Publisher's Weekly Review
McMillan (Who Asked You?) revs up middle age in a rambunctious showcase of the bestselling author's keen ear for language, clear eye for the give-and-take of sex, love, and commitment, and heartfelt faith in happy endings. Here, 54-year-old optometrist Georgia Young, bored with her work and romantically adrift after two failed marriages, sets out to reinvent herself by examining the loves she left behind-providing a nifty three-step guide for finding "the Right One," and then moving on when it turns out wrong-taking a train trip to Vancouver and turning a knack for design into a career. Meanwhile, the real work of Georgia's life bustles all around her: her crazy-in-love 81-year-old mother, two best and brutally honest friends, and two daughters tentatively embarking on their own complicated lives-an expertly drawn cast of characters that includes the perfect foils for the alternately quixotic and practical Georgia. "Love doesn't have an age limit, and it can find you at any time in your life," she tells her 22-year-old daughter. "It can also just as soon leave you in a ditch... You can be a woman and be happy without a man and without love." There's no better guide than McMillan for this excursion through early-, middle-, and old-age crises, and no better creator of female characters who refuse to give up on dreaming, or looking back to find the way forward in their noisy, messy, joyous lives. Agent: Molly Friedrich, Friedrich Literary Agency. (June) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
When 54-year-old doctor Georgia Young learns that her college crush Raymond Strawberry has died unexpectedly, she decides to hunt up all the men she's loved in her life and tell them what they meant to her. Georgia's plan quickly becomes bigger than lost love: along the way she decides to quit her job as a successful optometrist, sell her house, and travel Canada by train to try to discover just what it is she's always wanted to do with her life. For Georgia, the trip will be "a long, meditative prayer" that "will help me not to worry about the end of my life but encourage me." But the world is not always respectful of our dreams; and Georgia's children and business partnernot to mention new and old lovescrash-land in her life with turmoil and drama of their own, forcing Georgia's best laid plans to go awry. "We all take a path we thought we wanted to take, and then we find out there are other paths we can still explore," one of Georgia's long-lost former lovers tells her toward the end of the novel. For Georgia, this means coming full circle to recognize what she has overlooked and realize the extent of her present happiness and talents. While some readers may stumble over Georgia's attitude toward her children and grandchildrenambivalence verging on coolnessas well as some key plot gaps and a somewhat uneven narrative that meanders as much as Georgia's uncertain quest for something different, fans of McMillan (Who Asked You, 2013, etc.) will welcome this new addition to her oeuvre. Here is McMillan's trademark style in full, feisty effect: strong, complicated female characters, energetic prose, and an entertaining, seductive narrative. A heartwarming story that reminds us of the pure joy of believing in love. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
After two failed marriages and countless other romantic missteps, Georgia considers herself done with love. A successful optometrist with two beautiful daughters and a San Francisco home she adores, she is not exactly unhappy. But a chance meeting reminds her that she is not altogether happy either, and she decides to leave it all behind and begin all over again. The first thing she must do is look up all her failed loves to gain a more mature closure on their relationships. Getting started takes some time, but her friends are ready to cheer her on with plenty of advice. As they start guiding her back into the game, Dr. Georgia Young finds herself living up to her last name with newfound and fiery zeal. In her signature mode, McMillan (Who Asked You?, 2013) has a casual, conversational style that makes her determined female lead warmly engaging and relatable. With humor and a feel-good tone, McMillan reminds readers that it is never too late for love or new possibilities. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Best-selling McMillan, of how How Stella Got Her Groove Back fame, always pulls in fans, and high-profile promotion will herald this release.--Ophoff, Cortney Copyright 2016 Booklist
Library Journal Review
McMillan's (How Stella Got Her Groove Back) latest tells the story of Dr. Georgia Young, a fiftysomething optometrist going through a belated midlife crisis. She is bored with her flourishing practice, tired of her beautiful home, and worn out by her grown children. She decides to make some changes, including tracking down the men she has loved. Though not a new plotline, here it has been updated for today's world. There are some high points in the book, but, overall, Georgia comes across as spoiled and ungrateful. McMillan narrates the book and unfortunately does not use her voice to distinguish among characters; Georgia's senior citizen mother sounds just the same as Georgia's ex-husbands or her grandkids. As the story relies heavily on dialog, it can be hard to tell who is saying what, and if it is being thought or spoken aloud. VERDICT While McMillan's many fans will clamor for this title, perhaps direct them to the print version for a better experience. ["An engaging novel with an appealing cast of women": African American Fiction (and More) 3/15/16 starred review of the Crown hc.]-Donna Bachowski, Orange Cty. Lib. Syst., Orlando, FL © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.