#BookReview: How To Change a Life by Stacey Ballis

how to change a lifeAbout the Book

A dare between friends leads to startling revelations and simmering tensions in the latest novel from the author of Wedding Girl.

Eloise is happy with her life as a successful private chef. She has her clients, her corgi, and a recipe for the world’s most perfect chocolate cream pie. What more could she need? But when her long-lost trio of high school friends reunites, Eloise realizes how lonely she really is.

Eloise, Lynne, and Teresa revamp their senior-class assignment and dare one another to create a list of things to accomplish by the time they each turn forty in a few months. Control freak Lynne has to get a dog, Teresa has to spice up her marriage, and Eloise has to start dating again.

Enter Shawn, a hunky ex-athlete and the first man Eloise could see herself falling for. Suddenly forty doesn’t seem so lonely—until a chance encounter threatens the budding romance and reveals the true colors of her friends. Will the bucket listers make it to forty still speaking to one another? Or do some friendships come with an expiration date?

My Review

Stacey Ballis is on my list of favorite writers, and I always know I will enjoy her novels. How To Change a Life was the same absorbing read as her past books. I loved the idea of Eloise and her two friends making a little bucket list of sorts, items they want to complete before their fortieth birthdays. While Eloise is our main character, I still felt like I really got to know Teresa and Lynn, and enjoyed both of their stories. I’m such a fan of foodie fiction as well, and the combination of Eloise being a chef and the cute storyline of helping her client’s son compete for a food reality show, I was basically salivating my way through the book. Another must read from Stacey Ballis, and one for my favorite’s list.

5 stars