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stephsbooktalk 's review for:

Really Good, Actually by Monica Heisey
4.0

Wow! I thought this book was absolutely fabulous and felt believable.  If I was going through a bad breakup or in Maggie's case a divorce, I feel like I would want to read this book.

Also she had a fantasy that involved Harry Styles, how could I not like Maggie?! She has taste.
Some reviews called her cringey and insufferable but why do all characters have to be perfect? We as humans are not perfect and we make a lot of mistakes especially in the moment. It cannot all be sunshine and rainbows and if by the end she was a "changed" person I am not sure if that would have felt realistic. She is definitely a work in progress.  I know I was not the best person after my breakups especially in my younger days so her antics with her ex were not all that surprising to me.

Throughout the book there were moments of google searches and different lists she came up with during her time of grief. The one list I really loved was towards the end of the book titled Journaling Exercise: Self Knowledge. It is all about the items that she wants.
Here is a sampling:
I want to be taken exactly the right amount of seriously.
I don't want to know so much about the lives of people I met one time in 2008.
I want my friends to know I care about them. I want to accept that they care about me.
I want another person to look at me with love.
I want to provide help where help is wanted.
I don't want to habitually look at the social media profiles of people who have hurt my feelings or who make me feel bad about myself or who I think I am better than.
I want to think about anything other than the shape of my stomach or if I'm a good person or who wants to fuck me or if anyone ever really love me for me.


I thought Queen narrator Julia Whelan did a wonderful job bringing Maggie to life. And how great is this cover?! I thought it conveyed Maggie and those in similar positions perfectly.