I enjoyed reading the thoughts, anecdotes and story of Ramona. This story of back to work mom is highly relatable, funny, and I couldn't wait to finish it. One of the best books I read recently. I would highly recommend this book!~

As a Louisiana native, I am no stranger to hurricanes. 2021’s hurricane season treated those of us in southern Louisiana pretty terribly, and many of us are in desperate need of a few laughs. Enter Carolyn Prusa’s debut novel None of This Would Have Happened If Prince Were Alive, a hilarious mom-com, which pokes fun at the absolute struggle it is to evacuate your family when your world is (literally) falling down around you.

The year is 2016 and category 4 Hurricane Matthew is bearing down on the East coast. But that is the least of Ramona’s worries. She just caught her husband cheating on her, with one of the school moms no less! Just add that to Ramona’s ever-growing list of troubles, which include an oblivious boss (who expects her to come into work in the middle of a hurricane), a daughter who refuses to be potty-trained, an elderly mother who knows too much for her own good, and, of course, the monster storm swirling in the Atlantic. Ramona tries to put off worrying about the hurricane to deal with the actual storm that is her LIFE, but to no avail. She has to evacuate. So she loads up the kids, the class guinea pig (did I mention that Ramona has been tasked with caring for a rodent during the storm as well?), and a stray teen from her neighborhood with no parents in sight. However, the fun is just getting started, as anyone who has ever evacuated knows. Buckle up Ramona because all hell is about to break loose!

None of This Would Have Happened if Prince Were Alive is a witty, relatable story about a wife and mother trying to keep all of her plates in the air and spinning while her life falls apart. If you have ever had to evacuate for a hurricane, you already know that it is no cake walk to load your life into your vehicle and drive away from your home, hoping that it will still be standing upon your return. Now try evacuating with a remorseful husband constantly ringing your phone, and a tone-deaf boss breathing down your neck. Luckily, Prusa finds humor in this fraught situation and delivers a book that is both amusing and engaging.

None of This Would Have Happened if Prince Were Alive follows Ramona and family through the ordeal of preparing for a major storm, while also interspersing vignettes from Ramona’s past in the alternating chapters, clueing us in to Ramona’s relationship with her husband, kids, and parents before her life because such a wreck. The result is a fast-paced, snarky read that wives and mothers will feel reverberating in their soul.

SPOILERS - My only complaint is that this novel makes me question if Prusa has ever actually evacuated for a storm … or perhaps it makes me question if things are done a bit differently on the East coast. Ramona has no trouble evacuating - she does not encounter gridlock traffic, gas shortages, or any of the other obstacles that are all too familiar to residents of the Gulf coast who have ever evacuated. Ramona breezes right out of town with no difficulty, which is unfortunate since I would have loved to have seen Prusa infuse some humor into sitting in standstill traffic for hours upon hours with no bathroom or food facilities at your disposal in a car packed to the gills with your possessions, family, and pets and with everyone going more than a little stir-crazy.

I was drawn to this book for the title which is unusual and also very long compared to others! The story sounded appealing with a women who returns home finding her husband having an affair but does not have time to deal with it as a hurricane is approaching and she has to evacuate her and her children.

I had expected more of a light hearted read but and at time it was but I was often frustrated with it. I felt the flash backs were not really necessary and really didn’t fit in the places they were included. Could have been better laid out. There is also a lot of things happening all at once that were a bit much and far fetched.

I feel like readers who enjoyed Where’d You Go Bernadette will also like this book.

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

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
I liked this book a lot. Ramonsa, the main character, is absolutely relatable in my opinion. I enjoyed getting to know her and I feel like her predicament reads very realistically, especially for thr target demographic of this book.

I loved the title and cover art and appreciated the references to Prince!

Overall, a fun, solid 3 star read for me.

I was immediately drawn to this book because of the title & amazing cover art. It was such a unique story that had me laughing and shedding a few tears. I loved how the character adapted when her marriage was in shambles, and a hurricane was causing chaos in the community. I would definitely recommend this to a reader who likes reading about strong and determined women.

Ramona is a beleaguered worker, tired wife and deeply caring mother. Her life is upended by a Category 4 hurricane, a cheating husband, a clueless boss, and a mother who decides to stay put in her island home. Driven by all circumstances wrong, she takes her evacuated family back to Savannah to rescue her mother and begin to make sense out of chaos. Some crazy funny parts will bring a chuckle.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Ramona is a late-30’s mom who is overworked and overwhelmed. When stopping by her house with her children to decide whether to evacuate, she catches her husband with a mom from their son’s school. The remainder of the book covers Ramona’s attempts to safely evacuate her children, the teenager next door, and her mother all while dealing with the fallout of her husband’s cheating. Of course everything that can go wrong does.

Carolyn Prusa really captures the inner struggle that every mom experiences. I enjoyed the humor and chaos that accompanies having young children. I definitely think that most moms will relate to Ramona’s doubts and insecurities. Although the last two chapters dragged a bit with the wrap up, this was a quick read that kept me engaged.

NetGalley advance copy, honest review, etc.

This book was fine! I think i am not the target audience even though i VERY MUCH SEEM like the target audience. The things i disliked about it, i disliked in the ways i disliked Where'd You Go, Bernadette, and the things i liked, i liked in the ways i like Jennifer Weiner, so that seems on point with the marketing. If you like BOTH, this might be the book for you!

A lot can happen in a matter of days. A costal town can be threatened by a hurricane. A frazzled mom can juggle young children and a demanding boss. A marriage can be fractured. A young teenage neighbor can be left alone to weather the storm. We as the readers witness all of this from the comfort and safety of our homes, even though we may relate to some of these pressures, are surely sitting back, saying “Definitely glad I’m not Ramona right now.” It’s an awful lot to cram into a 72-hour time frame, with flashbacks to explain how it all got to where it is now. Some parts felt rushed, the ending left me with lingering questions, but you certainly can’t claim it’s not fast-paced. It was an enjoyable read that left me wanting more explanation and resolution. And I too miss Prince, but I fail to see the relevance to the storyline at all. Three stars.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schafer for the ARC.
As a child of the 80s, I had high hopes for this book. I was hoping to have some laugh out loud moments, and even though I didn’t, I still enjoyed the story. The action happens at a good pace, Ramona is a delight to get to know and her predicament reads very realistically.

Overall, a fun read with some very interesting characters.

Well I loved this book, I had a hard time connecting with it as I wasn't of the Prince era and I'm not a mother! On that note, I thought the writing was great and the story was great and made it easy to follow along and want to read more! :)

As a mom with a deep love of Prince, this book hit me with the feels. Spanning over 24 hours, this book had me laughing out loud, wiping tears and repeatedly nodding in agreement. I love that we got to see through flashbacks who Roberta was during different stages of her life making who she is present day. Thank you #NetGalley! Look forward to reading more from this author!

I loved this story with quirky lovable and believable characters. A very relatable thought provoking book and one I read while tornadoes were touching down all around me with the power out. Was the universe trying to teach me something lol. I highly recommend this book especially to mothers young and old

I enjoyed this novel with its funny, relatable MC who is juggling problems as a worker, mother, daughter and wife while a hurricane is barrelling her way. The Prince references serve as a device to show past events in her life and relationship with her cheating husband. I love Prince but this was a little gimmicky.

Thank you to Netgalley, Atria Books, and the author for an ARC of this book.

This book was quite a bit out of my regular comfort zone of reading. I picked it largely because I laughed when I read the title. And to be honest: that was a great preview of what was to come in this book. I'm glad I took a chance on this one.

This would be most likely categorized in the Women's Lit or even "Chick Lit" category. The plot centers on approximately 24 hours in the life of a woman who is caught in a maelstrom--both figuratively and literally. A working mother in Savannah who is responsible for all of the day-to-day care of her children finds herself in the middle of a hurricane; as she tries to figure out how to juggle her kids, her house, her mother, a neighbor kid, her son's class's pet gerbil, and her job, her marriage implodes right on cue. Through various flashbacks, we get to learn about the person she was before she was a wife and a mom. We get to see her through different stages of her life and watch her try to navigate an impossibly difficult 24 hours.

But before you think this might be too dark and depressing, hold up: the narrative voice is hilarious. And the protagonist Ramona's love of Prince is just the icing on the cake of this novel. I found myself at various times laughing out loud, wiping tears from my eyes, and nodding in agreement as she pinpoints things that working moms (and really any moms) can relate to. Plus, I ended up watching some old Prince videos that I haven't seen for decades (I forgot how great the Raspberry Beret video is!) and humming his songs along under my breath while I read.

This is an exciting new voice in the genre, and I will be on the lookout for Prusa's sophomore entry!

This is a cute story of a mom whose life is falling apart at the same time a hurricane is heading for her home. How can you think about evacuating when everything is just chaos. This was a cute quick read. The main character, Ramona, is a huge Prince fan ( obviously from the title) and that theme is kept and included in the story which was both fun and a little tiresome. Overall, I enjoyed this story and it definitely a more lighthearted read that touches on issues many modern American women face.

I'll start this review with a big thanks to NetGalley, Atria Books and the author Carolyn Prusa for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. '

I'll start my review by saying I picked this book to read based solely on the title as I am a huge Prince fan. If you evoke his name, it better be good in my world haha.

The story itself is great! It follows a mother of two trying to navigate saving her kids, her mother, her marriage and her job all over the course of a few days while simultaneously trying to survive a category four hurricane. I laughed out loud at so many parts, it was well-written and it really described with complete authenticity the feelings and emotions a couple goes through during a marriages ups and downs.

My only issue with the story was the elements of Prince that were inserted at random here and there. My honest opinion is it felt contrived. Any mention of Prince could have been removed and the story would have flowed even better! It didn't feel like it fit to me. It's not like any BIG moments in her younger years were influenced by Prince or anything, it's like his name was just inserted to garner attention and I did not like that.

If you can see past that, which I think most people would be able to (I just have really strong feelings about Prince's name being used), the story is magnificent. Ramona is so many women I know..so strong and really the one keeping everything together.

I recommend reading this book..truly I do. Four stars for me. And I'll read more that Ms. Prusa releases in the future.

Just hope she doesn't use Elvis next time.

A funny and realistic look at life as a working mom with young kids. Ramona is dealing with alot, her marriage, her kids, her job, her mom, the neighbor and now a hurricane. Really enjoyable.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a very quick read. Well written and kept me interested. The storyline is the familiar storyline around losing her self and motherhood and career and not following dreams.

8/10

I thought this book was hilarious. Sometimes laugh out loud, oftentimes a chuckle, usually a smile, and completely a page turner.

This is a debut novel - color me impressed. And purple.

Here’s the basic gist: Ramona is a mother of two young kids. She lives in Savannah. There’s a big hurricane bearing down on the city. She goes home early and catches her husband in an affair.

Oops.

The book follows the next 48 hours as Romana battles to keep her family safe amidst personal and potential weather related damage.

She’s pretty hilarious and so are her kids. This is a journey that kinda reminds me of The Adventures in Babysitting (the original).

Oh, and Ramona is a big fan of Prince, the musician.

I’m a Gen X-er with young kids. I grew up listening to Prince so I get that part. And I understand raising kids, so I get that part. As I said, I thought the book was hilarious and very well written.

Well done Carolyn Prusa. Kudos.