Book number 14 in my 2017 Goodreads Reading Challenge is Changing Lanes by Kathleen Long.

‘Abby Halladay has the perfect life. Or, rather, she will…as long as everything goes exactly according to plan. Abby never leaves anything to chance—not her job as a syndicated columnist, not her engagement to her fiancé, Fred, and certainly not her impending wedding in Paris (New Jersey, that is).

Unfortunately for Abby, even the best-laid plans often go awry—like when Fred runs away to Paris (France, that is), her column is canned, and her dream home is diagnosed with termites. Forced to move back in with her parents and drive her dad’s cab, Abby’s perfect life has now officially become the perfect disaster.

Then a funny thing happens. Slowly but surely, Abby begins letting go of her dreams of perfection. As she does, the messy, imperfect life she thought she never wanted starts to feel exactly like the one she needs.

Poignant and heartfelt, Changing Lanes celebrates the unexpected joys of everyday life—and the enduring promise of second chances.’

Firstly I should probably say that I seem to have developed a bit of a ‘thing’ for small town American novels…there are still a few reviews to come on novels like this, so I hope you are prepared!

I enjoyed this novel.  I liked that Abby felt she had the perfect life, but as it starts to disintegrate around her she realises that what she wants is not necessarily ‘picture perfect’.  We all have a vision of what we believe our lives should be like, but that vision and the reality can often be quite different.  Actually achieving what we believe we want can sometimes not actually bring us the happiness that we seek, and this is exactly what happens to Abby.  When Fred leaves her she is forced to rethink her life and what she really wants from it, something that eventually becomes a positive experience for her, even if she does spend a large portion of the novel in denial that Fred has really gone.

I enjoyed the fact that this novel makes you think about your own life decisions a little, and also what your own perception of a perfect life really is.  It’s a great piece of chick lit, with some romance thrown in for good measure.  Give it a read!

Rating: 📖 📖 📖 📗