The Status of All Things

A fun read…funny…thought-invoking

Kate is a social media junkie, always posting her latest updates, taking lots of selfies. But now it is the eve of her wedding to Max. Kate thinks they are the perfect couple until her bubble is burst when Max suddenly informs her that he cannot go through with the wedding. She is devastated. She returns home and just before going to bed posts on her Facebook page that she wishes she could do the past month over.

Did your mother ever tell you to be careful what you wished for because you might get it? Well, perhaps Kate’s mother should have said it. Kate awakens to find that it isn’t July 1st (the date she went to bed) but is now June 1st. To put it mildly, she freaks!

A do-over with memories show more intact. What an opportunity! When she posts a wish as status on her Facebook page, the wish comes true. She cannot undo whatever caused Max to back out of the wedding. Now if she can only determine the exact moment she lost him. She cannot imagine how she will survive without Max so she must do whatever it takes to get him to go through with marrying her this time around. She tells her best friends Liam and Jules about this magic in her life. To prove to them that she isn’t crazy she makes a wish for each of them in a desire to make life better for them.

It is a cute story, a fast read. Great writing. Not great literature, but fun. I love the premise of the story. I did pretty much figure out about halfway through what was going to be the outcome. But that is okay because I enjoyed the journey. Kate and her friends come across as very human – they make mistakes, they feel vulnerable, they do crazy things. I would have loved to have had them for friends myself. show less

Kate gets broken up with right before her wedding. Her fiancée had to announce to everyone that there will be no wedding.

Devastated Kate thinks of all her happy Facebook posts about her wedding and about her fiancée and she wonders why she didn't see this coming. She feels blindsided.

She goes online and posts an honest message about how she is heartbroken and wishes she could go back in time a month.

Here's where the book description and the story itself diverge a bit. Yes, she can post her wishes on Facebook and have them really happen. But most of the focus of the story is on the first wish she makes, that she could go back in time a month.

Now she's one month in the past, with the knowledge of what happens to her in the future. She show more takes the time to see what she can do to save her relationship.

I enjoyed the story but it was heavier than I expected. This isn't about a girl having fun with these wishes, this is about a girl trying very hard to hang onto her fiancée. show less

The Status of All Things by Liz Fenton & Lisa Steinke

I almost put the book down but am glad I didn’t.
What would you do if something major happened in your life and you did not like it? What if you had the ability to make a wish and go back in time and rewrite history? Would you take it? Would you make an attempt to change your fate? Will someone ever be able to change history? Are we fated to live our lives no matter how things happen? Do you believe in fate? Is everything that happens to you supposed to happen in the way it does?
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. To quickly summarize my opinion of The Status of All Things…..good with a moral. This story definitely makes a strong statement about fate show more and how we live our life.
Our main character is Kate. She is obsessed with posting on social media and with others who post. She feels that everyone she reads about on Facebook lead perfect lives. She gets this feeling because of everyone only posts positive comments. Kate is having problems with her soon to be husband Max. She makes a wish on Facebook and it comes true. She tells her two best friends about it. Initially they do not believe her but when she makes a wish for each them and those wishes come true, they believe her.
Ms. Fenton and Ms. Steinke take a humorous poke at the obsession people today have with social media. Journey through time with Kate and come to your own conclusion. show less

A special thank you to Atria Books/Washington Square and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Real life BFF razor-sharp and talented contemporary authors Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke bring new meaning to “girls just want to have fun”, blending their own passion with their characters, Kate and Jules-- in their latest witty, chick-lit with a touch of whimsy, social media obsession, with a dose of reality versus perfection THE STATUS OF ALL THINGS-- A life lesson for today’s world of appearances.

With humor and insight, these clever gals will keep you engaged, and laughing out loud, from the first page to the last. From the stunning front cover to the honest insights, this dynamic duo captures the essence of show more today’s social media world where everyone has come to expect perfection from our lives, food, fashion, entertainment, families, relationships, image, and lifestyle; hiding behind a mirage of facades. I am betting these two friends had a blast writing this hilarious novel.

Kate, is obsessed with social media, and Facebook. She lives for perfection. Everything has to be perfect. She cannot recall a time when she had ever written something negative, instead always focusing on the positive things. A score, a new account, a fabulous new restaurant, humor, or anything to let her friends know she is living the life—quite different than the Debbie Downers of the world; the ones who have actual problems in their lives. The ones who are not afraid to highlight unpopular opinions or rant about the kids. The people who do not fear judgment the same way she does.

However; in hindsight, could the Debbie Downers of the world possibly be on to something? Maybe it was time for Kate to be real. She had always tried to make her own life look like a Norman Rockwell painting and where did it get her?

Blindsided and feeling stupid, Kate has missed the signs. Left at the altar of her wedding, by Max, the man she had hoped to build a future with, a shared condo, dreams, family and worst of all he thinks he is in love with her friend and co-worker! It is time for a do over. A time machine. Possibly people’s lives are not always as perfect as the filtered photos or edited statuses they post on Facebook. But, wouldn’t it be nice if they were? Kate soon realizes she has been so wrapped up in herself she did not notice what was really going on around her.

Jules, Kate’s friend is married. The ideal marriage is always hanging over her head. Marriage is hard, there are expectations and worry. Does any marriage live up? Are there any guarantees? Is she satisfied with her marriage, or should she have an affair if her husband is not paying her enough attention.

I loved the other supporting characters, the mom and how she had allowed her husband’s actions to define her, and Liam, her friend, as each of the cast learn to embrace their imperfections on this journey we call life.

Fans of Jennifer Weiner and Sarah Pekkanen, will devour THE STATUS OF ALL THINGS with its take on modern relationships. Would highly recommend their first book, Your Perfect Life if you have not had a chance to read. Looking forward to more from these two--with a thumb on today’s hot topics, friendship, relationships, social media, trends, and issues we tackle in each of our daily lives. show less

This was a cute read. Kind of predictable 'chick-lit' but entertaining if you're in the right frame of mind, which apparently I was. The characters are likable and the story moves right along. Nothing life-changing, just some mind-candy when you're in the mood for something light and easy.

This is an exceptionally great book! At the rehearsal dinner of her wedding, Kate finds out from her fiance, Matt, that he is in love with someone else!!!! Kate knows who that someone is! The next day, while getting coffee, her barista gave her some cryptic cheering up. Next thing we know, Kate changed back time: long enough to keep that girl's paws off of her man!

She had to do some magic wishing to get her two best buds to believe her, that they are back in time. Everything she tries to "wish into reality" is hitting the fan! What is the poor girl to do? When is the wedding going to take place (or IS it)? It is a great read!!! And, it is also on audio book! Liz Fenton, your writing is outstanding!!!

Thank you to the authors and The Romance of Reading (FB) for this book.

I'm not a big reader of chick lit, 30-somethings, and time travel in the first place but needed something different to read and this might have been it if I could get into it.

As usual, I gave it 50-100 pages and I couldn't get through this book. I know that only part of the book was about FB and her loving it, which I could relate to but the rest of the plot was just too silly for me to finish it.

When her fiancee leaves her during the rehearsal dinner of their wedding, everything goes back to a month before her wedding. Her FB status' takes her back before this all happened and her hair is perfect, etc. etc. I liked her two friends Jules and Liam more than I liked show more her I think. Even though I didn't finish it, I had a feeling I knew what the end was going to be. I read a few reviews on Amazon from reviewers who didn't like it either and I was assuming correctly the end. show less