“This is the smartest romantic comedy I’ve read—and it’s compulsively readable!” — Julia Fierro, author of The Gypsy Moth Summer and Cutting Teeth Life is sweet for New Yorkers Molly and Gabe: They’re young, in love, and newly engaged. But when Gabe sells his first novel—a thinly-veiled retelling of his wild love affair with ex-girlfriend Talia—and it becomes a national sensation, Molly can’t … becomes a national sensation, Molly can’t help but feel like the third wheel. To make matters worse, Talia reappears in Gabe’s life, eager to capitalize on the book’s success and to rekindle what she had with Gabe… at least, that’s how it seems to Molly. But of even more concern? Gabe doesn’t seem concerned at all. Instead, he’s delighting in his newfound fame and success.
Jealous, paranoid, and increasingly desperate, Molly starts to spin out of control. Her social life, work life, and love life all go to pieces. As fact and fiction, and past and present, begin to blur, Molly realizes the only way out of this downward spiral is to fight her way back up. But what—if anything—will be left of her life and her relationship when she arrives?
Perfect for fans of Liane Moriarty and Jennifer Weiner, Otherwise Engaged explores the life we seek when the life we have… suddenly goes down the drain.
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An easy to read story with good characters. You’ll feel like you know them.
Another totally engrossing read, this book is about Molly, who is recently engaged to Gabe. It just so happens that Gabe has released a bestselling novel based on his ardent relationship with his ex. Although we are all fairly curious as women about out boyfriend’s past loves, Molly struggles with some of the revelations in the book. Then suddenly the illustrious ex Talia arrives out of nowhere back on the scene, and Gabe actually takes her along on his book tour! At this point Molly seems to spiral out of control, unsure of what she wants and what to do next.
Otherwise Engaged is not your simple rom-com book. It has serious undertones about jealousy, mixed-feelings, and what’s happened in your past. It makes you think about the choices you’ve made and how important being honest with yourself and others can affect you in your future, and that leaving your past behind is never as easy as you think.
I absolutely adored this read, for me it was fast paced, enlightening, and emotionally relatable. The supporting cast is vital in this read, and help facilitate the laugh out loud moments and give the story more depth and intensity. I felt like any one of us could have been Molly in this book and it makes you wonder, how happy are you in your own relationship? If you were Molly, what would you do? It’s not that easy of a decision to make.
Otherwise Engaged by Lindsey J. Palmer definitely gives new meaning to the term unlikeable characters. There were about 3 that I actually liked in the book (Molly’s mom, her mom’s love interest, and her brother Leo), and I’m not sure if I actually liked Molly or not. This for me was not a bad thing and even though I love likable characters as much as anyone else, the unlikeable ones are what really make things interesting. The story is basically what happens after Molly’s boyfriend-turned-fiancé Gabe writes a book about his ex-girlfriend Talia, and I can tell you it is not pretty. Molly basically loses her mind and a lot of other things in the process, and we get to watch as she tries to right the train wreck that has become her life. Gabe is a pretty awful man, and I was rooting for Molly to kick him to the curb the entire time.
There is also a book-within-a-book in Otherwise Engaged, and Palmer lets you read parts of Gabe’s very disturbing novel. I actually really enjoyed this, and I think it gives the reader an idea of what Gabe is like even though he says it’s just fiction. I was hooked from the very first page and it is a pretty short novel as well so it was a quick read, even though I would call it a slow burn overall. There were some fun laugh-out-loud moments, and even though Molly really struggled, I liked where she ended up as a person when all is said and done. There are also a couple of heavy topics that Palmer took on which added more depth to the story as well. I think if you are a fan of slow-burn women’s/domestic fiction and don’t mind unlikeable characters Otherwise Engaged would be a good book to check out.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
I did not like this one
I found myself skipping pages. Lacked my interest
My dislike of this book may be generational. I’m in my 50s and I just couldn’t like the main character much. I get hating your job, have certainly been there, but blowing off work is out of my frame of reference. See…true baby boomer. The boyfriend….every baby boomer mother’s bad dream. I can usually find some way to relate to characters and enjoy a book…no matter the age of the characters…but not this one… This is not a “bad” book just not appealing to me.
I really enjoyed the book. I liked Molly and I really liked her journey and her struggles. It was Gage I didn’t care for, he wrote an ode to his ex girlfriend and then couldn’t understand why his current girlfriend was uneasy about it. He was described as this great guy, but I found him selfish. Molly was basically supporting him and then he gets upset she isn’t more supportive of him while he traipse around with his ex. I also would have liked another chapter saying how their meeting went. I know is was left open meaning it was all open, but after investing in the story I would have preferred an indication on where it might go, I did enjoy the book.
It was so so.
A winning novel about the powerful sway of an ex. Poignant and funny, with an endearing heroine who thinks of herself as steady and predictable but who is really a mash of churning emotions about almost everyone and everything in her life.
This is the smartest (yet also compulsively readable) romantic comedy I’ve read. Molly is my new favorite heroine and I rooted for her with every page as she searched for the right life (and partner). Whip-smart social commentary, page-turning pacing, and characters who feel like friends, Otherwise Engaged is the book you’ll beg your friends to read.
In her fun, zippy new novel, Palmer riffs on fact versus fiction, the strange allure of certain exes, and — compassionately and humorously — the mixed feelings a young woman today may have about marriage.