The Divorce Diet by Ellen Hawley

Blurb:

"The Divorce Diet is a novel that should be dedicated to every woman who ever walked away from a man or a diet. It's bitingly funny and insightful, while celebrating food and self-discovery just don't read it while you're hungry. It's perfect for fans of Julie and Julia and Eat, Pray, Love.

Abigail loves her baby Rosie, her husband Thad, and food. She takes great joy and comfort in concocting culinary delights to show the depth of her love and commitment to her family. Imagine her surprise when Thad announces, this whole marriage thing just doesn't work for me. Abigail can't believe he really means what he's said, but he does. Abigail and Rosie move back in to her parents' house, where she regresses into her adolescent self. She diets, finds work, and begins to discover the life she really wants, and a man who really wants her."


My Review:

I was excited about this book based on the name, the cover (yes, I judge the cover - don't tell me you don't!) and the blurb. It sounded like your typical chick lit and I was very much looking forward to it. I was a little surprised when I saw less then 3 stars on Goodreads but didn't let that deter me - we all have different tastes, right? But about a few chapters in, I knew immediately why the ratings were so low.

Can you imagine a book written almost entirely like this:

"Breakfast:"

"Exercise:" (which by the way was not exercise - it was things like turn off an alarm or wake up from a dream)

"Lunch:"

"Dinner:"

Every...single...day...of Abigail's life was written like this. When she woke up, we got a new recap of her day based on her diet meals that were not diet-friendly and exercise that was not exercise. She didn't exercise once! And of course there was the diet guru that Abigail sometimes argued with. Not a real guru, but a figment of her imagination. That sounds quirky and cute in theory, but it wasn't written well. It just came across as nutty and fragmented. Abigail just argued with herself the entire story.

Another annoying part was that she would repeat "I say" over and over. Like:

"I say," (sentence here)

"I say," (sentence here)

"I say," (sentence here)

Could you not have said "I say" once and put all the thoughts in one paragraph? Did you have to keep repeating "I say?" The story just wasn't written very well. The sentences were choppy and rambling and all over the place. It got very frustrating at times.

I will say that I was curious about how Abigail was going to pull off her new life without Thad. He was the bread-winner and the only one who brought in money. Then when he called the whole marriage off and Abigail was left with no money, no job, no prospects and no experience, I was genuinely interested to see how Abigail was going to get through this. I also loved reading about the precious bond between Abigail and her sweet baby daughter Rosie. And the ending was surprisingly cute! Although it did not make the annoyances of the writing worth it...

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book for an honest review. 


My Rating: