It is not necessary to read book 1 before reading this book, but book 1 is so good it outshines book 2.

Kate Reddy, 49, finds herself returning to the investment firm she left 7 years ago now that her husband, Richard, is unemployed and back in school. Someone has to keep the family afloat.

Raising teenagers in a digital world presents problems not heard of a decade ago and it is easy to miss the signs of problems.

It is still a man's world and youth is prized in the investment industry until Kate's experience saves accounts from leaving the firm.

Menopause arrives in all of its gory mess adding to Kate's challenges.

Jack Abelhammer has never left Kate's heart. When they reconnect Kate has a lot of decisions to make; to put everyone else first, or choose a life with Jack.

Unfortunately I was unable to finish this book. I struggled with the primary character and was unable to really engage in a way that lead me to want to know more. Perhaps some other readers might enjoy and connect, but this was not for me. Thank you for the opportunity.

Book was okay, felt like main character was a little whiny about turning 50.

I loved this book! And now, need to go be and re-read I Don't Know How She Does It! When we last saw her, Kate Reddy had left her high stress and demanding career in the City to stay home with her two young children. Fast forward a number of years, she finds herself in the position of needed to return to work when her husband undergoes a career transformation of his own. Kate finds herself as "The middle aged mammal who once had a tiger in her tank and now has a slightly hesitant vole."

Her characters are spot on - from today's teenagers to aging parents and, of course, the lovely symptoms of menopause! I can't imagine a woman over a certain age who won't be able to relate to any number of the characters and situations. The book is laugh out loud funny in many parts, and poignant and entertaining. The only downside is that if you're younger...the book may scare you!

Not necessary to read the first book to enjoy the follow up. Fun read. It is where am at in my own life. (turning 50 in August) Kate is turning 50,, after being a stay at home mom she is returning to the workforce. You will laugh at loud and cry at times, as she tries to balance being a "super mom" and a success at work. How hard can it be.....?Kate's husband is having a mid life crisis, her kids are teenagers and the grandparents (his and her parents) are having some health concerns.

Having read the first book in the series ‘ I don’t know how she does it’ I was keen to read this continuation. Like real life, Kate finds new responsibilities ( keeping teenage kids safe on social media, caring for aging parents/ in-laws ) a challenge. Throw in going back to work after a career break, unhelpful husband and going through the menopause and you have the recipe for disasters, laughs and heartwarming moments. This book makes you realise your not alone and see that things are only really obvious when you take a step back and look from the outside in.

I did not know that this was a sequel till I had finished the book, but it did not detract from this particular story. The eternal quest of how do women juggle mother hood and a career and most importantly in this case get back to a career after a seven year gap! Especially when one is 49!

Tackling going back to work as a necessity (a husband who is finding himself for over two years), an enormous house which needs repairs, two teenage children full of needs and demands Kate finds herself at a crossroad. I think any mother could empathize with her at some stage of this book with the various stages Kate is forced to go through. Teenage angst, sheer laziness on the part of all who have been pandered to by said mother, indifference on the part of a husband who has learnt that to be helpless and pathetic has worked to his advantage in the past and Kate who now finds herself in the field of high finance, albeit as a junior has to juggle several balls in a field of all young, selfish workmates who look on her as an old fossil

When Kate is able to land a lucrative contract, the envy and jealousies start and her mates now hope that she will fall flat on her face with subsequent sales pitches. Kate needs the job and now has to work doubly hard balancing her two lives especially since she now finds that her eldest child is in a world of her own and has excluded her mother from what is happening. Added to this an in law with dementia (who is ignored by her own son), her own elderly mother and Christmas around the corner adds to Kate's burden.

The only bright spark on the horizon is the return of Jack - someone whom Kate loved in days gone by and who now appears on the scene.

So many elements in this story appealed. Women breaking through the glass ceiling (this was a high class hedge fund we are talking about), the attitudes that still exist that women have to look good all the time never mind that middle age spread is inevitable and menopause adds to their misery. That women still consider this so very important (Kate went in for lunch hour lipo!!) and death inducing misery with shaper undergarments!!!!, green eyed jealousy and undercutting that was rife in the office because Kate was not willing to fall in with lecherous offers are all very much out there and still exist.. Adding to that, was the actual physical work involved in running a home where it was understood that children and household work was still part of her responsibilities. I know this has changed considerably but it was not so in this book. Richard was a husband that another woman would have cheerfully strangled.

I loved the story but only wished that Kate would have had a little more gumption to handle her husband and teenage children before the eventual collapse. She certainly knew how to handle her work colleagues well.. I was glad that Kate's story ended very happily too! Richard got his just desserts!

Goodreads and Amazon review posted on 17/3/2018. Review on my blog posted end April.

I can’t be distracted while reading this book because I don’t want to miss a word Kate says!

Kate is pushing 50, dealing with her daughter’s “belfie” (butt-selfie), returning to the workforce now that her kids are teenagers by shaving 7 years off her age à la the t.v. show “Younger”, remodeling a house, dealing with aging parents and a cycling-obsessed husband who has shaved off all his body hair and gone back to school to pursue his dream. She has so much going on as all women do, and she is handling it with as much aplomb as possible and a whole lot of humor!

I am so glad the character of Kate Reddy is back in action. She is one of the most relatable characters in women's fiction. And although some additional familiar faces are around from I Don't Know How She Does It, this How Hard Can It Be could be read completely as a standalone and enjoyed just as much.

As a woman of 42 (Kate's pretend age in the book) I highlighted more passages in this book than any other I have ever read. Highly recommend!

Put it on your To Read List - from St. Martin’s Press June 5th!

Kate is almost 50 and finds herself in the same position as so many other women. Her kids need her, her parents need her and her husband is having a midlife crisis. I can relate!! Luckily she has a sense of humor and some great friends to lean on.

I remember reading and enjoying I Don’t Know How She Does It, but too much time and too many books have gone by, and I didn’t remember the actual story. Nevertheless, I was delighted to receive an advance copy of How Hard Can It Be to preview. I was able to thoroughly enjoy the sequel without remembering the original story.

Although I am older than the character, I could relate to her angst. It certainly made me appreciate raising my kids before social media became so invasive! I found it easy to relate to Kate’s experiences as a member of the “sandwich” generation. I admired her treatment of her mother and in-laws, but couldn’t understand her tolerance of the way she was treated by her husband and children.

The part of the book about her professional world was a little contrived, but I enjoyed the humor in it. I also enjoyed her friendships and her romance.

I thought the book was well-written, and there were a lot of interesting issues which would be worthy of a book discussion. I think there is more substance to this book than chick-lit. I recommend the book as a good representation of contemporary life.

Wowwwww! Many thanks to Netgalley for an ARC of this fabulous, witty, and incredibly charming book! Kate faces all the issues that so many women today are struggling with. Ageism, sexism, guilt, guilt guilt! Kate, a former fund manager needs to get back to work. Her husband, in his own midlife crisis has decided to change careers and become a counselor. As a result of this he will not be earning anything during the two years training and so it’s up to Kate to carry the load. Returning to the workforce is difficult, as she is nearing 50:. Translation, a goner in employment terms! And so she readjusts her age and gets a job at the place where she was a fund manager, however in a much more junior position. There is so much crammed into this fabulous read, I think it touches on just about every issue women today are dealing with! It is charming, so witty you laugh out loud. Her sketchy memory recall is hysterical. She has named it Roy and requests him to retrieve info from the library stacks, what a great analogy. On top of breadwinner, she is a Mom, and caretaker of not only her children, but both sets of aging parents. This is so crammed full of fun, timely issues and of course, let’s throw in some infidelity! A must read!

I really enjoyed this book that essentially describes my life right now. It’s a light hearted look at all the duties and responsibilities women deal with while trying to raise a family, work a demanding job, take care of aging parents, remain in friendships, all while dealing with a deadbeat husband. Thank you Net galley for the ARC!

Kate is funny to read - up to a point. She can amuse me as she describes her life - until I get annoyed with her. Perhaps I'd be more willing to be entertained by her first world problems if the real world was in better shape right now but it isn't and I'm not.

One can't help but wonder how in the world she does it as Pearson shows us just how hard things can be for a 49 year-old woman with an ungrateful husband, two sullen and spoiled teenagers, and a life that seems to be complicated in every single way possible. Hilarious at time, honest and raw through and through, it' a painfully honest view of how the best-laid life can go wrong, and what it takes to make it better.

A sequel to Pearson's I Don't Know How She Does It--I should have known better. This will too, no doubt, be a bestseller. BUT. NOT FOR ME.

As advertised: "Kate Reddy's comeback as a pushing-50 "Returner,” re-entering the workforce after a spell on the mommy track, is zesty, razor-sharp, and hilarious." Pretty much true, I just got tired of it. Definitely witty and well-written with many observations right on track, it just left me--somewhat cold.

I did love some of the phrases--for example, describing a husband's snoring as "What began as piglet snuflings twenty years ago is now a nightly Hog Symphony, complete with wind section." HOW CAN YOU NOT LAUGH OUT LOUD?!

"At forty-nine years of age, the tip of the tongue becomes a very crowded place."

Her description of Spanx--here called a shaper suit--and worming into it is quite funny as well.

And getting on a very large horse is "... like sitting on the deck of a furry aircraft carrier."

The story, filled with her job search and eventual job, teenage angst/problems--a son and a daughter, social media, aging in-laws --[mother-in-law with dementia], not the best marriage, and the reappearance of an old boyfriend, are all realisticallly described. Although I'm not in this cohort, it certainly resonated.

Worse, I figured out the trajectory far too early. And, I don't like neat and tidy endings [you won't get more from me].

Kate is currently 49, but will soon turn that "f-word" every woman dreads. Plus she's experiencing life's turmoils simultaneously it seems. An unemployed husband trying to re-find himself through cycling, therapy while ignoring his household duties. Two teenage children who delight at testing their independence boundaries while snickering at their Mom's technology naivete. Kids, you love them with all your heart while counting the minutes until they leave for college. Then there are the elderly parents: his, whom Kate loves and looks after but are now requiring more than assisted living; and her Mom, whose sweet but calls ten times a day. Combine this delightful bunch with her need to seek employment lest they lose their house and daily meals.
Kate has a decent resume, her problem is her age, and competing with all the twenty/thirty-somethings in the workforce. "Lie," say her friends. "Or at least twist the truth a little." (my paraphrasing) So she becomes 42, on paper.
That's all I can really tell you as a bit of an introduction, because the real story has too many events that takes Kate and her family on the Ups and Downs of LIFE. Told with humor and seriousness, at just the right time. She'll get the job and life will change, in many unexpected ways. But in the end you'll cheer for Kate and maybe even like her kids, a little. Enjoy!

4.5 Strong, Smart Women STARS! Thanks Netgalley, Allison Pearson and St. Martin's Press

How Hard Can It Be? is a sequel to "I don't know how she does it". I did not read the first book and I did not feel that I was missing anything but not having read that book first. This book worked very well as a standalone novel for me.

Kate Ready is almost 50, she is returning to the workforce and finds herself having to lie about her age to be considered for employment. Her husband is distant and appears to be more into his self-help books and bike riding than he is in her or their marriage. Her daughter has taken an inappropriate picture of herself and it was posted on the internet, she has aging parents and is dealing with the onset of menopause. Kate has a lot going on in this book.

There are some zany moments of Kate getting caught, as in she is stuck and can't get out of it, in her spanx-like underwear and trying to host her daughter's Christmas party but overall the book this book failed to really blow me away. The main character is dealing with just about everything but the kitchen sink in this book, and although some of it feels cliched, the character is in the age range where she would be dealing with aging parents, teenager angst, pre-menopause, juggling a career with raising a family, etc. So, I can't really fault the Author for throwing all of those into this book. A lot of readers will also be able to relate to a lot of the issues brought up in this book. To add to Kate's woes, a man from her past comes into the picture and she feels those long-ago longing stirred up.

This book deals with a lot of issues: how social media can be used in bullying/sharing of inappropriate pictures, infidelity, the aging process, teenage angst, friendship, return to the workforce, and coping with change. This book does deal with some heavy issues but does so in a light manner. That does not mean that this book takes those issues lightly, it just chooses to deal with them in keeping with the characters personalities.

I liked this book, but I didn't love it. I would not go out of my way to recommend it to someone, but at the same time, if I saw someone reading the book, I would most likely say "Oh yeah, I read that. Good book". Good not great. There were parts that I felt went on a little too long. I know there will be readers who will pick up this book and love it, but when there are sections which I just want to skim so I get through them and back to the part of the book which I enjoyed. There were some things I found to be unrealistic in this book such as Kate not telling her husband about their daughter's issues with her picture being distributed on social media. Perhaps this was done to show the distance between them in the relationship, but I found it unrealistic that she would not have told her daughter's father about the incident and how this was impacting their child.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I'm sure someone will enjoy this book, but not me. Kate Reddy is lying; to her family, to her employer, and to her family. I found myself not caring about any of the characters & just wanted to finish the book.

Kate Reddy returns and what a treat. Who would have thought that a novel about menopause would be hilarious? She is such a strong and sassy survivor putting up with sulky teenagers, a husband in a mid-life crisis and know-it-all co-workers.. On this journey of self-discovery, she is someone who most women will relate to and cheer her on.

Kate Reddy is back and as big a mess as ever in this terrific sequel to the iconic I Don't Know How She Does It. This time, she's got to lie about her age to hold down a junior position at her old fund. Really plumbs the depths of perimenopausal mania....