Working hard to do this without spoilers... Really enjoyed it, but the ending was just a little too happy for me. And rushed. From the depths of where she started (and remained through most of the book) to where she ended up - it was nice but unrealistic. Admittedly, I have a noir streak! ;) ( )

Very evocative of Cambridge. Didn't believe the ending, either her great (rapid) good fortune nor how quickly she turned her back on the children. ( )

[b:Writers & Lovers|45289222|Writers & Lovers|Lily King|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1580228175l/45289222._SX50_.jpg|70005226] is a perfect book for these times as the writing is good and snappy and the story moves quickly with occasional very funny parts. It's about being poor, insecure housing, dating, waiting tables and struggling to finish a first novel at age thirty-one while coping with grief. Casey, the narrator, has an MFA and refers to books she's read and the struggle of writing her own. Her dates are writers, too. The Boston setting is realistic, the food descriptions are delectable, everyone has a dog. Her coworkers try to help Casey decide between two beaus: "It's always a choice between fireworks and coffee in bed," Fabiana says, "it always is." After wilder and wilder "if" scenarios involving children fevered, possessed and buried in snow, Dana cinches it: "You spend enough time at the race track, you know your horse, okay? You always know your horse."
( )

Writers & Lovers by Lily King is a 2020 Grove Press publication.

Casey is holding on to her dream of being a novelist, even though she’s deeply in debt and grieving both the loss of her mother and a bad breakup. As she muddles through life, she begins dating two men, working several jobs, while hoping her novel finally sees the light of day…

I had the wrong idea about this book, based on its promotions, both the editorial and reader reviews. So, I went into it in the wrong frame of mind, I suppose.

Ultimately, though, this book should have been right up my alley in many ways. I read contemporary women’s fiction/romance on a regular basis, though these days, I’m looking for books featuring more mature- chronologically- characters than the ones in this book. Still, though, I know exactly how this should go and mostly it followed the formula, with a few exceptions.

The thing is that somehow this book managed to get a lift from the ‘literary’ crowd. The publisher or whoever- masterfully crafted promotions to draw in those who wouldn’t ordinarily read contemporary women’s fiction, or a book labeled as a romance. But, at the end of the day, that is exactly what this book is.

As such, for the veteran reader of books in this category, this one was just okay. Part of my discontent is the age of the characters- and while I would agree with some who have said there are ‘coming of age’ elements in the story- I thought Casey was too old to be ‘coming of age’.

I did appreciate the writing, the lack of uncomfortable and unnecessary content, and of course, I’m will always be a sucker for a happily ever after- even if it all comes hastily together in last ten percent of the book. I even agreed with her love triangle choice, but as far as drawing me into the drama, eliciting strong emotions, or creating great chemistry, I’m afraid the story fell woefully short.

Overall, it’s not a terrible effort by any means- it just not as good as the hype would have you believe. That said, I can see where folks who seldom read this type of material found themselves wrapped up in it. But I can assure you there are many, many others out there that can really hold you spellbound- but sadly, they will probably never get this level of credit because people just won’t give them an open-minded chance to impress them...

2.5 stars ( )

Coming of age in your 30s after the death of your mother.