Camille Pagán’s hallmark is a cast of unique characters, exploring relationships and life with honesty, wit, and heart. This book delivers all that in this compelling and relatable story. Annie is a wonderful, quirky character; engaged to a man who unexpectedly heads to Paris to find himself, recently fired from a job, and conflicted about where her life will go from here. This book contains humor, heart, and bittersweet moments. I love how the story was written, through the words Annie writes in her journal, emails, texts, and even hilarious sections told through a series of Listserve notifications! I love the sentiment in this line, which is important to this story, as well as in real life: “I hope everything that comes your way is better than what has gone”.

Camille Pagán writes adorable, quirky, loveable characters like no other, and Annie, the main character in Pagán’s latest novel, This Won’t End Well, is no exception. After Annie’s fiancé informs her that he is spending a month in Paris, alone, and doesn’t want to be contacted, Annie swears off new people. Soon, though, Annie finds herself worrying for the safety of Harper, her new next-door neighbor. Not long after, Annie unexpectedly encounters Mo, a detective, who is surveilling Harper. Before she knows it, Annie has let two new people into her life and that can’t possibly end well. 

“If you’re willing to look for joy and open yourself to new possibilities, the end is not an ending at all. It’s a beginning.”

I enjoyed the unique format of journal entries, emails and texts. The emails from the neighborhood association were hilarious and relatable. 

If you haven’t read Pagán’s backlist, I highly recommend all of them…she has become one of my go-to author for witty, heartwarming stories. 

Thank you to the Tall Poppy Bloggers and author, Camille Pagán for the advanced copy; all opinions are my own. 

“I hope everything that comes your way is better than what has gone.”

Imagine a week where you quit your job because your boss has groped you, and your fiance calls from the airport to say he's off to spend a month in Paris, and please don't contact him while he's gone. Annie's reaction is to decide to withdraw from social interaction. Despite her intentions, she enters into two new relationships, and without meaning to, she does a lot of introspection and grows through these experiences.
Camille Pagan's books are endlessly entertaining, and delightfully quick reads. And while feeling light and airy, they each examine relationships in a deep and satisfying way. This Won't End Well would be a great choice for a book club--easy to read and also thought-provoking.
Thanks to #netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this work.

Having read and thoroughly enjoyed "I'm Fine and Neither are You" last year, I was delighted to have been gifted an e-arc of Camille Pagan's latest book, This Won't End Well.

Annie is a 28 year old woman, living with her mum and engaged to Jon.  She likes order, structure, plans, and advance notice, and dislikes risk.  Her life is upended when she feels she has no choice but to resign from her job as a scientist with a large pharma company because of her boss's ongoing sexual harassment towards her. Jon then decides that he is going to Paris for a month to "clear his head" in advance of their wedding, telling Annie on his way to the airport, and that he doesn't want to be contacted by her while he is away.  

Thrown by recent events, she decides to lay low for a while and take some time to get herself together, which includes not meeting any new people.  Until a mysterious young woman moves into the house next door.  Annie's life slowly changes, for the better, as she discovers not one, but two new friends and eventually through the power of friendship and close knit relationships she discovers her own true self. 

Loved, loved, loved this book!  Told through diary entries, emails and texts, it is a completely absorbing, contemporary page turner and I found it a joy to read.  The writing is witty, insightful, empathetic, and intuitive.  I adored Annie as a character.  She is totally relateable, courageous and I loved her character progression throughout the book.   

This book reminds us of the rewards that can be gained from breaking out of our own way of thinking and feeling the fear and doing it anyway.

5/5 Recommended.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy to read & review
A story for anyone who’s ever second guessed a big change -whether personal life or career. 
Sometimes, changes come along whether you want them to or not. In Annie’s case, she is forced into a career change, while at the same time her fiancé decides to take a month “to find himself before settling into married life”. What’s a girl to do?? Annie makes lemonade, of course, quickly coming up with plans both to make money and  to (hopefully) try and decrease stress in her personal life. But you know the saying-man plans and God laughs. You won’t want to miss this story!

I enjoyed this witty and entertaining novel. The characters were likeable and the plot kept me interested.  It was fast paced and kept me captivated for an afternoon. 
Many thanks to Lake Union Publishing and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I didn’t love this book the way I did the authors other books.   Annie is a scientist trying to make her way by making others happy.  I wanted to like her and think she was quirky, but she came off as dry.  I wish she had a little more spunk.  I loved her relationship with her mom.  I was glad Annie grew enough during the book that she was able to go after her own happiness.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC! 
Camille Pagán is one of my favorite authors and she does not disappoint with this book. I love how it is written in email and diary form. And, of course, Annie is 100% lovable as well. Even though it was a bit predictable that she would end up with Mo in the end, I didn’t really mind as they were perfect for each other. 
I loved that Annie found the strength to go back to her former employer and tell her story of terrible sexual harassment. Scenes like this keep the book from being a typical romance novel.
 Well done, as always, Ms. Pagán!

Thank you Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for this ARC. I received this book in exchange of my honest opinion.

I was a bit excited since I have heard great things about the author. The plot sounded really good and I was happy that I got a chance to read and review it early. 

This story revolves around Annie who has recently lost her job when her boss Todd sabotaged her chemistry career and her fiance wanted some 'space' and 'time' away from her. So he packs a bag and left her alone to go to Paris. She realised that her best friend is not best towards her. In short , this book started with chaos. But that's the beauty of it. I had all the makings of a good book. It is long but doesn't drag and the characters were very funny and humorous. I wasn't bored for a moment. Annie was someone I could relate too. She was a smart girl with a great sense of humor and her antics were so funny. Her chemistry with Mo was unexpected and fun. The author didn't create unnecessary drama between the characters. Even Annie's relation with her fiance was very amiable and affectionate one. It was all pretty proportionate. Another great thing about this book was Annie's mother and her friendship with Harper. I loved Annie. She was logical, smart and so funny. Pagan's new book is unputdownable.

I loved my first ever Camille Pagan book and I had a great time reading Annie's story. The cover is very pretty too. There are certain things towards  the end that you won't see coming but you all have to read it to find out about it. Hope you all like it as much as I did. I recommend it to all romance/women's fiction lovers.

Happy reading.

I have thoroughly enjoyed every book by Camille  Pagan, and this book was no exception. If you are looking for a Easy,, light read that is just enjoyable , then settle down for a great afternoon.  You won’t cry, feel angst, feel great joy, or learn new life lessons.  It’s fluff and that’s not a criticism because there are days that I need this. The story goes off on a weird tangent and spying on a neighbor that felt forced but the story definitely needed something to shake things up a bit. The major plot line of fiancé moving out of the country right before their wedding to find himself does not bode well for any relationship and I expected the story to be more about how Annie recovered and rebuilt her life. It was disappointing and unrealistic to perpetuate that relationship without consequence throughout the story.

I have read several books by Camille Pagan, and this book is every bit as good as the other's I've read.

When Annie's fiance John decides he  wants to have some space from their relationship by moving to France alone, Annie realizes the loss of her science-based job was not her lowest moment. Taking a break, Annie soon meets her neighbor Harper and Mo, a friend who wants to help Harper.

The dialogue was fun, and the book does take some twists and turns readers will enjoy. All in all, a solid offering from Camille Pagan!

Camille Pagan is one of my favorite authors of contemporary women's fiction, so I was excited to get an advance copy of her latest book, coming out next month, and happy to say it didn't disappoint. At the start of this novel, main character Annie is having a tough time - problems with her job, fiancee, best friend, mother, etc - and decides that she is going to stop getting to know new people. Of course, she inevitably lets a few new people into her life, and ends up figuring some things out about herself as a result. I've certainly read other novels with some variation of that basic premise of a quirky closed off character that ends up opening up to others and changing as a result, but this book still does it in an entertaining fashion, and I also liked how the book is written in the form of e-mails, journal entries, etc. Perhaps not the most realistic book, but a cute quick read.

I found the novel to be well-written and enjoyable though I didn’t necessarily affiliate with the characters. 

To say that things aren’t going well for Annie is an understatement.  She was fired from a job that she thoroughly enjoyed.  Her fiancé, Jon appears to be having an “early” mid-life crisis and takes off to France with a “to-be-determined” return date.  Annie lives with her mom.  Her best friend is always trying to sell her crap that she doesn’t need or want.  And thanks to the pity of neighbors, she accepts housekeeping jobs.  Annie’s outlook is bleak until Harper moves next door.  She is chic and poised and seems to have some serious secrets.  A reporter keeps snooping around and since Annie has an unquenchable curiosity and just so happens to have a lot of free time - she is determined to figure out what is going on.

Inevitably Annie learns more about herself, begins to take some chances and fights for the life that she truly wants. 

I received an advance copy of this novel; all opinions are my own.

A special thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Annie Mercer has sworn off people after her boss sabotaged her career and her best friend tried to cure her with crystals. Now Jon, her fiancé, said that he needs space while gallivanting around Paris.

So Annie decides to focus instead on her new cleaning business. But when Harper moves into the house next door, Annie can't help being intrigued by the glamorous, yet fragile, woman and makes it her mission to keep an eye on her. Enter Mo, an amateur detective, that Annie teams up with to keep Harper safe.

After breaking her rule by letting two new people into her life, Jon reappears and wants her to come to France. She has a feeling that letting anyone get to close won't end well and that a second chance may not be worth the risk.

From the onset I was smitten with Annie's biting and sarcastic wit—it is so refreshing to read about an intelligent woman (Annie is a scientist). There are going to be a lot of readers that relate to Annie's wanting to withdraw from people in reaction to being hurt. But what's beautiful about this story is that it reminds us that given the chance, there are people that will surprise you in the best way.

The epistolary narrative style was a good choice because it really highlighted Annie's character. She's quirky, direct, and literal. It also played to her scientific mind, how she approached things, and it was the perfect vehicle to show her growth and self-discovery.

Where Pagán missed the mark is in the actual chemistry—the romantic kind, not the science kind. They relationships just didn't work for me, and neither did the ending. And why the Epilogue? Totally unnecessary. Dare I say that it was also perhaps a little more campy than her other books. That being said, I would still recommend it. Simply put, Camille's writing is engaging. She knows when to inject humour, and when to give in to the emotional aspects of the story.

This Won't End Well was a fun, quick, and overly enjoyable book.

Fans of Camille Pagan will be thrilled to see her back on the shelves with a new cast of quirky, fun and lovable characters. Follow the story of Annie Mercer, a scientist navigating the crossroads of all sorts of important life decisions hitting the big three; marriage, family and career. Told in a mixed array of narrative devices including diary entries, emails, texts and even neighborhood socials. I truly enjoyed reading this and it was the perfect read for me to pick up after a long day. Is it true, this won't end well? You can only find out by setting your clock for this novel's, February 24, pub date!

I really liked the narrative choice of telling the story through the Annie's diary, which helped convey her character's portrayal to the reader. The romance plotline sure was sweet, but my favourite parts were the friendships created or strengthened along the way and of course the main character's personal growth.
One thing that I found unnecessary was the last bit (epilogue?) that told the events about one year after the story ended. It felt a bit disconnected from the main part and I just thought it was not needed.
Other than that and the fact that it took me some time to get into it, the book was really interesting and simply adorable - a quick, easy and relaxing read, which explores the risk of opening up and the potential joy of it, friend and family relationships and more.

Cute! Annie is a charmingly quirky chemist who is going through a rough patch in life. She’s between jobs and her fiancé has gone to Paris to find himself. We follow Annie as she leaves her comfort zone, forms new friendships, and grows as a person. This is a sweet, light read with poignant moments.

This Won’t End Well by Camille Pagan is so funny and witty. Camille is a clever author whose writing style flows well and she always writes engaging stories. I will read anything and everything she writes! My favorite book of hers is Life and Other Near-Death Experiences.

Here’s the scoop:

No new people: that’s Annie Mercer’s vow. It’s bad enough that her boss sabotaged her chemistry career and her best friend tried to cure her with crystals. But after her fiancé, Jon, asks for space while he’s gallivanting around Paris, Annie decides she needs space too—from everyone.

Yet when Harper moves in next door, Annie can’t help but train a watchful eye on the glamorous but fragile young woman. And if keeping Harper safe requires teaming up with Mo, a maddeningly optimistic amateur detective, who is she to mind her own business?

Soon Annie has let not one but two new people into her life. Then Jon reappears—and he wants her to join him in France. She’s pretty sure letting anyone get close won’t end well. So she must decide: Is another shot at happiness worth the risk?

If you are looking for a book that will whisk you away from real life and leave you feeling pretty positive and happy then this is the book for you. I love books like this in-between heavier reads!

Out on February 25

A main character you can relate to, side characters you end up loving more than you thought you would, some humour, some sadness, some intrigue and some tough decisions. 
Annie is not your average heroine, she is a scientist, focuses on facts, and has a policy of not allowing new people into her life. But life isn't a clean lab environment and some people come in and out of your life whether you want it or not. 
You don't know what to expect and and half-way through I just couldn't put it down anymore.

THIS WON’T END WELL by Camille Pagán is a touching and heartwarming story of love, family and friendship that captivated me from the very beginning. I really liked the fresh approach of using journal entries, emails and texts to tell the story. Annie Mercer had a perfectly-planned and predictable life, just the way she liked it.  Although she had to give up her dream of attending MIT to come home and care for her mother, she has a job she loves and she and her fiancé, Jon will soon be married.  Suddenly, her whole life is turned upside down. She is forced out of her job and Jon has suddenly decided he needs time away alone in France to find himself before he commits to their marriage. Even worse is that he doesn’t want any contact from her while he is away. Annie has even become estranged from her best friend. Stunned and feeling out of control, Annie starts a business cleaning the homes of some of her neighbors while she re-evaluates her choices and her future. Although she has sworn off contact with new people, two people come into her life that have her questioning everything she knew before. The entries in her journal and the emails and texts she sends to Jon and the other characters allow the reader to follow her journey of self-discovery and growth. Even though the story touches on some hard subjects, it is told with warmth, compassion and humor. I truly enjoyed this heartfelt and enjoyable novel and highly recommend it!  Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read an early copy.