Love and Houses

There is just something about this book that makes me feel good every time I read it. The author is great at conveying emotions. While the premise of the book doesn't seem comical at all I always manage to end up laughing hard when I read this book. An excellent read.

Marti Leimbach's third novel is fantastic. From the first line, you are there. You care about her. You laugh at and with her. You love her for all the reasons you would probably want to strangle her. She is a protagonist you can root for. She is every women. She is smart, funny and not immune to her own follies. The novel is so much fun. It is playful and hysterical and overwhelmingly sweet. She is masterful with dialogue. The story seems trite at first: Hubby ditches knocked up wife, but Leimbach uses this seemingly cliched set up to weave a novel filled with wonderful characterizations, witty observations and outrageous situations. I loved this book so much. I was drawn by the cover, but had no idea what a treasure awaited me.

"Love and Houses" is about Margaret "Meg" Howe, a pregnant 37-year-old who has just been abandoned by her husband (Andy Howe) while she's seven months' pregnant with their daughter Frances. Andy's leaving her isn't too startling; he's always had a fear of commitment--leaving Meg several times at the altar; panicking over job promotions before finally quitting to become a bookstore owner.Now Meg has the sole responsibility of remodeling and selling their two homes. To make matters worse, an old flame from Meg's college years reenters her life as a buyer for her house. She struggles between falling for her ex-lover who has done a positive 180 personality-wise or remaining true to her deadbeat husband. Tough decision, huh?I highly recommend "Love and Houses", especially if you're like me and tend to avoid syrupy fiction about marriage disasters. It could have turned into a woe-is-me, depressing book, but it was surprisingly funny and lighthearted. It's well worth finding a copy and owning. You'll definitely want to reread this one.

I bought this at a second-hand store. If you find it, grab it. It's one of my favorite divorce books, next to Letter to My Ex-Husband. Meg's funny, smart and falling to pieces. It's warm and funny and full of lines you'll want to read out to other people.