Been There, Married That by Gigi Levangie ~ a Review

by MK French

Agnes Murphy Nash thought she was the perfect Hollywood wife until it was suddenly upended. Her husband decided he wasn't happy with her, and cancelled her credit cards, decided to lock her out of their home and sell it out from under her, and go all in for a divorce just so he could win against her. Friends disappear, there is an "intervention" and her flaky sister bounces back into her life just when she least expects it.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

February 2020; St. Martin's Press; 978-1250166814
audio, ebook, print (336 pages); women's fiction

The Amazon page indicates that the book is "a drop-dead hilarious battle of wills that will make you laugh out loud, cringe, and keep turning the pages to see what crazy disaster will happen to Agnes next." I certainly cringed a lot, especially in the beginning. It was hard to find any of the characters likable. They're incredibly fake and shallow, and Agnes even admits that one of her friends is only her friend because the woman would make a worse enemy. She lists designer names and famous people as if that's a measure of worth, and these people all seem to have that mindset. It was honestly more sickening to me than funny, and I didn't find it a hilarious battle of wills. I found it sad mostly, though there were times when this had to be a send up of Hollywood culture and a satire of what perceptions will do to people. Having worked in Hollywood for some time, writing movies and TV series, Gigi certainly is aware enough of the culture she's making fun of.

As the book went on, I did like Agnes and her sister Fin more. She isn't entirely the shallow bleached blonde that everyone is supposed to be and does acknowledge that she has privileges that many other women would never have. If she's the anxious and uptight sister, Fin is her opposite. Fin is the one that had bounced from one place to another, has contacts in low places and has been in jail several times. Fin is a whole other level of ridiculous, and I think Agnes really came into her own when she stopped seeing herself as merely a wife that was being divorced and wanted to actually do something. Once she did, I really found her story more enjoyable and worth following.

Buy Been There, Married That at Amazon

Born and raised in New York City, M.K. French started writing stories when very young, dreaming of different worlds and places to visit. She always had an interest in folklore, fairy tales, and the macabre, which has definitely influenced her work. She currently lives in the Midwest with her husband and three young children.

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