There is a special club in Southlea Bay, Washington and it is on a mission. The Rejected Writer's book club is an exclusive club of ladies who have been rejected from the publishing industry. It's a badge of honor to get a rejection. Everything is coming along swimmingly until the founding member Doris receives the unthinkable - an acceptance letter. Now she is recruiting the local Librarian and any of her club members she can to storm the castle of the publishing house and demand they rescind their acceptance letter and give her a proper rejection. The road trip is full of crazy characters and weird circumstances that are very entertaining.

This book started out a bit rough for me. It was wacky and filled with more descriptions of everything than I really thought was necessary. I am so glad I stuck with it though. Once the hijinx started with the book club ladies and the road trip I found myself laughing out loud at each of the different characters and the mischief they find themselves in.

In the end, I grew to like the characters quite a bit and I can see why people enjoyed the book so much. I would tell friends to read it, and to just continue and give it a chance because once that story takes off...hold on to your pants!

This was an unexpectedly good time. I liked that this story featured older women and that it was focused on friendship. The road trip and convention were both hilarious and the characters were strong and well developed. I didn't realize this was part of a series, but am now looking forward to reading the others!

New author, great story and another I would recommend to others! Easy to read and relax with like an old friend.

This was such a fun book and I want to be in this club. I want to be friends with these ladies. That road trip was awesome, even with all of the mishaps! The author knows how to tell a tale and I highly recommend this first of a series.
Many thanks to Lake Union Publishing and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

A bunch of ladies have found a common bond as they love to write, but have received all sorts of rejection letters from all sorts of publishers. They have now found joy in the rejection and have plans when they hit a certain number of letters, but a publisher is threatening to end the joy. The ladies must go on a road trip to confront this publisher and change their mind!

Janet Johnson is the main character in this book and she recently moved to this small, quiet town in Washington State in hopes to change the rhythm of her life. She takes a job as the librarian and this job will bring her into the book club and will send her on the craziest of adventures. What was supposed to be a road trip for just her to visit her newly pregnant daughter ends up being so much more.

I typically like road trip books for their antics, but for me this one was just ok. There were a few moments where I thought the ladies got into a little too much and was ready for them to get to their destination and for that to be the story, so I may have rolled my eyes a few times. I really loved the senes that took place as they get to San Francisco and get to complete their mission.

The title and the premise had such promise. This particular book club is limited to writers who have never been published. The goal is to collect rejection letters, for once a manuscript is accepted for publication, the writer is no longer welcome in the club.

I love this way of viewing rejection, and I must keep it in mind when I start querying my own manuscript. But alas the book fell short for me.

I struggled with the melodrama. Yes, I understand there was conflict and yes, I understand that undo embarrassment must be avoided, but it was just a bit over the top for my taste.

And I also struggled with the immediate love-at-first-sight subplot.

Overall, I would rate the book 3 out of 5.

Good day! Before anything else, I would like to extend my deepest, sincerest gratitude for sending me a digital review copy of this book (via NetGalley). Thank you very much for the opportunity!

Unfortunately, I am sad to say that I have lost interest in this particular title, and consequently, I have decided against finishing it. Forcing myself to finish a book I am disinterested in (solely for the sake of finishing it) can only negatively impact the entirety of my reading experience, which, in turn, could result in me writing an unfairly negative review. That is a circumstance I hope to avoid. With that said, I believe that the best course of action is for me to simply not read it and to refrain from publicly posting any feedback regarding this book.

I hope you understand where I'm coming from. Again, thank you for the lovely opportunity!

This sounded like such a promising book.

Unfortunately, Our Protagonist, Janet Johnson, a librarian in Southlea Bay, Oregon, where she and her husband have lived for the last five years, is just a bit hard for me to like. It has not yet occurred to her that, really, she's a bit of a snob. Even at the end, when she has discovered the true grit and assorted other positive qualities of the ladies of the Rejected Writers' Book Club, she seems more mildly annoyed than anything else that these have become her local circle for friends.

Let's note in passing that after five years, these are the first friends she's made on the island.

The Rejected Writers enjoy writing, and they have been unable to produce anything publishable. Having concluded that they never really will, they've made a virtue of necessity. They collect rejection letters, and put some money into a pot, for a celebration that they'll hold when they have five hundred total rejection letters. This might seem just silly, but they're enjoying their hobby. Sadly, when Janet is first pulled into their circle, what she sees is a collection of the ridiculous--a fat woman, a stick-like woman, a waif-like innocent, a church lady, and an aging hippy, among others. She can see no redeeming features even though Doris, the fat one, quickly demonstrates that she's a truly fantastic cook.

Janet, I'm sad to say, is the one that, when her daughter calls, clearly very upset, to tell her that no, she is not all right and that she is pregnant, says, "Congratulations!" The call is interrupted by daughter Stacy vomiting, and when conversation resumes, Janet tells her congratulations again, and gets off the phone fairly quickly.

I wanted to smack her but good.

Anyway, the plot, and yes, there is one: The ladies are collecting rejection letters, but one of them, Doris, has received an acceptance letter. By the rules of the club, this should mean she's out. Even worse, she borrowed part of that story from some old notebooks her aunt left in the attic of the house where Doris and her mother still live. Doris had assumed that what she borrowed was fictional, but it turns out to be at least partly based on an episode in her mother's life, and if it's real, it's quite scandalous. As much as Doris didn't want her manuscript accepted for publication anyway, it's even worse if its publication is going to embarrass and distress her mother. The ladies, including Doris, want Janet's help in actually reaching the editor who has accepted her book, who is not responding to attempts to contact him. He's based in San Francisco, where Janet's daughter lives, and Janet, who doesn't fly, has with some effort been prevailed upon to drive down there to stay with her daughter while Stacy's husband is away for two weeks on business.

There is much silly and entertaining activity on the road trip, and much excitement, and of course things get even stranger when they reach San Francisco.

I don't really know what to say. I think we are supposed to like Janet, and it is true that she's not truly an awful person; just a bit snobby, particular, and rigid.

I didn't stop listening, and I certainly could have. Even through Janet's eyes, the Rejected Writers can be seen to be an interesting group of ladies, with bigger hearts than is at first apparent.

Yet I really can't see myself reading another in the series.

Not recommended.

*DNF @ 20%

I knew fairly early into this book that it probably wasn't going to be my cup of tea. I contemplated abandoning it at the 10% mark, but if I've accepted a book for review I give it to the 20% mark before I decide to not finish a book.

I was intrigued with the premise of a group of rejected writers coming together to form a support group. I was anticipating a group of eccentric women & a heartwarming story of friendship. Unfortunately this book was far too cheesy for me, and I just could not press on. I will say that the author did have smirking in amusement at a few points in the first 20%, but the author was definitely trying too hard at the eccentric angle, thus making it feel too forced.

*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review via NetGalley

Did not know what to expect from this book however it was brilliant.. Loved the characters and the story. Such a brilliant idea. There is a 2nd one while i will be reading.. Left a smile on my fave

fun entertaining and defiantly one of those perfect fast and easy book that you enjoy while reading and don't have to think too much about.
Exactly what i expected and made for a fun read!

There is so much in this book that no review could adequately cover it all. A rich tapestry of stories weaving together as a group of friends, who celebrate each other's rejection letters from publishers, race to save one of their own--while at the same time, saving each other from harms they didn't realise they were being subjected to. Friendship at it best!

Review: THE REJECTED WRITERS' BOOK CLUB by Suzanne Kelman (Southlea Bay #1)

First in a humorously endearing cozy series illustrating the joys and foibles of small-town life, this novel is ast in an island community in Puget Sound near Seattle, this series has as its protagonist a former Californian, Janet, now a librarian. When she is inadvertently drawn into the local women's group calling themselves The Rejected Writers' Book Club, she isn't sure what to expect (and neither is the reader), but as the story proceeds, we are provided glimpses into quite a few aspects of the human condition, as the author rounds out characters and delivers a snappy and intriguing plot, and pokes some gentle fun at publishing too.

This is a funny, endearing account of a group of small-town women who belong to a club for writers that have had their works rejected. Each rejection is shared at their meetings as a trophy! When one of their works is actually accepted by a publisher, the club members set out on a crazy, cross-country adventure to retrieve the manuscript before it can be published. Turns out, there are secrets among them.

A delightful read that stresses the importance of friendship, this lovely novel draws in the reader from the very beginning. The book centers on a group of women who have one thing in common- rejection, and they have taken what could be a negative and made it into a positive experience that is in jeopardy. The characters are well-developed, with a wide variety of personalities that ensures the reader will relate to someone. A road trip, a pregnancy, a lost love, and a current love make for a captivating tale that keeps the reader laughing and cheering for the mis-matched group. I would highly recommend! Just downloaded the second book in the series.

I am missing being able to give half stars as well, because I would score it 3,5.
There were parts I really liked. They were funny and it was nice to see how a group of different women can bond over the same cause. Also the love story is very beautful.
But there were parts that bored me a bit and I felt that they did not really add something to the story or were a bit to unfbelievable.
All in all, it was a fluent read and I enjoyed the most of it.

Fun, enjoyable book. This was a feel-good, fun and funny novel, that had me laughing out loud at times.

While I love this cover I personally couldn't get into this book.

Fun, enjoyable book, emotions rise up and fall down within the pages. Leaves you thinking..... Great read, more please author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for this free readers edition. In exchange I am providing an honest review.

What a fun read! I love the idea of celebrating rejection. And this celebration of rejection is actually a celebration of friendship. Super fun story and characters, A fun stereotype of a small town and some of its residents.
Janet has been living in Southlea Bay for 5 years. She's happy there but lacks any good friendships. One day she receives a call from one of the more colorful residents of the town issuing her a mysterious invite to a secret meeting. Doris, the hostess, is not one anyone is able to say no to so Janet finds herself knocking on Doris' door the next day. What she walks into ends up being a crazy introduction to a whole new way of looking at life. Whether Janet wants to be involved with Doris and this eclectic group of women doesn't matter, they pull her into their crazy antics and sweep her along until she gets into the spirit of things herself. What she ends up finding, finally, is her tribe.
I don't want to say too much about this story or even its characters because I don't want to run the risk of spoiling the fun of this book. I laughed a lot, I felt all mushy at the friendships captured in the pages, I had fun reading it. I'm using the word "fun" a lot but I can't help myself! I can't wait to read book 2.