Lindsey J. Palmer takes her heroine, Molly, and puts her through all manner of hijinks and hilarity, desperately hoping that Molly will grow up in the process.

It begins with Molly expecting her longtime boyfriend Gabe to propose to her. He doesn’t. Gabe has a book to finish, one he isn’t too keen on letting Molly read because her previous efforts to provide feedback on his work tended to be more nit picky and critical than constructive. I can’t say I blame Gabe for keeping her from this one.

It turns out, though, that Molly perhaps should have read Gabe’s new book because it tells the story of his previous love affair. Critics and readers inhale it, and before Molly realizes what she is in danger of losing, Gabe is on a book tour … with that ex-girlfriend along for the ride.

Okay, some of the plot points in this book seem as if they’re for either shock value or to one-up the previous scene. Molly makes some COLOSSAL mistakes. I mean, mistakes that make you kind of not like her all that much. When her friends take her to task, I high-fived them. It’s as if Molly is so mired in self-destruction that she can’t see that the only one at fault for her bad decisions is her.

Gabe, meanwhile, enjoys the success he worked for, and I can’t blame him for that. In fact, I liked Gabe a whole lot. I liked Molly’s friends. Molly, though, infuriated and frustrated me so much that I wanted to abandon her.

And yet I kept reading, and I have to say that Lindsey J. Palmer delivers the perfect ending. You may not like it (particularly if you’re one of those “I need a definitive resolution” readers), but I sure did. It’s the one time I really, truly liked Molly.

Please let me know your thoughts on this book. I liked it the deeper I got into it, although there were a few times when I rolled my eyes at some of the extreme disasters that befell Molly.

I really loved that this was not your typical romance and I think everyone could relate to one aspect of Molly's situation. It took me a little to get in to the book, but once I was in I was hooked! While a unique situation, the issues of jealousy, fear and uncertainty in a relationship are real and relatable. A fantastic read!

I tried to read this book a few times before I finally managed to get through it.
Don't get me wrong, the plot is well paced. The writing style is great, it flows well and it's not tiring. The story itself is fairly interesting and intriguing. And the entire concept of a book within a book is quite fun and executed well.
The reason why I couldn't read get into this book are the characters. That's not to say that there are any major issues with them, it's just that I failed to feel a connection to them.
It's a decent book, it just wasn't for me.

"Otherwise Engaged" by Lindsey Palmer.

My first time reading that author.

3.5 stars. I liked it, didn't love it.
It took me a while to get into the story and connect with the characters, I didn't really feel for them.
It is well written and interesting but also confusing. You're reading a book and inside you have chapters of another book so it's quite confusing and weird. First time for me! Not a fan!

Thank you NetGalley and Skyhorse Publishing for the ARC of this book. This is my honest review, all opinions are my own.
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Thank you to Net Galley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to really love this book, it provides everything a good chick-lit should in my opinion, interesting female characters with a bit of substance to them, a will they won't they romance trope, and a useless boyfriend you're constantly waiting to ditch. And whilst I loved the plot and the way sections of Gabe's book were woven into the story, I just really didn't like Molly as a character, to me her friends were so much interesting!

I'd love to see another book from the author written from Sam's point of view, she was the best character!

This isn’t my normal read (usually more thrillers or historical fiction) but I really enjoyed it. The characters, especially Molly, were very realistically drawn, I i because invested in the outcome for them all. Overall, a great read!

This book was just not for me. I really struggled through this. I could not connect to the characters. I'm sorry for the poor review and wish the author all the best.

Team Molly from the start! In my head I pictured her as put together and Gabe as a messy author who didn't care about anything but himself. I love the female friendships in this book and how they supported (for the most part!) each other. I just wish Molly had the strength earlier on to speak her mind, she became so paranoid it was a bit much to read. All in all, I love myself a good chick lit book and this did it for me.

I almost gave up on this one about 25% in, because I was only mildly interested in the outcome, but I did stick with it and it got a bit better. Not sure why I didn't love it. Maybe it was a bit too depressing for chick lit and not "deep" enough for women's fiction. Or maybe I just couldn't invest in the main character. Either way, a "meh" read for me.

*Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

I really struggled to connect with the characters, Molly and Gabe, and had a hard time staying engaged with the plot. I did find the premise to be promising, and the idea of this being "a book within a book" but unfortunately this just didn't work for me.

Otherwise Engaged by Lindsey Palmer is the story of Molly and Gabe, a young couple who live in New York. Gabe writes a successful books about his ex-girlfriend, which leads to trouble in their relationship. I found this book to be just so-so, I never felt really invested in the couple. I do plan on giving Ms. Palmer another chance though.

I received this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Thank you to Net Galley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’m sure this book will be a hit for some, as it is definitely chick-lit at its core, but it just really missed the mark for me.

First, the book-within-a-book format has always been a turn off for me. I feel like I’m keeping up with two different stories, and in this case I wasn’t a fan of either.

Secondly, the characters. I’m not sure there was anyone that I particularly liked except for Sam, who delivered a much-needed speech to Molly when she had become completely self-destructive and 100% intolerable.

I had high hopes for this book, but the more I read, the more I tuned out and started skimming the pages waiting for something interesting to happen. I’d like to think I would have enjoyed it more if I’d read it at a different time, but I can’t say that I’d be willing to re-read later and find out. That being said, I’m sure there will be fans of this story and I do wish the author success with this book!

This was a super quick read for me (admittedly with a lot of skimming) and my first read by author Lindsay Palmer. I love the premise of this book but the main character Molly irked me BIG TIME and Gabe was not much better. I found their relationship frustrating and wanted to just fix it for them- since neither seemed to do anything that was moving things in the right direction. Many of their actions made no sense and didn't seem realistic to me. And don't get me started on Molly's ex. I wanted to like these characters but the struggle was real. I would definitely look into other books from this author though - as she definitely has potential!!

HUGE THANKS to Netgalley, Skyhorse Publishing, and of course- Lindsay Palmer!! - for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Oh my gosh. It took me a little while to get into this book - even though the characters were well written, they didn't grab me. The book starts off with this couple who go out camping and then the girl is disappointed that they don't get engaged. Pretty boring so far. But it gets so much more captivating and intense. The characters grew and became real people, and their lives and loves and losses and insanity became real. I couldn't figure out if I wanted to put the book down to disentangle myself from fiction, or keep reading to see what happens next! I'm so glad I finished this book because it was everything I look for in a good book, and more. It's not cliched, and it's certainly not boring. I loved the book and would recommend it to anyone who needs some amazing women's fiction in their life.

Thank you NetGalley and Skyhorse Publishing for this ARC.

Molly was a wonderful character! She was meticulous, paranoid, funny, heartwarming and slightly bananas. I really enjoyed getting to know her and becoming immersed in her whirlwind of a life.
This had a fantastic support of both side characters and stories to keep me intrigued.
Normally a book within a book is not something I enjoy, but here it seemed to work.

Ms. Palmer's writing is infectious and urged me onward with every new page.
I look forward to checking out more of her work!

A book within a book, now there is a book that peaks my interest. While I did have problems relating to the characters and felt like there were a few things that were skipped over and/or left out, I give it 2.5 stars because I stsyed engaged in the story. The ending was terrible and did not wrap up the book at all, It left me wanting closure, something to close the story with, instead it was empty and lackluster.

3.5 stars, but rounding up because I did enjoy it. I found myself very conflicted throughout on how the main characters feelings and reactions to her fiancés “fictional” novel impacted her. Plus, the ending continues to make you think.

Fun read about how life and love changes after college! Real life and work can definitely bring out a side of your personality you never expected. Gabe and Molly's marriage and life bring laughter and tears after Gabe writes a book about his ex. Don't miss it!

I struggled to engage with the characters in this book and found myself struggling to concentrate and skimming a lot of it. Whilst I made it through and it wasn't the worst book i've read, something about it missed the mark for me. I think the characters were unlikeable which took away my interest and caused me to struggle to plough on.

Molly and Gabe have been together for two years, they're on a romantic getaway for their anniversary and he has a surprise for her; there's a beautiful view in a remote clearing, sparkling wine and a love poem - not the proposal she was secretly hoping for.

Back home from their break, Gabriel completes his novel he's been working on throughout their relationship and for the first time Molly is given a copy. It doesn't take long for Molly to realise that 'The Chronicles of Dahlia' was not so vaguely inspired by Gabe's previous relationship with Talia The book follows contains snippets of Gabe's writing throughout the novel which worked really well as you get to 'read along with Molly' because it actually takes her well over six months to get to the last chapter, I'm guessing she's not a big reader.

The book is a pretty big hit, Gabe is getting celebrity endorsements, flying across the country to be interviewed and Talia has got back in touch; Molly begins to spiral, jumping to conclusions, becoming jealous and extremely anxious about the future of their relationship and the impact of Gabe's new found fame.

Personally, I found this to be ok, I read it fairly quickly; parts really hooked me in, others I found myself skimming, wanting the plot to move a bit quicker. I liked that the characters weren't perfect and I found myself quite annoyed with each of them at some point; Molly, why didn't you make yourself read the whole book! Gabe, why didn't you give her a verbal warning or overview before leaving her with the transcript! I did enjoy the ending, I thought it was going to end quite predictably but it proved better than that and wrapped things up for the main characters in a reassuring way.

Otherwise Engaged: A Novel is due for UK release on 14th March 2019. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for early access to this in exchange for an honest review.