I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was around 3.5 stars for me. While it took a little bit to pick up I enjoyed learning about Ramona and Desmond's relationship amidst the chaos of a hurricane. The book is told alternating between the early days of Ramona and Desmond's relationship and the current state of their marriage and Ramona dealing with the literal and figurative hurricanes making landfall. Ramona's love of Prince and his music strings together her past, present, and her future in this read. The book sort of reminds me of the show Working Moms as we see Ramona trying to do everything and learning about herself along the way.

Overall an interesting read!

3.5 stars rounded up.

Ramona is a 30 something working mother, wife, friend and daughter who is stuck trying to navigate one of the most important and pivotal moments of her life…in the middle of a hurricane.

I don’t think I’ve ever related to a character more, right down to the anguish over Prince’s death (though, unlike Ramona,I DID see him twice☺️)

A slightly chaotic, heartfelt, super cute read.

I loved the context of things going bad after Prince died (Which is true lol!). Great characters and writing. However I don't like the mixed message about cheating making ones marriage better, which I totally disagree cheating is a choice it doesn't matter how unhappy you are..Otherwise it was a decent book.

I really enjoyed this book. It is well written, with interesting characters and a great storyline. The only drawback for me was the ending-it was a little too perfect.

A lot can happen in 48 hours! Ramona discovers her husband is having an affair as a Category Four hurricane approaches. She has to put that startling revelation on the back burner as she prepares to evacuate with a potty-training toddler, a teenager, a critical mom and the class guinea pig named Clarence Thomas. The entourage is funny in itself!

All the while, Ramona reminisces on the days when life was like a Prince song. Sexy, creative and joyful. None of This Would Have Happened If Prince Were Alive is the perfect example of how women wear many hats, push their personal problems to the side and be the caretaker for all.

Cute hilarious concept along the lines of Maria Semple or Jennifer Weiner. The author made great use of incorporating Prince references at the appropriate time. However, without this element it would have been meh. Hence the "it was okay" rating. It is great marketing though because the purple cover and title is what caught my attention!

Happy Early Pub Day, Carolyn Prusa! None of This Would Have Happened If Prince Were Alive will be available Tuesday, November 8.

Disclaimer: An advance copy was received directly from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are my own and would be the same if I spent my hard-earned coins.

~LiteraryMarie

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. That’s how a Category Four hurricane bearing down on her life in Savannah becomes just another item on her to-do list. In the next forty-eight hours she’ll add a neighborhood child and the class guinea pig named Clarence Thomas to her entourage as she struggles to evacuate town.
I think I was mis-lead by the title, I was hoping for something a little more.

Completely blindsided by her husband’s infidelity, Ramona takes her children and tries to outrun the incoming hurricane. As if a hurricane and a cheating spouse aren’t enough she works for a young guy that doesn’t understand that parents have certain responsibilities. She doesn’t want to lose her job but…she needs to get her kids to safety. Driving away from the hurricane, she takes a neighborhood kid with her in an old van that needs work. With everything weighing on her mind Ramona is not making the best decisions on this road trip. You shouldn’t miss this ride. This book is funny and crazy, and completely believable. I was privileged to receive an Advance DRC from Atria Books and NetGalley at no cost.The views expressed are unbiased and my own honest opinion.

I honestly didn't know what to expect going into this book, I picked it solely on the cover alone. However, I loved the story and it was an overall good read.

A Category Four hurricane about to hit Savannah is only one of the catastrophes Romana has to contend with today. Because she has to prepare to evacuate her 7- and 3-year-olds, she comes home early to discover her husband is having an affair. And the job she left early from is a place where her management is younger and child-free and don’t understand that as important as her job is to her, of course her kids come first.

I found this to be funny and engaging, although it in no way makes me envious of married women with children, particularly women who work outside the home even at jobs they mostly enjoy.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this novel, which RELEASES NOVEMBER 8, 2022.

Accurate depiction of what being a mother is like. Throughly enjoyed most of the story. Kind of wish the politics would stay out of the story however.

I really enjoyed this one. The situations facing Ramona in a 48 hour stretch are intense, but they accurately represent the overwhelmed stress that mothers face trying to balance everything all the time. I appreciated the humor and candor of the main character's inner monologue, and her intense love of Prince was brought full circle in helping her cope with her life decisions.

As someone who dealt with infidelity in marriage, I was really pleased with how spot on the author's representation of Ramona's inner monologue was. I often found myself nodding along and saying "yupppp!" out loud as I recognized bits of myself in the character. I liked the way the story left things as well.

I definitely recommend this one for stressed out, overtouched mothers who need a little bit of "right there with you sister"!

THis book was described as being for the fans of Jennifer Weiner - but I don't feel it is like Jen's books at all. It just didn't grab me the way hers do and I had a very hard time getting interested in it. Ramona's life is falling apart in so many ways - and a hurricane is headed to her Georgia home. She heads out in her battered minivan to escape it. She longs for the easy days of her youth and when Prince songs brought her joy. I just couldn't relate to the character Ramona and the narrative seemed unbelieveable to me.

Thanks to @atriabooks for my gifted copy of None of this Would’ve Happened if Prince were Alive, by Carolyn Prusa! This book comes out on November 8th. In it, we follow along with a woman (Ramona) who has two kids, a husband who is having an affair that she just learned about, OH and a category 4 hurricane is approaching.

While there were parts of this book that I thought were entertaining and funny, overall, I wasn’t impressed by this one. In some places, it felt as if Prusa was trying too hard to get the laugh. I also thought some parts were just utterly ridiculous. It made it very hard to stick with this book, but I did, mainly to find out what happened after the hurricane.

This book made me wonder also how much research the author did. Usually, you are not driving around in a category 4 hurricane!

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of None of This Would Have Happened if Prince Were Alive.

The title is what caught my eye so I was pleased when my request was approved.

This is typical chick lit; Ramona is a hard working mother of two with a part time job; naturally, she does it all and does it with a smile; dealing with an annoying boss, and dealing with all the childcare issues.

When she discovers her husband is a cheating dog right before a hurricane is barreling down on them, Ramona struggles to keep her family and sanity afloat, while contemplating all the decisions that have led her to this point. And if Prince were alive, none of this would have happened.

I like Ramona; I'm not a mom but I have friends who are moms and I have a mom and I sympathize with their struggles.

Moms do it all! Moms are expected to do everything; parent, caregiver, chauffeur, run the household, take care of the husband (and moms who work are expected to do all of the above, no exceptions).

The plot became sillier and sillier as the narrative continued; the son of their next door neighbor, Bailey, is parentless, and comes along for the road trip; the woman Ramona's husband has been messing around with keeps calling Ramona telling her how sorry she is and how good she and her husband are together, the brief flashbacks into Ramona's past and how she met her husband.

I didn't really care about Ramona's past or her road trip or her dumbass husband and everything that was going on, though I enjoyed the references to Prince.

Stuff happened, but it wasn't exciting or interesting or even original

I may just be the wrong audience for this. I did like the author's writing style.

As a child of the 80's and a huge Prince fan, this book had me at the title. And I couldn't wait to dig in!

It did not disappoint!

Ramona, an overwhelmed mom, trying to balance work and mom duties finds herself in the midst of an advancing hurricane and an impending divorce after finding her cheating husband with his girlfriend in their HOME!

I loved the humor and the flashbacks to who Ramona was before...what brought her to what and who she is today.

It is a fun and at times emotional read of one woman's/mom's attempt to evacuate her children, another child who lives next door and to convince her mom to evacuate, all while dealing with the reality of a cheating husband, and of course the reality of living in a world without Prince.

Thank you to Atria and NetGalley for this advanced ARC in exchange for my honest review.

One would think that a category four hurricane is enough of a problem, but not for Ramona, who stumbles onto her husband having an affair, a day before the hurricane is set to hit. Right now, Ramona has two storms in her life. In 48 hours, she must come to terms with her husband's indiscretion--and figure out what she's going to do--and try to get her mini-van-packed family to safety. Is Ramona going to make it through the hurricane? Is her heart going to make it at all?

I'm giving this one 3/5 stars.

As always, my two stars and a wish...

Star One: Ramona. I'm a new mom, and from that perspective, she may be one of the most relatable MC's I've ever read. We don't get enough about mom's who are simply trying to mom--and all the pressures that come with it.

Star Two: The hook. Between the inner dialogue, the situation, and the title, I was instantly hooked. This novel has such a strong start. It was a masterclass at intro's. And that title... amazing!

Wish: To be honest, and without sounding harsh, the plot wasn't my favourite. I felt like the B-plot's weren't developed enough. As well, it felt like things happened but did it really drive the plot forward? I'm not sure.

Overall, a fun read with a good look at exploring relatable writing from a mom's perspective.

Thank you to NetGalley, Atria Books and Carolyn Pruse for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I was drawn to this book by the title and the blurb. I really really wanted to love this book. I just couldn’t connect with it though. Could just be my mood. Maybe I’ll try again at a different time in my life.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for providing this ARC to review. ~I was given this book and made no commitments to leave my opinions, favorable or otherwise. ~

None of This Would Have Happened if Prince Were Alive is a nonstop, laugh out loud funny book about the perils of motherhood while weathering cheating, separation, hurricanes, and the loss of ones favourite musical sensation.

This book wasn't exactly what I expected going in, and I'll admit it had me bashing my head against the wall a few times. Ramona makes a few decisions that are flat out stupid (popping into the office while fleeing a hurricane; returning to an evacuated city to rescue her mother; hunkering down at home instead of making a break for it) all whilst dragging along her two children, one guinea pig, and the stray neighbour child. But, she's also a hilarious and real character whose wild choices feel grounded in the very real tornado of her life.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read. It was great to follow Ramona's journey, and her experience as a mother and a woman feeling lost from her past self was truly relatable. Prusa knows how to tie together a narrative and keep what may become a heavy book fun and lighthearted, while giving the reader space to root for Ramona to take back control of her self and learn to truly live again (in a post-Prince world).

Thank you NetGalley and Atria books for this ARC.

I was excited about this book and unfortunately it just didn’t resonate for me. I had a difficult time connecting to Ramona and I just felt disconnected to the experience over all.

Sadly, this book was not at all what I had hoped it to be. I could not really relate to the protagonist, which can be ok sometimes, but it didn't work for me in this instance.

I found myself developing an intense dislike of Ramona and her issues. There were times where I could tell the author was trying to evoke empathy, but I couldn't muster any.

It took me a long time to get through the first 30-40 pages of the book. It was an easy one for me to put down and move on to other things.