Savannah, Georgia - Ramona is having a difficult time - a category 5 hurricane is coming; she just caught her husband having an affair with another woman; her mother is refusing to heed the mandatory evacuation; her boss is demanding she work on a project during the hurricane; and she’s trying to keep her two kids, one who still isn’t potty trained, a teenage neighbor, and the class Guinea pig safe. As if losing Prince wasn’t bad enough! I loved the Prince references and the comedy of errors that Ramona encountered, however, as someone who has lived through multiple deadly hurricanes, I found Ramona’s decisions irresponsible and dangerous; I can’t imagine any mother putting her family in harm’s way like she did. Unfortunately, this tainted the book for me, so I can only give it 3/5 stars.

This book is laugh out loud funny! For every woman who feels like she does everything and her husband does nothing, you will relate to this book. I could see a little of myself in the main character, Ramona. There are flashbacks to Ramona’s past helping to better understand her. This was a quick read. There were references to Prince’s music but the book was not about him!

A hurricane is heading to Savannah, but Ramona's life is already category 4 chaos.

Overall, the book was a quick and enjoyable read: however, if you are an anxious person, the chaos may be too much for you to fully enjoy the story.

I enjoyed the way the author weaved in Ramona's earlier life and how thay lead her to where she is today. It spoke to what a lot of us think - was the grass greener when we were younger?

An absolutely chaotic ride with a woman whose life seems to be spiraling out of control — oh and did I mention there's a category four hurricane on the way?

This one was a bit hard for me to finish.

I don’t think I connected to the character at this time and felt like the story was a bit disjointed in areas.

The premise was cute and I feel like maybe in a different time this would have hit differently for me.

Not everything Ramona did made sense to me, but the book was a wild ride and very relatable. It was real.

I laughed. I got frustrated. I sang Prince songs.

“He [Prince] doesn’t know what it feels like to be left in a world that used to have a tiny guitar-wielding deity shrouded in lush fabrics emanating freedom, sexuality, vulnerability, and funkiness and now it doesn’t.”

“What would Prince want me to do? Squat down and cover my head to shield myself from Hurricane Matthew? Or do I let the storm awaken my dormant powers like Prince at the Super Bowl, so I rise up, tear off this flimsy costume made up of people I think I should be, to become myself?”


Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for this digital arc in exchange for my honest review which is not affiliated with any brand.

Eehhh... I wasn't a fan. This story includes adultery which is generally a topic I prefer to avoid but it sounded interesting enough for me to give it a chance. I wasn't horrible or anything, just really was not the right book for me.

Yall this was bad. So bad it took me forever and a day, ok over a year, to finish. The summary seemed like this was a book about a woman who one day takes charge of her life and makes changes so she can live the life she's always dreamed of. What we got was terrible kids, a cheating husband, and a mom who uses vaguely homophobic language and has the absolute oddest and just gross dialogue. I get the mom character is supposed to be and older woman who just says whatever she wants but come on. And trust me I'm no prude, she's just odd. And surprise surprise, Ramona never changes!! I kept waiting for the "take control of your life and make it better" part but it never came. The fact she didn't kick her cheating husband to the curb immediately was just insane as well. I just could not relate and spent the whole book just mad at Ramona for being so dumb. Just not my cup of tea at all.

⭐️/5

I received an advanced copy for free and am leaving this review voluntarily. Thank you to NetGalley, Atria Books, and Carolyn Prusa.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest opinion.

DNF at 28%. The title definitely gripped me; I’m always down for anything Prince. Unfortunately, I struggled to find the connection between Prince and our protagonist’s life - past or present.

I can appreciate that Ramona is supposed to represent everywoman trying to juggle life, but it didn’t not read as such for me. The writing was clunky at times, which made our protagonist feel more disheveled and lost than was probably intended. Combined with the homophobic language that I think was meant to be veiled in what I assume is traditional southern culture, this read just didn’t land with me.

Ramona feels like she is doing everything for her family and on top of it has a micromanager of a boss. In one day Ramona has a whirlwind of a day that happens from having to leave work early to pick up her child, to a hurricane coming through in Savannah and walking in on her husband having an affair. Ramona takes the bull by the horns and handles the craziest forty-eight hours on and adventure that no one in her family will forget.

The book had moments of laugh out loud moments, but at points it dragged on a bit. I did feel like the main character had her own issues that were going on that she wasn't dealing with at all. Instead of facing her personal life head on she turned to others to give her the answer.

Thank you #NetGalley for the advance copy

BOOK REVIEW

None Of This Would Have Happened If Prince Were Alive by Carolyn Prusa

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️💫

“It’s hard to remember who you are when you love other people so fiercely.”

This is truly a charming debut novel. It hits the nail right on the head if you are an over worked, under appreciated, exhausted and working mom that loves your family so dang much. It touches on gender double standards and workplace discrimination.
The few chapters during a “hurricane party” made me laugh out loud because as someone who lived in Florida for five years, I can confirm that during my first hurricane, all I did was duct tape my windows and drank a bottle of spicy tequila and a twelve pack of bud light with my roommates. 😅🤣
It is also a beautiful homage to Prince (because who doesn’t love Prince) and tells the story of Ramona who through his songs.
The ending left me unsatisfied though, and I would have loved to have more closure for Ramona.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an eARC of this book in return for an honest review.

This book was chaos and all over the place. The aspect of Prince didn’t make sense to me. It felt a little awkward in some places when Prince was randomly mentioned. The main story line is about a mother who is trying to balance work, kids, and marriage and then her life is upturned when she finds out her husband was cheating on her. While trying to figure her life out there is a hurricane happening and she’s trying to figure out the best way to get through it. Overall, it was a mediocre storyline and all the Prince portion was unnecessary.

I was going to read this book no matter because of the title.

I had no idea what is was bout and I’m glad I didn’t read the blurb. I enjoyed this book! Ramona definitely has you hooked and is the most enjoyable main character I have read in awhile AND her life is falling apart. But she is relatable and I loved that.

Don’t skip this one!

Thank you NetGalley for the chance to read and review.

This debut novel from Carolyn Prusa is everything a novel should be. A working mom, kids, cringe-worthy boss, nosey mother, a cheating husband, and a category 4 hurricane barreling towards them give this fast-paced thrill ride an unforgettable background. You will laugh, shake your head, and cheer Ramona on as she deals with everything life throws at her. This is an entertaining and empowering novel. I can't wait for more from Prusa.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC!

I will be honest when I say the first thing that caught my attention with this book was the title and bright cover. I liked that it was a light read and I would recommend to anyone in a reading slump. The book takes place over 48 hours but has flashbacks so you learn more about where Ramona, our main character is coming from. I love novels that do this because it usually means a lot is happening in that short amount of time and I enjoy that.

I don't want to do any spoilers but the story is basically Ramona trying to evacuate due to a hurricane all the while her life has a lot of chaos happening in it.

I have never read a book before By Carolyn Prusa but I look forward to reading more from her!

It took me a while to get around to reading this because I felt I needed to be in the right headspace. And I was right - I would have enjoyed this less if I was really in the mood for light and fluffy, which I have been lately.

This is fun, and there is definitely some levity, but it is also full of difficult truths. I really enjoyed how very relatable Ramona's reactions to her situations were, even if I am not a mum. She is *struggling* with the chaos piled on top of regular level of parenthood chaos.

Lots of great characters. And things aren't neatly tidied up in the end. Appreciate that.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

A category 4 storm is bearing down on Savannah, literally and figuratively. Literally - a hurricane threatening to wipe Savannah off the map. Figuratively - a cheating husband, a millennial boss that does not get a working mother having to "do it all", and a mom with a secret, well, several.

As Ramona tries to get her kids, a kid from the neighborhood, and the class pet out of Savannah to safety, the check engine light will not go out. Add to that, a boss who is consistently contacting her for updates on the ad campaign, a husband constantly trying to explain what happened, the woman from the affair trying to explain, and her mom - not fleeing to safety - she is staying. After Ramona reaches the safety of her BFF's house in Atlanta, she decides to go back to Savannah to get her mom to safety. The book continues with the drama of trying to reach the mom safely and dealing with her job and cheating husband.

I found the FMC relatable, but the overall writing style and structure difficult to follow. The inner dialogue and narration was almost written as a stream of consciousness and seemed as “word vomit”. The timeline jumps back and forth as she reflects on her life. Her husband was easy to hate with his cliché excuses but still hard to fathom how dumb he is to think things would just click back to normal after he was found. I would have liked to be given the conclusion of the would they won’t they just for the piece of mind.

Following the aftermath of finding out she had a cheating husband, and taking place while evacuating during a major storm, this book is a whirlwind of action. I compare it to Finlay Donovan is Killing It in terms of tone and snark. It's light while it tackles heavy topics, and doesn't get too deep into the feelings of the things happening at our main character. I enjoyed the pacing and the humor and loved that the length wasn't overwhelming. The relationships were interesting and made sense. A great beach read, for sure!

This tale of a frazzled mom facing her husband's infidelity and a major hurricane could have been a downer, but Carolyn Prusa's witty writing makes it laugh-out-loud funny, as well as poignant. Set in 2016, it really captures the chaotic feel of that year, when we lost Prince and so much more.