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How Hard Can It Be?

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I enjoyed this book just as I did I Don't Know How She Does It by this author a number of years ago. Kate Reddy is back, and after staying home with her kids for seven years, she is returning to the work force. Those children are now teenagers, and her husband has quite his job to pursue training as a counselor. Most of the time he is off on his bike, off to his own therapist, to mindfulness classes--always away somewhere. The family is facing serious financial shortfalls, and Kate must find employment. The problem is her "advanced" age, as she is nearing 50.
Just as I remember the first book being, this was at times hilarious. It was also so on the mark for so many things that women face--caring for aging parents who are becoming increasingly dependent on their midlife children; teenagers who are aloof and scoffing, then needy and dramatic; a workplace where older women are often discounted and ignored; a house that needs constant attention; and, luckily, friends who really do understand everything one is going through. Kate handles all these things, telling herself continually, "how hard can it be?"
This was a thoroughly enjoyable and satisfying read.
My thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press, and Allison Pearson for the opportunity to read this book.

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I am sure that I am within the target audience for How Hard Can it Be by Allison Pearson. The book primarily deals with Kate Reddy as she is facing turning 50. Since I just turned 60 this year, I totally understand dealing with these big birthdays.

The book is both humorous and entertaining.

Kate is turning 50 and she is constantly dealing with all of the symptoms of peri menopause, which she calls Perry. She forgets things, she has hot flashes, and her libido has vanished. On top of that, she is dealing with her husband who is having his own midlife crisis. He has taken up biking and counseling and all things mindful. Of course, there is no time for a job with all his new mindfulness, so Kate has to look at returning to work at age 49.

In addition to finding a job, being exasperated with her husband she has to deal with her teenage son and daughter. She is constantly walking on eggshells with her teenage daughter.

Then there is Jack. The almost love of her life. They met years ago and almost started something but didn’t. Well, he’s back and Kate is wondering if maybe it’s not too late.

A fun book, with insights on a lot of areas. A lot of social issues are covered in a humorous manner, like ageism in the workforce and the social media pressure of teenage girls. She manages to address these issues in a funny way, while still shedding light on the fact that they are issues.

I enjoyed this book and look forward to the next Kate Reddy book.

I received an ARC of this book.

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I liked this book, but kept thinking I read it before. Since that was not possible, it was because although the book was funny and kept moving, there wasn't really anything new in it. I have read other books by this author and authors in a similar vein and this seemed to be a bit of a re-hash. Good as a light beach read or as an audio book when you know you may miss paying attention to a few parts but don't want to have it screw up the plot.

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**Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a digital AND physical copy of this book!**

This book really hit home for me in the beginning. And it was uncomfortable. But I loved Kate Reddy, she is one strong cookie. She is in this big house that needs to be redone and her husband has lost his job and decided to retrain as a counselor. So, it is up to Kate to get back to work.

I couldn't get enough of this one. She's starting with the life change - which is a nice change of pace for a main character. She's trying to reenter the workforce (I'm living that nightmare now), and she is dealing with children who are full-on-teenagers, aging parents who need more and more care, and a husband who doesn't seem to be of much help.

But hey, how hard can it be?

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This is the follow up book to I don’t know how she does it. We meet back up with Kate who is now closer to 50 than 40 and looking to return to the workforce. The problem is that no one seems to want to hire a 50 year old. Kate’s husband has checked out, her kids expect her to do everything and she is trying to help with ailing parents. Things seem to be going all wrong but can Kate keep it all together.

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Funny and irreverent , with a quirky protagonist and plenty of laugh-out-loud moments. Very enjoyable!

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I enjoyed this book and found it funny and could really relate to many things going on in Kate's life. Perimenopause, menopause, intimacy issues, kids, caring for an elderly parent with dementia, and just dealing with getting older. Yeah, I'd say I can relate. While there were parts that I found a little annoying, overall I found the book to be very entertaining with many laugh-out-loud moments. I didn't realize this was the second book in a series, but I feel this can be read as a stand-alone book. I may have to read the first one, though, as I did like Kate Reddy and would love to see what she was up to before this book.

I listened to the audiobook given to me by a friend, but began the book in digital format that I received from the publisher via NetGalley. The narration in the audiobook was very well done by Poppy Miller.

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Kate Reddy is about to turn the big 5-0 and she's ready to re-enter the workforce. Her children are in their teens and her husband is having a mid-life crisis, so Kate takes it as an opportunity to throw herself back into her work. Nearing 50, Kate feels the pressure of jumping back into the workforce and she finds herself lying about her age on her resume in order to land a job! She's back at the office where she worked almost fifteen years ago...but everything has changed. Everyone is noticeably younger, smarter, and far more tech savvy than Kate is. She can easily juggle her husband, her in-laws, her children, and the responsibilities of her work, right? Well it may prove to be harder than she originally thought. Although I am not yet a mother and I'm not close to my 50th birthday, I could still relate to Kate and her attempt to juggle all of her commitments while hitting roadblock after roadblock! This book is the follow-up to Allison Pearson's debut novel I Don't Know How She Does It,but it isn't necessary to have read the first one to enjoy this book. I thought the characters were really well developed and I found myself laughing along as Kate got herself stuck in these highly hilarious situations while trying to remain young! This book takes on issues such as social media, age in the workplace, and real-life and turn them into witty situations that we can all relate to. 


*this review will be shared on my blog this week!

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How Hard Can it Be? By Allison Pearson

I received a free advanced copy from St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley.

Kate is heading toward her 50th birthday and trying to keep it all together. Mainly trying to understand her teenage children and enter the workforce again which requires a little bit of flexibility on her actual birthdate.

This is a sequel to I Don’t Know How She Does It - but not reading the first book didn’t make this book any less enjoyable!

I love Pearsons wit! Mainly in the character of Roy - Kate’s “brain butler” who she requires to remember things.

“Roy, who is this woman in the pink suit waving to me? She looks familiar...”

Great summertime read - light plot with humorous commentary on parenting and getting older.

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If you’re a woman over 40 — either working or going back to work after taking time off to raise children — you’ve got to read this. Actually, if you’re any woman you’ve got to read this. You’ll either identify with it because you’re just like Kate, or you’ll identify with Alice or Candy or Sally. If you’re a husband you should read it for its eye-opening characteristics. If you’re a single guy with a job, well, it might enlighten you too, man.

I’m just going to admit it. This is exactly what’s it’s like to be a 40ish woman going back to work after a decade off. Luckily I have a husband and colleagues who are a little more forgiving, but other than that, How Hard Can It Be is the cold unvarnished truth about raising teenagers, the pressures and interruptions of managing a home and extended family problems, the difficulty finding time to exercise, and the change of life that hits everyone with XY chromosomes.

It’s funny, authentic, heartbreaking. I furrowed my brow wondering how Kate could miss so many red flags with her kids, but in her defense, she had a LOT going on., And throughout every chapter I thought It is so nice to know I’m not the only one in this particular boat!
https://randombookmuses.com/2018/06/16/review-how-hard-can-it-be-by-allison-pearson/

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Totally related to the character and her situation! She is authentic, funny and intelligent. I enjoyed this book and will share with my patrons.

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Things have taken a bit of a turn for Kate Reddy--she's nearing 50, her husband has lost his job and spends most of his time cycling, and her kids are busy teenagers. With Richard out of work, Kate has to return to work. However, she finds that the financial community isn't welcoming to a woman on the cusp of fifty. When Kate decides to pretend she's seven years younger to enter the working world, she winds up working at the hedge fund she originally started. Once back at work, though, she finds herself overwhelmed dealing with everything: the unhelpful husband, the ungrateful kids, the demanding colleagues, and an unexpected appearance from an old flame.

This was a tough one for me. It was a slow read, although in its defense, I read it during a very busy time at work. I empathized with Kate's return to working motherhood--especially juggling kids and work and dealing with a male-driven workplace. I didn't enjoy the intense focus on how old Kate was, making her seem nearly decrepit at fifty. It's one thing to deal with turning the big 5-0 and its ramifications, but its another to make it seem like it's the end of the world. Even worse, while Kate could seem so strong in the workplace, she was such a pushover with her children. She was supposedly clueless with technology, unable to keep up with their exploits, and a complete doormat. (I also couldn't handle the endless endearments she used with her kids--there's only so many "sweeties" and "darlings" I can take.)

There are certainly humorous moments in the novel. This is a sequel to Pearson's first novel featuring Reddy and the parts I enjoyed here were the parts I liked about the first one: Kate's wit, her ability to take on the "big boys" at her fund, and the snippets of emails between her and her friend, Candy. There were definitely pieces of the novel that I found myself nodding along with--her moments of anxiety; her rants about how working moms are treated; some insights into kids and the social media era, etc. And Kate certainly doesn't have an easy go of it, with her clueless husband, helpless kids, crumbling house, aging parents, and stressful job.

That being said, I could see most of the plot twists coming a mile away, and you couldn't help but get frustrated that Kate couldn't see them too. Overall, while I found parts of this novel funny, refreshing, and quite apropos, I couldn't really get over Kate's obsession with her looks or her one-sided relationship with her children. In the end, 3.5 stars, probably bumped up a bit for a little Kate Reddy nostalgia.

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I loved this book! I remember reading the first one and loving her writing style. This was the same. I was sucked in from the first page. Being a 50 something myself, it was completely relatable. I hope her next one deals with retirement and who follows!!

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I was fortunate to win this book from St. Martin's Press as well as a copy from Net Galley.

I did not read the first book by Allison Pearson, and I gather the two books are related. That's okay, I understood this book perfectly and will probably go back and read the first book simply because I like her writing style.

I am older than Kate is in this book, but I distinctly remember so many of the issues she addresses. I think every woman can relate to the feelings concerning menopause, teenagers, and even parents that are aging and having problems. We may all be going through different life experiences at different times, but some of the feelings will be the same. I enjoyed the directness of the problems presented, the timely, or not so timely as the case may be, recognition of some of the problems, mixed with a sense of humor. Where would we be if we failed to see the humor sometimes?


I enjoyed the book more than I expected and intend to recommend it to friends. The characters are real and understandable, the reading flows nicely. It's a good read and addresses many current issues that previous generations were not faced with.

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I loved the first Kate Reddy book, I Don't Know How She Does It, so I was excited to get an advance copy of How Hard Can It Be? To be honest, it can be very hard. Raising kids, navigating a failing marriage, finishing this book.

It was a hard book to read because Kate's life was like your worst day over and over again, but she owned so much of it. Her teenaged daughter sends a picture of her ass across the school internet and her biggest concern is how many likes it didn't get. Her son is busy killing people via video games while swearing with his friends. Honestly, these kids both needed a swift kick. But Kate fawns over them, keeping the butt pic a secret from her husband, doing her daughter's homework and groveling for any crumbs of kindness she can get from her teens.

Her husband is so obviously checked out and having an affair, but Kate doesn't seem to notice his lack of interest in her or their family and his daily disappearances, although he has quit his job to pursue his dream of being a therapist, forcing Kate back to work.

Kate goes back to work at her old fund, and is immediately successful, showing up younger men easily. And suddenly an old flame shows back up into her life, stirring up feelings that she never got over.

So, the book that showed how hard it is to be a working mother ends up making a rich ex-flame the solution to all of Kate's problems. He fixes things behind the scenes just to help her. Blah, blah, blah. How about Kate can solve her own problems?

The other part of the book the I didn't love was the constant description of how old and awful Kate felt like she looked, how her body, her uterus, and her skin were failing her, along with her memory. The constant references to "Roy" as the keeper of her memories was super annoying. I'm the same age as Kate and I don't feel that bad about myself - reading this was depressing.

That may have been why I didn't enjoy this book - it made me feel like my life was over at 47, and the only way to make it better was to find a rich man. No thanks. But i may be alone in my opinion, because it's got a really great Goodreads rating.

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A funny sequel to "I don't know how she does it". I find Kate to be a likable character that I am rooting for. A fun summer read. Go Kate!

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How Hard Can It Be? is a very realistic and entertaining book. Although this is a sequel, it was the first book I read featuring Kate and I had no problem "catching up". Kate is almost 50 and is forced to plunge back into the business world. She has two teen age children and a selfish husband going through his own mid-life crisis. Kate is smart and strong and always open to making new friends. She is an interesting character and the novel is full of surprises. Life can be very hard, but Kate is a fighter.

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After a somewhat slow start to this book, I am happy to report that this book was absolutely delightful! Although I have not quite reached the age of our main character, there is so much about this book that is right for women of any age. I completely adored the writing, and could completely identify with the struggle of raising teenagers, going back to work, and juggling all the different moving pieces and parts of life. The satirical "belfie" at the beginning of the story has proven to be more relatable than I would like to admit. It's a moving tribute to today's society, and how parents are just trying to run as fast as they can to keep up with this ever-shifting cultural norm. It was endearing, and engaging, and had me rolling with laughter. I will definitely be recommending this book to my friends, colleagues, and those asking for book recommendations, Thank you to the publisher for a free copy of this book.

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⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 / 5 rounded up.

So, I have a confession to make. I didn't realize How Hard Can It Be? by Allison Pearson was a sequel to I Don't Know How She Does It when I started reading it. BUT, I don't think that mattered all that much.

I really hope this book becomes a movie starring SJP. I loved the movie I Don't Know How She Does It and I think this book would also make a great movie (maybe even a better movie than a book??). This book does seem like a good standalone, but maybe I shouldn't have watched the movie of the first book before I read this. The book and the movie of I Don't Know How She Does It definitely don't seem to match completely (from what I gathered from this book), so maybe don't watch the movie adaptation before reading this expecting it will make things more clear. I think it actually made things more confusing for me. Example: In the movie Kate only has eyes for her husband and no interest at all for Jack Abelhammer (who I literally can only picture as Pierce Brosnan now), but in this book it sounds like they were in love?? Very confusing.

How Hard Can It Be? expands upon the life of Kate Reddy who is now approaching the big 5-0. She needs to go back to work because her husband decides to take 2 years out of the workforce to train to become a counselor. Noble? Maybe, but he is no help to Kate financially or otherwise. Lets just say he won't be winning any husband or father of the year awards any time soon. Kate is dealing with hitting 50 soon, trying to find a job where everyone seems to be discriminating against her age and the time she took off to spend with her kids. Plus she is dealing with problems with her kids, her husband Richard's parents, her mom, her sister, and other random issues.

I think this book could have been a lot funnier than it ended up being. I thought it would make me laugh quite a bit, but there were only a few instances where I thought anything was particularly funny. I did love the short chapters though, and the fact that Kate calls her memory "Roy." All I could picture was this little old man shuffling around in her head finding her memories. She would often talk to "Roy" as well which was pretty funny.

How Hard Can It Be? was a little disappointing to me because the premise seemed better than the execution. But that was mostly because I was expecting lots of laughs, which I unfortunately didn't really get. I also think the book was a bit too long. I think it could have easily been around 300 pages and would have been perfect.

Final Thought: I think that lovers of (the book) I Don't Know How She Does It will be happy with how this one turns out. I do like Kate as a character and I thought there were a few very loveable characters in this book. Some of the lingo was a little confusing, but nothing I couldn't handle. I think this book would be much better in movie form though so I hope that happens. How Hard Can It Be? is a funny, interesting look at sexism/ageism in the workplace, turning 50, and dealing with everything life can throw at you.

How Hard Can It Be? in 3-ish words: Sweet, Honest, Insightful

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It is not hard at all to return to Kate Reddy's world. One of the most powerful and indelible heroines in recent fiction, Kate used her brains, beauty, determination, but most of all her huge heart to land herself in a small village in a magnificent old wreck of a house with a garden, with small children and a renewed bond with her husband. Now, on the verge of 50, Kate once again is challenged with returning to the world of work after years away from the job, coping with dramatic, lost teenagers, a husband out of work and obsessed with living healthy, and aging parents.
Kate's story of how she copes with the tsunami of turning 50 in the middle of the chaos of her life is by turns hilarious, moving, heartbreaking; ultimately the story of how she comes to terms with her life and her world is memorable, authentic, genuine, Her voice is powerful and wonderfully well-wrought and it feels as if you are truly inside her head and her heart living her days of doing her best. Challenged on every front, Kate moves forward and we're cheering her on, imagining ourselves in her pumps making her own way in a very different world from the one she left. I profoundly enjoyed my time with Kate and her adventures in this exceptionally well-written, well-wrought tale.

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