Review: If You Were Here by Jen Lancaster

If You Were Here
Author: Jen Lancaster
Published: May 3, 2011
Genre: chick lit
Hardcover: 306 pages
Source: borrowed from the library


My Rating: 4 stars


Synopsis (from GoodReads): Told in the uproariously entertaining voice readers have come to expect from Jen Lancaster, If You Were Here follows Amish-zombie-teen- romance author Mia and her husband Mac (and their pets) through the alternately frustrating, exciting, terrifying-but always funny-process of buying and renovating their first home in the Chicago suburbs that John hughes's movies made famous. Along their harrowing renovation journey, Mia and Mac get caught up in various wars with the homeowners' association, meet some less-than-friendly neighbors, and are joined by a hilarious cast of supporting characters, including a celebutard ex- landlady. As they struggle to adapt to their new surroundings- with Mac taking on the renovations himself- Mia and Mac will discover if their marriage is strong enough to survive months of DIY renovations.


My Thoughts: This was my first foray into the world of Jen Lancaster after reading so many rave reviews about her and her work on so many blogs. Needless to say, I was a bit skeptical when I checked this book out of the library. Would it live up to the hype that everyone was putting out there? Would it really be funny? Lucky for me, it lived up to the hype and was not only funny, but hilarious! Following a couple on their DIY home renovation nightmare, Lancaster tells a great story of a couple who wanted to create their dream home, and since they watched HGTV quite a bit, they figured it would be easy. What follows is a hilarious story of remodeling and relationships (not only marriage, but relationships with friends and family).


This is chick lit, but it's also something that I would categorize as a humor book. With every page, Lancaster had me cracking up. And while it was a work of fiction, I sometimes found it hard to believe. Lancaster writes so clearly, that at times I thought I was reading one of her memoirs. The only downside to this book was the length; I felt that it could get a bit repetitive at times and that some pages could have been edited out. Also, the ending was a bit disappointing for me. Not that it was bad and ruined the whole book for me, but just not what I wanted.


I will definitely be reading more of Jen Lancaster in the future and would recommend her to anyone who is in need of a laugh or a pick-me-up!