I first discovered Jen Lancaster over ten years ago.
I inhaled her earlier books.
This one was so so. I couldn’t engage with the story nor the characters.
It was a lackluster read for me.

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. I really enjoyed this and will be getting copies for my shop.

It’s a good read but not her best. I love her non fiction and this was my first fiction of hers. I could feel her writing style throughout and I did enjoy it but felt like it needed more closure.

I loved Jen Lancaster's memoirs, and I've enjoyed some of her past novels...but this was not it! I read the first 15% or so, and I cannot continue. The plot felt half-baked, and while I liked seeing some of Lancaster's signature zing in this, I couldn't get behind the characters. I hope Jen Lancaster's next project is a little more fleshed out!

I really enjoy the writing style of this author from one of her nonfiction books, so I thought I would give this a shot. I was looking for an escape and nothing serious. I felt that this book was just ok for me. I thought some of the dialogue was witty, however it just did not go anywhere. I think the author left a good opening for a series, however if this was not the intention, there was absolutely no resolution for any of the plot. Thanks for the ARC, NetGalley.

I love everything Jen Lancaster writes so House Moms was enjoyable to me. It was a little different from her "domestic dramas", but I think that is why I was looking forward to it and I was not disappointed. Each character was a hot mess in their own way and yet Ms. Lancaster had them work their way out of their dilemmas to the point everything came out ok. Is this book going to change the world or really anyone's idea of Greek life?...probably not, but will give the reader several hours of entertaining reading.

I have been a fan of Lancaster’s writing since her early books, and I still love her non-fiction work. But I can’t recommend this book. While she does a great job developing the 3 main characters, she repeatedly gets great ideas so close to the end zone and then never delivers the punch she could have. She could have cut 25% from the beginning, added it to the end and fleshed out the ideas for which she’d laid the groundwork all along.

I have read all of Jen Lancaster's books. I tend to enjoy her style of writing and the stories she comes up with. This one was no exception. I really liked the characters and the storyline.

I tried really hard to get into this one, but it unfortunately wasn’t for me 🥲 it moved really slow and there was too much unnecessary info

It's a little frustrating that nothing in the marketing for this book adequately communicates that there will be a sequel or series following this, as the book abruptly stops without wrapping up almost any of the main storylines. The overall story is interesting with excellent characters, and is honestly smoother than I expected. However, the ending really does sully the story.

In Housemoms: A Novel by Jen Lancaster, three women find themselves in sorority row. Two of the women are related: CeCe and Hayden. The other woman is Janelle who ends up alongside the other two women when she joins WITSEC.

Not only do challenges loom for the women. As CeCe has to deal with a change in her living situation. On the other hand, Hayden walked away from her parent’s money only to find herself working as a barista and wanting nothing to do with what comes with being a Barclay. Janelle witnessed a crime at her previous place of employment, not having had the best opportunities once joining WITSEC she believes she now has a chance at a better life.

The Drama
Jen Lancaster does a great job of providing backstories for the three women. When I was reading “Housemoms: A Novel” I had no idea how these characters would somehow find themselves meeting. Then we get to Eli Whitney University, Hayden’s alma mater, where she’s employed as a barista near the campus. In a chance meeting, all three women find themselves at that coffee shop.

This was my first time reading a book from the author, Jen Lancaster, and I truly enjoyed it. Housemoms: A Novel is a book that you can enjoy in one sitting because you will want to know what happens to each of the ladies in the story. You might even root for one over the other, but in the end, I think all characters will have a place in your heart. Because they have redeeming qualities and show their growth as the book progresses.

Housemoms was a book I had high hopes for, and while I did enjoy the story, I really was left wanting more. There were some laugh out loud moments which is to be expected from a Jen Lancaster story. Then I felt as though the story got a bit stuck in the middle, where the plot was not necessarily moving forward well enough for my liking, and then the ending seemed to happen so abruptly. I was really invested in the characters and really appreciated the development / story arc of some of them, though as stated above, I was left wanting more.
Thank you to Netgalley and Little A publishing for the opportunity to read this in exchange for my honest opinion.

This one was not it for me. I’m giving a generous 2 stars and the second star is only because I did like the author’s humor. Otherwise, I didn’t enjoy this one. The characters’ stories lead absolutely nowhere. The “plot” is all over the place, drags, and then poof - done! Listening to it was easier than reading it with my eyes, so I appreciated the audiobook aspect of it. But I’ll be removing the book from my Kindle library to reclaim space.

I've been having such a hard time writing this review because I LOVE Jen Lancaster - her biting wit is among the best out there. And I've loved her other forays into fiction. Housemoms was no exception at first - I loved the characters (though a family tree might be helpful at the beginning as figuring out who is who can be a bit complex), the plot set-up, the journey, everything about it. But then the book ended, in my opinion, too abruptly. I guess that's a good thing in that I wanted more, but to me it felt almost rushed or unfinished. I'd still recommend this book as I was laughing out loud and thoroughly enjoyed it, but would love it if there were about 30-40 more pages.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you to netgalley and Little A for allowing me to read this book. Housemoms was a cute and fun read.

I really really wanted to like this book. I had high hopes for it...but it fell flat. Actually it didn't fall flat, it BOMBED. And the ending...what was that? That was so anticlimactic and unresolved and this book was everywhere. Holy cow.

There are some good bones here with a decent plot, but there were too many side stories and I really thought the 3 women's lives would intersect more but it did not.

The most disappointing part was when I actually started liking Cece, the book was 93% done. That's also when Gina/Janelle damn near pissed me off and I was over her and then I wondered why I even cared about Hayden.

There was one fade-to-black romance scene, meriting this book 1 pepper. Honestly make it .5 pepper.

2 stars, 1 pepper

4.5 stars
I could honestly read an entire series about these characters. The story was so entertaining and funny, I loved it. Some of the plot felt a little rushed at times and it ended pretty open ended tho so I hope there are more books someday. Overall a cute, lighthearted read.

This is a solid life story in a cool setting. Sororities have always intrigued me. This isn't something that will stick with me forever, but a good read nonetheless.

What I liked: A funny satire about zany women dealing with financial problems, family issues and building new relationships.
What I Disliked: The book started off a bit confusing, with too many extraneous characters. When I had finally settled into the plot lines for the three main women, it abruptly ended. If the author wrote 100 more pages to better wrap up the story, she could have earned 5 stars.

Return to college and Greek life when you read Housemoms by Jen Lancaster. This book profiles two very different women who make changes in their lives after the worst happens to both of them. One character, CeCe Barclay, becomes the shamed former society wife of a bigwig caught with his hands in the veritable cookie jar. Another character, Janelle Smith, must go into the witness protection program after seeing a mob hit at the strip club where she works. They end up as house mothers for two separate sororities at a fictional college in the Midwest.

I love Jen Lancaster's line of nonfiction books and gobble up any book she writes. I tend to prefer her nonfiction to her fiction. Some of the past books weren't that engaging, maybe even boring, but this is her best one yet. It's mildly humorous with likeable characters, and some outrageous situations. I found myself whipping through the book and looking forward to reading it.

Now, you may be wondering why I only gave this book three stars. I felt it was a four-star book, maybe 4 1/2, until I reached the end. I remember thinking at 70 percent that this book is almost over, and there's so much more to resolve. And that is the issue.

Most of the stories feel like they weren't wrapped up or even resolved. In fact, you almost wonder if some of the chapters may be missing. One clue that they're not is a reference to sequels, so I'm assuming there is a proposed sequel? I hope there is because there's some unfinished business, and I think the setting and characters could make for an entertaining series of books. Jen Lancaster hit her fictional stride with this book, and it deserves a higher rating except for the ending.