by Jennifer Close
Publisher: Knopf Publishing
Pages: 320
Format: eARC
Buy the Book: Amazon
Goodreads: Here are the three things the Sullivan family knows to be true: the Chicago Cubs will always be the underdogs; historical progress is inevitable; and their grandfather, Bud, founder of JP Sullivan's, will always make the best burgers in Oak Park. But when, over the course of three strange months, the Cubs win the World Series, Trump is elected president, and Bud drops dead, suddenly everyone in the family finds themselves doubting all they hold dear.
Take Gretchen for example, lead singer for a '90s cover band who has been flirting with fame for a decade but is beginning to wonder if she's too old to be chasing a childish dream. Or Jane, Gretchen's older sister, who is starting to suspect that her fitness-obsessed husband who hides the screen of his phone isn't always "working late." And then there's Teddy, their steadfast, unfailingly good cousin, nursing heartbreak and confusion because the guy who dumped him keeps showing up for lunch at JP Sullivan's where Teddy is the manager. How can any of them be expected to make the right decisions when the world feels sideways--and the bartender at JP Sullivan's makes such strong cocktails?
Kritters Thoughts: Before I started this one, I was already a Jennifer Close fan and was excited to see a new release from her.
A family in Chicago loses its patriarch at a hard time and must decide what the future of both the family and their restaurant will look like. There are three main characters that are all from one generation, a set of sisters - Jane and Gretchen and their cousin Teddy, all have drama of their own going on as the story begins and through the support of each other and their family will figure out what is next for each of them.
I loved the characters, the plot, the setting and the storyline, but the way this book was put together made for a confusing and difficult read. Within each chapter, all of the characters are given the chance to move their story along, but I just wish it had been more labeled and easier to read. I love when characters get their own chapters and it is sweetly labeled and I wished that for this book. With such a large cast, the family chart at the beginning was helpful, but it took awhile for me to get everyone figured out.
Again, I love Jennifer Close and the characters she creates are full and human, I just had a hard time at the beginning getting into the groove of this one and that isn't typical when I read her backlist. I hope we won't have to wait as long for her next!
Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row
Ebook 2022 Challenge: 33 out of 100
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one copy of this book free of charge from Knopf. 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.
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