Trophy Life

By: Lea Geller

Narrated by: Amy Landon

Length: 10 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

A refreshingly honest, laugh-out-loud novel about losing the life you always wanted...and finding the life you were meant to have.

For the last ten years, Agnes Parsons’s biggest challenge has been juggling yoga classes and lunch dates. Her Santa Monica house staff takes care of everything, leaving Agnes to focus on her trophy-wife responsibilities: look perfect, adore her older husband, and wear terribly expensive (if uncomfortable) underwear.

When her husband disappears, leaving Agnes and their infant daughter with no money, no home, and no staff, she is forced to move across the country, where she lands a job teaching at an all-boys boarding school in the Bronx. So long, organic quinoa bowls and sunshine-filled California life. Hello, processed food, pest-infested house, and twelve-year-old-boy humor - all day, every day.

But it’s in this place of second chances (and giant bugs), where Agnes is unexpectedly forced to take care of herself and her daughter, where she finds out the kind of woman she can be. Ultimately, she has to decide if she prefers the woman and mother she has become...or the trophy life she left behind.

Authentic and sharply witty, Trophy Life is proof that granny panties and mom coats might not be the answer to everything; they’re simply comfortable (if slightly unattractive) reminders of what happens when one life ends...and real life begins.

©2019 Lea Geller (P)2018 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Ugh!

The main character in this book is so frustrating and must have been imagined with zero self esteem. She so ridiculously makes every excuse possible for her nightmare of a husband -it’s pathetic. I can’t finish it so I imagine there is some kind of redemption at the end but I can’t get there. I have never yelled at the audio so much for any other book. And the husband is just gross. It’s a very one sided relationship and it is unclear why she would not tell this guy to take a flying leap much, much earlier in the book.
I guess if a man is attractive and rich we should all just do whatever they say regardless of how absurd the request. It is so unclear why she doesn’t just go do something else and say screw this.
I agree with the other reviewer that this is likely a first book and I don’t think it’s badly written but the characters don’t inspire empathy.

Abusive Relationship

Put simply this book is about an abusive relationship and is truly one of the most awful books I’ve ever read. The majority of characters have NO redeeming qualities. I made it to end convinced that things would turn around. Please don’t waste your time.

Amateur writing

Couldn’t finish this one. You can definitely tell this is the authors first novel. But hey- we all gotta start somewhere!

Definitely not a “laugh out loud” novel but cute

I chose this book because I love a good “laugh out loud” novel as it is described. This was not it. I can’t think of a single time I even chuckled. However, it was still a good enough book. I loved the relationship Aggie built with her students but overall, it was a little boring and the climax went over with a whimper. Very forgettable and not what I was hoping for but the narrator was great and if you’re looking for a light read, this is a decent one.

I liked

This is a nice read. Nice story line! Also, I love how the plot line does not consist of the baby being 100% of moms life. It shows realism

Nope

I feel dumber having listened to this book and for paying for it. The only reason I'm going to finish is for my book club so that I can complain about just how stupid the lead character is.

A deceit book

I enjoyed the audio version. I don't think I would have finished it so soon if I read the actual book. Overall, I enjoyed it. The narrator did an awesome job. I would listen to more books read by her.

Laugh-out-loud, authentic, and emotional!

Uniquely authentic, laugh-out-loud, rejuvenating, and with depth and heart that just warms the soul, Lea Geller’s Trophy Life is that rare novel that spans from light to emotional and back within a single scene. I absolutely loved this book!

This book blended these emotional raw scenes with fantastically humorous commentary, giving it a lot of depth that you may not have guessed at when looking at the cover. It projects rom-com, and it has some elements of that. But don’t mistake this book for any sort of a love story. This is a story of a woman realizing who she is as a person, a wife, a mother, and a friend.

At the beginning of the novel, Agnes is in her charmed life in California. She really has it all! A great husband whom she has fantastic sex with, sunny California weather, organic food, a sweet daughter, and two full-time staff that help with the majority of the child care, cooking, and cleaning.

But Agnes is not necessarily who you think she is. She isn’t spoiled or entitled. Agnes’s parents died when she was young, and she grew up with no money, no family, and no stability. It is no wonder that when Agnes meets Jack, she loves the stability of their life! She knows what others think of her, but she also knows that she likes the life she has. She never wants herself or her daughter to go hungry like she did as a child.

But when Jack disappears, Agnes is forced to step out of her comfort zone. All the way to the Bronx where she teaches English at an all-boys private school. These boys are on their last chance though. This is a last resort school for them, and they need to straighten up if they hope to get into high school.

I absolutely loved seeing the story of Agnes and the boys she grew to love unfold. I laughed out loud at her underwear hijinks—she’d only worn thongs for Jack and now she has the luxury of buying the biggest underwear she can find! I got frustrated along with her when the demands placed on her to discipline the boys go too far. And I teared up when she missed her husband or fought with her best friend or had a touching moment where she got through to a student.

This is a book at its core about finding out who you are. Agnes is on a road to self-discovery, and I’ll admit there were a few wrong-turns along the way. I wanted to scream at her how to do the right thing! But what I loved most about Lea Geller’s novel was that she boldly allowed Agnes to be entirely flawed. To sometimes be too weak to do the right thing, or to miss the comfortable life she had when times were tough. Agnes at times was unlikeable, and other times she was so loveable I wanted to reach through the pages and hug her! But at all moments, Agnes was a very authentic character.

Not for me

Unfortunately, I have to agreed with the disappointing reviews. The main character is as weak and pathetic at the end as she is clueless at the beginning.

Awful. Just awful

The main character is the literal worst. You keep waiting for her to wake up and mature and it never happens. Also the story telling is just blah, the readers voice for the males is just terrible. I kept hoping this book would get better and it never did.