Mia's husband dies unexpectedly, leaving her a single mom of two boys. Three years after his death, Mia decides to write her memoir as a way to help her process her husband's absence and her life changes. In an effort to help boost sales, Mia embarks on a book tour with stops in cities where her best friends live. This story picks up in early 2020 at the early stages of the COVID epidemic, which is featured in bits and pieces throughout. Mia has lost her sense of self after becoming widowed and this story is her journey to find herself again.

3 out of 5 stars.

I received an advanced copy from the author, publisher and NetGalley; and I am voluntarily leaving an unbiased review.

Unfortunately this was a case where the description didn't match the story for me. What I expected to be an upbeat fun recovery story as Mia spends time with friends in the aftermath of her husband's death and publication of her memoir - didn't really come out that way. She is judgmental of her friends and father and their relationships with their spouses - as if her loss makes her an expert, I've enjoyed other of Zoe's books, so I'll take this as a one off.

I disliked both the writing style and main character. Unfortunately, Mia is also one of the most self-absorbed characters I’ve ever read about who is strangely unaware of just how self-absorbed she really is and there is almost zero growth which is a huge pet peeve of mine. And why did the writing seem like it hated all men...?

I truly didn't know what I was expecting from this book, but I am always game for reading new women's fiction books. And I was a bit confused about what I read. Let me explain.

The Fun Widow's Book Tour is exactly what it means. It's a short women's fiction read that follows Mia as she tours for her book tour and visits her closest friends during the beginning of COVID. Yup, that's right. You heard me right. We get a brief mention of the start of the COVID pandemic toward the end of the book. I don't know why it needed to be mentioned or part of the book, but it's there.

Before the start of the pandemic, Mia was trying to reconnect or be there more for her closest friends while she did her book tour. I understand what Mia was trying to do, but there should have been more chapters. In my honest opinion, there was too much to say. I just wish we could have expanded more so it wasn't rushed in these chapters. We could have explored more in-depth about Mia's family relationship as well as her relationship with her closest friends.

Overall, this book was good, but felt a bit too scattered. I liked the inside look at writing and publishing. I liked that Mia called her sons "the dudes" and so did everyone else. But, like I said, there was too much going on. It almost felt like the author was making a book with all the leftovers from other books. Mia was supposed to be doing a book tour and the book isn't getting good reviews. She is also trying to fix each of her friends' lives even though she really needs to focus on her own. (I get this. Easier to deal with their problems than face your own, but it still felt a bit flat.) She is dealing with her aging father and a stepmom she has never liked. Oh, and then Covid magically appears with no warning but she is still on the road promoting her book. I thought it was interesting that her own widowhood inspired the story and maybe that is why the story felt a bit cluttered: how do you edit out even the smallest parts when they feel so dear?

I was able to read this book as an ARC from Netgalley. Sadly, I did not finish this book. I got 60% of the way in. I kept expecting a story to start. It was basically about her grief over her husband that she had lost 2.5 years ago. I don't like leaving negative reviews for books. But this book was not for me. I give it 2.5 stars.

2 1/2 stars

First thing to know about this book is not to be bamboozled by the bright cover and title. There is nothing fun in this book. This is a book about a woman, Mia, whose husband died two years earlier. She’s still feeling completely self-involved and sorry for herself. She writes a book that’s supposed to be a memoir, but it’s not about her. How can you write a memoir that’s not about you?

She says this memoir is about her husband, to memorialize him, but we learn very little about her husband. We don’t know what he really did for a living. We don’t learn about how he died. All we really know is that she tells us that he was a good husband and wonderful father, and that he’d been in the hospital for a few days before he died. That’s pretty meager stuff for a book about him.

Mia has two sons, but neither seems to have a name. They’re referred to, by everyone in the book, as “the dudes.” Mia will sometimes go beyond that and call them her elder and younger. Either way, it got remarkably annoying after the first few uses. Those boys seems to be dealing very well with their father’s death. Then, again, we’re not really shown much of their lives.

We see a little more of Mia, but we still don’t learn that much about her. We are told much more about her father and step-mother and her friends that we are about Mia. I could probably walk up to her friends George or Rachel and her husband and be completely at ease with them because we learn so much about them. I don’t see doing that with Mia. Even at the end of the book, she seemed an awkward stranger, whiny and depressed. She really needed to take a page from her father’s book an start to move on. Instead, she remains mired in a puddle of gloom. I would think that was hard to do with two young children. They tend to naturally pull you out of such woe. Mia is also a taker; she takes her friends support, money, hospitality, gifts, and appears to return very little.

Of course Mia wasn’t in the memoir! Mia had lost herself just trying to stay alive.

Here’s some news for you, Mia. If you’re not in it, it’s not a memoir. Here’s more for both Mia and author Zoe Fishman to know: this is a book you should probably have written for yourself, maybe for your family and friends to read, but not published. I feel like you foisted your self-pity on me. I do offer Ms. Fishman my condolences on her loss, for this book is based on her experience after the loss of her own husband, but honestly, it doesn’t offer anything positive or helpful for others.

If this book wasn’t already depressing enough, adding in the pandemic just made it worse. Why do so many authors think I want to read about how Covid 19 brought the world to a halt? Not to mention, I’m pretty sure that the author had the dates for when things happened during the pandemic, like the start of mask wearing, grocery disinfecting, and lockdown wrong. She has everything happening in the first week or two of March 2020, but I’m pretty sure most of that didn’t happen until mid-March to early April of that year.

So if death and a pandemic aren’t enough to bring you down, Mia is constantly bemoaning her weight. She apparently suffered from anorexia at points in her life. Others make fun or her and her weight, too. It’s not exactly fat-shaming, but it’s not something I feel the need to read about.
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I had trouble staying connected to this book or its characters. It’s flat, depressing, slow-moving, and offers little to assist any reader who might find him/herself in a similar situation of losing a loved one. Both the actual author and the fictional Mia should have listened more to their editors. While the technical writing, things like punctuation, syntax, grammar, and such is fine, the book in its entirety is tedious and dull.

I don’t recommend this book, and it’s unlikely that I’ll be reading any other books by this author.

I received an advanced reader copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. I thank all involved for their generosity, but it had no effect on this review. All opinions in this review reflect my true and honest reactions to reading this book.

What a cute emotional quick read. Our main character has just released a book on success. But she herself is going through some turbulent times in her life - heartbroken and unsure how to carry forward as a single parent. She is unsure how to accept her dads new girlfriend. And she has three kids to raise. She used to be so outgoing and charismatic. This is the story of reconnection of friends and finding herself again. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Ugh I’m so torn. I wanted to love this book. And parts of it I did. The characters are wonderful and diverse. It’s so hard to be critical of this book knowing it’s based off the author’s real life experience. Some of the passages were a little repetitive and at times the characters were judgy and mean. Nothing really gets accomplished but maybe that was the author’s intent?

This is probably the first book I've read that took place during the beginning of the COVID-19 shutdowns, and that in itself, evoked memories for me so I could relate to being isolated and away from family during that time. I liked the evolution of the widow Mia's relationship with her father and step-mother and how she dealt with her anger and hurt. There were two problems that kept me from fully relating to the story. One is that I didn't really like her friends although I can understand why she wanted to help them. The other is the title. or idea of "Fun Widow", although it was used jokingly, but it just didn't fit with her whole emotional journey..

A good read about Mia an author her lost her husband. She has 2 boys that are her world. Her memoir is being released and her friends arrange a book tour to help her promote the book. Her father, Ira comes to keep the boys while she is on tour. Mia use to be fun and witty but now she is sad all the time. Covid hits and the tour is cancelled. She makes a thirteen hour car ride with her step mom and they finally connect.

The Fun Widow's Book Tour is an highly recommended autobiographical novel about a writer whose husband goes to work one day and never come back home. Mia is raising two young sons and continuing her writing career after the sudden death of her husband. Her childhood and college friends initiate a book tour for Mia to self-promote her latest novel that is receiving so-so reviews. Mia has spent recent months focusing on helping her sons adapt, but now takes the opportunity to, as her friends suggest, get back to being her. Days before the pandemic shutdown begins, Mia's father stays with her sons and she travels on a four-city cross-county book tour. Zoe Fishman's writing is engaging. Fishman enables readers to see there is a human being that is behind the book that was given a snarky two-star review. The Fun Widow's Book Tour is a great sad yet funny read that is perfect for discussion groups. Ms. Fishman--here is your five-star review. Thank you for this book.

I really wanted to love this book. I've read another Zoe Fishman book and really enjoyed it. Also, I was a youngish widow, so thought I'd be able to relate. On top of everything, I know the book is based on her life, so was disappointed that is was just ok for me. I did really enjoy the Mia, the main character's, road trip and her relationship with her friends, parents, and sons. The characters were all well-developed and interesting. The handling of COVID was a bit off...this super smart woman didn't see anything coming and had no idea who Dr. Fauci is. I'll still read another one of her books,

This book was OK. I had overall a good time. But there are a little bits and pieces that I got a little bored when reading, I will be interested to see future books from this author.

I so wanted to love this book but it just didn’t get going for me! I nearly gave up halfway but was determined to finish it. The word fun should not be in the title as this book is anything it fun. The main character Mia is miserable and the only highlights are her three friends who all have their troubles. I guess a book about bereavement will never be fun but this was miserable!

This was my first-time reading Zoe Fishman and I would read another of her books, but this was not my all-time favorite!

What I loved:
1. All of the friends that Mia had! I wanted them to be part of my friend circle!
2. The support of her father (and stepmother) even though Mia didn't really full appreciate them!
3. The emotional rawness of some of the parts of the book where you felt the author's personal pain - there were some very powerful moments!

What I wanted to be different:
1. I didn't like Mia's treatment of her father, stepmother, 2 children or her friends. The grief is real but she is so focused on herself that she is not open to the world around her.
2. Felt like the ending was undone so that there could be a sequel? Or just not finished to leave us dangling...not my favorite!

Thanks to William Morrow Harper Collins and NetGalley for the advance read.

This story is interestingly set against the backdrop of the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Mia has written a memoir of her life after the death of her husband. Although her book is not critically acclaimed or doing well at all, she sets off on her book tour that happens to coincide with where her friends who accompanied her through her grief live. Her tour quickly unravels with the outbreak of covid and the accompanying masking requirements and travel restrictions. While it did last, she learns about herself after her grief, about her friends, and what friendship really means to them. It was a moving story with insightful perspectives and some amusing commentary.

The title of the book is quite misleading. There is no group of widows, and the one widow, Mia, is certainly not having fun. Based on the author’s own experiences, Mia is a writer who has two young sons when her husband dies. After writing a memoir about the last two years of grieving and trying to move on, Mia embarks on an author tour, to the cities where her three best friends live, hoping to help them in their own lives as she adjusts to her own situation. Covid pops up in the book, too, as it was part of the author’s experience. I felt like the book never reached its full potential, and might appeal to some readers. It was just okay. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I felt the title wasn't a good fit for the book. Mia was not fun, and the book was not fun. It is a sad story of friendships and marriage. Several times in the book Mia talked about how she had been the fun one, but her book tour certainly didn't bring out her fun side. As a fiction author she set up her own small book tour of her memoir. She wrote the memoir as a way to cope with the unexpected death of her husband. I did like the threads of her various friendships and the look into their different marriages. The inclusion of COVID at the end felt jarring and unnecessary to the plot. I do think others will enjoy the book more than I did and will recommend it.

3 1/2

Mia’s husband died unexpectedly two years ago. The grief has been intense. She thought she could keep a part of him alive by writing a memoir that she’s now trying to promote as the world is about to close down due to the pandemic. She visits each of her best friends before lockdown as part of her book tour, but also because she hopes she can repay some of the kindness that they’ve shown her since her husband’s death in Zoe Fishman’s The Fun Widow’s Book Tour.

Much to my disappointment early on in my reading was to discover that there is no fun widow in this book. It’s a sarcastic title because Mia is a long way from feeling fun or funny or anything close to normal. Unfortunately, Mia is also one of the prickliest, most self-absorbed characters I’ve ever read about who is strangely unaware of just how self-absorbed she really is. I won’t say that she exhibits any change as the book progresses but every once in a while there is a glimmer that Mia can view circumstances beyond her own grief. Those glimmers are what kept me with The Fun Widow’s Book Tour.

Ultimately one little passage made me continue and almost like this book. There was a moment where Mia’s pain was palpable, almost a universal pain that anyone (despite Mia’s assertions that we couldn’t conceivably know what she’s going through) could tap into. It’s instances like this where the author reaches their reader, shows a vulnerability we either understand, empathize, or sympathize with. It moves beyond the main character’s prickliness and demonstrates humanity. I can feel for her because I have felt such pain.

As Mia visits each of her best friends, initially judging their relationships and finding them wanting, she is able to ascertain some truths. Not all relationships are the same. Not every relationship has to emulate yours to be fulfilling or good.

One of the most heart-breaking sequences for me was Mia’s treatment of her step-mother. Despite being an adult within inches of middle age, she behaves like a spoiled brat to Judy, the woman her father has married. She makes no attempts to understand that he might be lonely, that he deserves to continue living. She simply thinks about herself and behaves horribly toward Judy. Does that change as covid is about to assert itself? Well, you’d have to read the book to find out.

I won’t come away from this review telling you that I liked The Fun Widow’s Book Tour. I don’t think Zoe Fishman’s writing is for me but obviously is for others. I might try another to see if this is a one off despite knowing that the author’s reality (being an unexpected widow due to similar circumstances, raising two boys known as the dudes, living in NYC after Atlanta, being a writer who has written a fictional account of a writer’s memoir about her husband’s death (yikes!!), etc.,) is very similar (almost the same) to Mia’s whom I’m not certain I could spend an afternoon with is off-putting. But as I learned as I read this book and found parts that actually spoke to me: you never know.

I will suggest that this could conceivably be your-mileage-may-vary.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.