🫒 “Mona Lisa Smiles” (2024) 🫒 – Book Review
MY REVIEW
Language: English
ISBN: 1735241199
ISBN-13: 978-1735241197
⬅️ Click Photo for Order Information
“With Papa dead and Mama in assisted living, Mona Lisa Buttaro plans to sell Booty’s, the family restaurant, as well as the family home, but her quirky brother, Joey, is a roadblock. Mona Lisa persuades him to work at the restaurant, but his phobias about germs dominate his thoughts. Yet, if she sells the place, where else could Joey work?
Mona Lisa hires former classmate Cliff McFarlane to do repairs on the family home. Newly sober and single, Cliff was in the popular crowd that excluded her in the past, but she is still attracted to him—not that she’d let him know. Mona Lisa wonders if she should give up all men—unless she can find one like Papa, her idol.
Then she uncovers an outrageous discovery: while alive, Papa made monthly payments to a half-sister Mona Lisa never knew existed.
Mona Lisa realizes her father was a liar—not unlike herself. She harbors her own shameful secret.”
Thank you in advance to Kate Rock Book Tours for providing a complimentary review copy. A positive review was not required nor requested, and all words are my own.
While not a new author, I first read a book by the author about three (3) years ago – From Rome with Love. And, for the most part I enjoyed it. While I haven’t been able to read her other books, I have had my eye on a few. Lloyd writes both contemporary fiction, and Amish fiction. One of her Amish novellas was included in an anthology from a publisher I enjoy reading books from. So, I’d somewhat expected clean reads when it came to her writing.
I had seen a few good reviews about this book. And, when the chance came to read it – I was quite thrilled and looking forward to it.
However, I struggled when reading the book – for a few reasons that will be outlined here. And, I honestly struggled with this review. Trust me, I literally sat on this review for days and tried my best to soften it, yet be honest.
As with any book, from any genre, there is bound to be content – either mentioned or implied – that could be triggering for some readers. This book does contain some interesting topics/content: mention of miscarriage (prior to the story), reference to infidelity (the half-sister storyline), reference to teen drug use (Panda infers she does marijuana), DUI with injury and lack of punishment (Cliff getting “loaded” and slamming into another vehicle), auditory hallucinations (Joey), reference to mental illness (Joey being a “nutcase”), some inappropriate references about a teen’s body and clothing, and there are also two terms that are derogatory or offensive to Italians (pg. 24).
Lloyd introduces readers to:
👩🏻 Mona Lisa
👨🏻🍳 Joey
👩🏻🦳 Barbara (Mona Lisa and Joey’s mother)
👨🏻🦳 Frank (Long time patron of Booty’s, interested in Barbara)
🧰 Cliff
🐼 Panda (Patricia Ann)
🗣️ Gloria (one of the voices inside Joey’s head)
🗣️ The Saint (Saint Signore) (another voice inside Joey’s head, calmer and rational)
The story is told from three POVs and two different styles: Mona Lisa (first person), Joey (third person), and Cliff (third person).
Mona Lisa has a task that not everyone would want – after her father’s death, she has to settle the “estate” – the family home and the restaurant. Yet, her quirky brother Joey is a slight roadblock.
To keep him out of trouble, Mona Lisa gives him a job at Booty’s. She also reconnects with Cliff who has been hired to work on the house. She had a crush him in high school, and he’s part of the reunion committee. He asks her to join him.
But, that isn’t the only thing going on in Mona’s life – her mother and a regular patron of Booty’s, Frank – seem to be getting close. A little too close for Mona’s liking. While her mother isn’t old (69), the thought of seeing her with anyone other than her father is a bit disturbing. Yet, Barbara and Frank seem to fit together.
In the middle of this, Cliff is trying to keep an eye on his beloved 14-year-old daughter, Panda. A young and free spirit who has no objection to voicing her mind, or doing what she wants. She feels somewhat abandoned by her mother who has run off to marry a boyfriend.
Then, there’s also a high school reunion party to plan. Could things get any more complicated? I don’t think Mona Lisa would like the answer to that question.
Lloyd touches on challenging and realistic subjects that people face in their everyday lives. What often looks simple on the surface, is deeply complicated and multi-faceted. Even more so when it involves siblings – especially ones that one doesn’t even know about. This is a story that is as complicated as it is simple
I absolutely wanted to adore this story more than I did. The blurb on the back cover was truly interesting. I wanted to see how Mona Lisa was going to handle her father’s shocking secret, along with a potential romance between herself and Cliff. There were quite a few expectations to see how the book panned out. And, I went in fully invested.
I also wanted to see how well Joey was going to fare in this story, and what his “role” was going to be. Being a germaphobe, especially after the pandemic, is bound to be overwhelming. Working in a restaurant as one – challenging.
However, the light-hearted story I was expecting, didn’t exactly materialize. The expectations I had – fizzled like a soda going flat within seconds of being opened 🫧💥😞
Within the first 25% of the book (76 pages), I had a few red flags going up and waving at me. There definitely were some “caution” signs 🚩⚠️
It wasn’t like I hadn’t seen negative reviews for this book. But, having read a lot of books over the past five years (literally over 600+) that I’ve been doing this book review thing, I’ve read a lot of bad reviews. They come with the territory. And, when they’re in a small number (2 out of 7 on Goodreads), they’re often overlooked and dismissed.
I’ve read books that I felt was worthy of five (5) stars, but some readers rated them as one (1) star. I use what I considered to be a non-biased grading rubric, so it’s not a favoritism thing.
Then again, I often try to consider “context” in the author’s work. When it comes to bad reviews – it is usually genre specific (Christian is the #1 reason), category of a book (Biblical, historical), or it is a trigger/content that someone didn’t like. Sometimes it is the characters the readers don’t like. Other times, it is how the story is presented.
However, in this case – I should’ve paid attention to the few negative reviews the book had. And, even if someone does DNF (did not finish) a book, their review shouldn’t be ignored or overlooked, but taken as part of the complete picture.
Moving on …
My biggest problem was Cliff’s observations he makes referring to his daughter’s body and her clothing. While he wasn’t inappropriate towards her, I was a bit creeped out by how some of it was presented (“worded”) from his POV – again, this is within the first 25% of the book, not even 75 pages into it:
🚩 “but, his girl folded her arms, covering her breasts” [not exactly something I’d want to hear/read from a parent’s POV] (pg. 31)
🚩 “When his girl bent to pick up the stick, her fleshy midriff exposed itself provocatively. Her tight slacks encompassed her derriere and slender legs like a hooker.” [again, not something I think is appropriate from a parent’s POV, especially the “hooker” part, no matter how much he was “judging” her mother for letting her go to school like that] (pg. 37)
🚩 “Although her knit pj's allowed Cliff to see too much of her breasts; she'd filled out into womanly proportions these last six months.” [this comes off a bit too predatory, or just wrong] (pg. 69)
🚩 “Cliff averted his eyes so he wouldn't see her swaying breasts or the lines of her thong underwear.” [again, this sounds SO wrong, and is inappropriate] (pgs. 70-71)
While I am sure Cliff was a loving and protective father, I don’t see many men thinking like this or describing their daughters in this manner, especially a 14-year-old (8th/9th grader). For those who’ve suffered any form of trauma with their fathers, step-fathers, or male relatives – this content might be triggering and upsetting. Given the content, I felt compelled to at least be more descriptive with what I felt was problematic. As a child, I was the victim of a male sex offender. There are certain things I am not comfortable with, nor do I find them appropriate. My reviews are written from my experience with the book, notes to the author/publisher, and for future readers. I owe it to those future readers to be cognizant of that content and respectful of specific traumas.
I was also taken aback by something later on in the book. It was in reference to a dinner party that Cliff and Panda were invited to – “He feared his daughter would make a scene at the table and flirt with Joey if he were there”.
Joey was 35, and Panda was 14. While it is okay to perhaps have a crush on someone older (and what girl hasn’t had a crush on a movie or TV star older than them), the actual idea of a flirtation was definitely in appropriate. Even in the beginning, there seemed to be some recognition between the two. There is also “The Saint” telling Joey that Panda is a cute little dish and makes a mention of women in Italy marrying younger.
There’s an incident where Panda leaves with Joey early in the morning (around 4am) to go somewhere, but never tells her father where she was going or why. He also didn’t seem to press the matter. He’s only concerned she’s with Joey and in a slight fender-bender. I’d be wondering what my child was doing and where she was going.
Cliff makes a mention of seeing a tattoo on Panda and was wondering why her mother let her do it. I was as shocked as Cliff was, and decided to research it. In the state of Washington (as the story mentions being set in Seattle) – even with parental consent – it is illegal to tattoo a minor according to RCW 26.28.085. (https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=26.28.085). Cliff should’ve confronted Panda’s mom about it.
There seemed to be a lot going of red flags going on with Panda. And, I think Cliff should’ve addressed them.
About Cliff …
In the blurb, he is described as a recovering alcoholic. He recalls an incident where he’d gotten loaded and crashed his truck into a car driven by an older lady (in her 80’s). He feels lucky he wasn’t charged with negligent homicide. The woman was sent to the hospital for a month, and there is no mention of her dying. If she didn’t die, there wouldn’t have been a homicide charge at all. Also, depending on the jurisdiction – the family wouldn’t be pressing charges – the police and D.A would. It also doesn’t help that the first officer on scene lied in the report and didn’t give Cliff a breathalyzer.
I’m not quite sure how to feel about that situation. The reason?
In Las Vegas, a career DUI driver avoided jail and prison between 1965-2000. He had been arrested 16 times, only had three convictions. He kept slipping through the cracks. In March 2000, after completing a diversion program, and driving on a suspended license, Morse went to a bar driving his mother’s SUV. On his way to another bar, he slammed into a 1999 Camaro owned by Cynthia Jay-Brennan who had won a near $35 million MegaBucks jackpot. Morse was going 51 mph, didn’t stop, then fled the scene. That accident killed her sister at the scene, and left Cynthia a quadriplegic (paralyzed from the chest down). That accident was Morse’s 17th DUI. Naturally, reading about Cliff’s “accident” was triggering.
As far as this story – the half-sister storyline was by far the most interesting aspect and had such a minor part in the entire story though. And, I was absolutely looking forward to it as it had the greatest potential. Sadly, it suffered an abrupt confrontation/ending – literally about a page dedicated to the “confrontation” between Mona and her half-sister. I would’ve liked to see this have played out a bit more. There was some slight confusion as the sister is named Theresa Moretti. But, about less than 80 pages later, the name Anna Maria Moretti is mentioned. Moretti is referred to as a half-sister, however she’s mentioned as a step-sister right after the confrontation. Despite the typos and a bit of confusion, I was disappointed by the lack of attention this storyline deserved. It felt rushed and almost like it was an afterthought.
That wasn’t the only “rush” or abrupt end. There was also the entire ending of the book. Joey’s mental issues finally get addressed, but it’s only in the mention of a doctor’s appointment. It felt like they spent the best part of the book not really involved, and at times in conflict, yet at the end (I mean the VERY end) – there’s a spark.
I absolutely loved the name of the restaurant – Booty’s. Not only was it a play on the Buttaro family name, but it has long been acknowledged that the country of Italy looks like a boot.
This is a quirky little story involving family drama, unique and memorable characters, a poor dog than no one seems to want, someone who hears voices, a restaurant, and perhaps a second chance at love for all.
There is no foul language, no real intimate scenes or “spice”, and the chapters are fairly short.
Despite all of that – did I enjoy the book? I feel bad that I couldn’t enjoy it more than I did.
RATING:
2 ⭐⭐/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Goodreads (“It was ok”)
2 ⭐⭐/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Bookbub (“Disappointing”)
2 ⭐⭐/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Personal Rating (see rating explanation in this blog: https://readingexcursions.blogspot.com/2020/01/rating-system-2020-changes.html;update https://readingexcursions.blogspot.com/2022/07/what-goes-into-my-reviews-2022-edition.html)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Bestselling author KATE LLOYD is a passionate observer of human relationships. A native of Baltimore, Kate and her husband live in the Pacific Northwest. She has worked a variety of jobs, including restaurateur and car salesman. For relaxation and fun, Kate enjoys travel and walking with her cairn terrier, Piper.
You can also find her on the following social media accounts:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/katelloydbooks
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katelloydauthor
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