Let's Pretend This Will Work

I just finished listening to Let's pretend this will work by Maddie Dawson and here is my review.

Mimi Perkins lives her life based on what her psychic has to say so when a divorced drama teacher at Mimi's school proposes to her, it seems like Mimi is on the right track.

That is until right after proposing, Ren receives a call that his ex wife has been in a bad car accident and he goes rushing off to help. Then everything falls apart. She loses her job at the school, and her landlord evicts her. Not knowing what to do, she allows Ren to move her into a new apartment near his ex, in another state.

Below her new place is a quirky co-op daycare and within the walls she finds a purpose. She finds friends, she finds herself and she finds unexpected happiness and none of that seems to include Ren.

This might be the cutest and quirkiest book I have ever read. Mimi is so adorable. Unsure of herself and it gets her into predicaments. Being with Ren wasn't something that fit her mold so she was bending herself to be something she wasn't. She allowed herself to be pushed into things she didn't want but fate corrects her path. That's how it felt to me anyway.
I really enjoyed the difference in her relationship with Ren and the budding friendship between her and Jamie. Ren is pathetic but Mimi allows him to treat her this way so when she finally stands up for herself... It was a hallelujah moment for me. As a strong woman who played doormat for many years, I get it. I understand her and while she may have upset some readers, I know women like her really exist and when we fly... ROAR!!!!


I wish I knew more about the skirt. It was my only con for this book. Don't ask me why, I'm an odd one. I loved all the dynamics in this book and how much Jamie's daughter loved Mimi right from the beginning without any reservations and I think that might have been my favorite relationship of the whole book. Even Jamie allowed his dead wife's family to dictate his life for a good portion of the book so all the characters had their weaknesses but I loved how the book ended.
4.5 stars. Too cute for words. Great audio book.

Thank you @netgalley and @brilliancepublishing for my gifted copy

Messy Magical Maddie Dawson Book. One of the reasons I so love Dawson's writing is because even her main characters are usually *far* from perfect - but manage to live their lives and largely achieve their goals anyway, even as we come to love them for their flaws. This book is no different, with the dose of magical realism at play here being a brief visit to a psychic that sets in play several of the decisions our main character ultimately makes. Obviously, if you're looking for some pure paragon of whatever ideal you may have... Dawson's books aren't the place to find those kind of characters, and this being a Dawson book, well, like I said already... not the kind of characters you're going to find here.

But I really do love that Dawson always manages to bring it around to a happy ending... even when it isn't the ending the character thought they would get at the beginning of the book (hello, character growth! story arc! etc :D) and perhaps isn't the ending the reader saw for that character, but still ultimately works within the story told to that point.

If you like quirky /funky / off beat / off the wall / decent amount of WTF moment kind of tales, you're going to enjoy this book. If you're more a tried and true straight arrow type, eh, *I* still enjoyed this book, but you may not.

Overall a fun book and another solid entry in Dawson's catalog. Very much recommended.