Review: The Way Life Should Be by Christina Baker Kline

The Way Life Should Be

by Christina Baker Kline

Publisher: William Morrow

Pages: 288

Format: book

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Angela Russo is thirty-three years old and single, stuck in a job she doesn't love and a life that seems, somehow, to have just happened. Though she inherited a flair for Italian cooking from her grandmother, she never has the time; for the past six months, her oven has held only sweaters. Tacked to her office bulletin board is a picture torn from a magazine of a cottage on the coast of Maine, a reminder to Angela that there are other ways to live, even if she can't seem to figure them out.

One day at work, Angela clicks on a tiny advertisement in the corner of her computer screen—"Do Soulmates Exist?"—and finds herself at a dating website, where she stumbles upon "MaineCatch," a thirty-five-year-old sailing instructor with ice-blue eyes. To her great surprise, she strikes up a dizzying correspondence with MaineCatch—yet as her online relationship progresses, life in the real world takes a nosedive. Interpreting this confluence of events as a sign, Angela impulsively decides to risk it all and move to Maine.

But things don't work out quite as she expected. Far from everything familiar, and with little to return to, Angela begins to rebuild her life from the ground up, moving into a tiny cottage and finding work at a local coffee shop. To make friends and make ends meet, she leads a cooking class, slowly discovering the pleasures and secrets of her new small community, and—perhaps—a way to connect her heritage to a future she is only beginning to envision.


Kritters Thoughts:  Angela makes a major mistake on the job and is fired, as this was never the dream job she is now stuck in a spot where she must do something to find where she would eventually want to be.  In a very small remote town in Maine she meets a cast of characters with quite the personalities and each of them help her find herself. 

I have read a few books that have this same concept as woman goes to the middle of nowhere to find a new path, but I loved that a dating website took her there - gave the book some originality.  I loved using the remoteness of this town in Maine to make Angela feel even more isolated and made her really look within herself to find out where her true passions lay.  

Although there were some repetitive moments, the heart of the book really shown through and it was easy to fall in love with all of the characters.  I would suggest reading this curled up under a blanket as the cold weather of Maine was absolutely evident in this book.


Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from TLC Book Tours.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.