Review: Eliza Starts a Rumor by Jane L. Rosen

Release date: June 23, 2020

Publisher: Berkley

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Blurb:

It wasn’t supposed to happen this way. When Eliza Hunt created The Hudson Valley Ladies’ Bulletin Board fifteen years ago she was happily entrenched in her picture-perfect suburban life with her husband and twin preschoolers. Now, with an empty nest and a crippling case of agoraphobia, the once-fun hobby has become her lifeline. So when a rival parenting forum threatens the site’s existence, she doesn’t think twice before fabricating a salacious rumor to spark things up a bit.

It doesn’t take long before that spark becomes a flame.

Across town, new mom and site devotee Olivia York is thrown into a tailspin by what she reads on the Bulletin Board. Allison Le is making cyber friends with a woman who isn’t quite who she says she is. And Amanda Cole, Eliza’s childhood friend, may just hold the key to unearthing why Eliza can’t step out of her front door.

In all this chaos, one thing is for sure…Hudson Valley will never be the same.

Funny, romantic, raw, and hopeful, this is a story about being a woman and of the healing power of sisterhood.

Review:

Ahh rumors and gossip in the suburbs, why is this a topic that never fails to intrigue me? The whole premise of the book is exactly what the title states, an empty nester named Eliza starts what she thinks will be a harmless rumor and turns out to be anything but. In actuality it is the catalyst for a series of events that effects many people in the Hudson Valley, some she knows and others she doesn’t. So, an interesting premise for me for sure and it’s told via multiple perspectives providing a birds eye view of an entire community which I always enjoy. I loved the female friendships that developed throughout the book and was invested in all of the characters lives.

This wasn’t quite the lighthearted summer read that I was expecting it to be, yes it had plenty of humor but it really dove into some pretty dark topics. Just wanted to give a heads up for anyone that may mistakenly think this is all lightness like I did. I still wouldn’t say it’s super heavy overall, just know there are some moments that were rough. But in the end it was ultimately an uplifting read and one I enjoyed.