Book ~ If You Were Here" (2011) Jen Lancaster

From Goodreads ~ Told in the uproariously entertaining voice readers have come to expect from Jen Lancaster, If You Were Here follows Amish-zombie-teen- romance author Mia and her husband Mac (and their pets) through the alternately frustrating, exciting, terrifying-but always funny-process of buying and renovating their first home in the Chicago suburbs that John Hughes's movies made famous.

Along their harrowing renovation journey, Mia and Mac get caught up in various wars with the homeowners' association, meet some less-than-friendly neighbors, and are joined by a hilarious cast of supporting characters, including a celebutard ex- landlady.

As they struggle to adapt to their new surrounding s- with Mac taking on the renovations himself - Mia and Mac will discover if their marriage is strong enough to survive months of DIY renovations.

This is the sixth book I've read by this author. I like her writing style ... it's funny and sarcastic. My one complaint about her style has always been her use of footnotes. I find them distracting having to look down then back up to find my spot. Just include them in the paragraph.

This is her first fiction ... the rest of have been memoirs of her life. Lancaster may as well have just kept real names as they are so similar ... I could definitely hear Lancaster's voice. Mia is really Jen; Mac is really Fletcher. Even her pets are there. I have nothing against them ... they are very thinly disguised. Her Polish grandmother was fun.

Mia and Mac buy a mansion ... hard to feel sorry for them since they have like three (or more) bathrooms, a lake, lots of room that they will never use. They have spent a ton of money for it plus megabucks to restore it. All will be okay once Jen Mia finishes her latest book ... if that's the case, I wanna be an author! They did the work themselves ... keep in mind that they have no experience and Fletcher Mac wants to figure it out on his own rather than doing any research. Crazy considering he's dealing with electricity! It was way over the top and irresponsible for them to buy this house and fix it up just because it was featured in a John Hughes movie. And I couldn't believe that Vienna had that much control on their lives.

All in all though, I'd recommend this if you are looking for a fun sarcastic read. If Lancaster writes another fiction, I hope she steps out of her comfort zone and truly makes it a work of fiction.