I'd forgotten just how much I'd enjoyed reading The Hopes and Dreams of Lucy Baker, until I dived into Ms Keer's second novel. The author does a wonderful job of transporting the reader into the mind of Maisie, and the way each individual character is portrayed is fabulous.

Although the story has a sound plot, I loved the book more for the characterisation and the hint of other worldliness weaving its way through the whole thing. And of course, it's as heartwarming as one would expect from the genre. Sweet, gentle, delightfully old-fashioned in places, I particularly enjoyed Ms Keer's depiction of the older generation. The setting was fab, too.

Congratulations on another fantastic story.

Thank you Avon Books UK and Netgalley for the review copy!

I really enjoyed that THE UNLIKELY LIFE OF MAISIE MEADOWS was at its heart a story about family. The cute romance was just a plus!

The Unlikely Life of Maisie Meadows was not what I expected. I started reading it not knowing where the story would take me, but wow!! I truly enjoyed it!! Maisie's life was full of drama due to her not-so-perfect family. She starts a new job at an auction house and her life changes for the better. The people she works with become her family by choice. Each one of them becomes an integral part of her life. When she takes upon the task of tracking down a tea set that she saw as a child in a friendly neighbor's house is when things around her get interesting.
This book made me laugh and cry. The romance was a wonderful bonus. It was funny to see how Theo and Maisie were such complete opposites, but were a perfect match for each other. I liked how they both learned from each other on how to handle life differently but for the better.

Great story!! Highly recommended!!

*Thank you to the publisher for providing the galley through NetGalley for review. All opinions are my own.*

This book was just what I needed - a quirky, clever protagonist who must navigate some completely relatable family drama. The cast of characters is rich and their stories flow together in a really interesting way. This is a perfect summer read.

The Unlikely Life of Maisie Meadows is the second book published by up and coming author Jenni Keer. This is the first book I’ve actually had the pleasure of reading from Ms. Keer. I loved it so much I went and purchased her first book! I always love discovering new authors and I look forward to seeing what Ms. Keer has for us in the future!

Not being familiar with Ms. Keer’s writing style, I didn’t know what to expect. So I was pleasantly surprised to get caught up in this story from the very beginning, and quickly became invested in the storyline and all the characters. I found my self picking up the book throughout the day just to read one more page!

As we start our story, Maisie Meadows has recently quit her job and broken up with her boyfriend, who also happened to be her boss. As she starts a new job at Gildersleeve’s auction house, she works at settling into her new job and dealing with her new coworkers. Oh my, what a fabulous collection of characters at Gildersleeve’s! From Johnny the eccentric, exuberant owner, to the painfully shy, quiet & thoughtful Ella, to the chatty but totally loveable Arthur, and then finally the down to earth, engaging and good-looking Theo, I absolutely loved them all. Gildersleeve’s auction house in itself was a fabulous backdrop for a story. It was a unique setting and one I’ve not read before.

When Maisie stumbles across an old teapot that once belonged to a neighbor from 20 years ago, she works to reunite the tea set.  As Maisie discovers piece by piece the missing tea set from long ago, she begins to wonder if her family can also be reunited as well. This brings us another fabulous set of characters with the Mayhew sisters and Maisie’s parents and siblings and who could forget Nigel the hamster! He truly was the star of the book! ;-) I loved the teapot storyline and all that went along with it. There were so many wonderful stories intertwined into this book and I felt they all flowed beautifully together to make this story perfectly complete.

This was a wonderfully well-written story based on family, friends, secrets, misconceptions, love, loss, in summary, it’s based on life! I devoured this book and absolutely loved the ending. I enjoyed my time with Maisie and her family and friends and would have no problem revisiting this fabulous group of characters again. I highly recommend this book and author!

Maisie Meadows (who has one of those names which seem to exist only in romcoms and never in real life, though no doubt there are some around somewhere), driven out of her old job by an ill-advised romance, takes a new job with the delightful Johnny at Gildersleeve’s auction house. There’s obviously romance on the cards (though not with Johnny) and some shenanigans with a mysterious black and white tea set. Via a *lot* of Unfortunate Misunderstandings.

I know Unfortunate Misunderstandings and miscommunications are a standard in the romance genre but these were just too obvious and predictable to be satisfying and there were zero surprises. I was actually getting quite annoyed with the, at times, incredible density of the characters in this respect, and the ongoing misunderstandings, particularly towards the end, seemed far too contrived. Just communicate, for goodness sake!

That said I did like the characters and the auction house setting, and the story is well written. I particularly appreciated the inclusion of several older characters with very different personalities, which is not something we always see. Arthur was a particular gem. I wasn’t really fussed about the magic tea set element, though.

A pleasant escapist read.

Thank you to Avon Books UK and Net Galley for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
I have to admit that this book was not the one for me. I kept reading (almost to the end), but the story just seemed random without really making any connections. I noticed that this book got a lot of good reviews so maybe it was just me. It just wasn't the book for me.

A tail of family and finding your place in it. Love this book. The main character could be any of us. You will relate to the story because it could be yours. Very good read. Pick it up for yourself!

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this book and characters. Maisie quits her job after finding her boyfriend/boss cheating on her. After finding a new job at an auction house, she discovers a tea pot from her childhood. This sets her off finding the rest of the set with the belief that finding each object from the set will bring back together her wayward family.

This is a quick read and it's helped by how enjoyable everyone is. My only problem was the romance plot. The thing that kept them apart was many misunderstandings that could have so easily been cleared up by saying 'Is that your girlfriend/boyfriend.' Instead, I had to deal of pages and pages of misunderstandings that got annoying really fast.

When 25-year old Maisie finds herself out of a job and out of a boyfriend (her ex-boss) she finds herself a new life as the marketing expert of a small auction house where a team of curious yet wonderful characters work with her. At the same time as she starts this job, Maisie begins a quest to reunite her scattered family and a scattered tea set that has sentimental value to her. Some wordplay puts Maisie in all sorts of situations and misunderstandings but unfortunately while a clever idea, they are a bit too easily spotted to make the twists and turns of the story much of a surprise to the reader. While I enjoyed this book and especially liked some of the secondary characters, I wish I had been a little more surprised by the various would-be surprises.

Maisie Meadows like her life neat and orderly, however life doesn't seem to follow that path. This story follows Maisie as she takes on a new job and uncovers part of mysterious tea set from her past. As she works to find all parts of the tea set, Maisie learns about what things hold a family together and what things can keep a family a part. Maisie is a sweet, quirky character.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for providing me with the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Every now and then, after reading a series of sometimes depressing and complex historical fiction novels, I like to dive headfirst into a fun chick lit story. (I categorized ‘Maisie’ as chick lit personally, although perhaps not everyone will share my sentiments.) I haven’t read Jenni Keer’s first novel, but I intend to do so soon in addition to her future releases. Admittedly, I was expecting something a bit over-the-top corny as I often pick those types of titles, but ‘Maisie’ completely exceeded all my expectations. Lighthearted? I’d expect nothing less from a cover and title so colorful. Corny? A tad bit. But boy, did it have substance!

My first thoughts: I am Maisie Meadows. Quirky, obsessive compulsive, creative, family-oriented; and most importantly, someone who chooses and cherishes the tight-knit bonds of a small group of friends. A young, professional woman who seemed like she had it all together on the outside by her way of generating order and organization in her everyday life, yet itching for a release through her abstract “art.”

But Maisie wasn’t the only enchanting character in this novel. There were countless others, each with their own importance to the development of the story, bringing their own personal magic and personality to the table. Some of my favorites included the dashingly scruffy and laidback Theo, the brash Irene, Naked Man, and, of course, Johnny Gildersleeves. (Hands down, I’d like to sit in an antique-filled living room and discuss my favorite heirlooms with Johnny while drinking red wine.)

Sometimes the climaxes in these types of novels fall short. Not in ‘Maisie’, though! In fact, the entire plot unfolded beautifully from start to finish. Nothing felt rushed or brushed over and there were quite a few plot twists I wasn’t expecting. The writing itself was strong, a style I hope to master one day; and the dialogue and description had me cackling aloud throughout—again, often in scenes with Johnny or silly misunderstandings the characters have about one another.

I look forward to when this book is published. I will certainly purchase it to read again.

I was so excited to see this book pop up as I loved Lucy Baker and Jenni Keer has once again created some superb characters in this book.

Maisie Meadows is a character that needs order in her life and is super organised, as the story progresses you start to see what led to her character traits and how she is constantly trying to remain in control of everything. I absolutely loved Maisie and her complicated family that she is trying in vain to pull back together.

Jenni Keer has a way of you into in her writing so you can't help but keep reading. This story is focused on Maisie trying to reunite her own family, whilst embarking on a new career where she meets some brilliant people who leads her to rediscover a link to her childhood through Meredith's tea set that she feels drawn too in a way she can't explain.

I read this book in just a couple of days and was gutted when I reached the end as I had fallen in love with the characters so much that I just wanted to keep reading more about them. Another brilliant triumph from Jenni Keer and I am excited to see what comes next as I have absolutely loved Lucy Baker & Maisie Meadows.

Absolutely fantastic had me gripped!!! Loved it! Can't wait for more from.this author. Storyline was great, characters were easy to.connect with

Thank you for the advanced copy

I spotted this book on NetGalley, the website that makes advance copies of books available to reviewers. The title and the description captured me and even though I was drowning in books to read for contests and reviews, I clicked to request it. My request was granted and I'm so glad. Jenni Keer's second novel, THE UNLIKELY LIFE OF MAISIE MEADOWS is a charmer. 

Maisie Meadows, the youngest in her family, is a bit OCD, a bit in love with her boss, and a bit obsessed with reuniting her far-flung and feuding family. 

By the end of Chapter Two, Maisie has a new job, new bosses, and no boyfriend. And she's grateful her two new bosses are a couple so she won't be tempted to date either of them, in spite of the fact that her pulse seems to ratchet up whenever she sees or touches one of them. 

There's a touch of magic in the story. And it aligns with Maisie's desire to get her family--if not reunited--at least speaking to each other, and/or in the same room, at the same time. 

To say any more about Maisie's job, the magic that follows her, her relationships with all her co-workers would give away too much of the story. 

Keer created fully realized characters who could be my friends. Or my daughters' friends. :-) The story is well crafted, although readers will know well before Maisie figures it out, the truth about her bosses and co-workers. But that's easily forgiven, given the fun story. 

I enjoyed this book a lot and highly recommend it!

Absolutely loved this novel! Excellent character development, and totally keeps you wanting to find out what happens next. Highly recommended!

This one took me a little bit to get through. A slow start, but when it gets going it's a charming read and one that could easily bet turned into a movie on the Hallmark Channel or Lifetime. The characters are enjoyable, the setting was unique, one I absolutely fell in love with, and the main character can be a bit naive. Despite this, you find yourself rooting for her on her mission to reunite her broken family. It's a charming tale about fate and family, even when you find them in a seemingly unexpected place.

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon for the ARC

This is the first book I've read by Jenni Keer and I really enjoyed it.

Maisie and all the other characters are brought to life beautifully by Jenni. I loved meeting the workforce of Gildersleeve's Antiques, the Meadows family (including Nigel) and the Mayhew family.

This book combines friendship, antiques, family issues, communication difficulties, romance and magic into a story that I didn't want to put down. I will be recommending this to friends and family.

Thanks to NetGalley for a digital review copy in return for a honest review.

The Unlikely Life of Maisie Meadows was a beautiful women’s fiction that revolved around life of Maisie Meadows and mysterious, magical tea set that changed Maisie’s life and perspective. It was about family, friendship, and love; embracing life no matter how unlikely things happened and try to live fullest; social media vs reality, read interaction and connection; quirkiness and imperfection.

Characters-

Maisie was wonderful character. She was caring, orderly, organized and wanted control in life, but deep inside she and her family was a mess that reflected in her paintings. No she was not painter, it’s just hobby, she was marketing executive and she was amazing at that. I liked her trying to form bond with all staff of Gildersleeve’s, and loved her for accepting her mistakes, efforts of being better person not acting like her ungrateful siblings. As the book progressed, her views towards life, family and need for perfection and appearance changed.

Theo was opposite of Maisie and yet they both brought out the best in each other. He was disorganized, scruffy and old fashioned, no-social-media person and was 80s fan. Oh, but he was nicest charming, down to earth and easy –to-be-with person and so so caring for his staff. I loved everything about this guy. I could see why Maisie couldn’t stop falling in love with her boss, ‘again’.

I enjoyed reading about all secondary characters in this book. They were all quirky, had their own story and had guilt and made mistakes in life but at the end, they embraced life. They all played important role in unlikely life of Maisie. My most favorites were Johnny and Arthur.

What I Liked-

Loved that cover. Color, design everything makes it beautiful and so relevant. Writing was smooth, charming, and utterly flamboyant just like Johnny. The Gildersleeve’s auction house, the items came for sell, its quirky staff and the way auction was held everything about it made the perfect setting. The plot was also interesting with thoughtful message.

Book started with betrayal that changed Maisie’s status to jobless and loveless, end of all Christmas plan and resulted in the New Year resolution- get over the heartbreak and find a new job that she did as a marketing executive at Gildersleeve’s auction house. No handsome boss around to romanticize and not entirely stick to desk job lured her in but little she knew about other old fashioned and a very charming partner of auction house who can prove her decision wrong.

Good thing that happened, she found Meredith’s teapot at auction house that brought back childhood memory. She desperately wanted her picture perfect Christmas with family like she remembered from childhood, when her family was still together. She found hope when she started reuniting Meredith’s tea set. She was certain this quirky teapot had some magical spell and she was out on a mission ‘reuniting Meredith’s tea set and her family members’.

Will she able to find all items of tea set? Was it just superstitious or the tea set really had something magical about it? Will her dream to reunite all scattered Meadows together come true? Will she fall for her boss or have to face another disappointment?

I loved finding answers to all these questions. My favorite part of the book was reading the story of Mayhew sisters, Arthur, history related to tea set and knowing each Meadows closely through Maisie’s perspective. It was interesting how tea set affected all sisters’ life and how on reuniting it was changing Maisie’s life. More surprising was the meaning of the tea-set’s name and how it worked differently with different group.

I also loved the thoughtful messages on family and friends, how imperfections has its own beauty, not everything needs to be perfect, tidy and as good as new, how used imperfect things comes by Gildersleeve’s has history and memory. Difference between social media and old fashioned way of interacting and engaging people for marketing was nicely represented.

Both Maisie and Theo made a great team and I enjoyed seeing their relationship blossom in story. Their banter over social media was endearing, both proved their point and accepted it graciously. Maisie’s relation with her family, Mayhew sisters and auction house staff was amazing. There were some hilarious moments (that old man at Willow Tree House was mind blowing), some tense and some emotional moments that made plot gripping and refreshing.

The climax was brilliant. I couldn’t guess what was going to happen when Meadows were gathered at Maisie’s place. All those confessions were surprising. There were misunderstandings, lack of communications and understanding other’s perspective that messed characters’ life. I loved how things settled at the end. End and Epilogue was satisfactory.

Overall, it was lovely, cozy, mysterious and magical women’s fiction with interesting characters and their unlikely life story. I surely recommend this book.

I found I really liked this story! The story was interesting, and the characters were charming. I loved the teapot aspect, and the scenes at the auction house were really fun! I loved how the characters related to each other. Maisie & her friends & family were so dynamic, I’ll be missing these characters!