Jenna is blindsided when her husband asks for a divorce four years into their marriage. Six months later, with her life in flux and time on her hands, Jenna decides to accompany her grandmother Evelyn on a trip to her hometown on the seaside of Massachusetts. Once they hit the road, Evelyn begins to tell the tale of the star-crossed teenage romance that began seventy years ago and changed her life forever. However, she insists the trip is not about that, no matter how much she talks about her unforgettable, forbidden first love, Tony. Upon arrival, Jenna meets Tony's great-nephew Joe, whose friendship gives her the confidence to begin putting her broken marriage behind her, and learns that the possibilities of healing can come at the most unexpected times.

This book follows two timelines; Jenna and Evelyn on their trip and Evelyn's story from when she was a teenager in the 1950's and throughout the years that followed. It is a story about love, heartbreak, family, tragedy, and the choices people make when they love each other. Evelyn and her antics also bring a lot of humour into a story that can get quite heavy at times, and her character was so much fun to read! I enjoyed her storyline more than Jenna's and without that timeline I don't think I would've enjoyed this as much. If you're looking for a heartfelt family story this summer, I would definitely recommend this one!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC, which I received in exchange for an honest review.

Looking for your next best book of 2022? This is a hidden gem. SO good! Hilarious and witty with such a fun ending! I loved the grandma so much.

Watch my amazon live interview with Sara: https://amazon.com/live/broadcast/74e329d1-e0ec-4a33-9fb4-cd3f4d026ba5?tag=erinmbransco-20&linkCode=ilv&ref_=social

After Jenna’s marriage falls apart, she agreed to accompany her elderly and eccentric grandmother to a trip to her Massachusetts hometown. As they road trip, Evelyn tells the tale of her teenage years and love that wasn’t to be.

Omg I loved this one! Evelyn is A character!!! She just really makes the book. I couldn’t put it down in anticipation of her next zinger. Not only do we have grandma’s hilarity, but there’s a pretty darn decent background story going on too… actually two of them! With many dual timelines, I am into one more than the other. That was not the case here. I looked forward to the current timeline and the past. There was so much going on in both timelines that kept my interest. This is one of those books I wish I could read again for the first time because it was just so much fun.. and meaningful.

“I had been in a suspended animation for six months. No- longer than that. Much, much longer. But now? I was alive now. And I wondered if reviving me was the mysterious business my grandmother had in Hereford all along.”

She’s Up to No Good comes out 8/1.

SHE'S UP TO NO GOOD was amazing! I loved getting to know Jenna and especially Evelyn. When Jenna is blindsided and asked for a divorce she moves back home and falls into a dark hole. She's lost and isn't motivated to do much other than sit around and mourn the end of her marriage. When Evelyn decides she is driving back home, Jenna decides to come along to help her grandma. Little does she know, her grandma has a plan up her sleeve. This story is told from alternating perspectives and it's absolutely beautiful. I love the growth Jenna shows and finding out about Evelyn's childhood love story. I fell in love with these characters and am looking forward to reading more from Sara Goodman Confino!

🕶 She’s Up to No Good 🕶

“You can worry about the small stuff, or you can live your life. Papa believed in living.”

Oh my heart, this book. It was a balm to the soul.

Jenna is stuck in a rut newly separated from her husband, and off on an adventure with her Grandmother Evelyn to Hereford, to see where she comes from and learn her Grandmother’s story. Evelyn is a spitfire at the age of 89 and telling the story, and sharing details about their trip only as she damn well pleases. As they spend the week together, Jenna learns the story of Evelyn, while trying to channeling that spitfire attitude of her grandmother’s as she navigates opening her heart again after hurt.

Both Evelyn and Jenna’s stories warmed my heart. I loved following their journeys as they became the women they are, defying fear and learning how to jump. Highly recommend this story for a heartwarming tale.

Check this one out if you are looking for:
🕶 Dual timelines
🕶 New England coastal settings
🕶 Forced proximity
🕶 Strong family love themes
🕶 A delightfully, sassy, sweet-n-low stealing grandma with quips like, “May you live long enough for your bossy grandchildren to treat you like a child.”

Thank you to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for this ARC! She’s Up to No Good is on shelves June 7th!

I really enjoyed this book! Loved that it took place in MA which is where I grew up, the descriptions made me just think of home and growing up around Cape Cod. The story of Jenna and Evelyn was one I wasn't expecting but will carry their story with me.

My goodness what a book. Ms Confino doesn't fail with her beautiful writing that keeps you hooked till the last page. This book was just a rollercoaster of feelings and revelations that left me confused but i kept reading
I love how the story is told from 2 women's perspective but i had a favourite between the two
So if you're looking for your next read to curl up then this is your book. Definitely recommend

Don’t miss out in this really good read. I was teeming with impatience as the author slowly revealed the backstory with Evelyn. During the first few chapters Evelyn cracked me up because she was such a card. But as I learned more about her relationship with Tony, I felt like she was quite selfish. I felt bad for Tony and the author doesn’t really develop his side of the story. I thought he just got crumbs, but aside from Jax, he was my favorite person in the book.

I've been delaying this review because I am not sure that I can adequately express how much I LOVED this book. Easily one of my favorite books of the year, She's Up to No Good follows the story of Jenna and her grandmother Evelyn during a road trip to Evelyn's hometown. Told with dual timelines, She's Up to No Good is everything I want in a book and then some.

Complex and real characters? Check
Romance? Check
Real life challenges? Check
Great food? Check and check!

What more could I ask for? I love Jenna. I adored Evelyn!!! I loved the Jewish history. Confino had me laughing on one page and tearing up on the next. She is a phenomenal author and I feel so privileged to have read this book early. Thank you to netgalley and Lake Union for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

First things first. I loved, loved, loved Evelyn! She was hilarious throughout the book and I gobbled up every last one of her chapters. If I was rating it on her story alone I would give it 4.5 stars. (Some of the chapters felt a little redundant.) Still, Evelyn was a fun character that was fully fleshed out and kept you guessing. Jenna came across a lot more formulaic. Sad divorce. Not much else except she liked Instagram and tuna sandwiches. Jenna’s parts are why I lowered my rating. I didn’t see the same depth from Jenna and found myself pushing through her chapters just to get back to Evelyn. It was still a decent read that I would recommend others check out but it was the character of Evelyn that made the story for me. 3.5


Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for the ARC.

This book is quite possibly perfect. If you loved The Switch, this is right up your alley.

After a major life change, Jenna finds herself living back at home in her childhood bedroom completely unsure of her direction in life.

When her Grandmother, Evelyn announces that she’s returning to her hometown in Massachusetts to take care of some mysterious business, and Jenna’s mother has made it clear she needs to get out of the house- the adventure begins.

Told in a dual timeline of Evelyn’s past and Jenna’s present- this book wraps up young love, lots of true love, a second chance romance, and an adorable dog. Like, for real. 5 star perfection.

The story
Jenna’s husband Brad surprises her when he lets her know he has met someone else and wants a divorce. She moves back in with her parents and hibernates for six months. When her elderly grandmother Evelyn asks her to return to the seaside town where she grew up with her, Jenna feels obligated to drive Evelyn there. Evelyn reminisces about her teenage and young adult years and Jenna learns about her mother’s family in a way she has never before.

My thoughts
I read Sara Goodman Confino’s debut novel and this second book could easily be written by someone else, it’s exponentially emotionally deeper and memorable. I love the parallels in Evelyn and Jenna’s characters, eventually understanding how they link to Evelyn’s mother and siblings. Also, while I was reading, the two stories of past and present highlight just how society’s expectations and norms have changed. There is love, loss and family ties in abundance and I loved how these aspects tied together. I love it, and highly recommend! ❤️

I liked the Maryland setting! There are surprisingly few books set here which has always seemed odd. It’s a very populous and even wealthy state with mountains, beaches, cities! Anyway, I liked the feisty old lady protagonist.I felt like the story wasn’t new but it was well done and lively. It would be a great little vacation book.

I thought it was an okay story. I didn’t love it, nor did I hate it. The characters were okay but neither one of them brought out a spark to me. I liked the idea of the grandmother/granddaughter bonding..

This was such a nice read.

Jenna needed a change of pace after going through a separation. She ends up on a trip with her grandmother. She learns a lot about her grandmothers past during this trip.

It is dual POV and I definitely enjoyed Evelyn’s parts more.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for such a fun book!

She's Up to No Good is one of the most humorous, engrossing books I've read this year. It follows Jenna and her mischievous, undaunted Grandma Evelyn’s trip to Hereford, Massachusetts, the place Evelyn was born, raised and fell in love. Jenna is stuck after her unforeseen divorce with Brad to whom she had been married for six years. She fails to move on and is determined to make Brad suffer as well for choosing another woman over her by not signing agreement papers and dragging the matter as long as possible. Due to her mother's constant nagging, Jenna agrees to leave the house after hiding in her childhood room for months, both to take care of Evelyn and have a bit of alone time. But little did she know, Evelyn has every part of the vacation planned out with no intention of letting her sulk alone.

Evelyn is a force of nature. The rebelling, unpredictable, sneaky kind. I like Jenna but reading about Evelyn's story gave me a rush of excitement. I loved her crazy antics, how smoothly she could manipulate people and lie without batting her eyelashes, how deeply she loved without holding back. She's so easy to misunderstand but once you get to know her, you can hardly not love her bright spirits, sublime self-confidence and infectious energy. The banters between Evelyn and Jenna were highly enjoyable. I kept chuckling throughout the book. The vivid portrayal of magical sea-side view and natural beauty were also a treat to my soul. What a lovely, refreshing read!

Sweet, nostalgic, and thoroughly relatable, SHE'S UP TO NO GOOD offers not only one beautiful love story but two. This is the kind of book that lingers with you long after the last page is read.

“If torturing her daughters was an art form, my grandmother’s work belonged in the Louvre.”

Does anyone remember Sophia Petrillo, Dorothy’s mom, from The Golden Girls? This feisty Sicilian lady is who I pictured as Evelyn Bergman Gold when I read Sara Goodman Confino’s ‘She’s Up To No Good.’

First of all, this was a stellar book! It got me out of a week-long reading funk. A new to me author, Confino is to be congratulated on a funny, poignant and heartwarming novel that had me giggling and flipping pages to find out what happened.

Lily Gold is single and homeless at 34 and is stagnating after returning to her parents' home when her marriage breaks up. When her grandmother announces that she’s heading off on a road trip from Maryland to Massachusetts, Evelyn offers to go along for the company. Sound familiar? Yes, I’ve read something along the same lines recently, too. DO NOT let this be the reason to pass on this fabulous book. It’s completely different.

You are going to love the characterization! You can already tell I love Evelyn. This witty don't-pull-the-wool-over-my-eyes 89-year-old grandma is the Queen of Malapropisms. You’ll be laughing out loud at her capers. Some of my favourites reminded me of Paul Rudd in Role Model at Starbucks as Evelyn is trying to order a Venti coffee, when she told her granddaughter that she’d rented “one of those Air Bed Bath and Beyond things,” and when she insisted to the police officer that she “took the HIV lane all the time!” I sure hope Confino isn’t finished with this character yet! I’m not ready to say goodbye.

This dual-timeline switches between 1950 Hereford, a seaside Massachusetts town, and present-day Maryland. Both timelines were equally compelling. The return to the town that shaped their family history is healing for both women. Lily meets family for the first time, makes a new friend and the confidence gained here allows her to heal and transform. The road trip is necessary for Evelyn, too, as she puts to rest some demons from her past and rekindles an old friendship. You’ll love the sense of place, the sense of community and the atmosphere. I could almost smell the sea air! Confino masterfully captures the essence of 1950s USA alongside the Jewish family traditions and mindset.

I can’t praise this 5-star book enough. It’s a beautiful mixture of forbidden love, second chances, choices, grief, sacrifice, family and returning home.

I was gifted this book by Sara Goodman Confino, Lake Union Publishing, and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

I loved this story of a recently separated woman and her grandmother. It made me nostalgic while also wishing I had a grandmother like Evelyn. I really enjoyed how the book switched back and forth between the past, and Evelyn's story, into the present with Jenna's. At times, incredibly heartbreaking, but with moments that were uplifting, I would highly recommend this read. It might just make you want to road trip with your grandma!

Oh, I really loved this book, I don’t care that I have the ebook from NetGalley, I’m buying the paperback when it releases because it was amazing!

This was a book that I wanted to race through because I had to know what happened but also a book that I wanted to read slowly because I did not want it to end! And it broke my reading slump!

I loved hearing Evelyn’s tale, she’s just amazing in general, I want to be like her when I’m that age.

Jenna’s POV did take more building, but she captured my heart eventually and I was laughing and crying my way through this.

The pacing of this book was amazing, the split between Evelyn’s tale of her 1950’s childhood and Jenna’s tale of the present day was done really well with snippets from Evelyn’s POV working their way into Jenna’s story and had me devouring this book to find out what happened next.

I just want to live in this world forever, can I have ten sequels full of moments like the epilogue please?