It has been a decade since Agnes survived on peanut butter and scrimped pennies for the rent. Her dreams of living in sunny California all came true the day she unexpectedly met Jack in a bar. With movie star good looks and impeccable taste, Jack, twenty years her senior, became her knight in shining armor and Aggie the epitome of the textbook Trophy Wife. Squeezing in yoga between her manicure and shopping, a house staff to care for her adorable baby - Aggie has more than she ever dared to imagine. The day Jack disappears, this life is over. In one fell swoop (Madoff style) Jack and every bit of their idyllic existence is shattered. Finding herself at the mercy of Jack’s smarmy best friend, Aggie has no choice but to accept a job at a fancy private school in NY teaching middle school English to a bunch of delinquents. Life’s sharpest turn and greatest challenge become Aggie’s salvation. Witty, charming and well written, highly recommend this absolutely hysterical take on finding the life you were meant to live. Pack this one in your beach bag ladies! It’s a winner!!

Trophy Life by Lea Geller
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

If you have Kindle Unlimited and want to read this, you are in luck! It is free on KU. This is a VERY good thing.

This was a somewhat unique read in that it starts out much like any other 'poor trophy wife gets left and is at sea'. But it doesn't quite end that way. this is really about a husband who is doing something very illegal and trying to drag his naive wife into the middle of his scheme. You will have to persevere with this book to get to the parts where you want to stop thinking of strangling or slapping Agnes, but eventually, the book gets better - somewhat.

This is a multi-layered book with several mysteries thrown in.

This is not a romance so don't expect the typical HEA, but the book does conclude as one would expect.

I liked it but I think I would have been disappointed in it if I did have to pay for it. Yes, I did get this as an ARC, but from the book's description, I would have 'borrowed' this on my KU account. If I had just borrowed it I may have stopped reading halfway through, but since I got this to review I am glad I kept on reading.

What happens when your Trophy Life becomes nothing but strife? This is the situation Agnes Parson is facing when her husband Jack gets himself into financial troubles and goes into hiding - WITHOUT her! Jack sends Agnes to The Bronx to teach in a middle school that his friends runs.

Watching Agnes learn to rely on herself again, something she hadn’t done since meeting Jack, is an interesting story, however, the highlight of Trophy Life for me was the relationship Agnes formed with her middle school students and learning not only to rely on herself but to be someone others could rely on too.

I received an advance copy. All opinions are my own.

Agnes finds herself when her life turns upside down. Her husband Jack has disappeared, their money has disappeared, and through some unusual machinations, she ends up teaching at a boarding school for boys in the Bronx. Quite a switch from California. She has her daughter and her best friend Beeks and now she's got the boys and others at the school, who envelope her (even though sometimes they aren't nice). Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. I enjoyed this snappy, quick read that has both funny and more serious spots.

What a sweet, funny book! Based on the synopsis, I wasn't expecting the level of depth we got here and was pleased to find it wasn't a fluffy, superficial read. This is Geller's debut novel and she is someone that I'd definitely keep an eye on in the future.

The story of Agnes and her abruptly uprooted life is funny, but also full of heart. The relationship between Agnes and husband (who is 20 years her senior) is real, although many others doubt the love between them thinking that she's just a gold digger and he's going to replace her with a younger woman down the line. Agnes struggles when her husband goes MIA and wonders if the people in her life were right to be skeptical. She doubts the sincerity of her marriage, doubts her own abilities as a wife and mother.

It was interesting to see the dynamic of this particular marriage and this author's insight into being in a relationship with an older man. I don't feel like she generalized and it wasn't a stereotypical relationship; I found myself invested, wondering what would happen to them.

Such a lovely read that I recommend to those who love women's literature and author's such as Kristan Higgins and Jojo Moyes.

An e-arc of this book was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

Agnes is a mom living in Santa Monica, with days full of yoga classes, baby play groups, and a house staff that takes care of everything else she needs. She really loves her husband, even if he is older & she might be considered a “trophy wife”. When he disappears one day, leaving her penniless, she has to make a huge change. Agnes packs up her daughter & the car, and drives across the country to New York, where she takes a job teaching English to middle school boys.
Once Agnes is there, she starts to realize who she really is & what she can do. She sees that she can be a mom & take care of her daughter, even if she feeds her processed foods (think puffs and jarred baby foods), instead of organic purées. She also starts to see that her old life may not be what she really wants.
I really enjoyed Agnes’ journey. I loved her discoveries, and how there were so many humorous moments mixed in with this. Her relationship with her daughter was so sweet to see as it grew, and she realized that she really could do it all. I wish that her decisions in the end of the book had come a little bit earlier, but overall, it was a really sweet story!

Agnes is living the good life in California. She has an older wealthy husband who adores her and wants to take care of her and their daughter. She lives in a beautiful house with staff to take care of the house and a nanny to take care of her daughter. She spends her days doing yoga and having lunch with friends. Even though she grew up poor, she has quickly adapted to this new wealthy life style. Until one day, it's all gone. Jack doesn't come home after work and when Agnes calls his best friend, she finds out that they are in financial difficulty and that Jack has gone into hiding to work things out. All of a sudden, Agnes not only has no household staff - she doesn't have a house or a new car or any of her beautiful jewelry. She has been told to go to NYC and take a job that was procured for her at an all boys school for troubled students teaching middle school English. Now it's time for Agnes to face her new reality - working, day care, buying groceries, living in sub-standard housing and no idea of when everything will be cleared up and she can return to California and her beautiful life with Jack. She soon finds out that she needs to work to make a success of her new life -- both as a mother and as a teacher of troubled boys. Will she find out that she has hidden strengths and that she can succeed at her new life and will she continue to miss her life as a pampered trophy life?

This book was much more than I expected. I thought that it would be a light fluffy romance but instead it was a book about self growth and learning to accept the challenges that life threw at her. I enjoyed Agnes as a character and seeing all of the changes that she was able to make in her life.

Thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own.

3.5
Trophy Life was a cute, uplifting book that's perfect for the beach. Often predictable, but that never bothered me.
Loved the boys she taught and the lessons both the kids and Agnes, the main protagonist, learned along the way.
For fans of stories of single mother's taking over her life after it seemingly falls apart, this one is for you. Geller infuses a good dose of humor along the way, which I enjoyed.

While a tad predictable, its still an adorable fluffy quick read. Agnes is a main character with a heart of gold - I would love to see a spin-off of Beeks and her continuing friendship and new life in New York. The two of them together show true friendship where women can be honest with each other and get over issues - something we all need in our lives....

Agnes has had a rough life before she fell in love and married Jack, a rich investor in his 50. After 10 years she has gotten used to a certain life style, cooks, nannies, someone who gains her daughter to sleep on schedule and all that comes with having a rich husband. When suddenly her whole world is ripped out from under her and she is left with no money and an absentee husband. She now has to raise her daughter on her own and build up her life the best she can.

You’re hooked from the very first sentence. You’re rooting for Agnes. You fall in love with ‘her boys’ and hate Gavin the principal. Beeks and her boys are hysterically funny and you never want this book to end. From the moment I stumbled over it I wanted to read it and I’m so glad I got to. It’s funny and sweet and so worth reading.

Agnes' entire life changes basically overnight, when her husband disappears and she has no choice but to move across the country and take on a job she feels unqualified for. She goes from days of being pampered and having her and her daughter taken care of to needing to handle it all on her own, while wondering what has happened. I liked watching her figure things out, but there were things about this book I didn't like. Her seemingly unwavering devotion to her husband bothered me. The book also spent a ton of time developing Agnes at her job and her relationship with her students, and then the ending felt a bit abrupt and anticlimactic. It was well written, but it was not a lighthearted or funny book, which I kind of expected.

This book is not nearly as cute or funny as it sounded like it was going to be. I found the book to be a slow read and even though it was easy, it took me a while to get through it. The main character, Agnes, didn't have much depth and she wasn't very likable. The ending was very abrupt and didn't resolve too much.

This book was definitely not what I expected. There were a few slow parts but for the most part I was interested to see what happened next. I loved the main character but couldn't understand some of her decisions, and I hated her husband, so that was difficult at times but I think it made for a dynamic read because I was truly rooting for her and was happy with how the book ended. I would definitely recommend this to a friend!

I found this book extremely sad, almost depressing, not funny as I believe the author intended. While it's a light read, the pacing felt off and the ending was very anticlimactic. While the main character, Agnes, isn't likeable, the surrounding characters of Beeks, Figg, and even her daughter, Grace make up for it.

When Agnes Parsons’ wealthy husband suddenly disappears, her life of lunch dates & household staff also vanishes after 10 years, leaving her with no money & an infant daughter. In order to take care of herself, Agnes moves across the country to begin teaching at an all-boys boarding school in the Bronx. Instead of worrying about yoga classes and the perfect outfit, Agnes now has to worry about school politics and the fragile egos of her misfit students.

I expected a typical “chick-lit” read, but this had so much more depth & heart. Geller strikes just the right note between unbelievable & truly relatable. As a former teacher, I really enjoyed all of the characters at the school & the relationship that Agnes formed there. I found myself laughing out loud at times & cringing for Agnes at times. Geller honestly & refreshingly explores that idea that the dream life might not be all that it’s cracked up to be, & that sometimes, the life you never knew you wanted might just be the perfect fit.

So much to love about Trophy Life! Thank you to NetGalley for sending an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I knew just a few pages in that this book was going to eviscerate my expectations. We have the initial blowup of the life that Agnes knows, a relatable blind dive into a new world as a fish out of water, and illuminating new connections that have so much to say. This is a fast read, thoroughly engaging, funny and a fabulous book club read with plenty of 'what if?' Q&A material for self-assessment and discussion. A confection with great depth, and you'll love being delighted out of your expectations as well.

Agnes, the Trophy Wife with a charmed life, is suddenly found penniless and alone. Finding salvation at a boys school in New York, she comes face to face with who she once was and what matters most. Giving up her coiffed hair and full-time nanny, all while connecting with the middle schoolers who have come to rely upon her, Aggie sheds her superficial skin and sinks deep inside a different life. Better? Depends on who you ask, but for this heroine, I'd say she's found her new home. Brava to the author for delivering a wonderfully written, heartwarming read.

I found this book sad, and not humorous. I feel she's a good writer, but this book was at times "muddling" and boring. The ending was anticlimactic.

Lindas Book Obsession Reviews “Trophy Life” by Lea Geller, Lake Union Publishing, April 9, 2019

Lea Geller, Author of “Trophy Life” has written a witty, intriguing, entertaining, and thought-provoking novel. The Genres for this novel are Fiction, Women’s Fiction, with a touch of humor.
The time-line for this story is in the present and goes to the past, when it pertains to the characters or events in the story. Lea Geller describes her characters as complex, complicated and dysfunctional.

Agnes Parsons life has been extremely comfortable for the last ten years. Agnes has all the jewelry she can want, the most expensive clothes, a house-keeper and a nanny to take care of the baby, and a handsome husband. Does this sound too good to be true?

It seems too good to be true, when Agnes finds out that her husband has problems and deep secrets, and she and the baby have to leave the only home they know. They are told it is for their safety, and they are in danger.

Only where is her husband? Why does the tiny apartment given to her by the school she will be teaching middle school English, have mice and leaks?

Agnes finds there are secrets where she is working. There are betrayals from certain people. What is Agnes to do?

I appreciate that Lea Geller discusses the importance of family, friends, and love. I would recommend this delightful and witty novel for readers who enjoy an entertaining story. I received an ARC for my honest review.

Entertaining enough read that I'd be ok reading a sequel.

Interestingly, here's a lady that lived in La-La-Land and easily set boundaries when it came to her husband's business, but not when it came to her students. But, as she points out, you couldn't see when you had sand in your eyes and didn't care to know.