Thank you to netgalley and Little A for allowing me to read this book. Housemoms was a cute and fun read.

I really really wanted to like this book. I had high hopes for it...but it fell flat. Actually it didn't fall flat, it BOMBED. And the ending...what was that? That was so anticlimactic and unresolved and this book was everywhere. Holy cow.

There are some good bones here with a decent plot, but there were too many side stories and I really thought the 3 women's lives would intersect more but it did not.

The most disappointing part was when I actually started liking Cece, the book was 93% done. That's also when Gina/Janelle damn near pissed me off and I was over her and then I wondered why I even cared about Hayden.

There was one fade-to-black romance scene, meriting this book 1 pepper. Honestly make it .5 pepper.

2 stars, 1 pepper

4.5 stars
I could honestly read an entire series about these characters. The story was so entertaining and funny, I loved it. Some of the plot felt a little rushed at times and it ended pretty open ended tho so I hope there are more books someday. Overall a cute, lighthearted read.

This is a solid life story in a cool setting. Sororities have always intrigued me. This isn't something that will stick with me forever, but a good read nonetheless.

What I liked: A funny satire about zany women dealing with financial problems, family issues and building new relationships.
What I Disliked: The book started off a bit confusing, with too many extraneous characters. When I had finally settled into the plot lines for the three main women, it abruptly ended. If the author wrote 100 more pages to better wrap up the story, she could have earned 5 stars.

Return to college and Greek life when you read Housemoms by Jen Lancaster. This book profiles two very different women who make changes in their lives after the worst happens to both of them. One character, CeCe Barclay, becomes the shamed former society wife of a bigwig caught with his hands in the veritable cookie jar. Another character, Janelle Smith, must go into the witness protection program after seeing a mob hit at the strip club where she works. They end up as house mothers for two separate sororities at a fictional college in the Midwest.

I love Jen Lancaster's line of nonfiction books and gobble up any book she writes. I tend to prefer her nonfiction to her fiction. Some of the past books weren't that engaging, maybe even boring, but this is her best one yet. It's mildly humorous with likeable characters, and some outrageous situations. I found myself whipping through the book and looking forward to reading it.

Now, you may be wondering why I only gave this book three stars. I felt it was a four-star book, maybe 4 1/2, until I reached the end. I remember thinking at 70 percent that this book is almost over, and there's so much more to resolve. And that is the issue.

Most of the stories feel like they weren't wrapped up or even resolved. In fact, you almost wonder if some of the chapters may be missing. One clue that they're not is a reference to sequels, so I'm assuming there is a proposed sequel? I hope there is because there's some unfinished business, and I think the setting and characters could make for an entertaining series of books. Jen Lancaster hit her fictional stride with this book, and it deserves a higher rating except for the ending.

From the 1st time I read Jen Lancaster years ago until now I have loved all her books. HouseMoms is a cute book and a truly fun read.

I was quite confused by why there was suddenly a house mother (or strip club mother) when the protagonist was a rich lady setting up a foundation. But it became clear later on when the story progressed. The story's ending progressed a little too quickly and I was actually looking forward to reading about the sorority rush because such a big deal was made out of it. Maybe that would be in the next book!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for this Advanced Readers Copy of Housemoms by Jen Lancaster!

Thanks to NetGalley and Little A for my ARC in exchange for my honest review. This book was published November 1, 2023.

This is the 17th book I’ve read by this author. I loved her memoirs, but started to lose interest when she started writing fiction.

I thought this book was a mess. It felt choppy and the characters were annoying. I could feel Jen’s humor coming through but the plot was boring, strange and farfetched.

If you’re a fan of the older Jen books, I’d skip this one.

So enjoyed Bitter is the New Black, so I jumped to read this book. Story is about a group of sorority Housemothers, their background, how they landed there and their current situations.

I envisioned a fun read, with laugh out loud situations, it was on the fun side, but much slower than I expected. Many characters that I could not connect with, storyline jumped from each character and seemed very disjointed. This could work as a beach read for a young mom, able to pick up and down easily.

Thanks to Little A and NetGalley for this ARC. This is my honest opinion.

Who knew SCANDAL, SISTERHOOD, and SHRIMP (lots of shrimp) would make for a feel good, laugh out loud, read??

HOUSEMOMS by Jen Lancaster is more than just a story about sorority house mothers preparing for Rush; this book through all its satire and comedy is layered with feminist ideologies and Catholicism, which ironically go hand in hand, and as the characters navigate family, finances, and their futures, the bonds of sisterhood have never been stronger.

As a member of a sorority, I especially enjoyed this nostalgic trip down memory lane and can’t wait to read whatever Jen is working on next, especially when: “Sometimes the sequel is even better than the original”’.

Thank you Netgalley for the Arc. This book was just ok. Disjointed in a few areas but the storyline was good.

This is a great read, it is warm and funny and really makes you think. The story line is compelling and very well written. This is my first book by this author and I would definitely like to read more

Anything written by Jen Lancaster is sure to be well-written, amusing, and spot-on clever. Her descriptions of fashion, 80s references, travel and music make her writing hit the mark for me. I've been a fan of hers ever since "Bitter is the New Black," and I look forward to reading everything new she writes. However, I do agree with some others' comments that it ended fairly quickly (perhaps because it had initially been written as a TV pilot). Even so, reading anything by Jen Lancaster for me is comfort reading at its best.

Jen Lancaster is one of those authors who I just pick up her book, no matter what she writes. I really enjoy her non-fiction more than fiction but there is still enough humor and snark in her novels to make me laugh out loud. This one is about a cast of characters in a small college town. Janelle is a former strip club manger, CeCe was married to a very wealthy man who took off with a younger woman and all the money, and Hayden, CeCe's daughter, who is trying to pay for school while working at a coffee shop. Their lives intersect through Greek life, as Janelle and CeCe are sorority housemoms. I enjoyed this book and was glad to see sorority life reflected in a positive light and not just about boys and parties.

When CeCe finds herself homeless, husbandless, and broke, she takes her pampered, self-indulgent, oblivious personality out on the poor girls of Gamma Kappa Gamma. She can't even remember their name properly! I think the author went too far in getting me to absolutely despise this woman. Regardless of whatever she did during the rest of the book, I was never going to like her. Maybe not hate her as much, but never like her. But, I really enjoyed the other main characters and their stories. But while I continually advocate for not tying up book endings in neat little packages, this one needed a bit more resolution on some of the stories. It felt like a deadline was met and the book was pushed off to production before it was finished.

"Housemoms" is the story of three grown women, CeCe, Hayden, and Janelle, who find escape and camaraderie on sorority row. When CeCe Barclay's assets are seized and bank accounts are frozen after her financier husband is wanted for embezzlement, she finds refuge and employment as a sorority housemom at Eli Whitney University, her daughter Hayden's alma mater. But CeCe isn't the only one navigating a new life on sorority row. Janelle Smith's last experience as a housemom was at a New Jersey strip club, where she witnessed a mob hit. To keep her safe until trial, Janelle enters the witness protection program and is given a new identity and a housemom position. Meanwhile, Hayden is working as a barista at an off-campus cafe and looking for an escape from her family scandal.

This was such an entertaining and unique book! The story is told from alternating viewpoints of the three women, who were so fun and loveable. There were so many hilarious moments, and I had fun reminiscing on my own sorority row days. The author's note indicated that she had originally written the story as a TV pilot, and I could definitely see this as a sitcom or movie. I was disappointed by the sudden and abrupt ending, but I hope that means that this will be a series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Little A for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love Jen’s nonfiction books but I usually struggle a bit getting into her fiction ones. Of course her hilarious writing style is what brings me back every time! This one was worth the trying to get into it, I ended up really enjoying it!

Another delightful read by Jen Lancaster! At times I laughed out loud at the one liners in this book. A story of second chances mixed in with personal growth and laughs makes this a great read. Thanks NetGslkwy and the publishers!