Thank you, Netgalley for sending me a digital ARC, in exchange for an honest review

A hilarious good book to read, based on letters that Roxy writes. It will keep you entertained.

The main character shares her tales of woe to her ex-boyfriend via letters. Through these letters, you get to know an interesting cast of characters. This was a fun quick read. I definitely would recommend it. The first book by this author I have read Mary Pauline Lowry.

I'm writing this review with the acknowledgement that I am not the target audience: I don't really enjoy romance, and I can't see Roxy and her beau really going the distance. That being said, I loved the wacky ensemble cast (especially her female friends!) and found The Roxy Letters a refreshingly quick read.

The writing is easy to get into, as the letters make it seem like she's writing directly to you. However, Roxy's go-to phrases can get a bit repetitive.

TLDR: Very fun, very quick, but not going to be one of my most-recommended reads of 2020.

If you are looking for a book which is funny and sweet and a feel good read, look no further. The Roxy Letters is all those things and more. Roxy is somewhat like a Bridget Jones, comical, confused and looking for Mr. Right, but she is much more. She's a vegan who works at a deli department at a Whole Foods store trying to get over a boyfriend she thought was the love of her life, who can't seem to make a grown-up decision to save her life and she is always broke.

Roxy's escapades are all told to us through letters which she writes to her housemate, Everett, a past boyfriend living with her now to help her not only split the rent, which according to some of the letters he seems to forget to do, as well as help take care of her pets Charlize Theron, a cat and Roscoe, a dog who needs a nightly insulin shot.

She comically tells tales of being Vegan and having to deal with patrons who order meat, from a deli, which sells meat! And don't get her started on the run-ins with "Dirty Steve" her manager who seems to dislike everybody and keeps trying to get her fired, or give her food poisoning on any given day.

As she maneuvers through life, dating men who act like children... literally, pining over the one she lost, she befriends a woman name Armetis Starla who is so carefree and put together that Roxy envies her. Why can't she be more like Armetis? But Roxy seems to become lost in her past unable to see any hope for a promising future.

Until a Lululemon store moves into their quaint block and Roxy, well just does not feel the store belongs. So she gathers her friends to make signs and picket the store. That's when chaos really begins to ensue! As Roxy starts to stand up for what she believes, her confidence seems to grow and she becomes stronger.

Roxy learns she needs to let go of her past and forgive her ex to move on realizing that he may have actually loved her very much because he did let her go. And something unique begins to happen to her. She begins to become an adult! And she learns a very valuable lesson...not everything is always what it seems!

The hijinks are never ending and pretty amusing and the dialogue is quick-witted as we follow Roxy and her merry band of misfits to a very satisfying ending.

Thank you NetGalley, Simon&Schuster, Elizabeth Breeden and Goodreads for the advanced copies.

This book is weird. The only parts I really enjoyed were the references to Austin and dachshunds (probably because these were the only two things in which I could relate to the main character). The book is set in Austin and the plot is revolves around the city itself which is fun. I would probably only recommend this book to a native or local Austinite who wouldn’t mind the rest of the ridiculous story. The sex cult, prayers to the goddess Venus, and letters to the ex boyfriend were just a few of absurdities that didn’t work for me with this book.

The Roxy Letters was an entertaining novel, written creatively through one-way letters. The turbulent events in Roxy's quirky, life were told in a fun, light manner. Thank you NetGalley for the e-book for review. All opinions are my own.

Comparisons of this novel by Mary Pauline Lowry to Bridget Jones’ Diary are inevitable. Protagonist Roxy — an educated, underemployed millennial, struggling to pay her mortgage and find love — writes down her thoughts and adventures in letters to her equally clueless ex-boyfriend Everett. Roxy’s basically a parody of herself: vegan, lauding the goddess Venus, underemployed and harassed at Whole Foods, devoted to her pets, trying to take down commercialism (in the form of Lululemon) and patriarchy. A University of Texas graduate and wannabe artist, Roxy realizes that, at 27, she should be in a better place, and she mourns her fate and that of so many of her cohort. I should have found her off-putting, but Roxy’s so sweet and compassionate that I couldn’t help but love her. And it’s reminder to us Baby Boomers how much easier we have it than our children.

Despite my love and compassion for Roxy, she spends so much time virtue-signaling and spinning her wheels that I stopped caring about her a third of the way through. She doesn’t think ahead, the cause of so many of her troubles. I wish I could dispense some grandmotherly advice to her, although I doubt that she’d take it. Oppressed, underpaid and a wage slave at Whole Foods — despite the multinational’s thin attempt at seeming hip and caring — is no way to go through life. You need a plan. That’s the first step to getting a life. And life doesn’t start next week or next month or next year. Life has to start today. Too bad Roxy spends more time wishing she had a life than lifting a finger to get one.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalley and Simon and Schuster in exchange for an honest review.

Loved this quirky epistolary novel. It was a fun read. I will be featuring this novel in my blog. Thank you for letting me read an early copy.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-book of The Roxy Letters.

Roxy is a little like me. I can't say I relate to her now but I did before getting married. I didn't have my s*** together.
The letters she writes her ex boyfriend are cringe and sometimes they made me LOL.
It's a fun, lay back and relax kind of read.

The Roxy Letters by Mary Pauline Lowry
⭐️⭐️⭐️
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Roxy is a free-spirited 20-something going through a bit of a rough patch. Her job at the Whole Foods deli counter isn’t stimulating, and her love life leaves something to be desired. Roxy is passionate about what she believes in, so when a new Lululemon opens in her charming and eccentric Austin neighborhood, Roxy sees red. With the help of her two friends, Roxy makes plans to save the neighborhood from corporatization and find herself some love along the way.
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When @simonbooks reached out to me to help promote this novel, I jumped at the chance! I have been reading a lot of heavy, serious, or dense material lately, and Roxy Letters was an enjoyable change of pace. There were parts of this book that were SO funny and relatable, I could almost picture myself along for the ride. This novel is written in letter format, which I didn’t love at first but it grew on me! Three stars because I found the story to drag a bit towards the middle, but I enjoyed the ending. If you’re looking for a light read that doesn’t take itself seriously, pick this one up! Thank you @simonbooks for my advanced readers copy. The Roxy Letters was released earlier this month and is available now!

I’m not sure what possessed me to request this on NetGalley but I strongly suspect it was due to seeing it was an epistolary novel. Roxy is a late-bloomer in-so-far as she is a nearly starving artist – not that can bring herself to actually paint anything – that works in a deli at Whole Foods that occasionally mooches money from her parents. The Roxy Letters are firmly Women’s Fiction / Chick Lit with funny, cringe-worthy moments and a very flawed main character.

Roxy is a hot mess and if I’m being honest I didn’t care for her as a character. This isn’t necessarily the author’s fault. In fact, it shows just how talented she was at creating Roxy as an authentic, obnoxious hippie. She reminded me of the absolute worst characteristics of the “keep weird” movement when it came to my hometown. So painful. So snobby. If I wasn’t so curious as to what she would mess up next, I may have set it to the side. After all, its not every book I read that includes a sex cult.

There is an element of “coming-of-age” as Roxy’s self-awareness grows and she starts to take an active role in her life. The pacing was comfortable and appropriate for Roxy’s antics but, if you aren’t paying attention to the dates of the letters it is easy to lose track of the passage of time.

While this wasn’t my favorite, Lowry did manage to make me laugh with Roxy’s ill-advised escapades. Be prepared for a lot of hippie, vegan talk, and elitism. If that isn’t for you then this might be one to skip. The Roxy Letters proved to be equal parts fascinating (train wreck character) and exceedingly awkward making this book quite an experience.

Side note: I had no idea that Austin, TX boasted a strange bubble of hippie, hipster, slacker community and I’m not sure what to do with that information. I almost want to see it for myself but then again…

**I voluntarily read and reviewed a review copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
*Reviews posted/submitted to Amazon, Bookbub, B&N, and Kobo (7 MAY 2020)

I did NOT think this book was like Bridget Jones. Sure Roxy puts herself into horribly embarrassing situations. But there isn't much humor in it. And when you find out the truth about one of her friends, it's not funny at all. I did enjoy the letter writing tale. It got slow in places and while I felt for Roxy, she sure could have straightened out her life a heck of a lot sooner! It did all wrap up very neat and pretty. It wasn't too heavy, which is what I need right now. Just wish it was a bit funnier.

THE ROXY LETTERS by Mary Pauline Lowry left me wanting more.

Roxy enjoys writing letters to her ex-boyfriend, who, lives in her guest bedroom for awhile. Could be funny but was not for me.

In those letters, Roxy writes about her life, her work life, her sex life, her eating habits, you get the idea.

The letters are lengthy and the whole concept of utilizing letters to tell her story did not work for me.

Perhaps this book would be enjoyed on a beach with a fruity cocktail. If you're looking for substance look elsewhere; if you're looking for a light sorta-fun beach read, this just may be your book.

It took me a while to get into this book. I actually put it down and read another book then started this one again...However, once that I got into the book, I couldn't put it down. Glad that I gave this one another chance.

I'm going to cheat and give this 4.5 out of 5 stars (something I always long to do on goodreads!). This book is the most fun thing I've read in ages. It is clearly aware of its roots in 'Bridget Jones' Diary' - with many references to that book - but I also got strong vibes of vintage Jane Green (think 'Mr. Maybe') and Meg Cabot's "Boy" series. We've got it all here - a snarky (anti?)heroine whose flaws zigzag across the line between horrifying and hilarious (but never hidden), the best friend who's got it all together and offers sage advice, the best friend who's a hot mess and encourages our protagonist to be even messier, the terrible love interest no woman should ever go near, the REAL love interest everyone will fall in love with, a storyline that focuses on both romantic and non-romantic developments, and most importantly, a fun, flippant writing style that I can't wait to see more of in the future.

Laugh Out Loud!

A quirky, fun and lighthearted read. The Roxy Letters was exactly what I needed. Roxy is a millennial hipster struggling to make ends meet. Under-employed and under-romanced Roxy embarks on a quest to save Austin from gentrification.
Once I started reading The Roxy Letters, I couldn’t put the book down. Lowry does a great job surrounding Roxy with a rich cast of characters. As a Mother of three millennial daughters I could relate to Roxy in many ways. Not only do I recommend this book, I’ve added to my list of ‘read again’ books.

This book was just alright to me. The formatting and more significantly, the substance of the letters didn’t add much in the way of excitement. While there were a few funny moments in the book, I found most of the protagonist’s experiences to be unbelievable and just not that interesting. 3/5 stars ⭐️.

Meet Roxy, a struggling artist who's struggling to accept life's changes. Austin is evolving, her friends are moving on, and she hasn't painted or drawn anything in a year.

Along comes Everett, Roxy's ex-boyfriend turned roommate and the briage of letters Roxy leaves him.

Can I just start by saying I really did not like this book? I love an awesome epistolary novel, but this widely missed the mark. Roxy is a terrible character that displays minimal growth throughout the entire novel. And that's ok. Characters don't have to grow (....) but they better be funny. Nope! Not our girl. She is insufferable. She acts like a child, overshares way too much, and just needs to get her act together. The new Bridget Jones she is most certainly not.

*Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was really excited for this book. I love books written in epistolary format. I wanted to love it but unfortunately this one fell short for me. I found the main character very unlikeable and the book very hard to get into. This was a DNF for me.

I received an egalley of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was intrigued by this book because of the comparisons to Bridget Jones' Diary and Where'd You Go Bernadette, two books I loved. However, I just couldn't get into this and I DNF'd at 10%. I couldn't get into the format - the entire text is written in a series of letter to the main character's ex-boyfriend, who has moved in with her. I also couldn't take the plot seriously. The main character is a vegan that works at Whole Foods and is upset over a new Lululemon store. I was hoping for a fun read, but I just couldn't get into this.

The Roxy Letters is a love letter to Austin, Texas.

Having only visited Austin once in high school, I definitely didn't realize most (if not all) of the places mentioned in The Roxy Letters are real. Toward the end of my reading, I finally decided to Google Maps the main locations. That definitely put everything into perspective - so I would recommend doing that if you're interested in learning about the area!

I loved how this book was framed in the form of letters. I always fly through that writing style, and I really couldn't put it down. I loved how it began, and I especially loved Roxy's personality. Lowry's writing allowed me to really feel like I knew Roxy - her life, her quirks, her sense of humor.

There were a few things I personally found odd, but maybe that's why I enjoyed it so much. It was a new and different experience for me. One thing - I will say the OM thing really threw me off with how strange it is. But I literally just looked it up, and it's real (OMG...you're in a cult, call your dad).

I really love how The Roxy Letters didn't hold back. It wasn't afraid to cover and encourage what the status quo would deem odd and off putting. It was very open and honest, showing how Roxy was able to look inside herself and really understand what was changing in herself as well as in the city of Austin.

*Thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC, for which I have given an honest and unbiased review*