Right in the middle of the mother-in-law's 65th birthday party, Katelyn Pratt gets a nasty surprise from her successful husband, Don: a decree for divorce, as well as a notice that her vain and narcissistic mother-in- law, Shirley Pratt, must move out of their house and into another apartment in a retirement community where she will be alone. Feeling out of sorts and reeling from shock, Katelyn decides to travel back to her childhood home with an unexpected passenger: her future-EX- mother-in-law.

While on the road and in Katelyn's small hometown, the two encounter life-changing circumstances that will force them to rethink their values and even awakens long-forgotten passions. Katelyn and Shirley, as well as other characters, have to acknowledge that sometimes the only things preventing their growth are images of how things should be in their lives.

THE FUTURE SHE LEFT BEHIND hooked me from the first line and I found myself quickly devouring the words, and watching as changes and growth occur at a realistic pace, page by page. There is plenty to admire in the book: humor, strong women who relied on their own selves rather than men, as well as a quirky small town setting. This book focused on more than just finding a man, and instead, there was a focus on self-growth and finding the hidden talents that will create a memorable life. What I didn't enjoy is in some areas it felt formulaic and some of the changes that secondary characters went through didn't feel genuine in the grand scheme of things. However, I hope, because of some loose ends in this novel, Marin Thomas is planning on creating a series from THE FUTURE SHE LEFT BEHIND!

For a memorable and quirky read set in a small town, THE FUTURE SHE LEFT BEHIND by Marin Thomas will be right up your alley.

Book Summary

One woman's journey home gets derailed by her soon-to-be ex-mother-in-law in a novel filled with humor, small-town charm, rekindled love, and the resilient ties of family.

Cast aside by her cheating husband, Katelyn Chandler is ready to pack it all in and drive home to Little Springs, Texas. She wants a chance to regroup, reconnect with her mother, and get back to her art.

But Shirley Pratt—master manipulator, elitist snob, and Katelyn's terror of a live-in monster-in-law—has other ideas. Shirley insists on joining Katelyn's trip after her son tries to pack her off to a retirement community. Katelyn has no choice but to play peacekeeper between the ornery old woman and the proud matrons of Little Springs. Yet the small town seems to be changing Shirley. And as Katelyn weighs the wisdom of picking up where she left off with Jackson Mendoza, the town bad boy and her high school sweetheart, she must find a way to believe in the strength of her dreams.