This was a great book. The character development was fantastic, and I loved the ending ;) I will definitely be reading more of Autumn Chiklis in the future--you have a devoted fan!

This debut novel is so much fun! It's the perfect book to take to the beach. I especially like the format of the book. The journal entries, text messages, emails and social media posts are highly entertaining. Lou's situation isn't ideal. She recently graduated from college, has yet to find a job and decides to move back in with her parents. I remember that scary feeling of graduating from university and not having a clue what to do next! The relationship Lou has with her mother is hilarious! The back and forth banter between the two of them had me laughing out loud! If you're looking for an easy, breezy, lighthearted read, this book is for you. Thank you, St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this free kindle copy in exchange for my honest review.

Lou Hansen is a recent graduate. She was one of the top in her class at Columbia, and she just needs a short break until she finds the right opportunity. So she does what any Millennial/Gen-Z person would do—move back in with Mom and Dad. What Lou experiences during this time is a romp in ridiculousness.

Before you start reading this book, a few tips:

Be in a really good mood before you start this book
Be a person that has never once had to worry about money
Channel your inner Quinn Morgendorffer

If you can't do any of that, please don't choke on your Ramen, because this book will make you experience involuntary eye-rolling every few pages.

The major problem with this story is that in a few ways, I think many people can relate to Lou, but it takes a serious turn after that. She doesn't want to spoil her relationship by telling her parents about Theo and letting them force their judgments onto it. And yes, many of us have a mother who can be overbearing, especially when they think they are right when they give you demands disguised as advice. But never in my life have I met in person someone so shallow and vain as Mama Shell. From the beginning of the book straight through to the end you wonder how a person like Lou could have grown up in a house without woman without turning into a mini-Mama.

Except... after she spends more time at home post grad, you realize that Lou recognizes the symptoms in others, just not in herself. She devalues all of her achievements because her mother, her mother's friends, her peers, and her little sister don't think those are the most important things in life. Instead, Lou should be seeking out a cute doctor to date, losing 5-7 pounds, getting plastic surgery and making herself totes popular on social, obvi. These unnecessary pressures put on Lou have either changed her significantly in a short amount of time, or she never really was the person she presents at the beginning of the story. It wouldn't matter if she graduated third or dead last in her class—a degree from Columbia would have prepared for Lou more than the art of list making.

The other major flaw in this book (if you are picking up an ebook version of it) is that in Lou's story, she includes an awful lot of footnotes that are probably supposed to add to the charm of her wit. With an ebook, there's no way to easily flip to this section to read them, so by the time you get to them, you've forgotten the context. Who wants to read a page and a half of footnotes that have no meaning?

There are a few positive aspects to this book. First, it is funny. You may snarl at your book while you are reading about the next selfish, vapid thing that Mama Shell has done to Lou, her family, or the world in general, but when things go wrong, it's like reading about a circus. It's got charm that can lull you into a giggle or two before your teeth start showing again.

The book also includes all different kinds of media, from texts and emails to social media posts. Because this is the modern way we all live, it's refreshing to see the actual messages instead of reading the narrator's interpretation of it. With that said, the rest of it is written in a diary format and doesn't give the story much room to move outside of Lou's own head, which may contribute her looking a lot more like her mother than she ever wanted to be.

As a perpetual Ramen-eater and eye-roller myself, I do find this book shallow and anger-inducing, rather than the fun romp it was intended to be. If I would have read this at a much younger age (13-14), I think I would have enjoyed it a lot more since I didn't have a good grasp on the idea that success is bought just as often as it is earned, and that there are people on this earth who just don't give a damn about anyone but themselves.

The following review will be posted by the end of today (August 6th) on my Instagram.


Smothered by Autumn Chiklis
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Lou Hansen graduates from the top of her class at Columbia University, but post-grad life is nothing like she imagined.
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Autumn Chiklis’ Smothered is a light read about what comes after you walk the stage. Lou Hansen ends up moving in with her mom, dad, Instagram famous sister, and two demon pugs.
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Although I couldn’t relate to the algae shots and ability to spend $5,000 at Barney’s, many of Lou’s struggles were relatable. Smothered is predictable, but still a fun, light read.
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Thank you NetGalley and Wednesday Books for this ARC!
Smothered by Autumn Chiklis will be available August 7th!

Hey, everyone! Another day, another review! Today’s review is on Smothered by Autumn Chilkis. Now, when I first heard about Smothered, I was pretty eager to read it. Not only is it more crossover than YA, it deals with what happens after college, how people attempt to become employed in today’s society, and whatnot. I’ll be honest: that was probably the main reason I wanted to read it. The smothered part was all secondary to me; I just really thought that the content would be relatable. But, in that regard, I was wrong…

First of all, it focused more on her relationship with her mother, which makes sense since the book is called Smothered. These moments were actually pretty funny, and I love how bold Lou’s mother could be at times, especially in comparison to Lou. She’s just trying to help Lou in the best way she knows how, even if it’s not exactly right for Lou. They just have to figure out a new dynamic to their relationship if Lou wants to be treated like an adult.

I also really liked the different formats of communication within the novel – such as emails, texts, Facebook messages – integrated into Lou’s POV. It made for some funny dialogue!

The only thing I didn’t like about the novel was that Lou’s privilege really shows. I think it’s intentional, since the writer has both Lou’s father and her boyfriend call her out, but it sure can be annoying at times. I get it; she’s from an upper-middle class family, living in LA, which probably means she will have a mindset geared towards that privilege and might not even realize it. This doesn’t mean that I didn’t cringe when she describes her hunger level at one point in a juice cleanse equivalent to Africa. Or when her friend Natasha goes to India to study and report about cultural violence against women. Firstly, not everyone in Africa is starving, and the fact that she thinks they are says a lot about her. That’s a whole continent of people! Obviously, there will be people who are struggling and people who aren’t, just like in any other place in the world. Secondly, it doesn’t make sense to me that her friend had to go all the way to India to study cultural violence when she cold have easily gone to a women’s shelter in her city. Maybe there’s some logical explanation for it all and I’m just overreacting. But just reading that one sentence got me ranting about how this all stems from the idea that Western countries are more civilized than Eastern countries, which is a dangerous idea to have. But I should cut this off before I start ranting even more.

Well, that’s all I have to say about Smothered by Autumn Chilkis. While I do appreciate more crossover novels in general and liked the mother-daughter dynamic, I feel as if this book could have benefited from removing assumptions about other cultures. If it’s meant to show how privileged Lou is, then readers can already get a sense of that without perpetuating these dangerous ideas and conceptualizing people in that way.

Not for me. While I think Ms. Chiklis is talented in moving a story forward and incorporating modern elements into a story, I wish the author had done more to create likable characters. I get that there is a place in fiction for easy reading, however, the amount of privilege in this book was simply overwhelming. I understand that everyone can struggle for a bit just out of college, but I had no engagement with such a spoiled protagonist. There were clever moments, but everything was overshadowed by a cast that I didn't care anything for.

If you're looking for a lighthearted and funny book that reads similar to Sophie Kinsella, then you will most likely enjoy Smothered.

First off, I love how the story was told. Most of the book is chronicled through Lou's personal journal entries, but there are also text messages, e-mails, tweets, Instagram posts, etc. It was something unique and refreshing and it also added to the fun nature of the book.

Character wise, Lou and her family are extremely privileged. They are considerably wealthy which is obvious from Mama Shell's super extravagant spending habits. So I didn't really relate to Lou's constant whining about not having a job and having to live at home even though she graduated from Columbia. Honestly, I know she was stressed about what she was going to do with her life, but I would have been happy living at a house where I didn't have to do anything.

Lou also lied to her family for 9 months and then expects everything to be normal when she gets caught. After all, she made up an elaborate lie that ended up making national headlines so I don't understand why she was shocked when everyone got mad at her. Her character at the end does get better when she realizes the full extent of what she did, but it shouldn't have taken her the entire book to figure that out.

Mama Shell was seemingly over the top with her antics. She was constantly tracking all her family members and forcing them to go on those ridiculous juice cleanses and fad diets that she reads about in magazines. But she did seem to mean well even with trying to turn Lou into the younger version of herself. I think she was trying to live vicariously through her younger daughters by acting the way she did and dressing like she did. There are actually moms out there that do that, so it was believable. But like I said, her antics were over the top, especially the part where the Hansen's go to Temple.

Some of the situations that the Hansen's found themselves in were pretty ridiculous and not really believable, but considering this is a fictional book I let it pass. They were pretty funny to read about though.

Bottom line, if you are looking for a fast and light read about mother/daughter dynamics, you will probably enjoy this one!

I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review.

I really love epistolary novels and so I thought I'd give this one a try. I have to say though I did not love it. Lou as a character was just a doormat and let everyone walk all over her. And her mother was so immature and self-centered. Really there weren't many characters that I did like in the book, except for Theo who was amazing and did not deserve the treatment (and lies) he got through most of the book. Lou's character was very whiny and also she lied a lot, and overall it really took away from my enjoyment of the book. It is hit or miss with me and young adult novels since many of them I find to be a little too teen angsty. But this novel was supposed to be about a college graduate, but Lou either would not or could not stand up for herself for most of the book, despite being on her own for 4 years. Her mother had no idea of what boundaries were and really was just overwhelmingly pushy. Anyways, the plot itself wasn't my favorite either because it centered around Lou's inability to stand up for herself and also be an honest person. There were some funny things but I honestly just couldn't get past my personal downfall's with the book.

The story is written in small chunks of journal entries, and many other mediums. Lou writes about her experience returning to the nest, all the happy, sad, embarrassing, and hilarious moments. Filled with funny relatable events and even more hilarious characters, Smothered is a nice light read that truly shows the perks and falls of becoming an adult.

All in all, the book was an enjoyable read. It was funny seeing how life after college can often mean returning back to your parents home rather than going out and exploring the real world. I really did enjoy reading all the emails and text messages between the characters.

It was awesome being able to find a light read. I would recommend to anyone who’d like a good laugh.

This was a cute, funny, and quick read about a young college grad trying to deal with life, especially her smothering mother. She stresses and becomes overwhelmed easily and finds herself telling lie after lie after lie (mostly over the top and funny) to try to avoid confrontation and truth. It is a realistic story with several laugh out moments, and scenes that made me groan and shake my head. Very witty and comical, well-written and refreshing, and hysterical and quirky characters.

This was a really fun and witty book! I read it in less than a day! Some of the characters were a bit over the top, but they were essential for the story. I was reminded of Sophie Kinsella/Bridget Jones’s Diary throughout the book. This book is labeled as young adult, but I wish there was a category between that and adult fiction—sometime for the 20 somethings—when I think YA I think high school, but this book would sell to any recently graduated college kid. The struggle is real, and this book highlights that.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

Lou Hansen has just graduated from Columbia University summa cum laude but instead of setting the world on fire, she is back in her childhood home, with no job prospects. As if that wasn't enough, her mom "Mama Shell" is driving her crazy with soul cycle packages, GOAT juice, shopping trips, juice cleanses, and trying to set her up with every available bachelor in the area (as long as they meet Mama Shell's standards that is).

This book is told as a series of journal entries, text messages, news articles, and the like. The main character reminded me of Becky in the Shopaholic series by Sophie Kinsella, or some of the characters in the Meg Cabot books. It was hilarious and the perfect summer read. Don't miss out!

Smothered is a fun, light-hearted read that would work well with fans of women's fiction. Lou is fresh out of college and moves back in with her mother. No job, no prospects for a job - Lou puts herself on a schedule of looking for work so that she can quickly get out of her childhood bedroom. Her mother has other plans: shopping, exercise classes...basically taking over Lou's life.

Written in a fun voice, this book tells it's story by including diary entries, tweets, receipts, and parking tickets.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This is the rare title with intergenerational appeal -- millennials and boomers will enjoy this story, and maybe even enjoy discussing it together. This would be a fun title to recommend to book groups who have members in a wide age range.

In the vein of Bridget Jones' Diary and  real life, Smothered is a story that some people can relate to.  Yes, I have seen the reviews on Good reads that mention that Lou comes from a background of privilege, but really people?  Take this story for what it is, a funny, often realistic take on a recent college graduate that has no job prospects and has to move back home.  

I really enjoyed reading this.  It was a refreshing break from the mysteries and more serious genres I have been reading.  It was light-hearted and entertaining and a perfectly quick, summer read.  I love the style of this book; by incorporating not only diary entries but texts and Instagram posts as well, it just added to the whimsy of this book.

Smothered was an easy read, very entertaining. It was a great book to just get away from stress and have something fun to get my mind into. I would recommend this book for a relaxing vacation by the pool or quick time out during the week to relax.

Firstly, I’d like to thank St Martin’s Press for providing me with a copy of Smothered in exchange for an honest review.

I have found another perfect quick summer read, just as I’d predicted in my recommendations post! SMOTHERED tells us the story of Lou, a recent college graduate (Summa Cum Laude) who is rather lost in life. She has no job or house of her own, so she moves back into her childhood home after finishing her degree. This would be fine if her mom wasn’t constantly criticizing and scrutinizing her every move. On top of that, Lou has a boyfriend, Theo, that she hasn’t told her family about, exactly because her mom judges everyone so hard. Over time, we see Lou’s struggle when dealing with trying to get a job, handling her mom and trying to hide from Theo the fact that he’s still a secret.

I’d like to start off by saying that this book made me laugh my ass off. Truly. There are so many funny moments, characters and dialogues that I kept laughing – people around me must’ve thought I was insane!

SMOTHERED is told in diary format, meaning we read entries from Lou’s journal as she writes them. It’s a good format, but I rarely read anything written in such a way. Not only does this make for an engrossing read, but it also means you will fly through the book super quickly. That being said, the writing was spot-on for this kind of book.

Lou was a very relatable character to me: she’s into history and all kinds of nerdy stuff; she cannot, for the life of her, figure out what she wants to do in life; and she has trouble saying no. If that doesn’t sum me up, I don’t know what will…

Speaking of characters, I pretty much loved everyone in this story, except for one of Lou’s friends, who is just the type of person that gets on my nerves. Can’t stand them in real life, can’t stand them in literature. The family aspect is one of the best parts of this story. Lou has a crazy family, but their dynamics are so enthralling – and the family members so endearing – that you can’t help but love them. Also, they have pugs!! Very badly-behaved pugs, but they’re still dogs so 10/10.

Overall, SMOTHERED is a hilarious, speedy, and quirky read that features lovable characters and great family dynamics. The ultimate beach read. I really hope you’re excited about this upcoming release!

3.5/5 stars

I am not familiar with Autumn Chiklis, but when I read the synopsis for Smothered, I was immediately interested. I have adult offspring living at home right now, so I really wanted to read a humorous take on that situation. This book certainly delivers on that front. This is a fun, sometimes over the top, story of one college grad's return home (until she finds a job...).

What I Liked:
Setting:

I grew up in Southern California so I could totally relate to all the L.A. jokes. What may seem ridiculous (doggie day spas, algae shots) is actually quite plausible in that city.

I especially loved the small part that happens in Santa Barbara (my hometown!). Every weekend, people descend on SB from Los Angeles. The author must have done the same because all the details are spot on (ah, McConnell's Ice Cream).

Characters:

As a person in the exact situation as this book (adult offspring coming back to live with us after college), I found it very engrossing to see the young adult's perspective. Lou has all the right intentions to find a job, but is easily derailed by all the little details of life. I also like that she acknowledges how she is falling back into childhood patterns ehen she is around her parents.

Mama Shell is an outrageous, fifty-something mom who can't stop being a helicopter parent, even if her daughter is twenty-two! She has the best interests of her children at heart, but she also adores being the center of attention. At times, Shell becomes a bit of an L.A. stereotype, with her spending, fashions, and constant diet and exercise schemes. But I did rather identify with her desire to stay relevant with her kids.

Story:

This story was very funny, and was presented in imaginative ways. There are lots of to do lists, text messages, Instagram pictures, and police reports! While some of the scenes get beyond reality in order for outrageous things to happen, I found most of this book to be laugh out loud fun.

What I Was Mixed About:
Characters:

While Lou and Shell were well developed characters, others were not very fleshed out or were stereotypes. Lou's dad is simply a workaholic real estate broker who complains about his wife's spending. Lou's sister seems to be a vapid teenager who has found minor fame on Instagram. And Lou's "friend" Megan is a Mean Girl straight out of central casting.

Story:

While the story was very fun and amusing, at times it was so over the top that it didn't seem credible. I have a hard time believing that Lou would have that much trouble telling her parents that she has a boyfriend. She is twenty-two after all! And several scenes with Shell are like episodes of I Love Lucy, with lots of slapstick and loud lamenting.

Overall:

This really was a fun, quick read. Deep, it was not. But in the summer this would be a great beach read, especially if you visit SoCal!

Have you just read a psychological thriller that had you biting your nails and sitting on the edge of your seat? Are you in need of a light-hearted, fun “beach read?” If so, then Smothered is the book for you! The story begins with an invitation addressed to the family of Eloise Laurent Hansen for Columbia University’s graduation ceremony. Lou (Eloise) Hansen, the narrator of this story, is receiving her summa cum laude degree with a double major in art history and philosophy.

In anticipation of moving back in with her parents, Lou has created a document — “Rules and Expectations for Parents now that I am moving back home as a fully realized and capable adult.” Here is a sampling from this list:

“Where I go, who I see, and why I am seeing them are no longer subject to inquisition-style examination. No judgey comments or faces will be tolerated”

“Mom has to delete the Find-My-Friend app from her phone” (which informs her where Lou is at all times).

These two rules form the basis for the story. Lou’s mother (Mama Shell) is extremely controlling — what she says at dinner the night before graduation helps illustrate the point: “…Okay, so I have our whole postgrad life planned out” (note the use of the word “our”). And if that is not enough, Mama Shell continues tracking her daughter because she never deletes Find-My-Friend from her phone

Unless you have graduated from college with a job already in hand, that post-college period of one’s life can be unsettling and confusing. You’ve lived (sort of) on your own for four years but now feel like you have taken a giant step backwards — you are living like a child again, at home with your parents. As Lou explains:

“…for reasons unknown to psychologists, staying in one’s childhood home causes a person to revert into an incompetent teenager, as though everything one learned at college and beyond about functioning has completely gone out the window, and one is somehow inhabited by the whiny ghost of one’s inept, angst-ridden sixteen-year-old self, unable to recall any of the life skills or good habits so carefully developed while one was living happily on own’s own. Ugh.”

And if that’s not enough to bring you down, there is the fear that you won’t ever find a job and will be destined to live at home with the parents forever.

“But here’s the scary thing, Theo. What if I’m not? What if I peaked? What if being a student was the only thing I’ll ever be good at?”

Smothered is told through journal entries, text messages, news articles, photos, and receipts, making it an unusual and fun read. There are plenty of parts that will make you smile and/or laugh-out-loud —it’s not just events but also moments of thought or observation. We get to know Lou very well and by the end of the book, I wanted a sequel to find out how she continues to cope with her aptly named “postgraduate syndrome” (PGS).

“I miss college, where being social required no more than stepping outside my dorm room and walking half a block. Now, all my friends are either on the East Coast or going to graduate school, leaving me completely isolated introvert in La-La Land. This is pretty much the equivalent of dropping a blind person in the Sahara and asking him to find water.”

Autumn Chiiklis (yes, the daughter of Michael Chiklis, the actor) strings words and sentences together effortlessly, or at least gives that appearance. Her writing is witty, intelligent and she gives voice to many of the issues facing a new college graduate. Smothered will hold great appeal, especially among Gen X (after Baby Boomers), Gen Y (a.k.a. Millenials), and Gen Z (after Millenials).

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Round up to 3.5 -- for me this was a combination of a Sophie Kinsella, Meg Cabot, and Jen Lancaster book, and I love all of them. It was very light, and didn't really require deep thinking, but it was enjoyable. I got this book through NetGalley -- thank you for the opportunity to read the book and review it!

The one thing in the ARC is that there were a bunch of footnotes and I couldn't click through to them, which took something away from the book for me. I hope this is fixed in the actual Kindle version. Footnotes are hard in e-books at times, but the author clearly wrote this knowing that they need to be read.