The Perfectly Simple Complicated Life of Maggie Halloran ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Perfectly Simple Complicated Life of Maggie Halloran by Trish Morey

NetGalley

Maggie Halloran's life is finally perfect.

For recently retired Maggie Halloran, life in her renovated two-bedroom St Ives fisherman's cottage is picture-perfect. With her daughter in London and her mother in Penzance, Maggie is free to enjoy the odd sleepover with her boyfriend, Nigel, visit galleries, or do her beloved sudoku.

When Maggie's reserved mother falls giddily in love and announces her forthcoming wedding, Maggie takes it in her stride. But then Maggie's daughter, Alice, announces she's pregnant and needs somewhere to live – along with her new puppy.

Alice and Maggie have never been close, plus Nigel is allergic to dogs, but blood is thicker than your average Saturday night sleepover. Suddenly Maggie is humouring her demanding daughter, fielding visits from her nostalgic ex-husband, and accommodating Alice's baby daddy. Then Maggie's mother arrives on the doorstep in tears, because she's left her new husband.

With builder Mitch converting the loft, Maggie's three-level terrace is now home to three generations – soon to be four. Her quiet, drama-free life is gone. But does she want it back?

Genre: Fiction, Romance, Chick Lit, Humorous Fiction

The How/Why: I saw this one listed on NetGalley under Recently Added Audiobooks and it sounded charming with a side of quirky so I put in my request. 
I put my other current book on pause so I could hop to it as soon as I received the approval notice. 

Day 2: I adore Daphne (her 80+* year old Mother) but OMG the pregnant daughter is the definition of entitled. 
*You know how I love the octogenarians. 

⭐⭐⭐⭐

🎉 Overall Enjoyment? 🎉🎉🎉🎉

🎣 Did it grab and keep my attention? 🎣🎣🎣🎣

🗣️Would I recommend it to anyone? Yes ➕

🕮 Would I want a sequel? No ➖ 

📚 Would I want to read more books by this author? Yes ➕

💣💥 📢 Content Warnings? Google lists Unplanned Pregnancy and Family Conflict/Stress but I wouldn't think those would be TWs. You already know from the About that there is an unplanned pregnancy and you could imagine the new found family dynamics would be stressful. I say none.

🌶 Spice? Google says no, but low-heat romance. I say mini-spice, like a half of a green pepper. 🫑

🌪 Plot Twist? No

👟 Pace? Good

💻 Tidbits ~ This one is definitely cozy with a side of quirky. 
Maggie is just about to enjoy her retirement curled up in her fisherman's cottage and Sudoku puzzle book when her very entitled daughter Alice shows up and moves in with her dog. Next Daphne, her adorably quirky 80-something mother announces her insta-love turned insta-marriage plans. What could possibly go wrong?

Nigel, Maggie's friend with benefits, is allergic to the dog. 
At the wedding Gran spills the tea that Alice is pregnant. With no baby daddy in the picture Alice's financial plan is to start a Mommy-Baby Blog.
Daphne's honeymoon is istra-over so she shows up at the door in tears, suitcase in hand. With nowhere else to go she's moving in to Maggie's too.
Did I mention they both brought furniture with their baggage?
Maggie's ex-husband starts hanging around to be closer to Alice and his grandbaby on the horizon.
Oh wait, here comes the baby daddy.
Nigel can't take the chaos so he skedaddles. 
Maggie has given up her bedroom to Alice who needs the largest room to make room for baby because Ms. Entitled is the center of the universe and the only who matters. Maggie has also given up her guest room for Daphne so she is sleeping cramped in the loft which was turned into storage space. 
The entire [formerly peaceful] cottage is busting at the seams.

Enter Mitch. Super reliable, professional, romantic builder to convert the loft into a bedroom. Did I mention he's romantic with a side of sexy?

Feeling over taken advantage of and under appreciated Maggie takes off and checks into a luxury hotel for much need alone time with her Sudoku. 

Not knowing where Maggie went her home invaders are worried. They enlist Mitch to try to find her. Can they overcome their own needs to recognize they complicated Maggie's perfectly simple life?  No spoilers!  

The author brings you directly into this seaside town and conveys the stress of Maggie being bombarded from all sides. 
I enjoyed this audiobook but deducted one star because the ending felt rushed. 

🎧 Narrator: Kate Gorman - Excellent, especially Grandma Daphne!

🎧9.49 hours 🕮 370 pages

Audiobook just published 3-01-2026. Goodreads shows 3-09-2023. A little super sleuthing revealed that the paperback and eBook were published 3-09-2023, so apparently its the audiobook that just hit the airways. 

Thank you NetGalley and Bolinda Audio for the free ALC in exchange for my honest review.

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