DON'T MAKE ME TURN THIS LIFE AROUND BY CAMILLE PAGAN

8/4/2021

While I love the message that Don’t Make Me Turn This Life Around sends, I have to say the content was really depressing. I was expecting this to be a lighthearted and funny read but find myself feeling really sad while reading it.

Rating: ★★★
Release Date: May 11, 2021
Genre: Women's Fiction
Series: None. Complete standalone.
Pages: 251 pages
Format: Paperback. Source: Purchased.

A witty and unexpected novel about a woman trying to keep her family vacation—and yes, her life—from going south by the Amazon Charts bestselling author of Life and Other Near-Death Experiences.

It’s been thirteen years since doctors declared Libby Ross-Velasquez a goner. Yet here she is—cancer free. So why doesn’t she feel more alive?

Sure, Libby’s husband, Shiloh, has been distant. One of their daughters has a serious health condition. And her father’s death hovers over Libby like a rain cloud. Still, this eternal optimist knows she’s the winner of the existential lottery.

But when her forced cheer isn’t enough to keep her family from catching her blahs, she decides to fly them all to Vieques. The Puerto Rican island is where she and Shiloh fell in love—and where she decided to fight for her life after her cancer diagnosis. Where

better to put their problems into perspective?

Then a tropical storm strikes. Libby pretends everything’s fine, even as she fears she’s doomed her family. What she can’t see is that the worst disaster they’ve faced may be the best thing that ever happened to them. But first, they have to get through it.

PURCHASE A COPY

AMAZON KINDLE | AMAZON PRINT | LISTEN WITH AUDIBLE

READ MY BOOK REVIEW

𝗠𝗬 𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: 3 stars
𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗥𝗘/𝗦𝗨𝗕𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗥𝗘𝗦: Women’s Fiction

𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪 𝗦𝗡𝗔𝗣𝗦𝗛𝗢𝗧: While I love the message that Don’t Make Me Turn This Life Around sends, I have to say the content was really depressing. I was expecting this to be a lighthearted and funny read but find myself feeling really sad while reading it.

_____________________

Don’t Make Me Turn this Life Around is the first book I’ve read from author Camille Pagan. Apparently and earlier novel she wrote (Life and Other Near-Death Experiences) is a companion novel to this one as it features the heroine prior to marriage and kids. I didn’t know this, so I hadn’t read it before reading this one, but it did NOT ruin the experience for me. This one can be read totally on its own or with that one. Now on to my review…

This book was SO DEPRESSING. The story deals with issues like cancer, children’s diabetes, loss of a parent, divorce, marriage issues, and even natural disasters. I went into it thinking it would be a lighthearted novel about beating cancer and taking a vacation with the family to celebrate (with mishaps and all the funny moments) but it wasn’t this at all. Don’t get me wrong, I love the message this one sends (hope, living for today etc.) but because I wasn’t expecting what this book IS I didn’t love it as much as I could have. I think it’s important that authors and publishers are really careful when describing a book because it can make or break the ratings!

So, would I recommend this one? Yes. I mean, I liked it for what I was and read it in a day, but I didn’t love because it made me feel so down. I wish I had known that going into it as I probably would have waited to read it when I was in the mood for it.

𝗠𝗬 𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: ⭐⭐⭐