I was bored with my usual fare so I tried something amusing and interesting.
Surprise! It was a really great book. I haven't laughed that hard in a very long time. It's not all fun and games but this was a funny book.

From page one, See Jane Snap lures the reader with Jane, the amusingly overwhelmed main character. Between bolstering her husband’s career for the greater good, rescuing her debt-laden sister, worrying over her mother with dementia, or pacifying her defiant teenager, Jane balances life like a boss, but every woman has her limit.

Jane faces her breaking point. In a desperate moment, she pilfers medication from a friend’s purse. While the medication doesn’t pan out to be the antidepressant Jane had hoped, it serves to fuel the bigger story. A trifecta of well-aimed oranges, a handsome cop, and court-mandated counseling send her down an enlightening trail, unwinding her façade, and revealing the true measure of her grit. Jane is the relatable and convincing superhero of her own adventure.

Crandell’s expertly crafted scenes deliver belly laughs and authentic tenderness, framing Jane’s story with emotion and heart. On the heels of The Jake Ryan Complex, Crandell’s sophomore women’s fiction novel proves she has what it takes to deliver characters we’ll welcome into our lives.

The cover of this book truely drew me in as my first book to read by Bethany Crandell.
Jane appears to have it all from the outside - the perfect family, the big house, good job and the president of the PTA. Behind closed doors, she is crumbling and this all comes to a head one night in a carpark.

I really loved the premise of the book but found myself wanting to shake Jane, and for that reason, I give it a middle of the road rating.

Thanks for the ARC copy!

Jane Osbourne seems to have the perfect life. She’s married to a top surgeon, her daughter attends private school where she chairs the PTA, and she’s able to provide for her ailing mother.

But things aren’t always what they seem. Jane has recently learned that her husband has been living a secret life for their entire marriage. But for the sake of his career, and the security that it provides, Jane must go on maintaining appearances. How long can she keep going before she snaps?

See Jane Snap is the first book by Bethany Crandell that I’ve read and I really enjoyed it. It’s a quick read, full of laugh out loud moments. Jane is a relatable character that you will definitely be rooting for. If you enjoy suburban housewife stories, this is definitely one to check out!

Jane has everything - successful husband, cute kid, she’s the president of the PTA. She does all she can to maintain appearances of the perfectly put together life. In this social media crazed world where the perfectly curated life is the norm, Jane’s story is quite relatable. Her life seems perfect until there is a literal snap and we see Jane crumble under her many responsibilities and lies she has tried to maintain. With humor and wit, Crandall has written a story representative of our times of overcommitment and false images.

Charming, clever, relatable, and at times pretty darn funny. As an involved mom, professional PTA and classroom volunteer, and supportive wife of a career-driven husband, I found myself nodding my head and "yep!" so many times while reading. Fortunately, I haven't had to relate to some of the situations Jane did, but due to the similarities in our lives I cheered her along so much. I also found myself wondering quite a few times, and realizing I have no idea what I would do if faced with Jane's situation. It's an easy answer on the surface, but when you realize the decision of on person can tear up the life you've worked so hard to build and maintain for your children, parents, sibling.....it's not such an easy answer.

This is a quick read. Cheerful even when dealing with tough topics. Not too deep but still well-written. I enjoyed it and would recommend to any 30-40 something woman holding with a spouse, career, children, especially all of the above.

I liked the premise of this book, but the execution seemed to fall flat about midway through. Crandell’s character development is superficial and rely on cliche. The ending was lackluster and just seemed to fade away. If you are interested in a main character who is a hot mess, and who isn’t as some point or another, this is definitely the book for you.

Perception is not necessarily reality. On the surface, Jane has it all. A husband that’s a revered surgeon, a cute 12 year old daughter, and Jane is on every committee in their small influential town of Mount Ivy.

But live inside Jane’s world and you’ll see that Jane’s husband has a big secret, her daughter is a juvenile delinquent in the making, her mother has dementia, and her younger sister can’t even hold down a job as a Pilates instructor.

One night Jane Snaps. From that low point, Jane has to decide who she really is.

This was a quick and easy read. Instead of being a heavy read (because honestly, Jane has a lot going on), this book was written in such a way that I felt more entertained than sad.

I think Jane’s character personifies a lot of people. She is worried way more about other people than herself and she is trying to keep a changing life status quo.

I liked the secondary characters especially her old high school classmate and a group of unlikely women that give Jane a dose a reality.

To everyone else, it seems that Jane has everything she could ever want….but it's all a lie. The reader watches as she tries to hold on to her life and the inevitable implosion that will happen. Full of wit, humor, and a little crazy, this book is somehow relatable in some way to everyone.

You want to root for her, you want to laugh, you want to cry...and then you want to do it all over again. This book is well balanced, and an enjoyable read. Thank you @bethany_crandell @amazonpublishing @letstalkbookspromo for the eBook.

Jane Osborne is a very busy woman. She is the wife to Dan, a very successful Cardiothoracic surgeon and mother to teenage daughter, Avery. In addition, she is the President of the PTA and in charge of endless fundraisers for Avery’s school. She attends all of Avery’s sports games and practices and tries to keep her from getting into trouble. Jane’s mother has dementia and thanks to the money Dan makes, she is able to keep the woman in a nice nursing home. Add to all of that, Jane’s sister, Julie, is without a job and Jane gives her money and pays her rent.

Jane often gets with other doctors’ wives at what they call the Second Wives Club of Mount Ivy General Hospital. They have a light lunch, some have lots of booze and talk about the wonderful pills they get from a Dr. Jill. (Jane would so love to have a anti-depressant pill but won’t do it - until she gives in and takes one from one of the wives’ pill bottle.) Right now, Jane is helping to promote the hospital looking for a large donation for a wealthy couple. Meeting with the couple and Dan for dinner has put a huge strain on Jane because she is having to hide her hatred for Dan. Why? Well, he confessed that he likes men. He carries on his second life and Jane just has to accept it. Divorce is not an option as she has her mother to think of. So, she starts wearing a rubber band on her wrist and snapping it when she feels herself about to boil over.

One evening, Jane is so angry having to do one more chore that she snaps, takes the stolen pill and it ends up being more than an anti-depressant the results of which land her in jail. Now, she’s having to attend a course first time offenders where she meets other women facing real problems. Can she turn things around and let go of her anger and, hopefully, make some changes in her life so she can be happy?

There are a lot of emotions in this book with one glaring concept. That is that anyone who undertakes too many responsibilities leaving them this tightly coiled is bound is explode. The characters are all very well-developed. Even those that you want to smack at first end up redeeming themselves. There are many things to be learned from this book which makes it even more appealing. I enjoyed it and hope others will as well.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Jane had me hooked from the first page. From the outside, she seems to have it all- a lovely house, married to a successful doctor (Dr Daniel Osborne) and president of the PTA. However, all is not as it seems. Her daughter Abery is causing trouble at school, her mum has Alzheimer's, she's always bailing her sister Julie out and her husband has a secret which could ruin everything.

I loved Bethany Crandell's authentic and quirky writing style. The podcasts were hilarious and the whole supermarket scenario with the the cat food lady, the oranges and the ecstasy tablet were so well written.

This was a great, fun read which I devoured in a few hours this evening.

Thanks indeed to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. I will definitely recommend this one and look forward to reading more by this author.

Thank you to @letstalkbookspromo & @bethany_crandell for including me in this tour and for the gifted book along with @netgalley
This book is out now!

Jane seems to have it all. She has a handsome and successful husband, an adorable daughter and a lead role on the PTA.

But behind closed doors, things are a mess. Jane lies- to others and herself. She struggles with her relationships. She’s unhappy. And then she snaps and everything comes to the surface and she must face the reality of her choices and figure out how to move forward.

This book has lots of funny moments (hello oranges!) and will appeal to many readers.

One big disclaimer though: Zoloft is an SSRI and is something you take daily, takes a few weeks to kick in and doesn’t impact the ability to drive or do daily activities. Mental health representation is so important and this is the primary reason for my star rating.

It took me a while to get into this one. It wasn't until about 50-60% through that I really felt like I hit a nice stride while reading. The beginning of me felt like constant stream of red flags from everyone in Jane's life, including Jane, but I did really liked the ladies from the meetings. I just wasn't invested at all until halfway through, which was a shame.

*Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an early copy of this book for review, all opinions are my own*

3.5 stars

It's always interesting for me to read books about characters older than me, as I feel that I learn a lot from them, with this book was no different.
This was a very quick book to read, the author's writing is very fluid and easy to understand, the story itself I found a bit dramatic but the reflections they bring were very important and even well-crafted.
This is a story that you know is not real, as everything that happens is a little too extreme, but it has a touch of reality in many parts that you can identify with and know that it is possible to happen.
I liked the book, it was a read I recommend if you like books about women in their 40s discovering how to live again, because for me that's what this story is about, about how Jane realizes that her life is not so perfect but she can still be happy!

A whitty entertaining read. You see Jane trying to “keep it together” with every aspect of her life which ultimately leads her to “snap” I throughly enjoyed the book, a good few topics are explored and dealt with rather well.

3.5 ⭐️💫

I really enjoyed this book and how relatable it is to real life! I am sure many of us repress our emotions and bottle things up until we can’t take it anymore and just want to SNAP! That is exactly what the main character in the book, Jane, experiences. She has a lot on her plate, experiences a lot of anxiety, yet she slaps on a fake smile for all to see, until she just can’t anymore.

Family relationships play a big part in Jane’s anxiety-as she is married to a surgeon, Dan, and has a troubled 12 year old daughter. Jane has to try to keep everyone happy and put everyone else’s needs before her own. She carries the weight of the world on her shoulders, but one can only take so much.

This book had me laughing one moment and then feeling sad for Jane as well. It is a story of discovering ones true self and happiness. I love the creative plot, the writing-and the main character, Jane, as she is very likable. The author did a really good job with keeping my interest and making me laugh throughout the book. Jane is such a well developed character, I found myself rooting for her from the beginning & hoping that all would work out for Jane in the end.

Read this book if: you struggle with juggling life, you experience anxiety, feel like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders, are a busy mom or wife, or just want a super enjoyable quick read!

This book is so relatable in so many ways! Pretty sure we all had bottled up our emotions at some point in our lives and kept them hidden until we can’t contain them anymore and we just exploded! We either regretted our actions or felt relief upon release. In this novel, Jane had so much going for her until her perfect life threatened to fall apart. Because of her childhood experiences, her ultimate goal was to provide security and stability to her daughter. I can totally understand why she went along with her husband’s wishes - that of keeping his secret and basically being his beard. Her snapping and releasing all her pent up emotions led to both good and bad circumstances. The throwing of oranges plus the scenes with Officer Chavez were hilarious!!! But I was really glad that she was able to confront her reality and face it head on, subsequently finding out what’s best for her. I loved the friendships she formed along the way and her second chance at love. Although there were some issues regarding the use of Zoloft in the story (the author might have been referring to Xanax instead of Zoloft?!?!), it didn’t really affect my overall takeaway from the story. I understood Jane’s dilemma, her pain and her experiences, and even Dan’s reasons for not disclosing his sexuality. But I sure hope the final copies would have been edited correctly!!! I’d hate for people to be misinformed, especially about mental health medications. All in all, I enjoyed reading/seeing Jane Snap. It’s out now and is available at your local bookstores and also on Kindle Unlimited.

Rating:4.5/5

See Jane Snap is about one of those moments. Jane, a mom under too much pressure between deceptions and inequities in her marriage, her daughter getting in trouble, her mom’s deteriorating health, feuds with her sister and pressures related to her husband’s job, has enough one day and snaps in the parking lot of a grocery store. Throwing oranges at a random stranger’s car kind of snapping. The book takes us on Jane’s journey post meltdown, full of self reflection and growth.

This book had me laughing out loud. And while some of the storyline about Jane’s husband and his deceptions didn’t sit well with me (DM me if you want to discuss), there is an incredibly important underlying theme that permeated throughout the book that is invaluable. The concept that you never really know what is going on in someone’s life. By all appearances, Jane’s life was perfect. It wasn’t. Jane had a group of mom friends who all had perfect lives. They didn’t. The other characters in the book (without spoilers!) were not what Jane initially thought them to be. Such a critical message in the social media world that we live in, where everyone appears to have it all together. They don’t. It is a glimpse of a perfectly curated moment in someone’s life but it isn’t real. People don’t post the messy. But we should. This book is the perfect reminder that everyone has the messy and not only do we need to really get to know someone before we make snap judgments, we need to stop comparing ourselves to others because their real life is much more real than it appears.

Thank you to the author, Montlake and NetGalley, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fast read, following the theme of life as depicted on social media versus IRL. I laughed, I empathized with the heroine and I loved her snarky and self-aware voice - but I also wish there had been a bit more depth to her, to help the reader understand why fitting in and preserving the image she presents was so important to her. Much of this is predictable, but I found it a satisfying read.

Thirty-nine-year-old Jane Osborne appears to have everything and is living the best life. Her daughter Avery attends private school, Jane chairs the PTA and sits on many fundraising committees and all her friends envies her marriage to Dan, the handsome, prominent surgeon, but… it’s all a ruse. After eighteen years of marriage, Dan’s revealed that he’s been living a double life and is in love with a man. But for the sake of his career, Jane must keep his secret and live a lie.

Jane agrees to maintain appearances. But soon the weight of Dan’s deception and the pain of his betrayal get the better of her. Something’s got to give.

See Jane snap. Quite publicly. And a bit unlawfully. With brutal honesty, Jane must confront her choices head-on and determine—for herself—if the facade of stability she’s been protecting is worth the price of her own sanity and happiness.

I wasn’t sure what to think of this book – I truly felt sorry for Jane having to live the lie and maintain appearances however I also wanted her to have a back bone and just tell Dan that she was leaving to live her own life, but I get that he was holding a lot of things against her, and was showing signs of coercive behaviour towards her.

I like the female characters in books to be feisty and stand up for themselves, and although Jane did show rare moments of that, there were other times when I felt she was a sad sap and very naive. I also absolutely hated Dan and at times Avery and thought that she needed a severe talking to at times.

There were laugh out loud moments as well, which was nice, but sorry, for me most of the story wasn’t believable and I just didn’t enjoy it.