Inhale Exhale
Inhale Exhale ~ Nicole MacPherson
Michelle is a 55 year old mother of three, the owner of a busy yoga studio, and a committed divorcee. Committed because she has been divorced since before the birth of her youngest child, who now a teenager, and she hasn’t dated. She doesn’t want to date, she is busy and fulfilled and living the life she wants. Isn’t she?
I suspect that many of us have either read Inhale Exhale by now, as it is the debut novel of Cool Blogger extraordinaire Nicole, or we are waiting for it to arrive. So why not give you my standard review format, and then I can put some thoughts in the ‘spoiler’ section, and you can decide whether you want to read that or not. Because I have thoughts.
My review is that I really enjoyed this book! I liked getting to know Michelle and her daughter, Livvy. I liked a glimpse into what goes in to running a yoga studio (perhaps I should send a copy to my step mom, who owned a very successful yoga studio in Portland for decades before retiring a few years ago.) I liked the wordplay and the humor and the tension. I liked the dialogue. I liked it all. Highly recommended.
Let’s discuss in the comments. Be warned if you haven’t read yet!
Spoilers! Lots and lots of spoilers!
While I loved Michelle, I worried when she brought Steve home to meet their daughter on their second date. Did that freak anyone else out? I mean, it freaked Michelle out a bit, but she felt safe and went for it. And Steve was great, so whew, that all worked out!
I worried that Steve was too much like Paul, which of course is a big part of the plot. Paul, Livvy’s father, was never around when Livvy and her two (now adult) brother were little, and when Livvy spends time at his house, he is never there and she ends up spending time with his new wife, Jessica, instead.
I wanted to slap Paul so damned hard for being excited and happy when Jessica gets pregnant, while he left his marriage to Michelle when she got pregnant with their third child. He is clearly going to be more involved with his new family than he was with his first one. So John Lennon of him.
Poor Livvy! She is absolutely thrown for a loop when Jessica gets pregnant. I thought for a bit that she was going to battle an eating disorder. Terrifying, and when she almost OD’d on pills, my heart broke for them all. I mean, I know Nicole, she was not going to kill off Livvy. But Michelle doesn’t know this!
And what about Paul and Steve? Paul is a workaholic who ignored his family, and is getting another chance with Jessica and the baby. Steve is a former workaholic (now retired) who ignored his family, and is hoping for another chance with Michelle and Livvy. He wants to do better, and I think he will, especially he doesn’t have a job to pull him away. Will Paul do better this time? Will Steve be able to repair his relationship with his daughter? Will he try?
If you are reading this section, I assume you have read the book and have thoughts as well. I loved how deftly Nicole dealt with these issues. How Michelle was not perfect and missed some red flags in her life. How close her relationship was with her kids and her sister. And the humor throughout made this book a joy to read.
2 Comments
Michelle G.
Yes to all of this! What a great review! I enjoyed the book so much and got so into the plot that I completely forgot that it was Nicole – our blogging friend Nicole – who had written it!
Yes, I was very worried about Steve for several reasons. He had previously been like Paul! I also wanted to smack Paul. What a jerk! I absolutely loved Livvy, and it was like a punch in my gut when she attempted suicide. I had to just sit there looking out the window. Thankfully, Livvy was OK…but also not OK.
I loved the humor in the book, too. It was a delight to read, and I’m so happy for Nicole! What a lovely first book. I hope she writes many more.
ernie
Oh, it sounds really good. I’ve not read it yet, so I’m dodging the spoilers. Well done, Nicole. So excited for you!