{Thank you to Berkley Publishing for my gifted review copy}
Mom Jeans and Other Mistakes by Alexa Martin
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Book Summary:
Two best friends say “I do” to living together, for better or worse, in this bold women’s fiction novel from Alexa Martin.
Jude Andrews is famous. Well, at least on Instagram. Her brand is clean eating, good vibes, Pilates, and casually looking like a sun-kissed goddess. In real life, however, she’s a total disaster. She has a strained relationship with her fame-hungry mom and her latest bad decision emptied out her entire savings account.
Lauren Turner had a plan: graduate medical school and become the top surgeon in the country. But when she became unexpectedly pregnant, those plans changed. And when her fiancé left her, they changed again. Now navigating the new world of coparenting, mom groups, and dating, she decides to launch a mommy podcast with all the advice she wishes someone had given her.
Jude and Lauren don’t have much in common, but maybe that’s why they’ve been best friends since the third grade. Through ups and downs, they’ve been by each other’s sides. But now? They’re broke, single, and do the only thing that makes sense—move in together, just like they talked about when they were teenagers. Except when they were younger, the plan didn’t include a five-year-old daughter and more baggage than their new townhouse can hold.
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My Thoughts & Review:
I have to say, I was initially drawn to this book by the title and book cover, it’s just perfection. But what I I didn’t expect is that behind this cute cover and clever name would ultimately be SO much more than just an easy contemporary fiction read.
Author Alexa Martin draws you in and introduces you to childhood best friends, Lauren and Jude. Their lives could not be more different but when unforeseen circumstances arise, they decide to enact their childhood dream of moving in together.
They are hoping to be able to help each other out while they both are feeling a bit down on their luck. Lauren is a Black single mom to her five year old daughter Addy and Jude is a social media “influencer”, so of course, things don’t go exactly as planned, as these friends are each in very different stages of life.
What I loved about this book is the focus on adult female friendship, and how it isn’t always smooth sailing. Seeing these two women root for one another, themselves and their relationship together while also traveling the bumpy road of adulthood was relatable and inspiring.
I appreciated that there were elements of love but this this story was also based in reality. Hard topics weren’t only tied in but also fully discussed, including, race, child custody, mental health, alcoholism,and motherhood. Both women have empowering parts of their lives and also things they are working through, and I appreciated that so much.
This was my first book by Alexa Martin and certainly won’t be my last! I highly recommend this one and think it would maker for a great book club discussion.
I shared this book over on my instagram account @genthebookworm back when this was published in September, if you are interested in hearing more!
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