ARC Review: Mom Jeans and Other Mistakes by Alexa Martin

“an endearing read that you’ll look back on fondly.”

~ Under the Covers

Recommended Read!

Jude Andrews and Lauren Turner are two friends in their late twenties that describe themselves as “sister wives.” They call themselves this endearingly because they have been best friends their entire lives and feel more like sisters. They also share a rented townhouse together and are raising Lauren’s five-year old daughter, Addy. On the surface, Jude and Lauren seem like they would be polar opposites—Jude is a fitness influencer and Lauren is a pragmatic, no nonsense single mother who gave up her ambitions of attending medical school. Despite their differences, their friendship has proven to last, which is how Jude, Lauren, and Addy find themselves living together when they’ve fallen on hard times. But when life seems to get even harder, their friendship is truly put to the test and the women find out just how much stress their relationship can hold.

I loved every minute and every aspect of this book. For me, it had everything: humor, sarcasm, serious topics, a love story, strong female friendships, independence, a sassy five-year old girl wise beyond her years. Literally everything was great—but let me break it down a bit!

The characters—Jude, Lauren, Addy—stand out in this novel because of the unique voices Martin gives them. Each chapter alternates between Lauren and Jude’s perspectives, which Martin did very well. It’s clear who is talking and what point of the story the character is narrating. This is bolstered by the fact that each character has a consistent, individual personality that Martin makes very clear through the writing style. In Jude’s narration the reader can expect to find more casual phrasing punctuated with slang (I know some people don’t like reading slang or contemporary phrases, but it really worked here and wasn’t distracting at all); in Lauren’s narration, true to character, the tone feels more formal and reserved than Jude’s. These discrete voices and perspectives really put Martin’s exceptional writing on display.

Because the narration alternates between Jude and Lauren, the story has a very quick pace. But the story itself is another reason why this book read so fast. It reads on the lighter side, and light reads tend to read quicker, but Martin includes very real, serious topics that add a bit of an edge to the story that really worked for me in the way that I kept wanting to know how the characters would react next.

Above all, what shines in this novel is the strength of female friendships. The friendship that Jude and Lauren share is, in my opinion, very realistic—they bicker, they annoy each other, they have their breaking points, but at the end of the day they’re undoubtedly there for each other, lift each other up, and make each other a better person. Jude and Lauren are definitely friendship goals, and it was a treat to get a glimpse into such a modern, supportive relationship.

Overall, I would highly recommend this book for an endearing read that you’ll look back on fondly. I hardly ever re-read books, but I would seriously consider picking this one up again as it was truly an enjoyable read.

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[about-author author=”Alexa Martin”]

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