If You Were Here

Nook Format for this book stinks!

If you read Jen Lancaster's books, then you will know that her footnotes are one of the funnest parts. But in the noon format? Yeah, they aren't at the bottom of each page. So unless you want to constantly scroll to the very back of the book every couple of sentences, you are going to miss out on her extra little funny insights.

The book itself is a fun read. Not her best, but still entertaining.

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Great as usual

I love Jen and all her books. This was a great read. Easy, quick and fun. Footnotes are great and i got used to tapping on the footnote that brought me to the back of the book then i just hit it again and i was back to reading. Really no big deal. I Can't wait for the next book and in the meantime I enjoy her website and facebook posts.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A Must Must Read

I have read all of her books and have loved them all. This was my first Nook book. I love the footnotes but did not love the scrolling back and forth. Either way it is a great read and sarcastically funny. Cant wait for the next book!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A funny and entertaining book! I couldn't put it down

This book had me actually laughing out loud, as Jen Lancaster entertains her reader with the antics of her protagonist Mia and her hubby Mac.

Mia is an author of a series of “Amish Zombie” novels who—along with her husband—lives in a rental home with their menagerie of pets. The home is in a less than desirable section of town but the rent won out over their better judgment. Thus, they find themselves in the middle of a throw down with a thug who tags everything in the neighborhood, including a church across from their home.

After the thug “ORNESTEGA” retaliates against the couple by throwing a firebomb at the house, they finally throw in the towel and start the search to buy a home in the outskirts of Chicago, Illinois. During the search for a new property, the owner of the rental house, Vienna Hyatt has taken any opportunity available to make the MacNamara’s lives miserable, threatening to sue them for a window broken by the firebomb and the video leaked by a team of packers who observed the celebrity go off on them.

Eventually the MacNamara’s find the perfect home and put an offer on it. The place was featured in “The Breakfast Club” which happens to be the couple’s favorite movie. The house is in deplorable condition and turns out to be a money pit. Through many failed attempts at DIY home renovations, the couple resorts to hiring a contractor, which proves to be easier said than done.

With her fifth book, Jen Lancaster has created a hilarious romp through the hazard stricken lives of Mia and Mac. Jen incorporates little tidbits that are added commentary Mia adds in the telling of her story. Her characters are definitely the “Laurel and Hardy” of the renovation circuit, leaving the reader thinking of the mishaps they have experienced in their DIY foray. If you want to find yourself laughing at the end of a long day this is the book you should be picking up.

Reviewed for Suspense Magazine

I normally love Jen's books. This one I started twice and it ju

I normally love Jen's books. This one I started twice and it just couldn't hold my attention. Also, I find the footnote distracting and irritating. I will buy other books and hope they're better!!!!!

Meh.

Love Jen, she hilarious with sticky, sharp wit. Unfortunately, this book just couldn't hold my attention, so I didn't finish it. I relished every other book she's written and will buy her next book, but was disappointed by this one. I couldn't sink my teeth into the plot and prefer her memoir style over the thinly veiled characters in this fiction piece. I loved reading her blog of her actual home-buying experience, and would rather have read more of that than read this attempt to make the real thing more interesting. Still love ya, Jen. Can't win 'em all.

Her other books are way better!!!

This being her first fiction book, I really didn't like it. It sounded like her and her husband but the names were changed. I love her other books so I gave it 4 stars!!:)

Worth reading, but not as good as her memoirs

I am a HUGE fan of Jen Lancaster and her nonfiction hilarity! I get why she's trying her hand at fiction, its a natural progression. And seriously, how many wacky and heart-felt adventures can one person really get into. Jen Lancaster's voice comes through loud, clear, and funny in her first foray into fiction. But her characters are slightly altered versions of herself and her husband, a loud funny writer and her husband with his dry wit and a love of expensive tools. Even her friends seem like real-life friends we've read about in her non-fiction (even their names are only slightly changed both the couple and their friends). So I was constantly wondering where the line was between fiction and nonfiction.

But it's a great story of a couple and their money-pit of a house and if you are already a Jen Lancaster fan, it's a must have. If you haven't read Jen before then start at the beginning and you'll end up here, too.

Disappointing

If you are a fan of Jen Lancaster and have read her blogs and follow her on twitter, then you have already read this book. Like another reviewer said, I was hoping for a fiction book from Jen Lancaster, but instead got 'the best of her blog' and the names were changed. Example - the main characters have two rescue dogs and one is a pit bull named Daisy. Come on! Couldn't she be a little more creative? (Jen Lancaster had two dogs while writing this book, one is a pit bull named Maisy). If she can't come up with new material to write about, she should stick to just blogging.

Highly recommended

Love her sassy style! Reading her books is like talking with your best girlfriend. It does wonders for the soul.

Loved it

I am a great fan of Jen Lancaster's books and blog. I have to admit I was a little concerned about her first journey into fiction. I ended up loving the book and if she writes another fiction book, I will gladly pick it up.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Disappointed.

I'm a huge fan of Jen Lancaster's blog and memoirs. I recommend her work to friends frequently, noting how much I love her unique, humorous, and sarcastic voice. So I was very excited to hear she was writing her first work of fiction. I pre-ordered and eagerly awaited its release. Unfortunately, it failed to hold my interest-I struggled through 65 pages before finally giving up on it. I felt I was simply rereading her old blog posts mixed with bits of her memoirs. Been there, done that. With her fantastic writing ability, I guess I expected more than the literary equivalent of a flashback episode. Having said that, present still was that bold voice that made her a best-selling author in the first place, and I look forward to her next work. I just hope that if she attempts another fiction, she's a little less self-indulgent and challenges herself more.

Ehhhhhhh

I am a huge fan of Jen Lancaster, and have loved all of her previous books. "Bitter is the new black" and "My fair Lazy" are my two favorites. I was not wild about "If you were here", largely because I was distracted by the fact that I knew her "characters", her and her husband, and they just did not fit in the over the top story of the house from hell. I also thought that the book missed some of her trademark flow, and was a little to choppy. I appreciate the book for a quick read, although I am looking forward to more of her witty essays.

Prefer the memoirs

Although enjoyable, it did not have quite the flare as her previous books.

Love it!

Anyone who likes Jen's other books will like this as well. Even though this one is fiction, you can totally see Jen all through out the book. I had to keep reminding myself that these characters were not Jen & Fletch. I loved it but I also think she could have done a great memoir with this too. I love, love, love her memoirs! The footnotes on the nook version do kind of suck but it does not take away from the book itself.

AWESOME!!!

I have never read a Jen Lancaster book ( and I'm not gonna lie and say I have even heard her name before, sorry :-() but I flipped thru this book at B&N and was curious about these footnotes so I bought the book. Needless to say, I read in 2 days!!! I have even been on a mad hunt to find her previous books ( Shame on you B&N for not having) and managed to find My Fair Lazy in paperback at Target. That one is even funnier!!! Ms. Lancaster is hilarious and witty and I have gladly added her to my fav authors list.Gotta go and order the other ones....

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE IT!

I have long been a fan of Jen Lancaster and so enjoy her humor and wit. Her first fiction book is a HOME RUN! It is a quick read and not terribly deep. It is a great beach or vaca read.

I wish I was THERE!

I loved this book. I am not allowed to read at my desk at work but this book was so good I hid my nook behind my purse and tried to supress my laughter. I sit over in a corner, let me tell you a person gets strange looks when they sit alone and keep snorting with laughter.
Mia and Mac remind me of my sister and brother-in-law. And they remindc me of my parents. The home improvements and the runs to Home Depot. I can't tell you how funny and awesome this book is. It made me watch all the John Hughes movies I could Netflix. It's like The Money Pit but with a 2011 twist!!!

MUST READ!!!

This is a new kind of book from Jen Lancaster. She is a very Witty and Funny writer. Just right for anybody especially the 1980's John Hughes lover. I cannot wait for MORE!!

Funny and Entertaining

Jen Lancaster has done it again....Her first try at fiction was a SUCCESS! I can only hope that she continues.
I loved her other books and this one did not disappoint. I found myself laughing aloud while I was reading it, much to the dismay of my husband.
If you haven't read her other books, you must! Her sarcasm makes the book.