Book Review for Who Loves You Best: A Novel by Marilyn Simon Rothstein

 Who Loves You Best: A Novel by Marilyn Simon Rothstein

Published:  October 15, 2024 by Lake Union Publishing

Taken from Goodreads:  A woman drops everything to spend more time with her grandchild, only to discover new truths about herself. A humorous, heartfelt, feel-good novel from the author of Crazy to Leave You.

For Jodi Wexler, a Florida doctor with a flourishing practice, only one thing’s missing: the chance to spend more time getting to know her eight-year-old granddaughter, Macallan.

When Jodi’s restauranteur daughter asks her to watch Macallan in the Berkshires while she takes care of some business out of town, Jodi can’t say yes fast enough. Neither Jodi’s podiatric patients nor her just-fired, suddenly retired husband can keep her away. But when Jodi arrives, she discovers she’s not the only grandma at Lisa’s house. Lisa’s mother-in-law, Di—a hard-nosed real estate agent—has moved into the house. What’s more, there’s Grannie Annie, the twenty-seven-year-old girlfriend of Lisa’s oddball father-in-law. They’re not the only surprises. Lisa’s marriage is faltering even as her new restaurant is taking off.

As the competition for Macallan’s attention among the three “grandmas” increases, Lisa drops a bomb about her life that changes everything. Under pressure, and determined to help her daughter, Jodi must choose her next step. Her decision surprises everyone—Jodi, most of all.

My Thoughts:  Jodi is a character that I appreciate.  I like that she grew up in a house where her mother took care of her husband.   She married and became a wife and then mother who took care of her family.   Her decisions were based on what her husband wanted and she went along with it.  As this book goes on, Jodi makes decisions for herself.   She still takes care of her family but she realizes that she can also take care of herself and not cause them harm. 

Three grandmas are a lot of grandmas.  That granddaughter is a lucky girl.   I felt like the competition between the grandmas is something that many grandparents feel.   Who spends more time, who loves her most, who gets the best gifts… Being a grandma is not a competition but in this book it is.   I enjoyed seeing it all play out.

The least likable character is Lisa, the daughter.  She is very selfish and not very nice to anyone in the book.   She does what she wants when she wants.   She expects everyone else to step up and handle what she does not want to.  

This book was a relaxing read for me.   There was family drama, but it was easy to read.   The characters were mostly relatable, and the story was funny and entertaining. 

Thank you Lake Union Publishing for a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

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Meet Marilyn Simon Rothstein:  Marilyn Simon Rothstein is the author of Lift and Separate, winner of the Star Award presented by the Women’s Fiction Writers Association for Outstanding Debut. Husbands And Other Sharp Objects is her second novel.

Marilyn grew up in New York City, earned a degree in journalism from New York University, began her writing career at Seventeen magazine, married a man she met in an elevator, and owned an advertising agency for more than twenty-five years. Marilyn received an MA in liberal studies from Wesleyan University and an MA in Judaic studies from the University of Connecticut. She enjoys speaking at book festivals and community events.