3 1/2

Mia’s husband died unexpectedly two years ago. The grief has been intense. She thought she could keep a part of him alive by writing a memoir that she’s now trying to promote as the world is about to close down due to the pandemic. She visits each of her best friends before lockdown as part of her book tour, but also because she hopes she can repay some of the kindness that they’ve shown her since her husband’s death in Zoe Fishman’s The Fun Widow’s Book Tour.

Much to my disappointment early on in my reading was to discover that there is no fun widow in this book. It’s a sarcastic title because Mia is a long way from feeling fun or funny or anything close to normal. Unfortunately, Mia is also one of the prickliest, most self-absorbed characters I’ve ever read about who is strangely unaware of just how self-absorbed she really is. I won’t say that she exhibits any change as the book progresses but every once in a while there is a glimmer that Mia can view circumstances beyond her own grief. Those glimmers are what kept me with The Fun Widow’s Book Tour.

Ultimately one little passage made me continue and almost like this book. There was a moment where Mia’s pain was palpable, almost a universal pain that anyone (despite Mia’s assertions that we couldn’t conceivably know what she’s going through) could tap into. It’s instances like this where the author reaches their reader, shows a vulnerability we either understand, empathize, or sympathize with. It moves beyond the main character’s prickliness and demonstrates humanity. I can feel for her because I have felt such pain.

As Mia visits each of her best friends, initially judging their relationships and finding them wanting, she is able to ascertain some truths. Not all relationships are the same. Not every relationship has to emulate yours to be fulfilling or good.

One of the most heart-breaking sequences for me was Mia’s treatment of her step-mother. Despite being an adult within inches of middle age, she behaves like a spoiled brat to Judy, the woman her father has married. She makes no attempts to understand that he might be lonely, that he deserves to continue living. She simply thinks about herself and behaves horribly toward Judy. Does that change as covid is about to assert itself? Well, you’d have to read the book to find out.

I won’t come away from this review telling you that I liked The Fun Widow’s Book Tour. I don’t think Zoe Fishman’s writing is for me but obviously is for others. I might try another to see if this is a one off despite knowing that the author’s reality (being an unexpected widow due to similar circumstances, raising two boys known as the dudes, living in NYC after Atlanta, being a writer who has written a fictional account of a writer’s memoir about her husband’s death (yikes!!), etc.,) is very similar (almost the same) to Mia’s whom I’m not certain I could spend an afternoon with is off-putting. But as I learned as I read this book and found parts that actually spoke to me: you never know.

I will suggest that this could conceivably be your-mileage-may-vary.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was so good but heart hitting too. I really liked it and thought that Zoe did an amazing job with this theme. I highly recommend this!
I just reviewed The Fun Widow's Book Tour by Zoe Fishman. #TheFunWidowsBookTour #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

Writing has always been a passion for Mia, but she certainly didn't expect to be living the life of a widow in her 40s. She has written a memoir to deal with her grief and honor her husband. When it draws criticism from her readers about not being a "fun" book to read, her best friends encourage her to embark upon a book tour. Mia thinks she can attempt to fix the problems in her friends' lives at the same time. It's the least she can do since they have provided her so much support during the last few difficult years. No one expected the country to suddenly start shutting down because of the Corona virus. Will she be able to make it home to her two young sons? Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for an advance copy to read and review.

The premise was promising, but the execution was a little rough. I know it must have been exceedingly hard to write a book during the beginning of the pandemic, but I am getting a little burned out on lockdown as a plot device. The author seemed very inclusive with her characters at first, but then she'd use examples like the son "needed a male influence" because he didn't like dirt on his hands. Ouch. The writing is well crafted and makes for an easy/cozy read, but it just wasn't for me. (And yes, it is awkward to write.a review when the first few chapters are about an author reading her own reviews!!)

I wanted to love this book, I truly did. I found it hard to engage with, her sons were just named “dudes” and her husband had no name. The author is also a single mom with two young boys during COVID-19, just like in the book and seemed like she may have been writing about herself but not quite. I think this book would have been better as memoir. I did rate it 2.5 stars, since I was interested enough to finish it.

This book is apparently largely autobiographical, as the author explains she has gone through most of what her character in the book did. She is a strong woman! The book is an affirmation of the power of friendships to help people get through hard times.

The Fun Widow's Book Tour made me laugh and cry as I read about Mia's struggles. Despite the sadness of becoming a widow and single parent, Mia finds comfort from her friends. Mia tries to repay her friends' kindness by helping them solve problems in their own lives while she travels to support her new book. I really enjoyed this book!

This was not my favorite book. I feel bad saying that, as I know it was inspired by Zoe Fishman's own life experience. Out of all the characters, there was really only 3 that I could stand. Mia is the worst! I understand she's a widow with 2 young boys, but she's unbearable and miserable! She thinks she can solve everything for her friends and their relationships, but she can't even figure her own life out. And her boys, she calls them "the dudes." Actually, I'm not even sure they actually have real names. It was constantly "the dudes." By everyone! The book probably said "the dudes" a thousand times! It was very annoying. The ending was a little satisfying but really could not make up for the rest of the book.

The Fun Widow’s Book Tour was a cute read. While the topic was seemingly deep, the story was written in a humorous way. The characters were kind of fun and I liked how the story showed the character working through her grief with her friends and family.

Love the colors on the cover. This book has a lot of aspects to it, heartbreak, love, acceptance. It was an enjoyable read even with the sad parts.

Mia needs to begin living again. After the loss of her husband she ceased to live, she just functioned.
Her new memoir is out in the world, but it’s receiving lukewarm reviews. She goes in a book tour to promote the book but also find herself.
The real stars of the book were Mia’s friends. They nagged, cajoled, and showed up whenever she needed them, which was all the time.
I’m not sure Mia made much growth in the book, except for having a truth session with her stepmother.
I liked her friends the best and Mia should write about them next.

This book definitely had potential for me, but the inclusion of COVID really put a damper on the whole thing and made it extremely unlikable. Just an unnecessary plot point in my opinion and it brought the whole book down overall.

This was a really solid enjoyable read. It definitely kept me engaged. I enjoyed the MC Mia. Her sense of humor was dry and sarcastic even in her grief which is my kind of humor. I liked that it was a bit of a twist on. Girls trip and rather than 4 girlfriends piling into a car and hitting the open road it was Mia under the guise of a Book tour dropping in on her dearest friends spread out across the country. Mia' s grief was very vocal throughout the book but I did enjoy how everyone in her life that mattered allowed her to grieve but did not allow her to wallow in pity and regret. I was unsure about Mia's dad at first be he became one of my favorite characters popping in with very direct but very much needed word of wisdom and encouragement when Mia needed then the most. George, Rachel and Chelsea were such great friends to Mia although I do wish I could have seen more interaction with all of them and just each one of them with Mia. I also really enjoyed when Mia and Judy finally talked out thier issues. Great read about grief, friendship, and self discovery.

Mia is an author, a widow, and mother to two boys, “the dudes.” This book is about her navigating the loss of her husband, Mia’s relationships with her 3 close friends, and features a little bit of what life was like early in the pandemic. With all these features, it rings a little like it could be Zoe’s own memoir.

I enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to lovers of women’s fiction. I think you would especially enjoy it as a 38-45 year old because there are some pop culture references.

Thank you to HarperCollins, William Morrow, and NetGalley for this advanced reader’s copy.

Mia, a self-proclaimed “mid-lister” author and mother of “the dudes,” lost her husband a few years ago and is struggling to move on. She recently wrote a memoir about the loss of her husband and widowhood and it's not doing very well. Her three best friends encourage Mia to go on a book tour to promote the memoir and figure out what’s next. She has spent the last few years writing, taking care of her sons, and not much else. Her father, Ira, agrees to watch the boys and Mia agrees to promote her book while also visiting her three best friends and begrudgingly her stepmother, Judy.

The story begins with Mia awaiting advance reader reviews and I really enjoyed the glimpse into the publishing world. Being able to read and review books early is such a gift and I had no idea how much effort is made in publishing and promoting a book. Not to mention the stress of the early reviews on the author! I really enjoyed learning about that process and seeing it through Mia’s eyes.

I also really adored the beautiful showcase of friendship. I loved the dynamic between Mia, Chelsea, Rachel, and George. They all root for one another and back each other up with no apologies. It was emotional seeing Mia’s attempts at helping her friends work on their relationships. Fishman’s writing is incredibly tender, raw, and incredibly descriptive. There were times when I felt like I was right next to Mia in San Francisco, Chicago or Atlanta. Additionally, many of us can relate to complicated relationships with our parents and Mia and Ira working through some of their struggles was really heartwarming. Ira is direct and tough on Mia but also incredibly proud and supportive in his own way. I really loved Ira.

What I did not expect was the prominence of Coronavirus in this book as Mia’s book tour starts right at the beginning of the pandemic. Corona as a secondary character brought me right back to March of 2020. My how far we have come but what a reminder of what we all went through during that time. Reading about the unknown, schools closing, and whether or not hugging is safe was jolting!

The Fun Widow’s Book Tour is perfect for someone struggling with grief and working to find the strength and courage to move on and save themselves. There were so many beautiful moments and quotes that I will treasure. Here is one of my favorites. “She knew that they all had a clock ticking on their lives, an expiration date that was out of their control. Once you know that, your entire perception of the world changes. It was a conscious choice every day to find joy.”

Thank you so much @netgalley and @williammarrow for the early review copy. Thank you so much @chicklit central for allowing me to share my thoughts on this story.

This was the longest read ever on a book, I should have DNF-ed from the get go.

After reading 84% of it - because I was still hoping and waiting for anything even slightly significant to happen, I had to give up.

So we have a mother and author, who lost her husband and is left with her two "Dudes" (her small sons), grief, and a complicated relationship with her father.
This relationship should not have been as difficult, as she made it out to be, and the protagonist seemed to me like she was a very selfish, all about herself and her feelings occupied mother.

Seemed like she wanted to be praised as a mother, but did not give her own, now elderly father, the same courtesy of accepting him as a parent.

So since the last book she wrote about was a memoir which was more about her grief than anything else (I mentioned "selfish" and "boring" previously) and did not sell well, she decided to go on her own mini book tour to promote her book.
And it looks like, her readers were not very impressed...

So this is a book that is exactly, what the protagonist wrote.

I was just hoping and not trying to give up and honestly waited for the book to pick up - but If I would have known, I would really had not wasted my time on this "blah" of a book.

In good conscience I can not rate this book with more than a single star - for effort.
That's all.

Can and will not recommend.

Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.
This book and I did not connect. I did not appreciate the fat -phobia presented in this book as well as the COVID references. It was a major plot point in this book.
I would rather have read a memoir about the same subject instead of this bitter book about widowhood.
So for me it's a no.I would not recommend it.
3 stars

This book started off really strong for me so I had high hopes but as it went on things started feeling flat to me. Overall it was a decent story about a woman trying to pick up the pieces two years after her husband's death and find herself.

Things that worked for me.
Her friends supporting her through the death of her husband even though they lived all over the country.
Her friends supporting her career and trying to help her with the book tour and her career.
How loving and caring her son's were.
How it showed the changes of the pandemic in stages.
Even though her dad didn't like that she didn't want his wife there in the end he respected it.
Her bonding with her dad's wife at the end.

Things that didn't work for me.
Why does she only refer to her sons as the dudes?
Why are most of her friends in hate their spouses.
The ending. It just ends there wasn't resolve.

Overall I'm giving it 3 stars. It was pretty good but to me there wasn't any resolve at the end and a few things that just felt off.

Mia is a young widow who tragically lost her beloved husband and is now the sole parent of their two wonderful little boys. She's an author, which is great, but she is not so successful that she doesn't have to worry about money. In fact, her most recent book, a memoir of widowhood, is not doing well. Her three best friends step up and arrange an impromptu book tour in each of their hometowns. Unfortunately, it turns out to be during the week that the entire nation began to shut down as the pandemic became a reality. The "fun widow's book tour" turns out to be a chaotic journey, made even more so by Mia's attempts to give advice to her three friends, each of whom is going through some relationship drama. Mia's widowhood has given her a new perspective on life, and she wants to share her wisdom and help her friends -- but the results are not always what she thought they would be. This is a great story, engaging from the first pages, as we cheer for Mia and hope that things turn out for her. I look forward to recommending this title.

Author Zoe Fishman mines her own personal story of losing her husband and turns it into a sweet, moving and at times unbearably sad novel of grieving the live of your life while being forced to carry on with your life. There is so much truth, love and friendship in this book. And heartbreak and hope. A very personal, wonderful novel.