Trophy Life

By: Lea Geller

Narrated by: Amy Landon

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.

MARIAN KEYES FAN?

Then this is definitely for you. Because it could be you. Deep, insightful but threaded with delightful humour.

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.

Really good story

I really enjoyed this book. The characters and storyline kept me intrigued as I wondered up to the very end if Aggie would return to her former life or forge a new one in the end. The side characters were all interesting, and I enjoyed seeing how they all grew in relationship and in maturity. Definitely a 5-star read for me.

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.

Ok easy read but...

The main character needs to grow a backbone way before she does. It was almost painful to hear the exchanges between her and her husband.

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

Painful

really struggled to finish this book. weak story and really hated the narrators voice. she sounded like a robot, Siri, when she spoke in the female characters voice and then a painfully gruff, bland voice for the male characters.

never quite got you there!

The narration was horrible. Flat, emotionless voice, almost sounded electronic at times. I believe the narrator was the reason this story felt like it was missing something from the beginning. The storyline was good, but left to much distance about Jack. Made the main character seem like an unbelievable moron. The ending was unsatisfying, we were forced to draw our own conclusions about what happened to Jack. In general, not believable.

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.

Agnes is the winner in the end

Although I would have liked to see Agnes and Jack together at the end of the story this book's ending is probably more realistic. The boys weren't superstars at graduation but you get the feeling they will be alright. The same goes for Agnes and Grace.