It's been at least ten years since I last read a book by Rene Gutteridge, and to be honest, I can't really remember the plot of the ones that I read. But I do remember that her books were very funny. That's what I was hoping for in Greetings from the Flipside. And I wasn't disappointed.
This book is two stories, but really only one story. Is that confusing? Yes...but only unless you read it. Hope Landon is a single girl with a dry wit who lives in Poughkeepsie, New York, but her dream is to move to New York City and make it big writing greeting cards. Her dream is about to come true since she's going to marry her musician boyfriend, Sam. But Sam leaves her at the altar and in her grief, Hope runs away. Her mother had purchased a surprise exotic honeymoon for Hope and Sam (in the beautiful country of Idaho), so Hope decides to take the trip alone. While stuffing her face with every potato dish know to man, Hope comes up with an idea for a new line of greeting cards for the heartbroken. She returns to Poughkeepsie to begin work on her new plan, only to find out that while she was gone, her mother had her declared dead! Since her mother has rented out her room to a stranger, Hope decides to take off on her own and go to New York City. When she applies for an apartment and a job, she finds out that her mother had applied for her death certificate and she must prove that she is alive before she can even earn a paycheck. At the same time she's trying to sell her new boss on her greeting card ideas, keep the Murphy bed in her room at the YMCA from killing her, reason with a precocious 11-year-old who has become her shadow and try not to fall in love. All of her problems would be immediately solved if she could only get into the Social Security Office and prove that she's not dead. Or would they?
Greetings from the Flipside is HILARIOUS!! I laughed so hard that tears came to me eyes! The characters are awesome. Hope's neurotic mother is priceless with her crazy prayers and Scripture quotations. Hope herself is a memorable character. I loved how she would say something totally in the wrong place at the wrong time or in the wrong way. After all, who doesn't do that? The double story line here nearly blew my mind. It took me a while to realize what was really going on, which I'm sure was the authors' intention. I rooted for Jake (both Jakes) and hated Sam (and Everett) and loved Mikaela. The greeting cards were really funny too. This story was great on all levels.
If you like her heroine's with a little sass and some hilarity thrown in, this book is for you. It's not a typical romance novel at all, and that's what I liked best about it. This is a must-read for anyone who's looking for a story with laughs and a little love along the way!
Happy Reading!
Lyndsie
I was given a copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for my review. All opinions are my own.
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