Hello Lovelies!

A Novel

By: Hayley DeRoche

Narrated by: Emily Bauer

Length: 9 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's Summary

For fans of Sophie Kinsella and Kevin Kwan comes a laugh-out-loud debut that takes listeners inside the cutthroat world of mommy blogging. 

Ruthie St. James - formerly a political communications strategist, currently a stay-at-home mom, and all of a sudden friendless after her daughter’s peanut butter cookie sends another toddler to the hospital - needs a break. And when she wins an all-expenses paid cruise vacation with her idol, the superstar mommy blogger Jesca Pine, she can’t wait to connect with other moms IRL. 

But the cruise is not the Instagram-worthy getaway Ruthie had in mind: Firstly, the other bloggers aren’t here to make friends - they’re here to impress a major talent agent who’s been spotted on the ship, and they’ll do just about anything to get her attention. On top of that, someone aboard keeps leaking scandalous (and off-brand) stories to an unforgiving gossip site, and Jesca’s losing her followers as quickly as her sanity. 

All this leaves Ruthie walking on eggshells, and after a scandal of her own, she has only one more chance to salvage her vacation: using her political savvy to negotiate with the team of ruthless saboteurs behind Jesca Pine’s demise...Jesca’s own teenage daughters.

Hello Lovelies! is a joyous, irreverent debut about friendship, motherhood, and what it takes to survive and thrive in today’s digital world.

"As a former mommy blogger, I couldn’t stop laughing at the misadventures of poor Ruthie St. James as she finds herself on a cruise with a group of die-hard blogging moms. This is a great cautionary tale of ‘be careful what you wish for.’" (Laurie Gelman, author of Class Mom)

©2019 Hayley DeRoche (P)2019 Audible Originals, LLC.

delightful

un-pause-able! the writing style reminded me so much of sophia kinsella in the best way. so if you like her you will like this. really just a fun, laugh out loud book, perfect for summer. the sound effects were so much fun too. not overdone, just right! i'm actually looking forward to listening to this one again.

Loving it!

Loving this mix of humor, mom life realness and internet snark. Have found myself chuckling along at multiple moments.

All the feels

As a 30-something mom I have never felt so seen by a book! I laughed a ton, I cried a little, I spent most of the book nodding my head vigorously because it was all so familiar and relatable. Such a blast!

Smart and fun take on social media and blogging!

The story is light, but I think it explores deeper questions we all wrestle with on social media: image curation, authenticity, motivation. I would definitely be interested to hear others' thoughts on it! The audio production is fantastic, with excellent narration and sound effects that help differentiate the various electronic forms of communication at play (texting, blogging, Instagram, etc). If you are looking for a summer read, be sure to check this one out! (I would suggest private earbud listening; this one isn't for a roadtrip with kiddos!)

Being a mom in the internet age!

In this charming, fast-paced listen, former Capitol Hill whiz Ruthie St. James finds herself adrift and lonely as a stay-at-home mom in Michigan, where her family moved for her husband's dream job. Then finally, luck breaks her way: she wins a chance to cruise with Jesca Pine, the internet's most clickable "mommy blogger." She's convinced the cruise will finally help her find the community and sense of purpose she's been missing.

But Ruthie's dream vacation isn't quite what it was cracked up to be. Jesca is smart and sympathetic one moment, then ridiculously self-absorbed in the next. Outside their cabin, Ruthie is surrounded by obsessed food bloggers photographing every nibble, Jesca's rabid fans, and a constant stream of marketing for Jesca's fashion line. Soon, Ruthie find herself caught up in some blogger drama that might wreck any hope she had of returning to the political life she loved.

There's a lot of affection in this book for the "mommy blog" genre, and an empowering overall message about the ways that moms build communities both online and offline. But DeRoche also doesn't look at the influencer world through rose-colored glasses--she tackles some hard questions about kids' privacy and their rights when their parents make them famous, and she pokes sharp, hilarious fun at the sponsorship shout-outs and unrelenting streams of #hashtags on influencer feeds. If your Instagram feed has ever made you feel like an inadequate parent, this is the audiobook for you!

What a fun audiobook!

What a funny, and delightful look at the cutthroat world of mommy bloggers and influencers. I really believe crazy things like those in this story happen IRL all the time. The audiobook was the perfect length, with a fantastic performance by the narrator. She really sold the story, mood, characters and her use of words like “amazeballs” felt like such a natural fit to the whole thing. Would recommend to anyone interested in gossipy stories about web savvy, entrepreneurial women.

Delightful book is delightful

This book, my darlings! This book!

By turns hilarious and heartbreaking, skewering, fun, sharp-witted, and self-deprecating, I loved every minute of it. Anybody who enjoys (or abhors, or is in any way fascinated by) internet culture would enjoy this book—not just people who happen to be mothers or bloggers. The setting of a cruise was a fun departure, and I enjoyed exploring the cutthroat world of online drama in this microcosm (and all the accusations and arrogance and self-satisfied haterade that entails).

My only complaint is that the audio format isn't the absolute best possible way to suit this book's epistolary format and various transitions between listening to what someone's typing, a blog post read aloud, actual in-person dialog, etc. etc. But I think they tried to alleviate this as best they could with little audio cues that gave you context, which I appreciated. And hey, maybe this means I would just really love to get my hands on a print version someday!

Fun & Witty Read!

This was a such fun! This has an interesting take on modern mothering, friendship & how social media impacts us all. Highly recommended.

This book is amazeballs!

I loved this book. The story was great from start to finish. It was so relatable even though I missed the whole Mommy blogging following popularity years ago.

“Your heart is a moron”

This audiobook is a fantastic representation of Shine Theory in motherhood. I laughed, I cried, I cringed. A fun read if you aren’t a mom, and if you are it’s like a mirror for your soul. The narrator does a great job with the voices and sound effects, too! Very engaging.

Good listen

This one took a while to get into, once the characters matured it was easy to enjoy, but unless your a blogger or network marketer could be a little boring.

Funny, feminist, and deeply relatable

I loved this book. I related to so much of it, from the guilty pleasure of snarking on blogs to the struggles of early motherhood to which Babysitters Club character is the coolest (Claudia, obvs). It kept me hooked from beginning to end, and felt really fresh - it was a joy to meet so many different, fully-formed female characters and experience such a variety of female friendships and relationships, good and bad. I expected to be entertained - and I definitely was! - but I was surprised by how much it moved me, too. A wonderful listen, beautifully written and performed. I would love to read more from this author.

Mama solidarity disguised as a summer read

If you entered motherhood at the peak of personal, “inspirational,” “girl power,” “lifestyle,” etc etc etc blogging madness, you know this story. You probably lived this story (minus a luxury cruise).
But this book has something that was exceedingly rare in those blogging days: Truth.
Here is a read (a listen) that gives words to the frustration and joys of modern motherhood and our search for REAL mom friends.