Book Review: On The Rocks

Author: Erin Duffy

Publication Date: April 22, 2014

Publisher: William Morrow

A heartwarming novel about friendship, family, and finding love in the Facebook Age-the perils, pitfalls, and dubious pleasures of being a modern young single woman-from Erin Duffy, the author of Bond Girl

Six months ago, Abby's life fell apart for all the world to see. Her longtime boyfriend-turned-fiancé, Ben, unceremoniously dumped her-on Facebook-while she was trying on dresses for the big day.

When the usual remedies-pints of Ben & Jerry's, sweatpants, and a comfy couch-fail to work their magic, her best friend, Grace, devises a plan to get Abby back on her game. She and Abby are going to spend the summer in Newport, in a quaint cottage by the sea, enjoying cool breezes, cocktails, and a crowd of gorgeous men.

But no matter how far away they go, Abby and Grace discover that in the era of social media-when everyone is preserving every little detail of their lives online-there is no real escape. Dating has never been easy. But now that the rules are more blurred than ever, how will they find true love? And even if they do, can romance stand a chance when a girl's every word and move can go viral with a single click?

The only way the universe could screw with me in there was if it put Haagen-Dazs out of business or blew up my cable box.

As far as I’m concerned, Cinderella can suck it.

I blame Walt Disney.

Fate can be a finicky bitch.

So all has not been quiet on the home front either, and fighting wars on two fronts is never a good idea. Just ask Napoleon.

On The Rocks tells the story of Abby, a kindergarten teacher preparing for her own glorious winter wedding, who finds out over Facebook that her Prince Charming no longer wants to marry her. From this point Abby’s life falls apart, and the only person there to help her pick up the pieces is her best friend, Grace. Abby absolutely refuses to leave her apartment and eats only ice creams for months and months. This is when Grace, being the amazing friend that she is, decides to stage an intervention. She gets a great deal on a seaside cottage in Newport for the summer and she decides that she and Abby are going to spend their summer there helping her get over her ex. Grace hopes it will be a summer of second chances for Abby. Abby just wants to not think about Ben for two seconds. Will they both get what they wished for?

I read this book while visiting Charleston over a long weekend a few weeks ago, and it was the perfect beach read. It was so well-written, the characters were well-developed, and the pacing was just right. I fell immediately in love with Abby and was rooting for her the entire way through, especially when she tried to jump back on the dating scene. After all, she had been out of practice for ten years! She is a little clumsy and timid at first, but with the help of some seaside friends she and Grace make, she eventually becomes a natural. Some of these scenes were the absolute best!

As I said before, the characters were very well-developed. Grace, Abby, Wolf, and Bobby made this book what it was. Wolf, who is foreign, became Abby’s “wingman” and was charged with helping set her up with different men. Bobby was a bit of a freeloader, was very snarky and sarcastic when he wanted to be, and liked Abby a little more than he originally let on. The best scenes in this book were definitely when all these characters were in the same room, bar, or on the same beach. I enjoyed many laughs and would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for something light and fun.

***A free copy of this book was provided to me by the publishers at William Morrow in exchange for my honest review***