a few grammactical errors errors in the book that could be cleaned up. Overall, though, a good book. I would recommend this book.
Thank you for the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. All opinions in this review are my own.

I loved this book about second chances. The setting in the main character were especially interesting. The story was especially captivating. I highly recommend this read.

What a sweet, refreshing academic romcom. This book will warm your heart and make you believe in the power of redemption.

After a major scandal forces her to leave her life as a NYC publicist behind, Gillian finds herself back at her high school working as a dorm mom 20 years later. Will painful high school memories continue to haunt her? Will she feel at home in a job she’s never done? Can she ever move forward from what happened in New York?

While I found this a really interesting concept, the writing style was just hard to handle. The writing seemed very juvenile, which was fine for the high school students, but it seemed very odd to me that an almost 40 year old would spend that much time reminiscing about high school and pining over high school relationships. I think the author tried to accomplish too much and tried to cram so many plot points in that nothing got the attention it needed and nothing really felt resolved. There was so much going on in the story, and some things were introduced and never revisited, or some conflicts were never resolved, it was just overall chaotic.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Enjoyed this sort of rom com about second chances that was more seconds in life not some much the relationship aspect. To it was a refreshing read.