My 2 cents:

No One Could Have Guessed the Weather by Anne-Marie Casey had me at the title. Lucy finds herself living in New York City with her British husband, Richard, and their two young sons, Max and Robbie, at the start of a blazing hot September.

“It was, as the forecast told them one day, as if a blowtorch had gone through the city.”

With the downtown of the stockmarket, Richard lost his job, and Lucy lost her nanny, housekeeper, home, and her luxury life as she knew it. Richard gets a new position in NYC, and the family moves into an 800-square-foot apartment that Richard had previously used for a hotel room. Optimistic and energetic, Richard believes the new lifestyle will be good for their family.

After a rocky start in the heat of the city, weeks of sobbing and the death of her mother, Julia opens herself to her new home, and finds a new life.

Reminiscent of Nora Ephron's witty, meaty style, Casey posts this quote by Ephron at the beginning of her novel, just after the dedication page:

“Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim.”

Anne-Marie Casey now lives in Dublin, Ireland with her husband and two sons. This new novel, her first book, “was inspired by her time living in Manhattan, and her love-love relationship with the city.”

Length: 275 pages


Worth Your Time? Yes, especially if you liked The Nanny Diaries or Nora Ephron's movies. It's a quick read.

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