Lessons in Laughing Out Loud
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3.0 • 1 Rating
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- $1.99
Publisher Description
Internationally bestselling author Rowan Coleman delivers a heartwarming new tale about a recent divorcee who finds the courage to tackle her weight issues, her love life, and the dark family secret that has haunted her for years.
Willow Briar (known as Will) is thirty-six-years old, five feet two, and a size eighteen. Now that she’s divorced, Will’s social life revolves around her job—working for her demanding talent agent boss Victoria Kincade—and her best friend Daniel Fayre, a successful fashion photographer for whom she harbors a secret crush.
An identical twin, Will has struggled with her self-esteem for years—particularly when she looks at her slim, married, happy sister. One day she finds her luck suddenly turning around after buying a fabulous pair of vintage shoes that make her feel slimmer, taller, and sexier. These shoes seem to have a secret history, and Will starts to wonder if they are a little bit magic.
Little does she know not even a magic eight ball could predict the shocking turn her life is about to take or that the courage she needs to confront her deep-seated issues will require more than a fashion makeover—it will take a life makeover. Armed with newfound confidence to begin her journey, Will finds the courage to face the dark family secrets of her past—and claim the future meant for her.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Magical shoes inspire a total life makeover in Coleman's sixth novel (after The Home for Broken Hearts). Though her friends count her as "always up for a good night out," Willow Briars actually finds little in life worth laughing about these days. She's jumped from job to job, pursued unattainable men, and fought the low self-esteem that comes with her full figure (her thin, successful, happily married identical twin sister isn't helping). While running an errand for her overbearing boss one day, Willow discovers a pair of vintage pumps in a mysterious back-alley shop that slim her instantly but turn her life upside down. Later that night, her 15-year-old ex-stepdaughter, Chloe, shows up, pregnant and terrified. As Willow searches for ways to help, she confronts her own failed marriage and finds inspiration to begin making positive changes. Repairing her psyche, however, will also mean confronting a traumatic past and exposing that old chestnut: a long-held family secret. After sidelining an initially intriguing premise, Coleman's tone veers wildly from romantic comedy to gritty drama, making her heroine hard to pin down. Whether seeking humor or pathos, readers will likely be disappointed on either front.
