125Pages

Not Working by Lisa Owens
Published by The Dial Press on May 3, 2016

Not Working is Lisa Owens’ debut, and it is mostly successful. Styled as a rom-com where the main character, Claire, quits her job abruptly as she just doesn’t like it and relies on her medical student boyfriend for support. Then she seeks her next big step amongst “charming” foibles and many starts and stops.

The plot of Not Working was nothing really new but was different enough that I continued reading. The wrap-up was expected in this type of read and did not disappoint. Lisa Owens’ writing was good, but lacked a certain finesse that I hope is just due to her inexperience. I enjoyed the pacing as the story was told in small bursts, with some portions just a few sentences. I found it a unique way to tell a story. The world built was a bit lacking due to the vignette style. The emotions and characters were there, ish. I did feel with Claire but was also frustrated with her as she put her needs first and expected everyone else to feel sorry for her that she quit her job. The boyfriend was also frustrating as he put up with a ton of crap.

Not Working did actually work on a lot of levels. The story was cute, fast read that resolved itself well. It was just a bit too scattered to fully be amazing and the main character was a bit to self-centered for me to truly love. I do think Lisa Owens has potential for something big and for a debut, Not Working was well done. I will watch out for Owens and hope her sophomore try is a bit more fine tuned.

I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.