In my opinion, any book that makes me laugh out loud so much that my husband stops what he’s doing and asks me to read what is so funny is a five-star book! That is exactly what Holly Banks Full of Angst had me doing!

Holly Banks and her family have just moved into the prestigious Village of Primm where everything is perfect. The school is perfect, the houses are perfect, and most of all the moms are perfect. Each one plays an active role in their child’s education by volunteering, thanks to Queen Bee and PTA President Mary Margaret St. James! When Holly arrives at her first PTA meeting and doesn’t want to volunteer, Mary Margaret decides this means War! What follows is hilarious and cringe worthy moments as Holly tries desperately to find her place in the Village of Primm, while also realizing that perhaps everyone, even seemingly perfect moms, have their flaws.

This book is for all the moms! Any kind of mom! If you’re a mom whose kid has had a throw down fit in public because he/she doesn’t want to do something, this book is for you! If you’re a mom who feels like there is always another mom out there out-moming you in every way possible, this book is for you!

I love this book! Holly Banks makes every mom fail you’ve ever had look like a picnic on a sunny day! She is such a fun and relatable character because at some point, we’ve all been Holly.

I also loved Mary Margaret St. James and the other moms of the Village of Primm. I spent have the book with my mouth hanging open thinking “OH my God! Are these Moms Crazy? Who Acts Like that?” They were so over the top it was funny!

This book was a light, funny read, and I can't wait to find out what happens next in the Village of Primm! Thank you so much Julie Valerie for this copy and opportunity to offer a review!

Baby mamas. New mamas. Dog mamas. Any kind of mama should pick up the debut novel, Holly Banks Full of Angst by Julie Valerie. If I didn’t have a newborn at home, I would have read it in one sitting.

(From Goodreads) Holly Banks could not have made a worse first impression on the seemingly perfect moms in her new affluent community, the Village of Primm. Turns out wearing pink piggy pajama bottoms while dropping off her kindergartener late to the first day of school wasn’t her best look.

Not to mention Holly’s worried her husband may be having an affair, she can’t get her daughter to stop sucking her thumb, her hard-won film degree is collecting dust, and to top it all off, the power-hungry PTA president clearly has it in for her…

To make matters even worse, Holly’s natural eye for drama lands her smack-dab in the middle of a neighborhood mystery—right as her own crazy mother shows up in Primm “to help.” Through it all, Holly begins to realize her neighbors may be just as flawed as—and even wackier than—she is, leaving her to wonder: Is there such a thing as a perfect mom?

Valerie knocks her debut novel out of the “topiary park” (read the book so you can get that reference). Her writing is funny and unique with the additions of a script-style writing and inner monologue that matches the former film making career that Holly often refers to in the novel. Unlike many novels about hapless mothers, Holly is one likeable girl. You want to have coffee with her while you gang up on the evils of the elementary school world...overzealous PTA moms. The humor is the highlight of this story. Some of the situations are very Lucille Ball mixed with a little Roseanne and Dance Moms. It is a truly laugh-out-loud story that will make any mom feel much better about being “perfect.” The supporting characters are wonderfully written as well, especially antagonist, Mary-Margaret St. James. Her mannerisms and speech are detailed to such precision that you cringe and want to slap her yourself. Overall, this novel is the perfect beginning to the Village of Primm series by Valerie.

This novel earned a solid 4.5 stars for the irresistible mama drama, relatable characters, incredible humor, and strong writing. I would highly recommend this book to any of my mama friends and book club ladies.

Thank you Netgalley, Lake Union Publishing, and Julie Valerie for a copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Holly Banks Full of Angst hits shelves on December 1, 2019. This is the first book in the Village of Primm series.

Holly Banks and her family have just moved the beautiful town of Primm. Everything in Primm is just that, primm, proper, and perfect. All the mothers are mom of the year and always volunteer for all school events. Mary Margaret St James sees that they do. Except Holly has just moved, and wants to unpack and settle her baby into kindergarten before getting wrapped up in volunteer activities. Well that, is just unacceptable!
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Y’all know I love me some adults behaving badly, and this book certainly has that! There were times I wanted to reach through the book and smack Mary Margaret, but she also led to some seriously laugh out loud moments! Overall this was a light fun, and funny book!

If moving to a brand new town full of seemingly perfect, overachieving PTA moms wasn't already enough for Holly Banks, she sends her first and only child, Ella, to kindergarten, her husband is acting strange, and to add on to her load, her mother is relying on her too much.

Those are Holly's problems, but the Village of Primm is facing one of its own: something is killing all of their blessed topiaries, including Holly's beloved Anna Wintour.

What's not to love about this hilarious, over-the-top look at the struggles of stay-at-home motherhood while grappling with the expectation to do more all while comparing ourselves to other women?

I loved the way the author tackled this all-too common issue for stay-at-home moms through bits of screenwriting, movie allusions, texts--multiple forms of communication. I don't have a child in school yet, but I definitely feel the comparison. 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘺 helped me feel validated as a mom. Isn't that the best thing a book could do? Well, aside from granting me with lots of belly laughs!

It reads sort of like a sitcom miniseries. It's really easy to imagine Holly spitting cookie bits at Mary-Margaret St. James (wait, what?). Oh, readers. You need to meet the 𝘰𝘩, 𝘴𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭 Mary-Margaret St. James. She will make you roll your eyes like never before while simultaneously instilling pity for the woman. Bless her heart.

I cannot wait for the rest of you to read 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘉𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘍𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘴𝘵 coming December 1st! Mark your calendars because you are not going to want to miss this debut!

The verdict? Loved it. Simply loved it.

Definitely a laugh out loud funny story, with some definite truth in today's times.
Holly moves with her family to a neighborhood that reminded me of "The Stepford Wives".(Am I dating myself?)
Everyone is perfect and wants only the best for their children. life is perfect.
In moves Holly- who is not prepared nor is she willing to bake 3 dozen cupcakes or become the secretary of the PTA!
Mary- Margaret St. James, president of the PTA seems to think Holly can and will. Her motto is " No one can do everything but everyone can do something." Bringing napkins to a function is not considered "helping"!
Holly must stand up to this crazy nut!
Her daughter is only going to Kindergarten and she cannot get Ella on the bus for the first day!
Why did they move to this town of Plume?
Entertaining and a quick read. I definitely understood what Holly was feeling!

FYI: I am not leaving a review here because I am the author of this book. I am here because I'm clicking through the NetGalley widget to access the electronic file. Thanks! - Julie Valere