This book was pitched to me as a perfect laugh out loud book for stressed moms.  I immediately responded that I had to read it, since, clearly, they had me figured out to a T.  And if this is you, too, know while reading that there were a few times I forgot this was fiction.  Some of the dialogue reads like a memoir.

Life After Coffee is the story of Amy, a coffee buyer who travels for work months at a time out of the country.  When she is let go from her job, she finds herself at home with her family for the first time, well, ever.  And she doesn’t know how to be a mom after never having the chance to fully be present before.  As soon as she finds herself as the primary caretaker, her husband gets his turn to work and Amy is left with her children and clueless.

When their savings dips down to practically zero, she is forced to decide if she needs to go back to work to get their family back on their feet.  And when her ex walks back into the picture with a chance to save the day, Amy is left with a decision that can make or break her family.

Amy as a mother was very relatable to me.  I work from home and have two kids, and I get the stress and mess and dirty clothes and judgement.  And you know those moms who pass judgement before they make a sound.  Fans of Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty will also be amused with this story.

My only gripe was a 3-year-old who sounded more like she was 10 when she spoke.  I don’t know many 3-year-olds that hold conversations like those in this book.  A bit of a stretch.

Perfect to read with your own cup of coffee, you’ll quickly relate to the stress of being home with your children and find yourself chuckling at Amy’s struggle to get through her days.

About the author:

Virginia Franken was born and raised in Medway, Kent, the place where Henry the 8th sent his wives on holiday in the hope that they’d be eaten alive by mosquitoes and save him the trouble of beheading them. Most her childhood was spent wearing a dance leotard and tights, and at age 11 she attended the (sort of) prestigious dance school The Arts Education School, Tring.

After graduating from The University of Roehampton, she worked on cruise liners as a professional dancer before somehow managing to blag a job in book publishing. Getting fed up of having to choose between paying the rent or buying groceries, she eventually moved from London to Los Angeles where life was affordable and every time she opened her mouth she got to act all surprised and flattered when someone said they liked her accent.

These days she lives in Monrovia, near to Pasadena, with two kids, a dog, one ever-lasting goldfish and her bearded lover, in a house that’s just a little bit too small to fit everyone in quite comfortably. She gets most of her writing done when she should be sleeping.

LIFE AFTER COFFEE is her first novel. If enough people buy a copy, there’s a good chance she’ll write another…

Thanks to TLC Book Tours, I have one copy to give away to a lucky reader.  U.S. and Canada only, please.  You can enter on the Rafflecopter.
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Make sure to visit the other stops on the blog tour for more chances to win!