A quirky, nervous wreck of a New England mom is forced to face her many fears in this touching, irresistible novel from author Kristin Bair.Agatha Arch’s life shatters when she discovers her husband in their backyard shed, in flagrante delicto, giving the local dog walker some heavy petting. Suddenly, Agatha finds herself face to face with everything that frightens her…and that’s a loooooong … her…and that’s a loooooong list.
Agatha keeps those she loves close. Everyone else, she keeps as far away as possible. So she’s a mystery to nearly everyone in her New England town. To her husband, she’s a saucy, no-B.S. writer. To her Facebook Moms group, she’s a provocateur. To her neighbor, she’s a standoffish pain in the butt. To her sons, she’s chocolate pudding with marshmallows. And to her shrink, she’s a bundle of nerves on the brink of a cataclysmic implosion.
Defying her abundant assortment of anxieties, Agatha dons her “spy pants”–a pair of khakis whose many pockets she crams with binoculars, fishing line, scissors, flashlight, a Leatherman Super Tool 300 EOD, candy, and other espionage essentials–and sets out to spy on her husband and the dog walker. Along the way, she finds another intriguing target to follow: a mysterious young woman who’s panhandling on the busiest street in town.
It’s all a bit much for timorous Agatha. But with the help of her Bear Grylls bobblehead, a trio of goats, and a dog named Balderdash, Agatha may just find the courage to build a better life.
“Fans of Where’d You Go, Bernadette and Elinor Oliphant Is Completely Fine will love this clever romp.”
—Publishers Weekly, starred review
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If you want a laugh out loud read when the stress levels are high and your anxiety is taking over, then you must absolutely read Kristin Blair’s Agatha Arch! This book is perfectly chiseled and Agatha’s character…..well she really broke out the hilarity of the story for me. And let’s talk about the FB Mom’s Group. Hello!? If you’re not apart of any mom group’s, well, just read Agatha’s story and you’ll find out what your missing. This novel will have you thinking, rolling with laughs and feeling the emotions that Agatha feels. Don’t miss this page turning, hilarious novel. Definitely recommending this one to all my book friends.
*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Author/Publisher and was under no obligation to post a review, positive or negative.*
“Oh, How I Loved This Book! Move Over Eleanor Oliphant—agatha Arch Is Here. And She’s The Exact Quirky, Laugh-out-loud, Feel-good Heroine Everyone In The World Needs Right Now.”
—Colleen Oakley, Critically Acclaimed Author Of You Were There Too
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AGATHA ARCH IS AFRAID by @kbairokeeffe @alcovepress
Thank you @SuzyApproved @netgalley for this beautiful arc.
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40 chapters of a ROLLERCOASTER ride!!
Genre: General Fiction (ADULT) ; Women Fiction.
The story:
Agatha finds her husband, Dax in a compromising position with a dog walker in her shed which she shreds down to bits & pieces!
She’s got two sons, Dustin & Jason, whom she loves to the moon & back!
With her support system gone, she has to face her fears, which are quite a handful, all alone.
Plus she cannot digest her husband falling in love & leaving her, for someone else.
So she gets desperate & starts spying & what not!!
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Amidst all this, a poor clock has to lose his life, a woodpecker keeps her company with his “tap tap tippity-tap”.
Ohh & yess, she’s a writer & DOES NOT TRUST PEOPLE WHO DON’T READ BOOKS. She became my fav. just then!!
She quotes awesome writers like Virginia Woolf, throughout her story.
She talks about Facebook moms groups & about her therapist who helps her sort out her thoughts, which are a mess.
She also hints at women empowerment. What if all women started hinting down sheds to be even with their husband’s infidelity?! Men would surely not like that.
She also says, writing always saves her..from falling apart. When she had a miscarriage or her 4th book flopped..
There are so many tit-bits that I have underlines in this beautiful, uplifting, funny, tearing story of Agatha..
FIGHTING & FALLING, FALLING & FAILING..SHE EVENTUALLY LEARNS TO STAND UP. STAND UP FOR HERSELF, BY HERSELF WITHOUT ANY SUPPORT.
Not an easy read but once you get a knack of the writing style, there’s no looking back!
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HILARIOUS and HEARTBREAKING, FRESH and WISE, and QUIRKY as can be. The talented Kristin Bair introduces us to the TOUCHINGLY NEUROTIC AGATHA ARCH—a woman who LOVES TOO MUCH AND FEARS TOO MUCH, and is on the hunt to discover her own singular power.
If you love Bridget and Bernadette, please meet Agatha. I loved her, and you will, too.”
—Hank Phillippi Ryan, USA Today Bestselling author of The First to Lie
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#noorthebookwornreviews
#agathaarchisafraid
Agatha Arch is Afraid of Everything by Kristin Bair, is a very funny and heartfelt novel!
Agatha Arch is a mystery herself! She loves her sons with gusto, is reserved from her neighbors, a no-nonsense wife, and a bundle of nerves to her counselor.
Agatha catches her husband, Dax in their back yard shed with the local dog walker and frightens even herself when she starts tearing the shed down with an ax.
With her own long list of fears she sets out to spy on her husband and the dog walker, along the way she finds another person of interest to follow-a woman who is panhandling on the busiest street in her New England town.
With her assortment of anxieties, and outrageous assistance Agatha tries to find the courage to rebuild her life.
While I eventually liked Agatha Arch in the end, I felt that she was mean and nasty for much of the book. She was also neurotic, suspicious, and spiteful. Of course, most of this was a defense mechanism for her.
I also think this book tried too hard to be funny.
Agatha Arch’s journey begins when she finds her husband doing the dogwalker in the shed. She has a lot of fears, but that wasn’t one of them until it happened. Now she is facing what seems like insurmountable change with advice of the ultimate survivlist, Bear Grylls. Or at least his bobblehead. In the meantime, she has a Facbook Mom’s group to torment and a town interloper that probably is up to no good. The book was funny and sad and I loved Agatha, who calls it like she sees it. Except that she can’t see herself. Thank God for women friendships—they truly save us sometimes. Fun, weekend read.
I really enjoyed this funny and heartfelt novel about a mom losing her mind after her husband leaves her for the dog walker. It was so truthful even in its exaggeration. (And the FB moms group was spot on). Oh and the narrator was perfect.
Agatha Arch is Afraid of Everything’ is a story full of heart and hilarious antics that will have you rooting for Agatha in her imminent breakdown after a life altering event and ultimate betrayal from her husband.
Underneath this hilarious novel is a mother who loves her sons, a wife jilted by her husband with another woman, a writer longing to find her next inspiration, and a woman trying to make sense of her middle age life through therapy trying to work out her fears and anxieties.
I enjoyed the modern and fresh writing style – from the Facebook moms group convos, to the funny nicknames she uses, her unconventional way of speaking to people with a no-nonsense approach, and calling out people on their BS.
Bair did a fantastic job giving a unique voice to our beloved Agatha – an unlikely heroine that is as unforgettable as she is relatable.
A fun read I devoured! I highly recommend this entertaining book and a fun read. Loved this book!
Agatha catches her husband Dax and the Dog Walker (GDOG) doing more then heavy petting in their shed. Agatha proceeds to take a hatchet and chops the shed down. My kind of girl!
With her husband now living with GDOG, Agatha must face her extremely long list of fears. With the help of her Therapist, who Agatha calls Shrinky Dink, her Bear Grylls bobble head doll, and her spy pants filled with many gadgets, she faces her fears head on.
Her antics of spying on Dax and GDOG and a woman panhandler had me laughing out loud.
Agatha just loves torturing her nosy neighbor Kerry. I am glad she is not my neighbor! Some of the funniest scenes in the book are when Agatha provokes the women on the neighborhood Facebook group. If you need a good laugh, make sure you pickup this book!
Thank you Kristin Bair O’Keeffe, Alcove Press and Suzy Approved Book tours for including me on this tour and this is my honest review.
I thoroughly enjoyed Agatha Arch. Despite her so many unlikeable characteristics, I found myself rooting for her. Lots of laugh out loud humor, great character. Satisfying. Hard to put down.
This book starts with Agatha Arch finding her husband banging the neighborhood dog walker in their backyard shed. In a fury she does what I hope I would do if faced with a similar situation – she grabs a hatchet and chases the naked duo before decimating their love shed.
I adored this book! I’m a huge fan of what I like to call suburban satire novels and this is up there with some of my favorites like Where’d You Go Bernadette? and Class Mom. Agatha is, as the title suggests, afraid of everything, and we follow her journey as she has to navigate life without her husband and the knowledge that her sons spend half their time with the “grand dame of grapefruits,” her literary reference to her husband’s new girlfriend and her perfect butt. (Huge props if you can name the book that comes from!) Beyond the repercussions of the affair, writer Agatha also has a new book she’s due to deliver and the 2,900 other women who are a part of their town’s FB Mom’s group to contend with. I have to admit – I’m in a local Mom’s group on FB and Kristin Bair’s satire of the inanity that takes place on social media between groups of grown, capable women is so spot on I would swear she’s been lurking on our FB page!
I alternated between the book and the audiobook for this one and I really enjoyed the narrator while listening. I’m buying copies of Agatha Arch for some of my mom friends for the holidays – it’s the perfect book for a funny and heartwarming escape.
Thanks to NetGalley, Dreamscape Media, Alcove Press and the author for an advanced copy to review.
Agatha Arch is everything. She is not just afraid of everything, she just IS EVERYTHING. This book is amazeballs, and I totally love Agatha and everything about her.
So Agatha finds her husband in the shed out back having sex with the neighborhood dog walker. This is how the story begins. After Agatha demolishes the shed and gets sprayed by the resident skunk, we jump into her life like a busybody at an old persons convention. We learn that she is an author trying to write a thriller, she loves her two boys more than anything, we learn she is afraid of absolutely everything, (including beans), that she see’s a shrink for all her issues, and we learn that her husband has no desire to a come back to their marriage. When Agatha kinda goes off the deep end stalking her husband and trying to fix the mess her life has become, her neighborhood friends and chat group are generally supportive, until her actions start to get a little “crazy.” Will Agatha be able to pull herself and her life back together?
I absolutely adored this story. Agatha is hilarious and Bair’s writing flows like thoughts coming from my own mind. Our protagonist is a middle aged woman trying to find herself again when thrown into unexpected crisis, and though she gets a little cuckoo at times, I can’t blame her for half of her thoughts and feelings. I mean, who hasn’t wanted to spy on their husband with their new girlfriend? The story is a delight, and a fast read/listen, with laugh out loud moments and heartening life lessons. It is a pleasure watching Agatha find herself again and realize that she is a capable woman with so much to offer. This is hands down a 5 star read for me and I definitely highly recommend. One of those books you just fall in love with and remember forever.
Do you love a quirky main character? If so, you must read Agatha Arch is Afraid of Everything!
This was such an enjoyable, original read. It definitely made me feel much better about my own fears and anxieties . I love the fact that a lot of it revolved around a mom’s Facebook group. The conversations were hilarious and judgmental just like most mom groups I’ve been a part of . This book wasn’t all lighthearted though, there were some very sad, emotional moments as well. I would have liked to have heard more about Agatha’s kids when they were with her. It seemed she only ever talked about them when they were staying at their dads, yet she had them 4 days a week.
Overall, this a a fun, original read by Kristin Bair and I can’t wait to read more!
Thank you for my advanced copy in exchange for an honest review
Hilarious and original, AGATHA ARCH hits shelves today, and you should take a copy home for yourself. After finding her husband with the dog walker in the shed, Agatha realizes that things in her life aren’t how she pictured them. And as an author, she has a very active imagination– and a lot of fears. Throughout the novel, she faces them, as well as her own community both online and off, to discover who she is now.
Kudos to Kristin Bair, the author of “Agatha Arch is Afraid of Everything” for writing a humorous, entertaining, unique, and thought-provoking novel. The genres for this novel are Humor, Contemporary Fiction, Satire, and Women’s Fiction. The timeline for the story is set in the present and goes to the past when it pertains to the characters or events. I love the way Kristin Bair layers the story with humor and yet there are some deeper and serious issues. The stages of humor run the gamut of funny, to satire. The author vividly describes the various characters and events. The author describes most of the characters as flawed, complex, and complicated. The protagonist Agatha Arch is quirky, neurotic, fearful, as well as complex and complicated, especially after a tragic betrayal in her life.
Agatha Arch is completely neurotic, but make no mistake, she loves her two boys more than anything in the world. Perhaps that is why, when she discovers her husband in the shed with the dog-walker, in a darkened rage, she takes a hatchet and destroys most of the shed, but nobody is really hurt but herself. It is amusing that Agatha has nicknames for everything in her life. Agatha has written books and now is determined to write a thriller.
Agatha has a long list of things she fears, and she gets special pants that hold various tools, such as binoculars, a flashlight, scissors, a tool knife, and more. She also invests in a drone that can track her husband and his mistress as well as her sons.
Although there is much humor, one can feel the pain, loneliness, despair, and anxiety that Agatha feels. I appreciate that the author discusses the importance of self-worth, a support system, and friends. I would highly recommend this addicting novel.
Agatha is afraid of everything. Not just the things that scare many of us, but just about everything that exists and even some that don’t! So what happens when you everything in the world scares the heck out of you and then the one person you trust betrays you to the very core? You do what Agatha did by putting on your big girl pants and figuring out how to move forward and figure it out. Lots of stumbling along the way, disappointments, small victories, some humor and mostly a great deal of heart. You will find yourself cheering Agatha on and wanting all the best that she wants for herself. If you need a feel good, hopeful, funny enjoyable listen with good narration this is for you.
I received an advanced copy of this audiobook from Netgalley.com in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Agatha Arch is Afraid of Everything by Kristin Bair O’Keeffe is a heartfelt, comical well written novel.
I LOVED this novel to no END, and I didn’t want it to end.
And yes, Agatha Arch is Afraid of Everything!
When Agatha comes home to find her husband and the dog walker (NO they don’t have a dog) having sex in the backyard shed, she loses her mind.
As someone with anxiety, I totally related to Agatha. Her character is well written and quirky and I laughed so many times.
And …goats! Yes there are goats in the book which really added such a layer of fun.
I would be remiss if I did not mention the Facebook Moms Group. After discovering her husbands affair she reaches out to her moms Facebook group for support and goes off the rails.
There are so many things to love about Agatha , I mean she has a nickname for her therapist and the moms on Facebook the interactions are hilarious.
I think that Agatha find unique ways to deal with her fears.
I have to say , this is one of my favorite books of 2020.
It is fresh, unique and well written. I was cheering on for Agatha the whole time!
Highly recommend this fun read!
Agatha Arch is Afraid of Everything, an audiobook by Kristin Blair, is a snarky and humorous story with dark undertones. Soneela Nankani is the perfect narrator to bring the characters to life; her gift for creating the unique voices of the female characters allows for each one to be easily recognisable. I was impressed with her male and children’s voices, too.
Poor Agatha is a prisoner of her own anxieties and fears on a good day, but her worst day just dawned. This woman has an established career as an author, a husband, and two children—but when she discovers her husband half naked in their shed with the dog walker, she has a melt down that leaves the shed demolished by her own hand. As the book continues, Agatha gives in to her fears, spies on her husband, and causes problems in her Facebook moms group–all while trying to cope with her new normal.
The book is funny, if a bit over the top, but the anxiety/fear levels are all too real for many people. Bair did have an accurate read on Agatha’s internal dialog. Overall, this is a good read.
Thank you to Net Gally, Kensington Press, and Dreamscape for the Advanced Reader Copy. My thoughts are my own and I always review books I enjoy.
At first glance, this is a witty book about a woman catching her husband in the shed with the local dog-walker, and subsequently chopping said shed down with an axe.
However, it is an in depth look at what it is for a marriage to brutally and abruptly end, and how to put the pieces of your life back together.
Agatha and her husband have been together since they were in college, and have two boys. It is the only life she has e
known as an adult. She’s a writer and extremely cynical so Dax (said husband) has been her buffer for so long. Their lives seemingly ideal. Lovely East coast home, lovely relationship, lovely children. Until the day her marriage is ripped apart, Agathas biggest concern was the local mom’s Facebook group.
Watching this unfold was so close to home for me, I went through it 12 years ago. I related to what Agatha was going through on every level. Who are you without the life thar has defined you since you were still essentially a child?
“Fear Sharpens You” will forever be etched in my mind and this was both a delightful and all the feels book.
This is a review of the audiobook of this novel.
Agatha Arch is afraid of a lot of things, there are too many to list. The most ridiculous one is “beans”. She is afraid of beans because she had once watched a movie where the serial killer ate beans after he kills his victims, usually in very gruesome ways. But we all have our inner fears so I went with it.
The beginning starts with Agatha catching her husband having sex with the neighborhood dog walker in the shed in their backyard. It was so unexpected and unbelievable that Agatha completely loses it. She chases the dog walker away with only a tarp to cover her naked body. She finds a hatchet and goes to work destroying the shed while she cries and screams expletives. The neighbors are left aghast at the destruction of the shed and the mess that she continues to leave her yard in.
Most of the book is taken up with the ways in which Agatha finds to spy on her husband and Willow, the dog walker. Turns out that she lives quite close to her, so easy for her to creep around the yard and more. She invests in a great pair of binoculars and even goes so far as to climb a tree in the yard across from the house so that she can see what is going on.
Agatha is a writer with quite a good following. She had decided that she wanted to write a thriller next because they are so popular. She thinks since people love thrillers, perhaps they will love her more? However since her husband Dex’s desertion she hasn’t been able to work.
There is an online mom’s group which she chats with constantly. Some of the moms are at first supportive but when Agatha’s actions start going towards the “crazy” they begin to turn on her. She doesn’t really care, she just wants someplace to sound out her fury.
Inside however Agatha is despondent, hurt and doesn’t know what to do next. Her husband tells her that he is in love with Willow and that he wants to share custody of their two boys, spending a few days at Willow’s house and the rest with Agatha. She misses her boys desperately.
She has a therapist, whom she calls “shrinky dink”, who seems to know her quite well. She is a bundle of nerves and has no idea how to proceed into this next phase of her life. Her husband has made it clear that he is not coming back.
I did laugh at some of her attempts at spying, they were pretty over the top. However by the halfway point I was getting bored. Since it was an audiobook I just let it play on and the last quarter of the book redeemed itself.
Agatha finally begins to see that she does have the strength to cope with this disaster and starts to do things that make her feel good. She has a quick tryst, she redecorates the boys rooms and her bedroom. She then goes on to recreate her writing space, getting rid of any remnants of Dex including the desk that he handmade for her. She is beginning to see a way to move forward. The ending of the novel was great because it showed that she was growing and learning, how to make more friends, how to rearrange her life with her boys, maybe even joining her friend and taking yoga for relaxation!
If you are looking for a quick, entertaining listen then this would be a good choice.
I received this audiobook from the publisher through NetGalley.
The novel in all of it’s formats is set to publish on November 10, 20
To say I thoroughly enjoyed this book would be an understatement! Agatha is afraid of EVERYTHING including beans, BEANS! Agatha finds her husband and the neighborhood dog walker in the shed doing things they shouldn’t be doing! After the hubby moves in with the dog walker, Agatha’s fears and anxieties become overwhelming! She keeps her family close but all others far away which means she doesn’t have any support other than her therapist. As Agatha starts living her new normal, we are introduced to list of colorful characters from new friends, a skunk living under the porch, and the Moms in the Facebook page for the neighborhood. This is just the book I needed right now, a funny laugh out loud book that takes the problems of the world away. I received an advanced readers copy and all opinions are my own.