A Bump in the Road: From Happy Hour to Baby Shower by Maureen Lipinski

From the Publisher

When twenty-seven-year-old event planner and blogger Clare Finnegan got married, she didn’t mind moving out of the city. After all, a suburban existence didn’t necessarily equal domesticity, book club parties, and a subscription to Martha Stewart Living. But when, after a weekend in Vegas, Clare discovers she’s pregnant, she is thrown into a world where eating lunchmeat is equivalent to smoking crack and maternity clothes appear to have been molested by a BeDazzler. In the midst of her slow transition from beer bottles to baby bottles, Clare juggles burgeoning Internet stardom, plans Chicago’s biggest black-tie gala, wrangles her traditional in-laws who are scandalized by her every choice, and attempts to keep the peace between her two feuding best friends. Not only funny but smart, sassy, and witty, to boot, this is a debut novel that will have you laughing for a good nine months.

Publishers Weekly

Newlywed Clare Finnegan, a boozy 27-year-old Chicago event planner and blogger, chronicles the tribulations of her unexpected pregnancy in this sparse novel. She details her disdain for her co-workers and clients, the increasing size of her butt and her mingled envy and disgust at social events where everyone except her is blotto. The writing displays the strengths and weaknesses of a blog: on the plus side are witty, fast-paced entries that provide a super-close-up examination of contemporary urban life. On the downside, the snide tone wears thin and doesn't allow for momentum building or character development. Little actually happens: her relationship with her husband is pleasantly superficial, and her pregnancy unfolds predictably. Individual snippets are hip and amusing, but, as a novel, it's less than exciting to read a series of prickly squibs from a woman whose main interest, it seems, is wondering how soon she can return to partying. (June)

Product Details