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?
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Camille Pagan is one of my one-click authors, and I was overjoyed to win a paperback copy from her in a FB group (signed!!)– even though I’d already purchased the eBook and audiobook! I love Amy McFadden’s narration, and look forward to every book Ms. Pagan writes and Ms. McFadden narrates.
I love the way Ms. Pagan weaves humor into the most difficult problems her characters face–and she tends to put them through hell and back. Her characters are fully-fleshed out, relatable, the kind you want to jump off the page and introduce themselves. The smidge of quirkiness she adds to her characters add to the overall authenticity of the story.
My favorite of hers is Life and Other Near Death Experiences. This Won’t End Well ranks up there with all of her books, but for some reason I have a real soft spot for Life…maybe it’s because that’s the book I discovered her and she became one of my favorite authors.
I don’t go into details about the story, you can read the back blurb if you so choose. When I pick up a Camille Pagan book, I know I’m in for a wonderful ride in the world of women’s fiction with characters who face dilemmas common in the everyday world and we can follow along on their journey as they grow into characters we love and hope for.
Looking forward to the next Camille Pagan book. She can’t write them fast enough for this old gal!
Annie Mercer is a supremely relatable character. She thought she knew where she was going, but life threw her a few curveballs – she can’t go back to the job she loves, her best friend has changed into someone Annie no longer knows, and her fiancé has gone off to Paris to find himself. I enjoyed tagging along on Annie’s journey from what she planned to be to who she wants to be.
I flew through this book in a few days and liked this unique format of storytelling. This Won’t End Well is yet another charming addition to Camille Pagan’s growing body of work.
This felt like the perfect book to read considering the challenging confinement days we are going through. It’s a light-hearted story carried effectively by Camille Pagán’s quirky humour through emails and journal entries. The protagonist Annie Mercer felt like my new BFF by the end of the book as she poured her heart out going through seriously life-changing events. First, she loses her job through no fault of her own and, due to a non-compete clause, works cleaning houses. Then her annoying fiancé leaves on a soul-searching trip … without her … to Paris. Pagán’s crisp writing moves the story along at a great pace that gave me lots of laugh-out-loud moments and a few sniffles. A hopeful tale with lovable characters and a strong message about never giving up. Encouragement we can all use these days. Read it. You will be glad you did.
Camille Pagan never disappoints. She’s a go-to author for me, one of my top auto-buys. Her characters are charming and endearing and her stories fresh and full of wit. THIS WON’T END WELL was the perfect read for me, and with it’s very real and right ending, I can’t recommend the book enough.
Annie Mercer is at a very low point in her life–lost her job as a chemist, temporarily lost her fiance to Paris, and living at home with a semi-dysfunctional mother. Through the lens of diary entries and emails interspersed among regular chapters, Annie begins to reevaluate how she’s controlled her life and feelings and gradually to blossom.
Hated for this to end!
Camille Pagán writes with deep compassion for her characters and for all of us who try so hard to do the right thing by the people we love. Annie, the protagonist at the center of her latest novel, is no exception. Quirky and occasionally clueless, charming and vulnerable, Annie’s so real that you’ll want to make her your best friend by the time you’ve reached the last page. This Won’t End Well is Pagán at her finest — capturing readers with warmth, honesty, and keen observations about keeping love simple in a complicated world.
Witty, wise, and of the moment, This Won’t End Well is a story of unlikely friendships, calculated risks, and taking a stand — even when it’s easier to maintain the status quo. Charmingly flawed and endearingly real characters combine with a unique format to make Camille Pagán’s latest page-turner her best book yet.
Camille Pagan is truly such a talented writer! Her books are consistently pithy, funny, and written with impeccable pacing. THIS WON’T END WELL was no different. I loved Annie, the protagonist, and willingly joined her on her journey to self discovery. I highly recommend!
These characters just grabbed me and made me care about their choices in life. Do we keep the old friends or try and make new ones or just isolate and ignore everyone and their opinions.
Annie is quite a gal, chemistry is her first love and her fiance Jon is her second. She lives with her mom and tells herself she has to take care of her. Annie’s boss, Ted, hits on her one to many times and she ends up losing her job as her fiance jets off to France….to find himself!
Her best friend keeps trying to push products on her to make money even though Annie is back to cleaning houses. I was totally irritated right along with Annie. And Jon is telling her no communication for a monthl.
Then comes Harper who reminds me of a young Audrey Hepburn…waif like, innocent, and a bit mysterious. What young person buys a pricey house, lives alone, dresses wild, sings to herself and takes selfies? Annie doesn’t want to be friends but here is the point, Annie is totally wrong about Harper, first impressions aren’t always right and soon Harper is a friend.
The emails she sends to Jon are wonderful as I wouldn’t be that nice. And then there is the detective, Mo, hiding in a hedge and yet she befriends him quickly. Mo is a funny, younger man with a terrifuc sense of humor.
Will Annie take Jon back? Will she drop Leeza as her best friend? And can she get her job back and move on in her career? This is a quick read as I so enjoyed the people, relationships and needed to whisper to Annie, “keep trying, you have this”
Everyone needs an Annie. Harper and Mo came alive and you wish everyone the best. A very nice piece of fiction that made me smile 4.9 stars
July 9, 2020
Fun in a twisty sorta way!
Interesting Characters bouncing around a pin ball game of life. Some of the paddles were pretty harsh and some had good padding. You will understand when you’re finished!
Camille Pagán always delivers novels where her characters crack wide open, and we get to watch as they try to heal their souls! She writes with truth and honesty about their trials and tribulations. But, we do find ourselves laughing out loud and smiling as she has them walk their path!
I adored Annie Mercer! I was rooting for her! When I closed “This Won’t End Well”, I felt very close to Annie!
This novel was written using a rather invigorating approach, that I found to be genius! It was so original! She had her protagonist Annie Mercer share texts, emails and journal entries as she told us her story!! It felt more intimate! So cool!
The very essence of this story is hope and never giving up on yourself.
Truly unforgettable!
I’m a huge Camille Pagán fan, and I especially appreciate her ability to take deeper topics and help us see that even the worst situations can be survived with the addition of a little humor. Life and Other Near-Death Experiences is still one of my all-time favorite books.
The heroines Camille creates are always relatable, often a teeny bit snarky, and from my perspective, the type of woman you’d love to sit down and have a drink with. Annie, the heroine of this book, is all of those things. After her fiancé jets away to France with no notice, she’s decided to avoid unfamiliar people. And yet don’t we always get faced with exactly the thing we were trying to avoid?
This is such a fun, fast read but also hits on some important theme: as women when something is done wrong to us, why are we the ones who have to ‘disappear’ ourselves or step back from the situation to avoid further conflict?
If you’re looking for a light-hearted fun read (and who isn’t right now?) this book is perfection.
I just read a book full of witty-fun, it also gave my emotions a little awakening to how much control we have over our life choices. “This Won’t End Well” by Camille Pagán was indeed an eye-opener that life is what you make of it. I loved that it was in first-person. The email and journal form throughout the book was a new twist, that I thought was brilliant. It was a slow read at first but I certainly was drawn in before I knew it.
I love Annie, the main character; she is so real and charming. Her life takes a turn when her fiancé decides to leave to “find himself” on a long trip to France. Annie realizes she also has to find herself but dealing with friends, family, her career and the quirky new neighbor, makes it a bit of challenge.
Camille Pagán is a new author to me and I am so glad to have been introduced to her by this stunning book. She has a talent with words that are full of sunshine! This delightful story will keep you smiling. If you’re looking to read a book that will give you a little chuckle during this difficult pandemic, grab this book to take you away from it all, if only just for a short time.
~This book was given to me in a giveaway by the author in exchange for a fair and honest review~
Song/s the book brought to mind: All You Had To Do Was Stay by Taylor Swift
Told completely in emails and journal entries, This Won’t End Well by Camille Pagán was a nice change of pace from the traditional novel and I loved Pagán’s humor and wit.
It took a bit to get me hooked, but once I was into it I was IN. I mean, what’s not to love about spying on your new neighbor, and an over enthusiastic friend that tries to sell you stuff while you’re dealing with a fiancé that left you behind while he went to Paris to “find himself” before your wedding? Sorry that was probably a run on, but it is so true! Add to that a mom that hoards and having to quit a job due to sexual harassment, and you have yourself a lot of drama. There were a lot of things going on in This Won’t End Well and I loved every minute of it.
This Won’t End Well also mentions the show Supermarket Sweep which I haven’t thought about in ages, but I miss it! I love the little nuggets that I find in Pagán’s books that make them relatable to me, and possibly make me feel old like with this one. Really though, I know that when I read a book by this author I will be able to find things that I can relate to even if they are about people that aren’t like me. I think this makes it a huge plus for readers, and I know you will be able to find things to relate to as well!
This Won’t End Well was a lot of fun, but it was also surprisingly emotional, and I definitely had tears in my eyes towards the end. I love Pagán’s writing so much, and I really need to stop putting off reading her backlist because I love everything I read by her. There are a lot of strong female characters in this book which is another thing I loved about it. This is definitely a feel-good read that will make you smile through any tears you might shed, and I highly recommend it!
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an advance review copy of this book, all opinions and thoughts are my own.
I love reviewing books and finding out about new authors. Camille Pagan is just that to me. A new author. But, she’s a seasoned author in the bookish world, and I can’t wait to go back and read her other novels. This Won’t End Well was a fantastic read and I’m so grateful to have had the chance to read this one.
A story of friendships and family, this is filled with a fantastic cast of characters. They were full of depth and really brought the story to life. Pagan’s characters are filled with flaws and wit, and really filled their roles perfectly. I felt like Annie became a friend, letting me get “close” to her by the end of the book. That’s a wonderful feeling!
I definitely recommend this novel. It’s page turning, it’s gripping, it’s beautifully written. This author is one that I look forward to reading more of, and I have a permanent spot on my shelves for her now. From start to finish, you’ll be hooked. Fantastically done, Camille Pagan. Fantastically done!
*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Publisher and was under no obligation to post a review, positive or negative.* Camille Pagán
Well, isn’t this a poignant book for right now! I mean, Annie REALLY would have liked the whole social distancing thing the world has going on right now (excuse my glib attitude, I am trying to *hopefully* lighten the mood). But also, this is just really freakishly applicable to right now? Like, what a time to be alive!
But seriously, as soon as I started reading this I thought, “is this me?” I just… relate so much to Annie! I mean she’s snide and in your face and aware of her quirks and I love it! I also just really love a book with a lot of sharp with to it, and This Won’t End Well is full of it! I mean, it takes skill to get me giggling within the first page or so. And even more skill for me to immediately connect with the main character. Although, I may have bonded with her just from reading the synopsis and knowing that feeling when all new people are honestly the worst thing imaginable (again, not trying to make light of the current situation, just applying it to past experiences).
I also really like how the book is set up through a bunch of journal passages. I’m not always a huge fan of this tactic, but in this instance I really enjoyed the humor of Annie so it really worked for me to literally be able to read her thoughts. Plus, it’s not JUST journal passages so that also probably helped keep the story going. Anyways, that doesn’t matter because this is just such an excellent read!
It seriously read so quickly, which I DEFINITELY need right now! I’ve been struggling to focus on my reading lately, I don’t know if its a slump, I’m stir-crazy, or probably a combination of the two. But I definitely didn’t struggle reading this one! I mean, I kind of mentioned it above, but I’ll say it again: I was hooked from the first page! It’s both lighthearted yet serious, comical yet cringe worthy, relatable yet out there. All of these seemingly different things just fully came together to make such a wonderful book!
Annie Mercer recently lost her job as a chemist because she was not getting along with her boss who repeatedly made unwanted advances. He had a great reputation and Annie feared to disclose his behavior to his superiors. Also, due to a non compete clause in her contract, she cannot work in a chemical-related field. With her career in shambles, Annie tries to find solace with her fiance, Jon.
Jon begins to act strangely and decides to take an impromptu trip to Paris. While away, he notifies her that he is figuring out his life and does not want her to contact him for a month. Annie is hurt and confused by her fiance’s actions and gets no replies from her emails. She begins to wonder how her life might have been if she was more resilient and took different actions in her past.
Annie decides she needs to move forward by starting a house cleaning company where she can slowly begin to repair her career and social life.
”This Won’t End Well” by Camille Pagan is about perseverance and not letting short term failures dictate your future. There is always time to reinvent yourself if you take the time to learn from your mistakes. I enjoyed the unique format of the story which included texts, emails, and diary entries.
You can’t go wrong with Camille Pagan. She builds wonderful stories full of sass and savvy.
When was the last time you read a book that absolutely delighted you? That left you feeling enchanted and captivated?
Run, don’t walk, and read This Won’t End Well.
You will love how flawed Annie is as Camille Pagán shows you how Annie’s scientific mind cannot process human error. Annie is a planner, a plotter, a pattern-seeker. When the vagaries of life throw those plans, plots, and patterns askew, she struggles to adapt. She thinks she’s fine. Her fiancé Jon tells her he’s heading to Paris for a month without her so he can find an internal reset? She grants him permission, not bothering to ask herself what she thinks. She gets fired from a job she loved due to others’ duplicitous behavior? Create a new job as a housekeeper. Her former best friend is caught up in a wacky pyramid scheme? Exit the friendship. Her new neighbor appears to be under some sort of personal siege? Do not get involved.
Annie decides, in fact, to remove herself from people. No new friendships. No new relationships. What have people done for her? Leave her for Paris? Try to sell her crystals and essential oils? Demand she take social media photos? Who needs that?
When she finds an unused journal, she decides to write down her thoughts, feelings, and what is happening to her. Ever the scientist, she needs this data collection. Camille Pagán tells Annie’s story through her journal entries, texts, and emails, developing the sense that Annie uses these inputs to analyze and understand what is happening to her and how she will repond.
Annie has quite a bit to process: her relationship with her mother, her memories of her father, her friendships, her love life, and her former career. Some of this processing seems like it moves a little quickly, yet Pagán makes you feel its authenticity. After examining her data collection, Annie is able to react, to solve the hypotheses.
I love Annie Mercer. I love her growth, and I love her openness, however unwilling, to broach her own boundaries. She delights me. This book delights me. I need to be delighted by Camille Pagán more often.
Never has a quirky lead character been so lovable or well drawn as Annie, the lovelorn chemist who carries This Won’t End Well. Though she pretends to be closed off to the world, in fact she can’t stop caring — and that push-pull of who to let into her life, and under what terms, is something we all understand at a soul-deep level. Annie’s journey from oblivious in love to aware and empowered had me cheering and turning the pages madly, unable to tear myself away. If you want to laugh and lose yourself in a great read, this is the one for you!