Jane and Dan at the End of the World by Colleen Oakley – Audio
ARC from PRHaudio and Netgalley for an honest review
Book Blurb:
Jane and Dan have been married for nineteen years, but Jane isn’t sure they’re going to make it to twenty. The mother of two feels unneeded by her teenagers, and her writing career has screeched to an unsuccessful halt. Her one published novel sold under five hundred copies. Worse? She’s pretty sure Dan is cheating on her. When the couple goes to the renowned upscale restaurant La Fin du Monde to celebrate their anniversary, Jane thinks it’s as good a place as any to tell Dan she wants a divorce.
But before they even get to the second course, an underground climate activist group bursts into the dining room. Jane is shocked—and not just because she’s in a hostage situation the likes of which she’s only seen in the movies. Nearly everything the disorganized and bumbling activists say and do is right out of the pages of her failed book. Even Dan (who Jane wasn’t sure even read her book) admits it’s eerily familiar. Which means Dan and Jane are the only ones who know what’s going to happen next. And they’re the only ones who can stop it. This wasn’t what Jane was thinking of when she said “’til death do us part” all those years ago, but if they can survive this, maybe they can survive anything—even marriage.
My Review: 3.5 stars
Jane and Dan at the End of the World by Colleen Oakley is a completely fresh plot that at times was completely bonkers but somehow Oakley made it work. This book is a part comedy, part mystery, part hostage situation and part couple’s therapy. It was a fun read and felt especially fresh. I love Oakley’s sense of humor, and she really shines with her banter.
I found the twist of the hostages following the book that Jane wrote to be hilarious. Her husband’s insecurities of being a podiatrist (not a real doctor) was self-depreciating but also funny.
As fresh as the story was, it was still pretty predictable, but it didn’t hinder the story. The narrators were spot on so I highly suggest the audio version as well as the book.
Quotes I liked:
It’s not the parenting that’s so exhausting as much as the performance of the same script day in and day out. Or maybe it’s the trying to fix all the things for all the people in her family, when she can’t even fix herself.”
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