“Poignant, funny, and smart, Brunch and Other Obligations is a must-have for contemporary women’s fiction shelves. Readers will want to watch for what Nugent does next.”—Booklist“A thoroughly upbeat and fully entertaining novel from cover to cover.”—Midwest Book Review“Brunch and Other Obligations is women’s fiction at its finest! A tender, witty, heartfelt novel that had me laughing out loud in … A tender, witty, heartfelt novel that had me laughing out loud in one chapter and reaching for tissues in the next. With humor, heart, and hope, Nugent reminds us that, once in a lifetime, if we’re very, very lucky, we just might find a friend who knows us better than we know ourselves.”
—Lori Nelson Spielman, New York Times best-selling author of The Life List
The only thing reclusive bookworm Nora, high-powered attorney Christina, and supermom-in-training Leanne ever had in common was their best friend, Molly. When Molly dies, she leaves mysterious gifts and cryptic notes for each of her grieving best friends, along with one final request: that these three mismatched frenemies have brunch together every month for a year.
Filled with heartwrenching scenes and witty prose, Brunch and Other Obligations explores the intricate dynamics of girlhood acquaintances who are forced to reconnect as women. This upbeat novel reminds readers that there’s hope for getting through the hard times in life—with a lot of patience, humor, and a standing brunch date.
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This was a story about 3 women who had been close as children, but grew apart. However they all kept close with one friend. When that friend died young, she asked that her three best friends continue to meet monthly for a year. It was written with chapters alternating the POV between the 3 main characters. It was a fun read with wonderful real life characters.
The premise is good but got really boring so I gave up. Too many other good books to read.
Certainly NOT a page turner!
Not very interesting characters.
3.5/5
What happens when you lose the glue that keeps everything together? A group of “friends” find out when their glue is no longer there. An odd group brought together by Molly, a free spirit, who passes away too young. Molly leaves behind a gift for each of her friends, unexpected and not at all conventional for the recipient. She’s asks one more thing of all 3, to meet the first Sunday of each month for brunch. What happens over the course of the next months will open their eyes. In death, Molly gives her friends what they need most…friendship and finding their true selves along the way.
What a debut novel! Ms. Nugent starts right off with a moving event and doesn’t look back. Her writing flows easily from one friend to another, delving totally in each personality, both collectively and independently. Well written, fast enough paced, but at times the book felt slow. The cast of characters is likable enough, but left me wanting to know more about Leanne/James relationship. I was left wanting to know a little more than the ending. I look forward to reading this author again.
Thanks to Ms. Nugent, SheWritesPress and NetGalley for this ARC. Opinion is mine alone.
What a wonderful book! I read it in two sittings and loved it. It’s perfect when you need a light feel-good book. The characters are original and flawed and relatable in a way that makes you want to have brunch with them too. The writing is beautiful and I don’t always find that an omniscient voice works, but it did for this story. It gave little amusing insights into each character that made each step of the story more engaging.
Through the tough loss of their best friend, Molly, these three women who do not like one another learn valuable life lessons about the power of friendships between women and how Molly shined a light on the better part of each. My only hang-up was that the ending of the book seemed odd in that the characters were thrown into a big “movie moment” sort of situation (trying not to spoil it) but they didn’t seem evolved enough to make the big transition to be best friends. This happens in films all the time but I was hoping since the characters were drawn so deep, that they would gradually become best friends instead of “poof” besties. Maybe if they had stopped hating each other a little before this or shown some inclination to want to accept each other it would have felt organic. I don’t know, but it didn’t spoil the book. Great beach read for summer!
Thank you to She Writes Press and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
This was an entertaining, well-written book. Nora, Christina and Leanne knew each other when they were younger, but as adults the only thing they had in common was their best friend, Molly, who has now passed away. Molly left a final request for the three of them to have brunch together every month for a year. They learn many things about themselves and each other as they begin to spend time together without Molly. I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to others.