Regrets Only by Erin Duffy
Series: standalone
Published by William Morrow Paperbacks on May 8, 2018
Genres: Womens Fiction
Pages: 416
Format: Paperback
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon
Rating:

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

From the author of Bond Girl and Lost Along the Way, comes a fiercely funny, insightful story of marriage, family, and the crooked path to figuring out who we really are.
Claire thought she had everything a woman was supposed to want—a loving husband, a newborn son, a beautiful home in the suburbs. Then she walks in on her husband canoodling with their realtor in their newly renovated kitchen, and in an instant, her perfect life comes crashing down.  
With her marriage heading for divorce, Claire knows it’s time to stop feeling sorry for herself. But how can she move on when she’s still stuck in the orbit of her husband’s world? For starters, she can get rid of her soon-to-be ex’s possessions—including his prized, gigantic foosball table—by dumping them onto the curb…until complaints from the neighbors get the police involved. Now Claire is busy dodging the mean mommies at story hour and hiding from her ex-husband’s girlfriend in the grocery store. But as Claire soon learns, suburbia still has a few surprises in store for her—surprises that will make her question her choices from the past, send her down an unexpected road to self-discovery, and maybe even lead to new love.
Desperate for a positive outlet to channel her frustrations, she turns to girlfriends Lissy and Antonia for help. Together they join forces to rebrand Lissy’s local stationery store and turn it into a thriving business. But as Claire soon learns, suburbia still has a few surprises in store for her—surprises that will make her question her choices from the past, send her down an unexpected road to self-discovery, and maybe even new love.
Featuring a second coming-of-age story, Regrets Only deftly explores the subtle nuances of marriage, family, friendship, and what it means to be a woman today, while delighting readers as its unforgettable heroine acts on impulses we’ve all been guilty of having.

Regrets Only follows a woman named Claire. Claire thinks she is really happy, she has a perfect husband who she moved from Chicago to Connecticut to be with, and a baby boy. Just when she thought her marriage couldn’t be more perfect her husband surprises her with a night off in the city with a full spa treatment. When Claire accidentally forgets her keys and comes back home, she finds her realtor in lingerie making waffles and drinking in her kitchen. Claire ends up literally catching her husband with his pants down while their baby son is sleeping upstairs.

Hurt beyond belief Claire ends up going through divorce, dealing with her feelings and rebuilding her life with the help of some amazing friends.

This book doesn’t seem to get a lot of positivity on goodreads, but I found that I actually really enjoyed it.

I enjoyed Erin Duffy’s writing a whole lot. It was snarky, funny, light and entertaining. I found it fast paced and the conversations humorous. I never felt like she was trying so hard.

The story itself is definitely very character driven. Claire is a jaded character, she is hurt, she is furious, and she flies off the handle because her world completely fell apart. Given Claire’s situation, I totally understood where her wild emotions were coming from. Claire couldn’t go home to Chicago, where most of her support network is because her ex-husband wants her to stay in Connecticut due to their son. Claire doesn’t know anyone there so her awesome best friend Antonia (Erin Duffy if you are listening, this girl really needs a book) ends up moving in with Claire to help her. To top it off, Claire has to watch her soon to be ex, parade his new girlfriend around town and won’t let her sell the house and move. The house where Claire feels uncomfortable because that is where she found the affair happening. Claire is very emotional and does some although funny, but questionable things and sometimes you wonder if she will ever grow as a character, but she does. Her feelings very were real and human and I personally totally see where she was coming from and why she was letting her emotions run the show.

I was glad to see Claire grow as a person towards the ends of the book and finally start to build some sort of life for herself outside of the old one she left behind. It wasn’t an easy road, and given her ex-husband’s reasons for the affair, I don’t think we can all judge that moment in time how each of us would ever behave in those kind of situations, but I can imagine the pain that Claire went through. Though some people found her emotions and actions unjustifiable, I can honestly say that it was nothing compared to what I have seen other jaded women had done in their life.

Overall, this was a fun read that is perfect for the summer with interesting characters and humor. I am looking to reading more future books from this author.