Josie was once a well-respected tv news anchor. After an on-air meltdown, she and her daughter relocate from Atlanta to Asheville. In order to try to make a clean break, she had to leave behind her "artist" (with an unused DDS) ex-husband and her addict son. Now she is working at a cosmetics counter at a department store and wrestles with how to help her son from a distance.

I don't think the description of the book does it justice. This was heart-wrenching and so well written. I felt so awful for Josie. You could see how badly her childhood trauma affected her adult relationships. Since didn't want anyone, especially her kids to feel abandoned the way she had felt. She wanted to makes sure she as there for everyone, but it became too much and then she ended up self-destructing. To be fair, I thought that her on-air meltdown was pretty great, and would have expected it to have led to more opportunities for her career, but considering she seemed to shut-down from the world immediately after, that probably meant she probably missed hearing about some of those opportunities.

As a mother, it hurt to read the verbal abuse being spewed at Josie from her son. I also wanted to smack Pauline the whole time. A couple of things that I expected to be revealed and may (or may not) actually come to fruition (trying to keep this as spoiler-free as possible): 1. Vintage Crazy is a cult, 2. Pauline is actually a lesbian in a relationship with Josie's mom, 3. Philly is part of Pog's cult and that's why she always seems to be around when he shows up

I had a lot of trouble putting this one down. I didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did. I'd give this 4.5 stars rounded up to 5 out of 5.

I do not have any trigger warnings I am sensitive to when reading, this book has addiction and alcoholism as its main components, and I knew that going in. I am still heartbroken by this book. I come from a family of addicts and alcoholics. So, this book really hit home for me. I think it is so interesting how this book was written and how connected I felt to it. The words and the prose of this novel brought me to tears. Growing up with addicts is very difficult, and not falling into the same pattern is also difficult, and this book showed all angles of addiction, the denial, the hardships, the dread of what if something happens to me or a loved one, it was all portrayed beautifully. I honestly enjoyed reading this book, and I am now looking forward to reading more books dealing with addiction, and I hope they are written as good as this one.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was amazing, I absolutely loved it! It was funny, sad, and hopeful all in one. I think my favorite part about this book is how Josie spent almost the entire book cringing about those 84 seconds where she just went off the rails on live TV, and her model friend from Lancôme (forgot her name) kept telling her that Josie was just making a bigger deal about it than it was. And when we finally got to read/see the 84 seconds that changed her life, I audibly laughed. It was hilarious, and definitely something I wish would happen more on News broadcasts -- it remind me of that Sports Broadcaster who was sent out to cover the blizzard in some part of the Midwest, hilarious. I loved that the book had a happy ending, but you weren't necessarily expecting it; it was back and forth of "will he get help, or won't he?" and "will she be able to move on from those 84 seconds, or won't she?" Beautifully done, and LOVE the cover!

The beautiful misfits is a story of motherhood, and hardship. Julie’s son has run off (he’s an addict) and the beginning of the book showcases her trying to put her life back together. She’s in a new town with a new job, and is really really trying to not run to where she thinks her son might be. But she’s always thinking about him and where he is, if he’s safe and warm. She hears of a new rehab treatment and starts to wonder if there’s alternative methods of rehab.

Thanks to netgalley for e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

The Beautiful Misfits follows Josie Nickels, a former news anchor who finds herself working at a department store makeup counter after a career-ruining, on-air meltdown. She struggles to make a new life in a new town with her young daughter while her demanding ex-husband enables their adult son’s addiction.

Great depiction of the struggles of loving a child suffering from substance use disorder. However, I didn’t enjoy the book. All of the supporting characters felt very flat and added little to the story other than some setting, so it was hard to connect. I found it pretty tedious.

Thank you to Regal House Publishing and NetGalley for the digital ARC.

The author depicts drug addiction so vividly from the mother's point of view. While I liked the book, I didn't feel connection to any of the supporting characters. thank you netgalley & the publisher for the ARC, in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Regal House Publishing and NetGalley for the digital ARC. This opinion is my own. These kind of stories need to be told as there are far too many people addicted to opioids. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy the writing style of this book. In trying to mix humor with a deep subject, I felt that the book became too spread out to make me feel much about the people. An example would be the text about the beauty counter. I believe it was intended to make fun of Josie's job and bring lightness to the novel. For me, it was tedious. Two and 1/2 stars for taking on the subject of opioid addiction, rounding up to three stars.

The Beautiful Misfits showcases the struggles & strengths a mother has to help her family when life is thrown multiple curveballs at you. The substance abuse with her son, demanding ex that is using all of life’s misfortunes as a scapegoat to guilt Josie into giving them money to support their habits is difficult to read. But the strength that Josie finds with the unique women that come into her life, even when she’s working in a department makeup counter, she discovers her strength through those there supporting her & realize she isn’t alone in her suffering.
This shows the importance in even the small interactions we have with strangers can make an impact on what’s happening under the surface we don’t see with other people.
Thank you NetGalley and Regal Housing Publishing for the eARC.

The Beautiful Misfits is a wild ride through the battle of addiction, family love/ disfunction and the joy of finding the people who come into our lives when we need them the most.
Josie is such a loveable character filled with rebellion and wrapped up in a big bow of southern charm. She will make you laugh and show you how deep a mother’s love can go for her children.

This is written with meaning. It looks at a real life epidemic and makes it into a real possible solution. Entertaining, creative, motivating, and powerful all at the same time.

TW: alcoholism, addiction, drug overdose (mentions, the OD is not detailed)
4.5/5
I received a gifted copy of this from netgalley and I'm leaving a review voluntarily. All opinions are my own.

I'ma be real, I don't remember requesting this book. 😅 But I really liked it. I come from a family of addicts, and the author wrote this according to the experiences she had in her own life, according to the authors note. Addiction can destroy families, and recovery is never easy--for the addicts or for their loved ones. Josie wakes up every morning dreading "the call" about her son. And she's an alcoholic herself. I found myself irritated at times with her character because of the way she acted about Finley's addiction, while not seeming to acknowledge her own. When she finally does, she starts to understand that if she wants Finley to get better she has to be supportive, letting him know she's there for him, but not budging and giving him money. This leads to backlash from her shitty ex husband, because he's also demanding money (dudes a dentist but isn't using his degree, so he's broke).
This book is a harrowing tale of what happens to families when addiction is involved, and I was glad to see Josie open up to the concept of harm reduction, which is a method that works in preventing relapse and saving lives.

Thank you again to netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.

this was a netgalley arc i recieved which i was a bit on the fence about. But i continued reading and watched the story unravel and it was heart breaking honestly. My experience of having a loved one with addiction is a bit second hand (i have a loved one who has a loved one with addiction) and? It was enlightening being put in her shoes as i always felt like her reactions never made sense. Now they do a little.

I really enjoyed this book. It hits on tough topics like the opioid crisis and addiction, which is so important right now. It's a beautiful and emotional story!

An entertaining read full of warmth and humor.

Thank you to Susan Reinhardt, NetGalley and the publisher for the arc of this book.