Guest Book Review: Diary of an Unsmug Married

By Sara Steven

Have you ever wondered what would have happened to Bridget Jones, if she married the love of her life, Mark Darcy? Settled down, had a couple of kids?

Wonder no longer. Read Diary of an Unsmug Married.

Molly Bennett (who reminds me of an older Bridget Jones) is married to Max (her Mark Darcy), and they have two children who were once adorable, but are now in that obnoxious teenager/almost adult stage of their lives. Molly feels mildly mediocre; in her marriage, as a mother, and with her career. She just can’t get it together, and it doesn’t help that Max seems to have more interest in their hot sexpot next-door neighbor than in his own wife.

He’s off on random business trips and stays out late, only adding to Molly’s insecurity. The cherry on top, is when Molly decides to play nice, and take the trash out for Max. Max objects, but Molly wants to do this. She wants to be the good wife. Image her surprise when she finds the sexpot neighbor stark naked in her living room window. No wonder Max conveniently manages to take out the trash at the same time every night. Ahem. When a former boyfriend re-connects with Molly on Facebook, showering her with attention and demands to see her assets, what other choice does Molly have?

In Diary..., Molly fights against the mediocrity. She fights against the guilt, the guilty pleasures, and the need to do the right thing, even though the right thing seems to be the last thing she wants to do. She’s unhappy, and it’s hard to express that to Max, who seems to have accepted the mediocrity, which in a sense means he’s checked out. Right?

Often, the truth is never pretty, and the way something appears isn’t always what it seems to be. Out of chaos comes healing. Very true with fiction, and even truer in real life. I enjoyed this book, for it’s candor, and it’s ability to deal with real-life issues that crop up on even the least suspecting among us. Sprinkle in the comedic timing necessary to lighten the mood, and you’ve got Diary of an Unsmug Married.

Thanks to LightBrigade PR for the book in exchange for an honest review.

Sara Steven is a wife and stay-at-home mother of two rambunctious boys in Bellevue, NE. When she’s not running marathons, or working on her novel, she takes a break and opens up a good book (or turns on her Nook). Find her at her blog.