Cover Image: Been There, Married That

Been There, Married That

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Member Reviews

I had thought that I would be writing a different feedback about this book. I had expected it to be a light and fun bon bon of a book about Hollywood and Birken bags and the trophy wives who carry them. Instead I found it a bit of a tedious read. Obviously, given the author’s history, she is knowledgeable about the story she is telling and has a sense of humor about her subject matter. My problem with the novel perhaps lies in her humor. Instead of the narrative going smoothly along for the most part it seems that every sentence has been constructed as a pithy remark making, for me, a disjointed reading experience.

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From the blurb this book sounded like something that I could get into, however, it was really difficult to read and not all that funny. I was really hoping to like much more than I did.

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Gigi Levangie has definitely mastered a sense of the absurd. Hollywood, being what it is, helps when writing about the day to day, behind the scenes life. I know this is fiction but a tiny part of me thinks some of craziness might actually happen.

The book is entertaining and it's an easy read. If cursing bothers you, this is not the book for you. The characters live lives I don't recognize and for that I'm thankful.

I received an Advanced Reader's Copy from St Martin's Press through NetGalley. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.
#BeenThere,Married That #NetGalley

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This book would make a fun movie. Although I skipped large portions of it because the machine gun style writing was overwhelming to me, it definitely relayed the main character's frustrations with her kooky life. This book will probably appeal to younger adults more than those who have already lived through life's upheavals.

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This book is funny and smart. I really liked it. I would recommend it to someone who is looking for an escape from the daily grind.

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Sadly I was only able to read about four chapters before giving up. Personally speaking, if the writing is full of stereotypical jabs at people, I tend to tune out. I can see how it might be enjoyed by lots of readers, though, given the Hollywood setting and the main character's determined approach to on life.

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This book is an enjoyable romp through the lives of the privileged who find themselves suddenly scrambling for “normalcy.” Trevor Nash decides, at mid-life, he is not happy and “needs” to be happy. He leaves his wife, Agnes, and daughter, Pep, while he struggles to find his “happiness” and Agnes and Pep are left in the wake. All of the characters are flawed - including Agnes’ sister Fin - (and except for Pep) and it is fun to read/watch as the characters (caricatures of the Hollywood B-listers) struggle with things that most of do. The storyline is fine and light, the characters well developed. Enjoyable and recommended.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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I received an ARC of this book. I found it confusing at first, but after awhile it captured my interest. It's a story of the pampered life and marriages of celebrities. The main character is likeable enough but the whole premise is not one that attracts me.

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I received an advance copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book had my interest from the description. Unfortunately it was a difficult read. I never connected with any character. Maybe that was the point but it felt like the author was trying to write for a reality tv show and those aren’t my cup of tea either.

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This hilarious book, about a rise and fall of a Hollywood marriage, was a romp of a good time. I loved the main characters and the story itself was laugh out loud journey. Some of the characters didn't seem to blossom for me so it was difficult to keep track of who was who. Periodically the flow of the story felt stilted, but I’m wondering if I received a copy of the book that was not past the final stage of editing (I'm quite sure my copy was not finalized). Regardless of these things, I plan to read it again, as I may have missed somethings, which made me feel the book did not flow. It is a very fast-paced book and perhaps the writing is fine. The book was a lot of fun and very snarky, I do recommend this book to anyone whose humor could appreciate it. I am looking forward to reading more from this author. 4.5 STARS because it was such a good story and it was so FUNNY!

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This author was new to me. While it was hard for me to get involved in the beginning of the book, I did become interested. I enjoyed not only the story line but also the characters. I will be reading more from this author. Thank you for introducing her to me.

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First I wanted to say that I love the cover however, unfortunately that where my love ends. I was trying to connect with Agnes but I think we disconnected when her horrible husband ask her for a divorce. I felt like she was a big push over. Actually none of the people in book are likable. From what I understand this book was suppose to be funny.. but I didn’t get most of the humor.

Thank you St Martin Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book and to give my honest opinion.

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DNF. It was a stream of consciousness that rambled on and on. The first chapter alone mentioned so many people that I didn’t want to continue for few that I would have to remember who they all were if they were characters that appeared again.

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Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC to preview and review.

I absolutely loved this book! It was laugh out loud funny for me from the very beginning. It’s the story of Agnes, a Hollywood wife who is also an author, and her husband Trevor one of the top movie producers in Hollywood and their divorce. Supporting characters include Pep, their pre-teen angst ridden and hormonally charged daughter, Fin, Agnes’ jailbird sister, Agnes’ Dad, the “Three Sisters” aka the staff who seem to be Agnes’ best friends, and a host of revolving Hollywood types.

The book starts with Trevor asking for a divorce, seemingly out of nowhere. Sure, they haven’t been lovebirds recently, but they both live busy lives, and what married couple does after 10+ years of marriage. Trevor is your basic egotistical, self-centered asshole who cuts Agnes off completely, even dividing the house up with tape and a time table of when she can use which rooms, and acts like he got where he was by himself. Agnes, on the other hand, acts likes it’s no big deal and either Trevor will snap out of it, or he will amicably settle. By the time she figures out she’s been delusional on this point, it’s way too late....like in jail for contempt of court late, lol. But along the way, there are plenty of riotously funny encounters between the characters, especially with Fin her sister, whom I loved!

I read a lot of less than stellar reviews of this book. I’ve not read anything by Ms. Grazer before so I didn’t have anything to judge this by, although I have seen the movie Stepmom, which she wrote the screenplay. For me, this book was exactly how I imagined a Hollywood breakup would be. Out of nowhere, weird, “friends” ignoring you, getting locked out of your estate, having to slum on your housekeepers couch because you don’t have a credit card in your name kind of story.

Bottom line, I loved it and I’m definitely adding Ms. Grazer to my “to read” pile and will recommend this book to my friends. If you need a light hearted make you laugh book, this is it!

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3.5 stars for this book...the reasons are few for this rating. The storyline was great, because this was an uncorrected proof it jumped from scene to scene at times and I had to go back and re-read a few lines to catch on to what was happening. The other reason is that the ending left me unfulfilled. I would have loved and epilogue or some sort of glimpse into what happened to everyone

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I found it hard to sympathize with the simpering, over privileged protagonist in this book. The writing style is all over the place in that the book seems very manic and somewhat disorganized. Perhaps it is a symptom of the scattered thoughts a woman getting a divorce. I almost didn’t finish this book, but then about three quarters of the way through, I was stunned by the vivid descriptions of the characters that Agnes meets while waiting for her day in court to begin. The writing was excellent. Perhaps it is the subject matter or just the story, but this book was a slog for me and didn’t really grab my attention and make me want to keep reading.

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Girl power! I loved that this book was more than a romance, it was female forward, funny and emotional all at once!

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What would you do if you came home to find out your spouse locked you out of the house and hired someone to tase you if you tried to enter? This is exactly what happens to Agnes Nash in Been There, Married That by Gigi Levangie Grazer. Agnes' husband, Trevor Nash, is a hot shot Hollywood producer who decides he wants to leave Agnes after celebrating her birthday. With her wit and family, Agnes slowly realizes she will be okay.

I did enjoy this book for the most part. I appreciated Agnes' thoughts because as a woman I can admit I myself have had a strange series of thoughts as well when in weird or hurtful predicaments. She is the perfect opposite of Trevor who is narcissistic and extremely rude. I hated him as a character. He did not seem like the type of man to put his family first and also, he is a terrible father. The way that he treated Agnes when he decided he wanted a divorce was absolutely awful. If he wasn't like this though, I wouldn't have believed that this was in Hollywood.

I am only giving this novel three stars because there were a lot of characters introduced and there was some action that just didn't make sense. Once I started focusing on one part there was a switch in action or another character was introduced.

I received this eARC from Netgalley and St. Martin Press in exchange for my honest review.

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It is a weird tale that is hard to believe. It was funny in some places but mostly sad and very dysfunctional people

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Compulsively readable- I read that term a lot, but it truly applies to this book. It’s fun, fresh, and a great look at narcissism and family dynamics.

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