An ingeniously witty novel about the risks—and rewards—of opening your life to new people by Amazon Charts bestselling author Camille Pagán.No new people: that’s Annie Mercer’s vow. It’s bad enough that her boss sabotaged her chemistry career and her best friend tried to cure her with crystals. But after her fiancé, Jon, asks for space while he’s gallivanting around Paris, Annie decides she needs … decides she needs space too—from everyone.
Yet when Harper moves in next door, Annie can’t help but train a watchful eye on the glamorous but fragile young woman. And if keeping Harper safe requires teaming up with Mo, a maddeningly optimistic amateur detective, who is she to mind her own business?
Soon Annie has let not one but two new people into her life. Then Jon reappears—and he wants her to join him in France. She’s pretty sure letting anyone get close won’t end well. So she must decide: Is another shot at happiness worth the risk?
more
Although the ending was somewhat predictable for the genre (contemporary romance), the characters & situations were far more nuanced than expected. This was a quick, entertaining, and satisfying read.
Pagán has written another clever, engaging, and relatable story. This Won’t End Well is one of those books that I found impossible to put down. I adored Annie right away. She was incredibly sweet, charming, and her eccentricities made her instantly relatable for me. Readers have the pleasure of watching Annie’s small changes throughout diary entries, emails, and letters and I truly found it satisfying. The relationships Annie navigates are enjoyable and not limited simply to her romance with Jon. Each of the side characters was beautifully penned, their quirks forming a community that feels authentic.
Ultimately, I highly recommend this delightful story. Learning to let other people in and recognizing vulnerability isn’t necessarily a terrible thing is an important concept to take away from this beautiful piece of fiction.
**I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I just love everything Camille Pagán writes. She is easily one of my favorite authors. Her books are so easy to read and I don’t want to put them down. I love the female main characters that her books revolve around. This book is just tremendous. I especially love the format. It is so fun reading the email and journal format. It made it even easier to read, if possible! I stayed up late reading it and finished it quickly! Totally a five star read, as with all her other titles!!
Nothing in Annie’s life is going well—her job tanked, her best friend had flaked, and now her fiancé left the country. That’s it! She’s swearing off new people and is just going to focus on getting her life back on track. She doesn’t have time to invest in getting to know someone new.
But maybe that’s not what life has in store for her. Maybe she is going to have to open her mind and her heart to the possibilities.
This Won’t End Well is an interesting, fun look at relationships, friends, love, and sticking up for what’s right. I loved every word and loved watching Annie figure out what’s important in her life. Camille has written another wonderful novel that is sure to be a bestseller! Check it out!
This was such a great book! Camille Pagán continues to impress with each new novel. THIS WON’T END WELL is full of fun, quirky (yes, it really is the perfect word), and lovable characters, led by Annie, the main character.
Annie’s life is imploding around her: her former boss is a snake, she’s lost her job and her career for the next two years, and her fiancé tells her on the way to the airport that he’s going to France for a month and not to contact him during that time. What’s scientific-minded Annie to do? Swear off new people to start, maybe even some old friends, while she processes what’s happening in her life and figures out what to do next since nothing is going according to the future she has mapped out.
We all know what happens to best-laid plans. An interesting new neighbor catches her eye, and while she’s trying to figure her out, she meets Mo lurking in the bushes. Drawn into two new friendships and finally starting to understand those relationships already in her life, and, with their support, Annie starts to uncover the person she is meant to be. Told through texts, emails, and Annie’s journal entries this book kept me laughing and turning pages quickly.
There is so much to love about this book. Pagán has a knack for creating characters and stories that worm their way into your heart. I loved immersing myself in Annie’s journey. THIS WON’T END WELL is headed to my keeper shelf and I can’t wait to see what Camille Pagán does next.
Thank you to NetGalley for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.
#LakeUnionPublishing #NetGalley #ThisWontEndWell #TallPoppyWriters #BloomReads #TallPoppyReviewer
What an absolute wonderful and delightful book to read! Great book for book clubs for serious and delightful conversations! Truly a must read!
This Won’t End Well Camille Pagán
I enjoyed this cute story about Annie Mercer whose life was quickly spiraling down the drain. Annie went from enjoying her rewarding career as a chemist and looking forward to a fabulous engagement with her fiancée Jon to losing her job, banned from any chemist job for the next few years, to working as a housekeeper, with a fiancée that has gone MIA in France for some soul searching.
This is truly a feel good story about a woman who finds her voice and learns to follow her heart and find strength in the decisions she would make to improve her life for the better. I found Pagán’s writing to be witty, funny, relatable and hopeful. I find her words easy to read, story well paced, characters lovable and a feel good story with a feel good conclusion.
I recommend this fun women’s literature for a touching story with fun and lovable characters!!
Camille Pagan, Author of “This Won’t End Well” has written a delightful, entertaining, memorable, and captivating novel. The Genres for this novel are fiction, contemporary fiction, and romance. The timeline for this story is set in the present and goes to the past when it pertains to the characters or events. The author describes her characters as complex, complicated, quirky and dysfunctional.
Annie Mercer had not had the best of days. After she files a complaint at the chemical company where she works, she finds that she no longer has a job, and for two years can’t work in the specialized chemical field. On the same day, her fiance Jon, calls her from the airport to mention he is going to France without her for a month, to think his life through. At this point, Annie decides that she just is not open to making any more friends.
To support herself, Annie starts cleaning houses and gets to meet Harper, a new neighbor, and “Mo” a detective that is in Annie’s backyard to spy on Harper. Remember, Annie is not open to any opportunities.
I love the way Camille Pagan vividly describes Annies’ interactions through emails, and texts to her fiance, her ex-friends, the chemical company and others. This is a witty and enjoyable way of showing some of the communication.
Somehow Annie gets involved with the detective Mo and borrows Harper’s dog to go on some investigations. I found myself laughing out loud at this part.
Would it surprise you to know that Jon calls Annie from France? Will Annie fight for rights at the chemical company? Can Annie open herself enough to make new friends and take chances? I highly suggest that you read “This Won’t End Well” to find the answers. Happy Reading!
… But It Actually Does. Pagan once again creates a great story of a woman finding herself through a difficult and unexpected situation. In this particular scenario, it happens to involve a situation I’ve lived a version of, as a science professional leaving a job unexpectedly and forced to pick up seemingly menial work. Mostly light hearted with just enough punch to make things interesting, this is one that long time fans will love and new readers will quickly become fans. Very much recommended.
THIS WON’T END WELL by Camille Pagán is a touching and heartwarming story of love, family and friendship that captivated me from the very beginning. I really liked the fresh approach of using journal entries, emails and texts to tell the story. Annie Mercer had a perfectly-planned and predictable life, just the way she liked it. Although she had to give up her dream of attending MIT to come home and care for her mother, she has a job she loves and she and her fiancé, Jon will soon be married. Suddenly, her whole life is turned upside down. She is forced out of her job and Jon has suddenly decided he needs time away alone in France to find himself before he commits to their marriage. Even worse is that he doesn’t want any contact from her while he is away. Annie has even become estranged from her best friend. Stunned and feeling out of control, Annie starts a business cleaning the homes of some of her neighbors while she re-evaluates her choices and her future. Although she has sworn off contact with new people, two people come into her life that have her questioning everything she knew before. The entries in her journal and the emails and texts she sends to Jon and the other characters allow the reader to follow her journey of self-discovery and growth. Even though the story touches on some hard subjects, it is told with warmth, compassion and humor. I truly enjoyed this heartfelt and enjoyable novel and highly recommend it! Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read an early copy.
I’m something of a geeky girl myself so stories featuring science-driven women are my jam. This Won’t End Well explores what happens when hard-headed thinking collides matters of the heart–complicated ones. I loved the multiplicity of relationships at play here: the central romance(s), the friendships, the mother-daughter relationship, and the workplace woes. Pagan handles all these threads like the seasoned pro she is, creating a memorable main character in Annie, keeping the pacing tight (raced through this in two days!), and, most importantly, balancing humor, tragedy, and compassion to deliver a deeply satisfying read. Wonderful!
This Won’t End Well was so easy to fall into. Pagan’s characters are so relatable and the format of journal entries alternating with neighborhood association emails was very clever. A fun, enjoyable read!
Ok right off the top I know that I am in the minority with this book. While parts of it truly captivated me and held my interest, other parts did not at all. I had a hard time with this one. I started to lay it down and mark it as a DNF but decided to keep on reading because that is just what I try to do.
I didn’t really connect with any of the characters but did like a couple. I thought Jon was a bit of a jerk the way he handled running off to Paris. I mean really, calling his fiancé to let her know. What kind of man does that. A jerk in my opinion.
Annie, I kind of liked. She was a bit to flaky in parts. She did finally decide what she wanted and went for it. That was good to read. She needed the backbone and I suppose courage. But overall, I just did not connect with her either. I thought she was a bit childish in ways.
Harper, I liked her. I think she may have been the most upfront and honest person, besides Viola, in this whole story. Yet I didn’t really look at this as a story. It was written in a way that was hard for me to connect too. I think maybe that is because I read a lot of thrillers and not usually a story that is like emails, diaries, neighborhood notices and the such. That just through this book off for me. I think this would have been a fantastic book if it had been written differently and again that is just me I’m sure.
Oh, I did like Moppet. Moppet was the dog that belonged to Harper but who really loved Annie.
Then there is Mo.. Mo is a PI and he was on the job. I liked him in many ways. He was doing his job so had to tell a few falsehoods. I thought right from the start that he and Annie should be together. But we don’t always get what we want do we. Well maybe we did. I can’t tell you that part.
Thank you to #NetGalley, #Camille Pagan, #Tall Poppy for the arc of this book for my honest review.
I give it 3.5 stars. I do recommend you read it for yourself as many do love it more than I did. I do love this author’s work and will read her again. This was just not my kind of book.
Annie Mercer is a little bit of a geek with her love of science and as her life falls apart around her, she finds herself looking for a job, wondering if the wedding is going to happen, and helping her mom stay safe. Then she meets Harper, after swearing off new people, and things start to change.
Annie must make decisions. Does she follow her heart or her head? Should she give her fiancé, Jon, a second chance? What about the new person in her life that makes her laugh, smile, and have fun? Annie is so real as she works through her life, she makes decisions, and has second doubts about those decisions. I loved seeing her take chances, step back and reconsider, and most of all find out what she really needs.
Camille Pagan writes a book that lets the readers connect with the characters, follow them on a real-life journey, and cheer them on at every choice they make. I am a fan of her writing and look forward to more from Camille.
Annie’s life is about to implode (which is fitting since she’s a chemist) but so not fun when it’s her life instead of an experiment. Her boss, Todd, has been sexually harassing her, she’s living with her mom because she’s worried about her health, and her fiancé, Jon, has left on an impromptu trip to Paris… without even asking her to join him! In order to cope and in turn, avoid getting hurt again, she’s decided to avoid anyone new in her life. But, of course, as we all know, life doesn’t always go as planned and not one, but two, new people soon enter her life.
“This is the problem with making a habit of a person: all of the neural pathways he has carved remain long after he’s gone.”
Ironically, since the book is written mostly in first person account journal entries, I the reader inadvertently became a new person in Annie’s life! Luckily, just like her other new friend Harper, I was a positive influence and extremely supportive of her decisions. Wink wink.
I’ve been a fan of this author since she first started writing and love that her characters are so real and relatable. Epistolary novels are my jam, and this one was extremely effective in its delivery. I found myself rooting for Annie as she tried to decide what comes next. Even though the title implies that things won’t end well for her, once Annie decides to make decisions that are right for her, it’s smooth sailing ahead! If you love books with strong female leads (especially if they are raw and human and falter at times just like us), then be sure to try this one.
Location: East Haven, Michigan and Paris, France
I received an advance copy of this book. All opinions are my own.