Ramona is navigating a cheating husband, two inquisitive kids, a hipster boss, a flighty mother, and a massive hurricane headed her way. As she decides to evacuate Savannah or not, she must deal with these cast of characters and her mixed feelings. If only Prince would still have been alive to guide her decisions.

I loved the title of this book and the plotline. It was billed as a comp to Maria Semple, and it was a little like Where Did You Go Bernadette (which I loved). Some of the main characters' thoughts on kids, husbands, bosses, and mothers were spot on and humorous, but I found myself wanting a bit more. Overall, I liked this book but wanted more Prince references and less cheating husband. I also found the ending very lacking.

This book was good enough, but with somewhat failed potential. Prusa will be an author to watch as I suspect she will get better and better.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advance copy for review.

A storm is coming.

While Ramona is living her mom life in Savannah, the news is all saying the same thing. There is a hurricane coming, and people should be prepared. Around her, people are talking about evacuating. Ramona hasn’t decided yet if she’s leaving or if she will just hunker down at home and try to ride the storm out. She needs to talk to her husband Desmond to see what he thinks. She’ll have to pick up her son Alex from school. But first, she has to pick up her toddler daughter Nanette from her babysitter, because her babysitter has decided to evacuate, and she wants to leave right away.

Ramona is at work when she gets that call, and she is reluctant to leave, as the company she works for talks about being family friendly but still wants her in the office as much as possible. She hopes her boss won’t notice if she sneaks away to pick up Nanette. But when she gets her toddler home, Ramona can’t help but notice the woman standing in her kitchen. Another mother from Alex’s school, she thinks, but she can’t remember her son’s name. And then her husband walks out in his underwear, and Ramona realizes what is going on. Beside the storm. Beside the struggle with the potty-training. Beside the boss who doesn’t understand her.

There is a Category Four hurricane coming at them, and her husband has been having an affair.

And Ramona has to decide what to do about all of it. And about her mother, who lives on the water in an older house and who refuses to evacuate without her cat and dog. And about Alex’s class pet, a guinea pig named Clarence Thomas, who gets to come home with Alex for the long stormy weekend. And about Bailey, the teenager who lives next door and who volunteered to help Ramona stash her backyard furniture in the shed, and who seems to have nowhere to go and no one to care for him at the moment.

Meanwhile, her mind keeps flashing from the present to the past, to the good memories of her and Desmond, and the bad memories, and her memories of the day that Prince died. He had been a significant part of her self-image, and then he was gone, and she’s felt lost ever since. But she doesn’t feel like she can stop and put herself back together again, not with this storm coming. Right now, she just has to survive the storms. Then maybe she can take a breath and find her own purple rain.

None of This Would Have Happened If Prince Were Alive is a tribute to mothers everywhere who have to carry the emotional burden of a family with a partner who isn’t paying attention to what’s going on. This funny and smart debut novel looks at the struggle of today’s complicated life and the women who let pieces of themselves get away while they take care of everyone else. Author Carolyn Prusa reminds readers of the small joys of life and art and friendships and music in between all the things that need to be dealt with, whether a hurricane is coming at them or not.

I am a big fan of humorous novels of modern life, and this definitely hit me on that level. But this one also spoke to me on a deeper level, in that place where life carves out chunks of you as time goes by but leaves things in its wake—beautiful sunsets, old friends, good music, kindnesses. None of This Would Have Happened If Prince Were Alive is filled with compassion and warmth as well as lightning and thunder. And while I never dressed up as Prince for Halloween, I do still have to stop and sing every time I hear “Raspberry Beret,” so his legacy lives on for me too. This is a very special story for those needing a pick-me-up as this year closes out. Highly recommended.

Egalleys for None of This Would Have Happened If Prince Were Alive were provided by Atria Books through NetGalley, with many thanks.

This was a fun read (and poignant at times too). Take a working mother with an unfaithful husband and a hurricane emerging on the scene and you get a funny and relatable story of a woman just trying to keep it all together in typical sandwich generation fashion - -having to drive back in the storm to pick up her mother who refuses to budge and dealing with two toddlers and a guinea pig named Clarence Thomas. She is also trying to work (zoom call from the car, a clueless and obviously childless boss who insists she come in the office, etc.) Prince is referenced throughout and it works well as a thread in the story. I enjoyed going along for the ride!
I recommend this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was really sweet a fun and an excellent surprise for someone like me who is really hesitant about this type of women’s fiction.

This is a clever premise for a book (one part chick lit comedy, one part redemption story, one part natural disaster adventure). The whole Prince thing doesn’t really land but it’s also not especially essential to the plot.

Here we have a great heroine, a solid cast of side characters, and a madcap adventure with a sweet and uplifting ending. I appreciate that the book largely stays away from romantic tropes and doesn’t get too sappy, though I wish there had been less gross mommy stuff, which always feels cringe to me.

But the character dynamics in this are excellent (particularly between the protagonist and the neighbor kid, her boss, and her mother, and a lot of the humor is genuinely excellent. I love the “trying to outrun the storm/trying to outrun your life” juxtaposition, and the ability of the author to allow characters to work through emotions and life events without too much angst or maudlin and saccharine stuff.

Ramona’s got a bratty boss, a toddler teetering through toilet training, a critical mom who doesn’t mind sharing, and oops—a cheating husband. The book follows the 48 hours that follow after Ramona finds her husband cheating and a category 4 hurricane his hitting her town.

For any Prince lovers this book is sprinkled with odes to Prince and his music. The character is relatable and I loved her personality. check this one out.
4⭐️
Publication date November 22, 2022

“𝔇𝔢𝔞𝔯𝔩𝔶 𝔟𝔢𝔩𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔡. 𝔚𝔢 𝔞𝔯𝔢 𝔤𝔞𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯𝔢𝔡 𝔥𝔢𝔯𝔢 𝔱𝔬𝔡𝔞𝔶 𝔱𝔬 𝔤𝔢𝔱 𝔱𝔥𝔯𝔬𝔲𝔤𝔥 𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔠𝔞𝔩𝔩𝔢𝔡 𝔩𝔦𝔣𝔢.”

Ramona’s life is in a tailspin. Dig, if you will, the picture. Taking care of two young kids, worrying about her abandoned teenage neighbor and stubborn mother, and juggling her boss’s imposing demands are just a few of her woes. Roberta also just found out her husband is having an affair. Oh and all of the above is happening while a category four hurricane is literally spinning straight for her house in Savannah.

Talk about going crazy.

Now Roberta is in a race against time to get her family out of the eye of the hurricane before it makes landfall. But as she attempts to navigate the treacherous roads, she is forced to avoid life’s literal pitfalls as well.

Despite its stressful subject matter, None of This Would Have Happened If Prince Were Alive is surprisingly funny. References to Prince might seem random at first, but really they are just symbolic of a time when Roberta’s life was less complicated, I.e. 1999. Weaving the past and the present, we get to see the decisions that got Roberta to where she is today. While it served as kooky lot device, I will say journeying BACK into the eye of a hurricane with her children (and someone else’s child) in tow, is questionable at best. Then again if she hasn’t gone back, this wouldn’t be the entertaining story that it is.

I tried with this book, but it wasn't what I was expecting. Honestly, the writing style is great and the story seems funny, but I don't like stories where thing after thing goes wrong for the main character. Also, I'm not a mother and can't relate to this woman's problems I decided to quit while I was ahead because I didn't want to waste my time with a book I wasn't enjoying. I can understand why other people would like this, but I just didn't.

DNF at 12%

I received an e-arc of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

This is a hilariously adventurous novel set during a hurricane in Savannah, GA during a tumultuous and possibly life altering time for Ramona. She is pulled in so many different directions between raising her children, her job with a boss that seems to only care about work and not people or their families, her mother that refuses to evacuate her home on the water during said hurricane, and then finds out during a impromptu trip home with her daughter that her husband is having an affair with Sarah Ellen, the mother of one of her sons classmates. This novel takes you on an adventure with trying to evacuate Savannah during an mandatory evacuation only to get out successfully and then willingly go back for Gigi, Ramona's mother. There's so much in between all of that, that it will have you laughing out loud.
The only downfall was that while I don't need an ending wrapped up in a pretty little bow, I did want more of Ramona and Des's story. I felt that the ending was a little rushed at the very end and not as much depth as it could have had. I do still recommend reading this book for the laughs though.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was a solid debut. I found the mom life moments funny and utterly relatable!! The Prince/80s throwback nostalgia was delightful too. Recommended for fans of Camille Pagan or Laurie Gelman's Class mom series. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review! (Amazing purple cover too!!)

4.5 stars

A lot can happen in forty-eight hours, but Ramona simply rolls with the punches. First, she comes home early to discover her husband is having an affair. Then a Category Four hurricane forces her to evacuate her home with her children in tow, one of whom is potty training and the other who has to bring home the class pet, a guinea pig named Clarence Thomas. On top of that, she now has her teenage neighbor tagging along and has to convince her stubborn mother to evacuate with them. Car troubles, a demanding boss, police check points, and some intense weather conditions are just the tip of the iceberg. But reminiscing about Prince songs seems to be the only thing that keeps Ramona sane through all of the chaos.

This was such a funny and relatable debut novel! The entire book was a perfect example of the phrase “when it rains, it pours”, and in Ramona’s case, it was a torrential downpour. I’m honestly impressed that Ramona was able to keep it together throughout the whirlwind of events because I would’ve broken down within the first few hours. The witty dialogue hooked me from the get-go and I couldn’t wait to see how this crazy story panned out. Highly recommend, and I can’t wait to read more from Ms. Prusa!

*Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing a copy of this book to review.*

4.5 ⭐️ OUT NOW!

Thank you to #NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced eCopy in exchange for a review.
Sweet baby, Jesus, this book was a riot!! I desperately needed some laughs, and this definitely delivered🙌🏻 (many times over!!)

This debut Mom-Com is straight from a GenX mother herself. Not exactly a dual timeline, the story flips back and forth to explain where the story is now. It was full of 80’s and 90s nostalgia, and was perfectly paired with our protagonist’s life through 2016. Set in Savannah during a hurricane, you have elements of our country’s recent past, including her believing Hillary was going to win, her mother, who spoke like a Floridian, who loves Trump… and other elements in a child’s world, that you can relate to if you’re a parent (Thomas the Tank Engine alarm clock, Baby Shark, LOTS of potty training reinforcements, 😂etc.) You DO have a cheating husband, but over the course of the book you see her working over emotions she hadn’t dealt with before. We do see growth, albeit over 2 days…and we don’t have a “shown-HEA” that makes it unbelievable— so I loved that!

For those who generally stay away from cheating tropes, I wouldn’t rule this out. It’s more amusing than anything else. I really enjoyed it!

From the very start of Carolyn Prusa's NONE OF THIS WOULD HAVE HAPPENED IF PRINCE WERE ALIVE, I was captivated by the exceptionally complex juggling act managed by Ramona, not always well and smoothly, but always with love and spirit. Epic challenges collide: she catches her husband cheating on her AND a hurricane is headed directly for their home in Savannah. Managing small children, a stubborn mother denying the powerful storm, an insane boss while.....it is a full, raucous, wild ride and I enjoyed every minute, not knowing nor caring what happened next, trusting in Ramona to find her way through. I received a copy of this book and these opinions are my own unbiased thoughts.

None of This Would Have Happened if Prince Were Here is a charming debut that nails what it’s like to be an overworked, under-appreciated, and exhausted working mom. Ramona was so relatable and I loved how wonderfully human and flawed she was. She is not the perfect mother with the perfect life and I loved how real she felt.

Carolyn Prusa did a great job tackling issues like work place discrimination, gender roles, and infidelity. The witty, sarcastic humor and observations from Ramona were great.

This was an uplifting and hopeful book about life, motherhood, marriage, and doing the best we can. Fans of Finlay Donovan or a strong, female protagonist who doesn’t have it all figured out should check out this delightful debut!

I wanted to read this book just based on the title, and WOW! I ended up loving it. It had elements of Where'd You Go, Bernadette, another great read. I fell in love with Ramona and her crew, as she tried to do the right thing while reeling from the trauma of her husband cheating. The book captured the dilemma and guilt all working moms feel. The Prince music and references made it all that much more wonderful!

None of This Would Have Happened If Prince Were Alive is a humorous book about a certain, relatively brief period in every married mother’s life, amplified up to eleven.

Ramona is having an epically bad day. First, a hurricane is approaching and strangely that is not the worst news. After picking up her small children from their closing schools and hurrying home, Ramona finds her husband sleeping with another woman. She must also deal with her younger boss who just doesn’t understand her responsibilities, her aging mother, and potty training with no bathroom in sight. Whoa! Alexander’s terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day is looking better in comparison.

So, what does that have to do with Prince? Not much. Ramona is a Prince fan. When he died, it hit her hard. She looks back at her carefree single life with nostalgic longing.

I so wanted to love None of This Would Have Happened If Prince Were Alive, but I didn’t. However, I think I’ve just been away from this time in my life for too long. If you are a young mother now, this will probably be a hoot. 3 stars.

Thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for a digital review copy of the book.

Ramona has 2 small children, a full time job, a husband who is not helpful, and is facing an incoming hurricane. The reader is following along with the 13,000 different things Ramona is thinking about in her head all with a Prince soundtrack thrumming in the background. While this has been suggested for those who enjoy Marie Semple, I would offer that the themes are more similar to Laurie Gelman's Class Mom series. I could sympathize pretty much the whole way as Ramona tried to save her children (plus a random neighbor teen), deal with her clueless boss, and philandering husband. She lost me a bit at one point and I'm still not sure why the author chose that particular path; however, overall this was an offbeat, humorous look at all the things a working mom has to juggle day, even before a hurricane hits, mixed with some nice 80s-90s musical nostalgia.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for a copy of the book. This review is my own opinion.

None of This Would Have Happened If Prince Were Alive is an entertaining but honest look into the life of the contemporary working mother. Ramona, like so many of us, has so many responsibilities that she is just trying to make it through each day by keeping the kids alive and healthy and keeping her boss happy so she doesn't lose her job. While trying to be everything to everyone, she loses herself along the way. Ramona and her husband don't have the same time for each other that they used to at the beginning of the relationship, and they begin to grow apart. Unfortunately for Ramona, this led to a cheating husband.
While trying to evacuate for hurricane Matthew, Ramona also manages to take on a class pet and a neighbor's kid, further displaying her need to be the perfect mom and fear of failing in that department. The chaos that ensues mirrors her inner turmoil about her cheating husband, and causes her to reflect on her life and how she got here from the free, fun-loving, creative artist she used to be in college.
The flashbacks do a good job of helping readers understand where Ramona is coming from, since the story takes place over 48 hours. Ramona goes through some good personal growth, although I was a bit disappointed by the ending.
Overall I enjoyed this book. It may be a "light read," but it is still an honest look into the lives of many of today's working mothers. I would recommend it to anyone who feels like they may be able to relate to Ramona's plight. You do not have to be a Prince fan to enjoy this book, but if you are you will enjoy the references.
Thank you to Netgalley and Atria books for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review!

This book was fantastic. The Prince references were spot on and made me absolutely grin with delight, especially when they were ones I didn't fully expect.

Ramona's life has become a disaster in just a short span of 48 hours. A hurricane is coming and her husband has been having an affair - cue emotional hurricane. What else could possibly go wrong? Oh right, needing to evacuate your family (and the class pet) while trying to convince your mother to get to safety as well.

There were several moments where I sat back and reflected as I read this book, lucky for me I have yet to experience many of the things that Ramona has had to. It was such a unique debut book and I cannot wait to see what Carolyn Prusa will come out with next!

As a wife and a mother, I found it very easy to relate to Ramona's situation. When we were younger, many of us thought we would be the cool adult, and then we became the adult in charge and had to be responsible over cool. Then one day, we wake up and find ourselves wondering who we are and how we got there.

Ramona has a job she likes and feels successful doing. Except she's feeling a bit stressed by her boss and that she's one of only two women in her workplace. Ramona has two kids, one of which she is in the process of potty training. Her husband is a contractor, and her mom is stubborn and refuses to listen to reason. Ramona looks around her and wonders how she got into the situation she finds herself in.

If you've read and enjoyed Where'd You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple, you will also enjoy this book. This book is also perfect for anyone who feels like they've lost themselves along the way.

Carolyn Prusa's quick, witty, and very readable realistic fiction is perfect for wives and mothers out there looking for a character who embodies the frustrations of the 21st century woman. To say Ramona is going through a lot is an understatement. Faced with a flawed husband who is at the same time a loving father and partner, found in the middle of an affair with another mom from his son's school; two children who are anything from perfect yet are perfect for her; her own mother who is stubborn yet a fierce protector; and friends who are both ride-or-dies and practical about life, family, and marriage. In the midst of her marriage being upended by the hurricane that is finding her husband and his mistress in the middle of her kitchen, Ramona also has to deal with a literal hurricane hitting her town. While evading both Hurricane Matthew and the fallout that is now her marriage, Ramona embarks on a journey both to safety and to what it means to be a family. The realism, sarcastic humor, and comedy or errors that life can throw one's way, I would recommend this realistic fiction to any woman who has their own family that can seem like a blessing and a curse all at once.