Book Review: "Penelope in Retrograde" by Brooke Abrams

Wow, this was a fun book! It was my second choice from September's Amazon First Reads, but of course Prime members were only allowed to pick one that month. But I jumped on it as soon as it was published.

Despite the wishes of her parents, Penelope didn't graduate from Princeton, nor did she take a job at her father's engineering firm. Instead, she followed her true passion—writing—and now she's a successful romance writer. But given the disdain with which her parents view her choices (they don't even know her pen name), as well as her penchant for running away when family tensions get high, she's fairly estranged from everyone.

When she and her two roommates—also romance writers—develop an idea for a new romance-only bookstore, they need an infusion of capital. So it's time for Penelope to try and mend fences with her family to see if her father would be willing to invest in her new business venture. And what better time than the Thanksgiving holiday? She heads back to the family home on Coronado, and prepares to be reunited with her parents, her twin sister Phoebe, and her beloved Nana Rosie.

But things start awkwardly. Penelope's ride share from the airport has an unexpected passenger: Smith, her ex-husband. They've not really spoken since their marriage imploded, so he's the last person she thought she'd see. They endure a strange ride, during which Penelope feels some of the old chemistry between them as well as reinforcement that their divorce was the right decision. And to add to her tension, her mother is trying to set her up with one of her father's employees, Martin, who will be having Thanksgiving dinner with them.

It's not long before Penelope is fighting with her parents and Phoebe, and trying to convince Martin to be her fake boyfriend so Smith didn't think she was still pining for him. But what to do when you find yourself falling back into the same patterns with your family, rehashing old arguments and hurts? Can she stand up for herself without putting her potential business venture at risk?

Penelope in Retrograde is a fun and heartfelt story about love, friendship, following your dreams, family (both blood and chosen), and the pull of the stars. While some of the familial tension definitely was more her family's fault than Penelope's, I know what it's like to feel like you're always the one in the wrong. This really was a great balance of humor, romance, and emotion.