Julie's Review: The Sweet Spot

Author: Amy Poeppel
Series: None
Publication Date:  January 31, 2023
Publisher: Atria/Emily Bestler Books
Pages: 397
Obtained: publisher via Netgalley
Genre:  Contemporary Fiction
Rating: 4.5/5
Bottom Line: All about "It Takes a Village"
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Summary: In the heart of Greenwich Village, three women form an accidental sorority when a baby—belonging to exactly none of them—lands on their collective doorstep. Lauren and her family—lucky bastards—have been granted the use of a spectacular brownstone, teeming with history and dizzyingly unattractive 70s wallpaper. Adding to the home’s bohemian, grungy splendor is the bar occupying the basement, a (mostly) beloved dive called The Sweet Spot. Within days of moving in, Lauren discovers that she has already made an enemy in the neighborhood by inadvertently sparking the divorce of a couple she has never actually met. Melinda’s husband of thirty years has dumped her for a young celebrity entrepreneur named Felicity, and, to Melinda’s horror, the lovebirds are soon to become parents. In her incandescent rage, Melinda wreaks havoc wherever she can, including in Felicity’s Soho boutique, where she has a fit of epic proportions, which happens to be caught on film.​ Olivia—the industrious twenty-something behind the counter, who has big dreams and bigger debt—gets caught in the crossfire. In an effort to diffuse Melinda’s temper, Olivia has a tantrum of her own and gets unceremoniously canned, thanks to TikTok. When Melinda’s ex follows his lover across the country, leaving their squalling baby behind, the three women rise to the occasion in order to forgive, to forget, to Ferberize, and to track down the wayward parents. But can their little village find a way toward the happily ever afters they all desire? Welcome to The Sweet Spot. ~amazon.com

Review: There is a frenetic pace to The Sweet Spot that very much encapsulates the novel because as soon as you start reading you know the household is one of managed chaos and well just chaos. While this book is driven by love and heartbreak, at the core it is a story of female friendship. It is about how lives intersect in ways that you can't possibly see and how getting past your initial first impression, can be misleading. 

Melinda is very bitter as her husband left her for a younger woman out of the blue, after 30 years of marriage. She learns information that a mother at her school was the catalyst for ruining her life. So she sets off to ruin her life. Lauren Shaw is an artist and a mother who just got a major contract with Felicity's store for her homeware collection. Except it gets a little out of control with the request and the demand since she's only one person. Then there's Lauren's mom Evelyn who seems really judg-y but ends up probably being one of my favorite characters. 

This is a book that is about community or "it taking a village" to raise kids and Ms. Poeppel does an excellent job of demonstrating this. It not only takes women but it takes men stepping up and accepting their roles as well. 

There is quite a bit of humor in the novel that makes it even more enjoyable. There are poignant parts as well but the end will make you smile.