Adult Book Review: Take It from Me by Jamie Beck

Posted September 20, 2022 by jrsbookr in Fiction / 0 Comments

by Jamie beck
Adult Book Review: Take It from Me by Jamie BeckTake It from Me Published by Amazon Publishing on September 20, 2022
Genres: Fiction / Family Life / Marriage & Divorce, Fiction / Friendship
Pages: 348
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Goodreads

A humorous and heartwarming novel about friendship and all its little secrets by Wall Street Journal bestselling author Jamie Beck.

Wendy Moore hides her collection of pilfered bric-a-brac from everyone, including her husband. He thinks she licked her kleptomania in therapy more than a decade ago. Therapy did help, as did focusing her attention on motherhood. But now Wendy's gardening and furniture-refinishing hobbies fill up only so much of the day, leaving the recent empty nester lonely and anxious--a combination likely to trigger her little problem. She needs a project, fast. Luckily, Harper Ross--a single, childless younger woman in desperate need of highlights--just moved in next door.

The only thing Harper wants to change is the writer's block toppling her confidence and career. Then a muse comes knocking. Sensing fodder for a new antagonist, Harper plays along with Wendy's "helpful" advice while keeping her career a secret so Wendy keeps talking. Sure, she's torn about profiting off her neighbor's goodwill--especially when Wendy's matchmaking actually pans out--but Harper's novel is practically writing itself.

Just as a real friendship begins to cement, their deceptions come to light, threatening Wendy's and Harper's futures and forcing them to reconcile who they are with who they want to be. Easier said than done.

Review:

Take it from me is a timely novel about situations relatable in today’s world—Upheaval in a job, empty nest syndrome, mental illness, and making friends as an adult. I found Wendy relatable as my child, though not off to college yet, will be heading there soon; I don’t struggle with mental illness but did have issues with my mom that made talking to her complex. The author’s character Harper was my favorite as we got a peek into a writer’s process and found the parts where she talked about her writing process that made the novel unique.
The struggles of wendy in her marriage, not just from the mental illness but from transitioning to being an empty nester who is not quite sure what to do with herself, are relatable to many mothers. Women’s fiction is not my usual cup of tea, but it was a great story, and I am glad I gave it a chance.

About Jamie beck

Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author Jamie Beck’s realistic and heartwarming stories have sold more than three million copies. She is a two-time Booksellers’ Best Award finalist, a National Readers’ Choice Award winner, and critics at Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, and Booklist have respectively called her work “smart,” “poignant,” and “entertaining.” In addition to writing novels, she enjoys dancing around the kitchen while cooking and hitting the slopes in Vermont and Utah. Above all, she is a grateful wife and mother to a very patient, supportive family.