Thank you Net Galley for an ARC of In Her Boots by K.J. Dell'Antonia. This is a feel good novel with a lot of girl power. I loved what the book was and what it taught me.

A funny thing happened on the way to The Today Show...Okay, I fell in love with this book right from the beginning when Rhett landed in NYC with nothing more the clothes on her back and her backpack and passport, straight from Argentina after learning of her grandmother's death while she was out on the wilderness away from communication. When she leaves the airport terminal and there is a car in a loading zone about to get ticketed and the driver being yelled at by the rude passenger she knows she can help. Making a deal for a ride she strikes a bargain with the female security guard for a bobby pin and fixes the fuse. This is how the MPG, Modern Pioneer Girl, rolls. Now she has a ride to her destination for the night, to visit with her best friend, Jas, before she is on a bus to New Hampshire and her destiny. There she finds her mother, who she hasn't seen for 20 years holds the trust to the farm she thought she owned and she is half owner and her mother has a buyer. You now have the premise but you really need to read this story. Rhett may be nearing 40 years old but she lacks the maturity since she has been running her entire life. This is the story of friendship, loyalty, family both real and those you choose, and love. Once I started this book I could not put it down and have already recommended it to my daughter. I highly recommend this one to everyone. Do I agree with the MPG philosophy? You bet! Everyone needs to know how to do many things and no one should have try to fit into a certain niche just because they are told to.

Great premise but horrible written with completely unrelatable characters-give this a hard pass I wish I had.

In Her Boots is a light & funny story about a woman who has written a book under an assumed name about powerful women taking charge of her life but when faced with the reality of outing her identity, doesn't take charge of her own life After her grandmother Bee dies, Rhett's mother wants to sell the farm and Rhett wants to keep it and return it to its former glory. What happens then is a comedy of errors, meets second guessing life's choices. This story was centered around so many important life lessons and realistically depicted different types of familial, romantic, and platonic relationships. The best books are when the main character grows and evolves.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher
and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
The synopsis of this book sounded interesting to me so I requested a copy to read.
Unfortunately, I have tried reading this book on 2 separate occasions and during this 2nd attempt, I have
decided to stop reading this book
and state that this book just wasn't for me.
I wish the author, publisher and all those promoting the book much success and connections with the right readers.

In Her Boots tells us the story of Rhett and her homecoming back to the farm in New Hampshire where she was raised. She’s been gone for years traveling and living in another country. She’s also published a book under a pen name about being the Modern Pioneer Girl. When she’s asked to go on a talk show and makes a split decision to have her friend pretend to be her, it creates a spiral of a mess between her and her friend. Now they’re both at the farm and her friend has to continue to be the Modern Pioneer Girl that she isn’t. And along the way it doesn’t make a lot of people happy. I couldn’t tell if Rhett was supposed to be a like-able character or not but I really disliked her. She was annoying and selfish. We watch her grow a bit in what she learns about how she’s acted but she’s so so independent that she doesn’t realize she’s pushing people away. We also watch her almost lose her friend and have a sort of reconciliation with her mother. In the end it’s about learning to let people help you and also not keep your opinion on someone based on things you learned or were told as a kid. What she knows about her mother is very one sided because of her grandmother and it creates animosity in Rhett towards her mother that is rather unfounded. The story itself was slow moving and lacked enough conflict and climax to really keep me hooked and love it. I finished because I was looking forward to reading this one but it just was ok. Nothing exciting or super lovable about it or the characters.

Rhett has spent almost 20 years after dropping out of college traveling the world, working odd jobs, and living her best non-traditional life. She’s now 40 and has written a self-help/memoir type book under a pen name about her unique lifestyle. The book is successful and her alter ego is getting famous. At this point her grandma has just died and Rhett is devastated. She’s traveling back to her grandma’s New England farm that she believes her grandma left to her. Of course as soon she gets off the plane everything goes wrong. First, a disastrous chance run-in with her mother, to the will not being what her grandma led her to believe, and then her best friend’s life falling apart. It throws Rhett out of her comfort zone and she has to fight to get herself moving forward.

This book is formulaic and predictable. Those aren’t necessarily bad things. Sometimes a nice solid comfort read hits the spot. However, this missed the mark for me. The book is steeped in privilege. Virtually all the catastrophes can be chocked up to “First World Problems” and I may not be that sympathetic to those at this moment in time. In addition, Rhett is excruciatingly insecure. This middle-aged woman’s biggest concern in life is what other people think and that was a huge turn off.

I’m sure a lot of people will find this book delightful and maybe I was just in a bad mood this last week.

Thanks to @netgalley and @penguinrandomhouse for an advanced copy of this book. It will be released on 7/5/22.

Rhett Gallagher is famous under her pseudonym Maggie Strong, author of Modern Pioneer Girl. But no one actually knows who she is, she just turned 40, and her grandmother passed away, leaving the family farm to she and her estranged mother. Rhett's mother wants to sell the farm and Rhett wants to keep it and return it to its former glory. Maggie Strong is fearless, but Rhett is scared to let people know that she and Maggie are one and the same. She struggles with who she is, who she wants to be and making the most of her friendships and family relationships. I really enjoyed Rhett's story of going back to her roots to find herself and her true passion. I was inspired by the Modern Pioneer Girl. As a sidenote, I really appreciated Louisa's character and I wish I could go hiking on her nature trail/meditation walk. What a remarkable thing to know exactly what you want to do with your life as a teenager.

KJ Dell'Antonia delivers just the right balance of humor and romance and hot mess and deep wounds with her main character Rhett in In Her Boots. If you've ever felt like you couldn't live up to parental expectations, you will definitely relate to Rhett. And even if you didn't, you'll be shouting at her to "just 'fess up, already!" after what clearly was a harebrained idea snowballs.

What I loved about the story is that nearly all of the main characters grow over the course of the book - Rhett, her mom, Margaret, her best friend Jasmine. (Jasmine might be one of my favorite characters, honestly.) Part of growing up is recognizing that sometimes, the person who's been painted as the villain doesn't carry all the blame (in the case of Margaret) - unless they do (like Jasmine's husband.)

In Her Boots is a fun, fast read about forgiveness and second chances, and about staying true to who you are.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an advanced e-copy of the book.

In KJ Dell’Antonia’s newest light and funny releases, In Her Boots, Rhett Gallagher has been traveling the world since she left in her early twenties. She’s made a living jumping from experiences and countries and by being the women behind The Modern Pioneer Girl, which is her her pseudonym on Instagram for sharing her adventure. Rhett is headed home. After the death of her grandmother, Rhett is back stateside. Set on taking over the family farm, she’s shocked to learn her mother (who she hasn’t seen in 20 years) is not only a partial owner but also has lined up a buyer for the farm already. Add in a panicked decision to use her best friend, Jasmine, as the face of The Modern Pioneer Girl for a The Today Show interview, and Rhett’s life is proving to be a mess she might not be able to fix.

This was a really cute read. I have a copy of Dell’Antonia’s The Chicken Sisters, but I haven’t read it at this time so In Her Boots was my first read from the author. I’m definitely looking to move The Chicken Sisters up on my TBR after finishing this one.

I took a star away because I didn’t feel the romance portion was fully flushed out and felt a bit lackluster. The chemistry between the two characters didn’t quite deliver for me, but there was still enough to consider this a light romance though.

With that said, I really enjoy these women’s literature books that focus more on a child/parent relationship, and friend relationships. It’s nice to just have a good lighthearted read that doesn’t focus primarily on needing a romantic partner. Dell’antonia did a great job of depicting the struggles that can come with those relationships. The complexity of Rhett and her mother’s relationship resonate with more than just mother/daughters. While I have a great relationship with my mother, I felt that some of the topics still applied and way their story unfolded was balanced and realistic. The relationship between Rhett and her best friend Jasmine, was one of my favorite things about the book. They work hard to support each other always, and their relationship felt solid but not without it’s challenges. Sometimes these light books paint friend relationship as easy or perfect, and I enjoyed the extra complexity and fissures in Jasmine and Rhett’s relationship. It made the story seem more believable.

If you’re looking for a quick and light read, than you’ll really enjoy this one. Filled with humor and a fairly loveable but not perfect cast of characters, this will be a perfect vacation read this summer.

In Her Books comes out July 5th! Huge thank you to GP Putnam’s Sons for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion. If you liked this review please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my instagram @speakingof_books.

In the disguise of a truly entertaining novel is a story about healing and growing - of the self, of family relationships, of friendships, and of the land. Rhett's farm, in fact, is a metaphor for all that is happening to her when she decides to go back and rebuild it after years of disrepair.

There were so many times I wanted to shake the main character, when I wanted to scream TELL THE TRUTH ALREADY. I got frustrated with the way her fears and the stories she told herself were preventing her from doing the right thing. There were also many times I wanted to stop and think about what's being said here about authenticity, our online selves, and living up to the persona we project to the world. In this way the story is truly brilliant.

This is a book to enjoy, think about, and discuss. I received an advance review copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Title: In Her Boots
AuthorL KJ Dell'Antonia
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, Knopf
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Five
Review:
"In Her Boots" by KJ Dell'Antonia

My Assessment:

'In Her Boots' was quite an enjoyable read, primarily after things were worked out with the main character[Rhett], her mother's relationship[Margaret], a romance that had once been one[Mike], and an excellent best friend that anyone would want to in there lives [Jasmine]. What will happen when Rhett's mother decides to see the farm that belonged to her grandma Bee?

So, to add the story together, we have a good storyline with 'love, struggle, regret, relationships, friendship, with some comedy, and perseverance' with some interesting lovable characters from this thought-provoking read. The enjoyment was the story's setting being on a country/farm. 'In Her Boots' is a good read that would be recommended to pick up to see how it all comes out in the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

The journey of self discovery isn't ways pleasant and mending fences is even worse. Anyone who reads this can identify with this book.

A young woman returns to the family farm that she believes is hers after her grandmother passes on. However, she learns that the farm belongs to her and her estranged mother who wants to sell the farm while the woman wants to make a go of it.

To me, this story is about Rhett Gallagher, who growing up longed for her mother and her mother's approval. Now she is 40, her grandmother has died, and she is heading back to her grandmothers farm, Pioneer Hill. Before going there, she stops at her best friends, the book she has written, The Modern Pioneer Girl’s Guide to Life is a bestseller, and she has been invited to go on the Today show. She wrote the book under a pseudonym, Maggie Strong . She doesn't want to do it, but her friend Jasmine convinces her to do it. When they get to the studio. She hears a familiar voice, and it is her mother, who she hasn't seen for 20 years. She wrote the book as her alter ego, to help her through the tough times. But when she hears her mother's voice, it is like she is that little girl once again, and she thrust Jasmine into the limelight as Maggie. No one has ever seen Maggie before, so no one knew the difference.
Jasmine decided to go to the farm with Rhett and when they arrive, Rhett's mother is there, along with her old boyfriend she hasn't seen in 20 years. Rhett and her mother have never really had a conversation, just what they perceive the other one would think. Her mother wants to sell the farm for $250,000 dollars to the college. Rhett believed she was going to be the owner of the farm. Her mother gives her two weeks to show her the plans for the farm, and how she is going to buy her half.
There is a lot of action going on, Jasmine, has been helping her out, getting the farm stand, up and running, and getting the land ready for farming. Mike has been helping her, along with his daughter. His daughter isn't communicating very well with her father, and Rhett can understand
It doesn't seem like any of them is going to compromise, communicate, and when time is running out, Rhett writes her mother a letter and encloses a check. . When I read what she wrote, it was heartbreaking, and when her mother got it, her reply was fine. But the story isn't done, so you will need to read the book to know what really happens.
The story is so much deeper than what I thought it would be. It is about parents making mistakes, a child hurting and not knowing how to stop the hurt, it is about what they do to make it through, and can they stop, and listen to each other. That it seems is the only way to heal, have the relationship they each wanted, and move forward.
I received an ARC from Penguin Group Putnam -G.P. Putnam's Sons through NetGalley.

Growing up on a farm in TX, couldn't wait to read this story by an author I've not read before. The setting turns out to be in tiny NH, a state I've visited many times. Farming isn't the first thing you'd associate with the granite state. The landscape was beautifully portrayed.
Rhett left the farm, Pioneer Hill, and her beloved Grandma Bee twenty years ago to travel the world. Her mother, Margaret, had left her long before that. Grandma Bee has passed away and Rhett needs to return, face the past and take over her legacy at Pioneer Hill.
Just a few minor obstacles, the farm hasn't been maintained, Grandma Bee didn't own it.
Rhett flies in from Argentina to NY for a brief visit with her best friend, Jasmine, before traveling on to NH. Jas is an accomplished baker, wasting her talent on "healthy" treats for husband, Zale, to sell at his fitness center.
Rhett has shared her world travel experiences online and become quite popular. She is the author of a best seller "Modern Pioneer Girl", under the pseudonym Maggie Strong. No one other than Jas knows who she really is or what she looks like. Rhett has benefited from the freedom to be all the qualities she projects as Maggie, living out her true dreams. All this identity deception is about to crash and burn.
Rhett hasn't seen her mother, Margaret, since she abandoned her all those years ago. She doesn't know Margaret is now nearby the farm or that she's president of Yarmouth University. She surely doesn't expect to run into her former love, Mike, and Margaret the minute she arrives at the farm.
This is the story of a complicated mother/ daughter relationship. The character development was well done. The family emotion is so real it's painful. The consequences of living a lie could be catastrophic. Will the truth, trust and forgiveness overcome years of hurt and pain? Can Rhett and Margaret compromise or is the divide too wide? Jas gets stuck in the middle of the subterfuge and also has to make decisions about who she really is.
This is an author I enjoyed and would read again.
Thanks to NetGalley for the advance digital copy of "In Her Boots" by KJ Dell’Antonia and to Penguin Random House, G. P. Putnam’s Sons. These are my personal thoughts and opinions given voluntarily.

Do you enjoy books about friendships, about mothers and daughters, of a woman taking charge of her life, and of the human struggle to figure out what makes one happy? Then In Her Boots by K. J. Dell’Antonia is for you.
In this light, funny, and uplifting story, Rhett, the main character grows and evolves as she struggles to be her own person. It’s a story filled with farm-grown warmth and homeyness, along with a cast of characters who come to her aid, including pet farm animals. In Her Boots is a touching story about forgiveness, second chances, and being true to who you were born to be, even if it means disappointing others. There are countless layers of truth to this compelling book, so read with care, even though you may be tempted to turn the pages faster.

I loved this one. It felt like it was set in a Stars Hollow adjacent and I lived for that. I can't wait to get a hard copy.

In Her Boots by KJ Dell’Antonia is a standalone romance novel. We meet Rhett Gallagher, our heroine, at the start when she returns from Argentina to go back home, as death of her grandmother, sends her to take control of their farm, and bring it back to its glory days. When she arrives, Rhett is surprised to learn that her mother, whom she has not seen in 20 years, controls half of the farm; and plans to tear it down and offer it to the local college. Rhett is determined to fight to keep the farm, despite her mother’s wishes.

Before returning to the farm, Rhett was asked to appear on the Today Show, as she is a well known author with her successful book, Modern Pioneer Girl; which is under the p pseudonym of Maggie Strong. Rhett arrives at the studio with her bff Jasmine, and overhears a voice from the past; her professor mother; she panics and begs Jas to step in and pretend to be Maggie Strong. Jas does a great job posing as Maggie, humiliating the mother, and becomes the face of the Modern Pioneer Girl, as well as amassing a large internet fan base.

Besides her mother’s attempt to sell the farm, Rhett runs into her ex-college boyfriend, Mike, who is an architect, working with the mother to sell the farm. Mike also has a daughter, Louise, from his previous marriage, who loves helping at the farm, a big fan of Maggie Strong (as the whole town thinks Jas is her). In a short time, Mike and local neighbors will help Rhett out to fix up the farm, and their friendship rekindles. Though the relationship between Mike and Rhett was very slow build, I did like him, especially as he was willing to help her. It was not an easy task to run and fix up the farm, but both Rhett and Jas worked hard (she baked all the wonderful pastries, bringing people to buy them); their was horses, Ilama, chickens, etc.

What follows is Rhett determined to make the farm a success, and find a way to get past the strained relationship with her mother to save her inheritance. The best part of this story was the wonderful friendship between Rhett and Jas; who was always pushing Rhett to step up and reclaim Maggie Strong identity.
In Her Boots is a light enjoyable story about forgiveness, second chances, friendship, and love. This was a fast read, and very well written by KJ Dell’Antonia. I really enjoyed this book, and suggest you read In Her Boots.

I wish I could give another half star, three and a half would be better cause there is an interesting story there, but the characters were just so here, there and everywhere their feelings and personality’s so complicated . I’m glad I finished the book but honestly I almost didn’t. I choose to read and review an early copy.