I’m so excited to be a guest blogger over at Chick Lit Central today! I’m over there reviewing Alison Cochrun’s The Charm Offensive alongside Melissa Amster (spoiler alert: I’m completely and utterly OBSESSED with this amazing book).
I truly loved, loved, LOVED this beautiful book and I’m so excited to be able to share it with you today!
Head over there (click HERE) to read my full review, Melissa’s full review, AND you can enter for a chance to win a copy for yourself! If you aren’t a Chick Lit Central reader, you are truly missing out. It’s such a wonderful book blog and I have been reading for YEARS….loooooong before I started writing my own blog. Thanks for having me as a guest blogger today, Melissa! As always, it was fun working with you and I so LOVED the book that we chose to review together!
Xo,
Jenny
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I am so happy to welcome guest blogger Melissa Amster from Chick Lit Central back to Book Coffee Happy today! I always love working with Melissa. If you haven’t checked out her lovely book blog, you absolutely must! Hers was the very first book blog I ever read and she definitely was one of the inspirations for me to start blogging myself. We have a GREAT book (and giveaway!) for you today! Thank you so much, Melissa, for sharing an Advance Reader’s Copy of The Seven Day Switch by Kelly Harms with me this past spring.
Goodreads Synopsis of The Seven Day Switch {Kelly Harms}:
Celeste Mason is the Pinterest stay-at-home supermom of other mothers’ nightmares. Despite her all-organic, SunButter-loving, free-range kids, her immaculate home, and her volunteering awards, she still has time to relax with a nice glass of pinot at the end of the day. The only thing that ruins it all is her workaholic, career-obsessed neighbor, who makes no secret of what she thinks of Celeste’s life choices every chance she gets.
Wendy Charles is a celebrated productivity consultant, columnist, and speaker. On a minute-by-minute schedule, she makes the working-mom hustle look easy. She even spends at least one waking hour a day with her kids. She’s not apologizing for a thing. Especially to Celeste, who plays her superior parenting against Wendy whenever she can.
Who do Celeste and Wendy think they are? They’re about to find out thanks to one freaky week. After a neighborhood potluck and too much sangria, they wake up—um, what?—in each other’s bodies. Everything Celeste and Wendy thought they knew about the “other kind of mom” is flipped upside down—along with their messy, complicated, maybe not so different lives.
Jenny Share’s Review:
I read (and loved!) The Bright Side of Going Dark by Kelly Harms a few months back (you can the synopsis and my review HERE) and was so excited to read her newest book The Seven Day Switch. She has such an easy to read, easy to love style of writing and I am a BIG fan. I had a pretty good feeling about this book before I even opened to the first page and I’m so happy that my first thoughts turned out to be correct.
I absolutely loved this wonderful book.
This book should be required reading for every parent out there! You truly don’t ever know what somebody else is going through and what that person chooses to reveal to the world does not in fact always tell the entire story.
This book has made me look at so many people in my life in a whole different light and has made me wonder about what is going on in their lives that I am not privy to.
“Mommy Wars” are a very real thing and moms are constantly comparing themselves to each other. STOP THAT! The decisions that you make for your own family should never be compared to decisions that somebody else is making for her own family.
I recently came upon this quote and it really spoke to me:
“Your kids don’t care what other moms are doing.”
How incredibly true is that? Your kids really don’t care what other moms are doing as long as you are doing the right thing for them. Parenting doesn’t come with an instruction manual and what is right for one family may not be right for the next.
This book really spoke directly to my heart and if you are a mother, it will speak to yours too! Every mother will be able to identify with at least something within these pages. The characters, the storylines, the messages…I truly loved this beautiful book so very much.
***I would be absolutely remiss if I didn’t say the following. Those who know me in real life know that I am a HUGE advocate of breastfeeding. Extended breastfeeding (breastfeeding toddlers) is normal, beautiful, and something that I did with both of my children. As much as I love this book, I did not love the negative connotation that came with this particular storyline. For a book about breaking judgmental parenting barriers, this storyline was clearly negative against parents who choose to feed and nurture their children in this way. I really wish that this particular storyline and all that went along with it could have been written with a bit more objectivity.***
Melissa Amster’s Review:
I’m always a fan of surreal stories, where you have to suspend disbelief. So the premise of The Seven Day Switch was definitely up my alley before I even opened it! And what was inside was even better than what I was expecting. Even though the topic of switching minds has been done before, such as in Freaky Friday, Kelly Harms puts a fun and refreshing spin on it, while also emphasizing the importance of balance in one’s life. As soon as I read just one chapter, I knew I had to tell my friend who runs Balanced Working Moms on Facebook about it. And, of course, I knew this book would be perfect for Jenny and I was not only excited for her to read it, but also to review it together at her blog.
I really liked and identified with both Wendy and Celeste in different ways. I enjoyed seeing them navigate each others’ lives and the things they did to try to help each other out, even if it wasn’t always with the best of intentions. There was one part I didn’t agree with at first, but I’m glad it was recognized and hashed out between the two women. Wendy’s son reminded me so much of my younger son. (Even Celeste’s son was similar to him in some ways.) I think, personally, I am more of a Wendy. However, I am thankful to have a relationship with my husband and kids that is more on par with Celeste. There were a lot of great moments, as well as some humorous ones. It’s always tricky to write about one character living another character’s life, but Kelly did this flawlessly throughout the novel.
This was a sweet and touching story that I definitely recommend!
Would you like to win a copy of The Seven Day Switch? We have 5 copies to give away (open to our US and International readers!)
To be entered, just leave a comment below (on this blog post)! Your comment can be about anything!
**You must comment below to be eligible for the giveaway and you must comment here on this blog post (not on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram)**
Giveaway will close tomorrow (7/8/21) at 6:00 pm CDT and the winners will be randomly chosen and announced here on my blog on Friday (7/9/21).
Make sure you check the blog on Friday to see if you’ve won (you will have 48 hours from the time I post the winner to email me the mailing address where you would like your book sent. If I don’t hear from you within 48 hours, I will pick a new winner).
Good luck! We can’t wait to read your comments!
This blog is my favorite hobby and I would so love your support! Here are ways you can help my blog to GROW:
*Please share this page with your book and blog loving friends!*
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One of the interesting aspects of being a book blogger is when you have feelings on a book you’ve read, you read another blogger’s thoughts on the same book…and you discover that they had a completely different takeaway than you did. I actually love when this happens because I find it so interesting to see others’ viewpoints which are so different than my own. Clearly this was the case when Melissa Amster and I both read Kacen Callender’s Felix Ever After. One of us has a very positive review while the other one of us…unfortunately has a negative review.
Like everything else in life, people will always form opinions on books they’ve read. What may positively resonate with one reader may have the opposite effect on another reader. I love discussing books, and I REALLY love discussing opposing views on books. How boring would life be if everyone shared the same opinions all the time? Our opinions, thoughts, and viewpoints are makes make us unique.
I’m so happy to welcome back Melissa Amster from Chick Lit Central to do a guest book review with me today! This is the 3rd book that Melissa and I have collaborated on reviewing but the first where our reviews are on opposite sides of the review spectrum.
Goodreads Synopsis of Felix Ever After {Kacen Callender}:
Felix Love has never been in love—and, yes, he’s painfully aware of the irony. He desperately wants to know what it’s like and why it seems so easy for everyone but him to find someone. What’s worse is that, even though he is proud of his identity, Felix also secretly fears that he’s one marginalization too many—Black, queer, and transgender—to ever get his own happily-ever-after.
When an anonymous student begins sending him transphobic messages—after publicly posting Felix’s deadname alongside images of him before he transitioned—Felix comes up with a plan for revenge. What he didn’t count on: his catfish scenario landing him in a quasi–love triangle….
But as he navigates his complicated feelings, Felix begins a journey of questioning and self-discovery that helps redefine his most important relationship: how he feels about himself.
Jenny Share’s Review of Felix Ever After {Kacen Callender}:
I really, really, REALLY wanted to love this book. Sadly…I did not.
It starts off SLOOOOOWLY, like, 200 pages slowly. Around page 200 was when I felt it start to pick up and then I enjoyed the last 150ish pages significantly more than the previous 200.
The biggest issue that I had with this book was its dialogue. I felt that most of what was said between characters was so unrealistic and WORDY. Not every dialogue needs to include a lengthy monologue! I hate when authors do this, it’s so completely unrealistic and takes away from the actual story.
This whole book felt like I was reading one long therapy session. I’m all for being interspective but these characters literally spent what felt like each second analyzing and reflecting on EVERYTHING. Yes, the main theme of this book is looking within and living your authentic self but it was all just too interspective for me.
Did you ever watch Dawson’s Creek? I kept thinking of comparisons to that show while reading. Great characters, great storylines, but HORRIBLE delivery! Every conversation on Dawson’s Creek included long monologues, insane dialogues, ridiculous words that real life teenagers would never use, SO much interspection, and certain situations that would be unrealistic for teenagers to be in. Exactly how this book is! The only difference being that despite all of that, I loved Dawson’s Creek and I did not love Felix Ever After.
Let me clarify that statement. While I did NOT love this book, I DID love the idea behind the story of Felix Ever After. Knowing and accepting your authentic self is a beautiful and complicated thing. I DO have a few positive things that I will say about this book.
First and foremost, I will always support ANY book which brings awareness to topics that may otherwise not receive the attention they deserve. This book is a perfect example. It’s such an important book with such beautiful messages of acceptance of complicated topics. Also, I love that it has the ability to reach such a broad audience in terms of age range. Finally, many (not all) of the storylines were wonderful and can absolutely educate people on so many different levels. I can definitely see how somebody going through the same emotions as Felix would feel such a powerful connection and understanding to this book.
However even with these few positive aspects, I just can’t recommend the actual writing or it’s delivery in this book. Nope.
Melissa Amster’s Review of Felix Ever After {Kacen Callender}:
I had bought Felix Ever After on Amazon a while back because it looked interesting to me. Then I shelved it on my Kindle for a while. When Jenny said she was reading it, I decided to give it a try, since it was something we could easily review together at her blog.
I liked this story a lot. It was edgier than most LGBTQ novels I’ve read. There was more grit and intensity to it. It hurt me to read the transphobic messages that Felix was receiving. I know some people who are transgender and it sucks that someone would say such horrible things about anyone like that. I appreciated Felix questioning their identity throughout the story; that gender is a construct in this day and age and not everything is black and white. The story made me think of a friend who just came out as male-to-female transgender and how I had no idea they felt that way about their gender identity when they were younger. I’m glad books like these are available for teenagers (and adults), as you never know who might pick it up one day and be able to relate.
Kacen Callender’s use of description and details to bring the story to life made me feel like I was watching everything happen right in front of me. The emotional levels were really strong too.
I have been watching Degrassi the Next Generation and was impressed by how they handled the topic of transgender on that show. So I was pleasantly surprised to see it referenced in the author’s note at the end of the book. I even got emotional from reading that part. Some character names made me think of the show (Declan–Keane and Coyne sound similar–and Marisol, basically), so it was on my mind while reading it.
I look forward to reading more of Kacen’s novels and recommend this to anyone looking for a thoughtful story.
Book Coffee Happy Bottom Line :
Sooooo clearly some people love this book while others clearly do not (worst bottom line on a book review blog that’s ever been written, lol).
So…there you have it. 1 book, 2 bloggers, 2 completely different book reviews.
Thanks for stopping by my blog today, Melissa! I loved working with you, can’t wait to work with you again soon.
Have you read Felix Ever After? Do you agree with Melissa or myself? We would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!
You can read the other collaborations that Melissa and I have worked on together HERE and HERE.
*If you are a blogger interested in a possible future collaboration with Book Coffee Happy, I’d love to talk! Send me an email to bookcoffeehappy@gmail.com*
Click the image below to order the book through my Amazon affiliate link. When you order through this link, I receive a tiny commission. Thank you for your support, Xo
This blog is my favorite hobby and I would so love your support! Here are ways you can help my blog to GROW:
*Please share this page with your book and blog loving friends!*
*Please share this page with your book and blog loving friends!*
*Subscribe with your email address to my blog (scroll all the way to the bottom of this page on mobile devices OR check the top right of this screen to enter your email address)*
*If you already have a blog, please “follow” mine*
*”Like” my Facebook page (and please comment on, “like”, and share my posts)*
*Clicking and buying products through my Amazon Affiliate links. The cost to you is exactly the same and I receive a tiny commission off of your purchases.*
Book Coffee Happy 