The cover, coupled with a premise that strongly compared this book to Where'd You Go, Bernadette?, led me to request this book with tickled anticipation from NetGalley.

The first chapter started out promising: Roxy as new landlord, laying down the rules for ex-boyfriend Everett as new tenant. The tone was hilarious and the set-up, oh-so-promising.

Chapter two wasn't too bad as we get a feel for the kind of life Roxy is stuck in, but I began to get a sense of, "Well, as you know, Bob ..." because doesn't this ex-boyfriend know anything about her life, other than she has a place he can crash?

From there on, the "letters" aren't so much notes of communication as they are a one-way, self-involved monologue.

You know when you go to a party or any social get-together, and there's that "one person" whom everyone seems to avoid? But you somehow get trapped by them over by the bar or while you're simply trying to leave the restroom. And you quickly learn exactly why everyone is steering clear. This person has no interest in conversation. They're too in love with the sound of their own voice while they regale you with minutiae, their woes in life topping all others', and soon enough your heart is pumping while your brow sweats and your panicked mind races with, How the hell am I going to get away?

That is Roxy and this book for me.

I wish I could see the humor like so many others. I wish I could have been engaged and cared.

Just didn't happen.

I was very excited to receive this book from Netgalley in return to my honest review. The reason I asked for the copy of the book is the description of it and, of course, the cover. It does look exciting and the comparison to Bridget Jones did the trick.
Well, I couldn't manage to read more than 20%. The reason for that was not that the book was boring, (it is very well- written and it is a pleasure to read), it simply didn't make sense.
It is narrated in first person perspective by Roxy, who is a troublesome Wholefoods employee. The book is written in the way of letters to her roommate, who used to be her boyfriend. That is where my irritation arises. It is irrelevant. Who writes letters to a roommate? Not only some of them are describing both of the tenants spending time together the night before. They also contain full on dialogues that Roxy is describing.
Once again, the book is easy to read but only if you can get over the fact that the narration doesn't make sense.

I struggled with this book a lot. Roxy has little to no self-awareness. And while that can be fertile ground for a story about a woman who comes to a deeper sense of self, this book falls short of delivering. Any change that happens to Roxy is unearned. Instead, she continues to make all the wrong decisions and maintains an alarming level of self-righteousness until she starts praying to Venus and her life just starts fixing itself on her own. Effectively, she never has to learn from her mistakes until after her life has gotten better and she can finally see all the good things she has in her life. Overall, the book never hit the right spot. It's funny at times, and the author creates a rich and interesting world surrounding Roxy, but Roxy herself is not all that compelling or redeemable. Unlikeable characters are all well and good, but there should be a hook that makes the reader still root for them and this character misses the mark in that regard.

The Roxy Letters is a portrait of disillusioned millennial life. Roxy is underemployed, living with her ex-boyfriend, under-romanced, and determined to save Austin from gentrification. I wanted to love this epistolary novel, but I found the voice of the novel to be one-dimensional and self-absorbed.

Roxy is in her late 20s, failed artist and work in the deli at Whole Foods in Austin Texas. She's unlucky in love and having so much financial issues that she's renting her ex Everett a room in her house. Everett is not her first choice as a tenant but she needs the money, she also knows he can help take care of her pets. She writes Everett letters when he's running late on rent, or when he brings cheese to the house. Roxy is a wannabe vegan and cheese is her weakness. As her life unravels with drama, Roxy continues to writes these letters to Everett, talking about her woes, failed attempts at dating, outrage at Lululemon and more. Sometimes you read a book that is just so different, Roxy is a millennial to the T but deep down she wants to get her life together and her journey will make you shake your head, laugh and eventually love her.

This book is reminiscent of Bridget Jones's Diary or Where'd You Go Bernadette in that it's told through letters written by the main character, addressing an ex-boyfriend, but essentially as a diary. It's silly and far-fetched but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I wanted to know what happened, even though the ending was entirely predictable. It's a quick, easy read. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advance copy.

Roxy tells customers to f**k off, dabbles in the fine art of blackmail, pilfers food from her employer (not only for herself, but also for her favorite customers), fantasizes about some hot guy nibbling her sweet-and-sour peach, and generally says f**k quite often. What a charmer!

Obviously, I do not care for the main character, but that is not my biggest problem with the book. I really dislike the fact that Roxy uses her letters to tell the recipient things he should already know (like the names of his dogs). I read the first chapter, then bailed.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. My thanks (and apologies) to the author, the publisher and NetGalley.

Actual review 3.5⭐ rounded up to 4.

I love a book that makes me laugh and this one made me laugh...A LOT! This is a story told in letter format. Roxy starts by writing a letter to her ex boyfriend turned roommate giving him the rules that he will have to follow if he is going to live with her. And from there the author takes you on a fun hysterical ride!

Such a fun, easy read! A little predictable in spots, but I was able to overlook that, because of how the book was written.

Thank you Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for a copy of this ebook in exchange for my honest review.

A funny, light-hearted read. This was a great book that kept me wondering , what in the world, is Roxy going to do next! Sometimes it seems like embarrassing situations just seem to happen to certain people much more than others, this is Roxy. Recommend!

Clearly the author is trying hard to satirize something. Or write a love letter. Not sure which.
The protagonist rambles in such a way that makes the book occasionally draggy.
It's all tied up in a fairytale ending.

While sometimes slow this book was actually pretty great . The story is told in a series of letters between the protagonist and a former boyfriend. This book was graciously provided by the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I feel like I really connected to Roxy I liked this read and the letters and the way it was set up as like a letter and a journal entry.

This Novel is told through Roxy’s mostly unsent letters to her current roommate Everett who was once her boyfriend. These letters become more journal entry and she only left the first few for Everett to read.

Roxy, a twenty – eight-year-old Austin native girl, is uninspired and unmotivated. She is tired of her job and is seeking real love. Her life is far from perfect. She is an artist, but she hasn’t painted. She is a deli maid at whole foods, which is an unfulfilling job for her. She is frustrated with her sex life.
The description was intriguing, it is a humor interlaced novel. It definitely has a certain Bridget Jones Diary quality to it.

I found the main character very interesting but then the writing fell flat for me and my feeling towards her remained stagnant throughout the book. Don’t get me wrong, Roxy is an amiable character, but she is annoying most of the time.

What I liked the most about this book was the strong female relationships. There are other aspects that some readers may find stronger. like the focus on her love life, her enthusiasm about Austin or even her job.

My thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for sending me an ARC copy.

Review posted on my blog: https://bookoholicscafe.blogspot.com/2019/10/roxy-letters.html
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/B4AiSaChbbd/

I am shocked that I didn't enjoy this as much as I thought I would. I found the letters to be difficult to read; not because of the way they were written but because I found them hard to relate to. I understand that the purpose of the letters was to be kind of cringey but it felt wrong like I was reading a very broken girl's diary.

The Roxy Letters was a fantastic read! It has a certain Bridget Jones Diary quality to it . There were laugh out loud moments as Roxy tries to navigate through live, love, and saving her town of Austin from becoming gentrified. Her story takes the form of letters she writes to her ex-boyfriend and sometime roommate Everett..

Roxy's life is far from perfect she is not happy with her current job, her lack of solid finances, her bleak love life, and the fact that her artistic talent has been stifled by a horrible break up. She sees her one chance to make a difference, by staging a protest of a new box store , so Austin can stay the unique way it has been.
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Roxy and her two friends personify the idea of strong women, with the speed bumps of real life. Boyfriends, jobs, and entangled relationships are cause for laughs and tears and an overall sense of the lives of young women today.

LOVED reading about Roxy's adventure in my beloved ATX! I spend a lot of time at the intersection of 6th and Lamar and because of that, and because I went to college in Austin, and have been here over 30 years, and share Roxy's dream that our town keep "weird" that I enjoyed this book. The story is fun and the ending is wonderful. I think Mary Pauline Lowry should have left out some of the "edgy" sex stuff, which I found somewhat offputting. I'd like to suggest this book to all my girlfriends, but am too embarrassed about the sex to make that recommendation.

The Roxy Letters follows main character, 25 year-old Roxy, on her journey to find herself among Austin’s ever changing trendy town. The book is entirely written as letters to Roxy’s ex-boyfriend/roommate. To be honest, this isn’t my favorite novel set up, but it was not difficult to follow and seemed to flow well. Roxy is a bit of a hot mess, which makes her at times, frustrating and overall lovable and relatable (even for my thirty-something self!). As Roxy’s story progresses, I found myself rooting for her success and because I’m a hopeless romantic at heart, I liked the love story part of Roxy’s life and letters! While I wasn’t on the edge of my seat with anticipation, the novel kept me engaged and interested until the end. I won’t forget Roxy anytime soon and have to chuckle when I think of how she handled several real-life lessons that we all have to learn. The Roxy Letters is great entertainment, as every novel should be; allowing readers a first row seat into the deep, honest and witty thoughts of Roxy.

A sincere thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Fun epistolary novel that follows, Roxy, Whole Foods deli worker, artist. She gets into lots of scrapes but her good heart wins out in the end. The very definition of a romp.

Thank you Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for giving me an ARC copy of this book.

Ahhh..I have a lot of mixed feelings about this book, which is odd, considering it's very light-hearted.

As you may have figured out from the title, <i> The Roxy Letters</i> is written entirely in letters by Roxy, our 28-year old protagonist, to her ex-boyfriend and now roommate, Everett. At the beginning of this story, Everett has just moved in; and thus, the letters mainly consist of house guidelines that he must abide by. But soon after, the letters become more journal entries for Roxy. In fact, only the first few are actually left for Everett to read.
These journal entries make it clear Roxy is in a bit of a rut. She is an artist, but hasn't painted. Her only (meager) source of income is from working an unfulfilling job at Whole Foods as a deli maid. Her sex life is non-existent since she her last messy relationship. Her best friend got promoted to a much higher position working on "the fifth floor", where Whole Foods headquarters is located. Lastly, her hometown of Austin is changing before her eyes--small businesses are dying and being replaced by bigger corporations, raising the cost of living for everyone, and taking away Austin's charm. This latter issue is, ultimately, the catalyst that motivates Roxy to get her life back on track and to do what she can to stop gentrification in downtown Austin.

While I love the elements of feminism and humor interlaced in Lowry's novel, I can't help but feel the writing fell flat for me. I know, as a reader, there is only so much character development to be expected from a book written entirely in letters/journal entries, but it definitely made my initial feelings toward Roxy (which, btw, were primarily negative) remain stagnant throughout the book.

Probably my biggest criticism is regarding the ending. For a "feel-good" book, the ending was VERY rushed. I'm fairly convinced that I read the results of a page-limit constriction, in which Lowry and/or her editors decided to cut corners on Roxy's last few journal entries, rather than removing even one of the countless times Roxy discussed making sacrifices to her goddess of choice, Venus (I'm serious, lol).
This book probably won't change your life, overwork your tear ducts, or inspire you. However, in the off chance that you just finished <i> A Little Life</i> by Hanya Yanagihara and are in desperate need of a light, fun book, this might be a good one to check out next.

Roxy's letters to her roommate detail her daily life in a compelling, outrageously witty way. The heroine jumps off the page as we read her laugh-out-loud funny accounts of her adventures, her tribulations on her job and her frustrating love life. Or a "lack of love" life. If you enjoyed the TV show Girls and love Sophie Kinsella and Bridget Jones Diary, you will love this book!