During the past several months, who hasn’t dreamed of shaking things up, grabbing her girlfriends, heading on a road trip, and seeing lots of new places along the way?
Samantha Arias and Holly Dunfee, the protagonists of bestselling author Ann Garvin’s latest page-turner, that’s who.
In I Thought You Said This Would Work (Lake Union Publishing), Samantha and Holly are two former best friends who became estranged after college for reasons that the conflict-avoiding Samantha has never quite understood. Along with their mutual pal, Katie — the glue that holds them together — the three friends were inseparable for years, but everyone knows that three can sometimes be a crowd. Ever since college, Samantha has felt a chilliness with Holly that she can’t explain, and a sense that she is in competition for Katie’s friendship.
But when Katie is hospitalized for cancer treatment, Samantha knows she will do anything to help her best friend, even if that means plunging headfirst into long days and nights keeping vigil at the hospital alongside headstrong, take-charge, confrontational Holly. What she doesn’t expect is that Katie’s greatest wish is to have her giant, diabetic dog, which her horrible ex-husband is holding hostage on the other side of the country, by her side as she fights for her life.
ESTRANGED FRIENDS GO FROM ZERO TO SIXTY … LITERALLY
Directionally challenged Samantha immediately offers to retrieve her friend’s pet, but all three women know that she’ll never make it back in one piece. The only option? Holly will have to go with her. Neither is thrilled at the prospect of spending that much quality time together, but they are united in their assertion that no lengths are too great to go to for the friend they both love.
Two ex-friends, a 100-pound diabetic dog and stealing Katie’s ex-husband’s VW camper — what could possibly go wrong?
Two thousand miles of road stretching out before them, Samantha and Holly will have to find a way to co-exist or, better yet, maybe even uncover a long-lost secret or two that could potentially mend their broken relationship. But, just like those thousands of miles of highway, trying to find common ground will be a long, winding, twisty journey. Encounters with quirky new characters along the way keep this story fresh and interesting, while strong character development of the protagonists makes it relatable and grounded.
Garvin paints the picture of female friendship — even of the fractured kind — in perfectly even brushstrokes, while pop-ins from hilarious new people they meet along the way, namely a D-list celebrity that hitches a ride, lend her signature wit and humor in droves.
In the pages of this approachable and inspirational new novel, Garvin is at the height of her distinctive, transportive storytelling powers. Garvin claims that she finds everything in life funny and a little bit sad, and that is the perfect way to describe I Thought You Said This Would Work. You will laugh, cry, and, ultimately, find yourself picking up the phone to call your best girlfriends. I know I did.
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About Ann Garvin:
Ann Garvin, Ph.D., is the USA Today bestselling author of I Like You Just Fine When You’re Not Around, The Dog Year, and On Maggie’s Watch. Ann writes about women with a sense of humor who do too much in a world that asks too much from them. She teaches writing at the University of Wisconsin–Madison Continuing Studies and at the Drexel University master of fine arts program, and she has held positions at Miami University and Southern New Hampshire University in their master of fine arts programs. She is the founder of Tall Poppy Writers, where she is committed to helping writers succeed. She is a sought-after speaker on writing, leadership, and health and has taught extensively at conferences and festivals across the country.
