Wednesday, March 13, 2019

Smothered by Autumn Chiklis


36104544
2 Stars

I didn’t officially make a resolution or anything, but I have been trying to make a concerted effort to tackle some of the ollllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllld reader copies that reside on the ol’ Kindle because (at the moment) I am doing a better job of requesting things far in advance of their release and not getting 27 library books at one time. I’ve also been tearing through like one book per day the past week or so (or in the case of this one TWO books in one day – that’s just pathetic) and need to blow the dust off as many of these as I can while I’m still in beast mode when it comes to book reading. So there’s the unnecessary info dump behind me finally diving into Smothered. Unfortunately, it missed the mark for me.

The story here is of Eloise Hansen. Recent Columbia University summa cum laude graduate (with a pretty worthless degree), Lou has to bite the bullet and move back in to her childhood home. That’s okay, though, because she has a firm 9-month plan on how she is going to get a job, get on her own two feet, and get out in the world.

I appreciate what this book was trying to do. Kind of a revamped . . . . .



For the post-college sect. It’s not terribly written, uses “mixed media” of texts/e-mails/internet/etc. that I enjoy, and is over-the-top-silly (on purpose). The problem I had???? The characters . . . . .



First of all, we’re dealing with some real first-world ancillary people here with an “Instagram celebrity” younger sister and a vapid mother who is able to charge tens of thousands of dollars monthly and never really have it catch up to her. But the real problem is Lou. Now I know I’m old and cranky, but I 100% sympathize with youngsters today trying to make it upon graduating. The job market is hard and the housing market is nearly impossible. I’m pretty sure I couldn’t afford to buy my house today – and that sumbitch is pretty much a fucking dump. However, I do not want my reading experience to make me feel even more curmudgeonly than I do on the regular and this one had me seriously channeling my inner John Witherspoon . . . . .







I mean maybe don’t major in Philosophy if you’re planning on immediately being able to obtain a paycheck upon receiving your degree, but at minimum be prepared to apply for jobs! - ANY jobs. Retail, coffee shop, ANYTHING. JFC, who does this girl think she is – Cousin Eddie?



The only likeable character in the whole mix was the boyfriend, but even he was a knock-off of Adrian Grenier’s chef character in The Devil Wears Prada . . . .



And also he should have dumped Lou’s ass for being ashamed to introduce him to her parents.

This one is getting shelved under . . . .



Because it made me feel like a geezer, but I’m not certain it won’t be a big hit for those of you who are (sadly) decades younger than me.

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you, NetGalley!

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