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Nov 23, 2011

Catherine rated it:

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Jul 30, 2011

Rebecca rated it:

I am glutton for punishment. As part of my non-attainable goal to read every book ever, I tend to lean towards authors whom I have read before, weather I liked the book or not. I mean, if the book was so painful, I wanted to watch any reality tv over reading it, I won't pick up anything else, but even if I thought the book was totally annoying, I'll pick up more. And this was one of them. I don't know when I put this book down on my request list. Must have been a while back. And I actually just More...

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Mar 30, 2011

Sarah rated it:

I was handed The Nanny Diaries as a gift when I was leaving to go be an au pair in Europe and I thoroughly enjoyed it. This story, the sequel, was not as good as the first, but it did uncannily pertain to my life at the present time again. The story tells of Nan fearing her former employer, and then getting so intricately thrown into their lives that she ends up having to take care of the boys herself. She is having problems with her husband because he is ready to have children, and she is wo More...

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Jan 02, 2011

Wendi rated it:

Thank God for a follow up. I've always worried about Grayer X. I knew that Nanny (Nan-neh!) would land on her feet, but Grayer...I always wondered what would happen to him.

If you liked "The Nanny Diaries" I do believe you will like this sequel (the ladies are even talking trilogy!!) We find Nanny's socialite nemesies struggling against the economy - what do you mean I can't have my Prada and my driver too? - and Nanny struggling with possible motherhood.

I felt lik More...

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Dec 20, 2010

Tonya rated it:

This follow-up to the Nanny Diaries has the same wit and humor as the first but not as much of it and if you ask me is darker than the first book. In this book, the neglect of Grayer and his brother Stilton has hit a new high and unlike the first novel results in a child getting physically hurt. I think what also makes this book darker than the previous one is that Grayer is no longer a bratty, hurt, and confused four-year-old, but a cynical teenager experimenting with alcohol and sex. Nanny is More...

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Oct 17, 2010

Chris rated it:

I listened to the first Nanny novel as an audiobook many moons ago when I was working as a painter in college. Our local library had a paltry selection of audiobooks and I couldn't afford to be picky. I thought I would hate The Nanny Diaries, but instead I found myself enjoying the book. When I heard the authors had penned a sequel, I was curious enough to get the audiobook of Nanny Returns for my commute.

At some points, I felt like Nanny Returns actively hated me and was trying to ph More...

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Oct 12, 2010

Sara rated it:

Having never read the first book in this series, The Nanny Diaries, I was able to start The Nanny Returns with a little bit of perspective. As does, Nan, our former Nanny protagonist, who has recently gotten her man (she is a newlywed), her masters, and returned to New York to renovate a dilapidated house. Though she's struggling to launch her consulting business, she can't help but become all tangled up with her former charge, Grayer and his younger brother, Stilton, and the horrific Mr. and Mr More...

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Oct 09, 2010

Jessica rated it:

I was super excited to read Nanny Returns because I absolutely loved The Nanny Diaries (see my review here). I was shocked and surprised when I found myself skipping through pages and shaking my head while reading this one…more on that in a bit.

Nanny Returns tells the story of Nan, our favorite NYC Nanny 10 years later. Now married to Harvard Hottie Ryan, Nan returns from traveling the world with her husband to settle back into NYC.

One night, a 16 year old Grayer (Nan’s forme More...

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Sep 13, 2010

Julie rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Jul 26, 2010

Agatha rated it:

Light-hearted sequel to The Nanny Diaries. This book got horrible reviews on Amazon so I went in not really expecting very much and then was pleased with what I found. Shrug, who knew?!?  People said it had too many plots; I found it more compelling and multi-layered than the typical, predictable "chick lit." People said that Nan had not "grown" in the intermittent 12 years; I thought she was more mature, but obviously the same person, and heck, what do you expect? This More...

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Mar 24, 2010

Liz rated it:

I read The Nanny when it first came out and was both horrified and fascinated by the stories of the upper class. The story continues in this book. Nanny married her Harvard Hottie and has spent the last twelve years traveling around the world with him while he works with the U.N. Now she's back in NYC trying to get work as a human resources consultant.

She's abruptly thrown back into the Xs lives when Grayer, her former charge, comes to her door in the middle of the night completely d More...

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Feb 13, 2010

Mallory rated it:

I'm embarrassed that I read this book and even more embarrassed that I sort of liked it.

The premise: Nan and Ryan (better known as HH to those who read the prequel) are married and have recently moved back to NY after years spent abroad working with the UN. Because this is a McLaughlin and Krauss confection, the main characters are born of privilege but have chosen to slum it by buying a Harlem brownstone that is in serious need of renovation. This is always my complaint with McLa More...

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Feb 09, 2010

NCPL rated it:

Once upon a time, Nan worked for the Xes and cared for their son, Grayer. After being fired, she ranted her frustrations to the teddy bear nanny-cam. Fast forward twelve years. Nan has married the Harvard Hottie and after living in third world countries, they have returned to NYC in pursuit of the American dream. Home ownership isn't all it's cracked up to be, especially when renovations don't happen according to schedule and living conditions are worse than in aforementioned countries. But More...

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Feb 03, 2010

Carla rated it:

Whew - it was a busy month for Nan, and I was exhausted just reading about it. Although I didn't read THE NANNY DIARIES, there was enough tie-in with this book that I didn't feel lost, and was able to pick follow the story without feeling like there were any gaps. Returning to New York after twelve years out of the country, Nan and her husband Ryan are remodeling their new home, and Nan is trying to get her new business off the ground. Just as Ryan announces that he thinks they should start a fa More...

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Jan 09, 2010

Heather rated it:

I saw that the newest Nanny book was out, so I picked it up at the library. Thank goodness I didn't spend money on it!
This book is a disappointment in many ways:
Marriage and family: Nan got married and seemed to enjoy her time with HH as they lived in various parts of the world. She has parents who are still married to one another and seem happy; she has a grandmother she still talks to, etc. Why does she let such idiotic snot former employers make her second-guess the whole idea More...

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Jan 02, 2010

Karetchko rated it:

I hadn't realized that there was a new book out by the authors of the Nanny Diaries. I've read their other books (Citizen Girl and Dedication) but don't really remember anything about either book. Nanny Diaries was pretty memorable, though (especially the bit with the lavender water!) so I wanted to read this one after I kept seeing it in all of the airports. Luckily my library had it...it would not be worth purchasing, though it's an entertaining read.

As the story begins, Nan and her More...

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Dec 28, 2009

Amy rated it:

While I was visiting New York I thought this would be a good time to pick up "Nanny Returns." It was compulsively readable in a travel-book way, once I accepted the fact that this was not going to be high literature, which was evident from the first page.

McLaughlin and Kraus have a flair for the over-the-top ridiculousness of rich Manhattanites. Their hijinks-of-the-rich-and-famous situations resonate all the way back to The Bonfire of the Vanities. Their version of a high More...

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Dec 24, 2009

Sara E. rated it:

I was originally vacillating between two or three stars, but I decided that this was definitely leaning towards the two. I picked this up because I enjoyed the first book. It took me a while to get into this because it has been such a long time since I read the first book.

I feel like there were just too many things going on in this book. The house, her job at the crazy school, the whole Citrine thread...I don't think it was necessary to go through all of this. Also, I feel that the w More...

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Dec 14, 2009

Cheryl rated it:

Everyone’s favorite nanny is back. Nanny Nan and her husband, Ryan have returned to the Big Apple. They have a lot of work ahead of them with many renovations and many improvements to their home. Nan is hoping to get a job soon. Opportunity appears at her door in the form of her former charge…Grayer.

He is all grown up now. Grayer. Grayer dislikes Nan for leaving him and his brother. He believes she is just like all the rest of the prior nannies. But can Grayer forgive Nan when he le More...

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Feb 10, 2011

Brittany rated it:

How I Came To Read This Book: I snagged it from my boyfriend’s prizing cupboard at work.

The Plot: It’s been twelve years since Nanny (of The Nanny Diaries abandoned her charge Grayer and fled New York City on the wings of her Harvard Hottie (now husband) Ryan. We meet Nan as she’s trying to get her employee relations consulting business off the ground, renovating a massive fixer-upper in Harlem, and uneasily avoiding the likes of the X family she used to work for…a task made complica More...

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Jun 21, 2011

Anna rated it:

After reading Nanny Diaries(which I completely loved), I expected the sequel to be a lot better than it was. Don't get me wrong, I was hooked almost the entire time and just kept reading and reading but I didn't feel any connection to Grayer which was an aspect of the book that I desperatley wanted. He isn't the young, innocent Grayer from the first novel but rather a teenage boy getting into the wrong activities such as drugs and MUCH older women. Most of the book he's completely drunk or unint More...

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Mar 16, 2010

Kiersten rated it:

There is WAY too much going on in this book, and as a result, I didn't really care about any of it. The main plot lines in the story [seem:] to be the Xs and Nan's position with a consultant for Jarndyce, an exclusive private school run by an absolutely toxic parental board, which puts the Xs' exploits from the first book to shame. Oh, and Nan having a baby. That's supposed to be one of the main parts of the story, but it's completely overshadowed by everything else going on. Anyway, while work More...

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Jan 21, 2010

Sarah rated it:

This was definitely much more dysfunctional than "Nanny Diaries." I liked the book... it was good to get some closure on Nan's relationship w/ the X's, but I would definitely say there was no "happy every after" here.

About 1/3 of the way through the book, I had to pause and re-group. I don't have a problem w/ character builders. If a character is different ideologically from me, I don't run, I just know that these are things that build the type of person/relat More...

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Jan 19, 2010

Michael rated it:

Every once in a while I like to move outside of "comfort zone" of reading and pick up a book I've heard a lot about but wouldn't ordinarily read. That happened a few years ago when I heard a lot of buzz about "The Nanny Diaries" and, on impulse, picked up the audio version at my local library. At the time, I found the novel fairly interesting with some fascinating observations and some humorous and touching moments. It wasn't going to make my list of all time favorite book More...

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Dec 31, 2009

Sarah-Greenbeanteenqueen rated it:

I first read The Nanny Diaries three years ago when I myself was working as a nanny. Granted, I wasn't working for an elite, rich family in New York, but I still found the book to be a wickedly funny account of the nannying world and I really enjoyed it. So I was looking forward to returning to Nan's story, but sadly I was disappointed with this sequel.

After twelve years, getting married, and living all over the world with her husband, Nan has not grown up. She still has no spine a More...

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Mar 18, 2010

Jenny rated it:

Had no idea how to star this. Because it's a horrible book. Extremely poorly written with the most unbelievable characters in the world and Nan is kind of an ineffective pushover in almost everything she does. But at the same time I couldn't put it down and read it in a week. The book is extremely odd. They bring back all of Nan's old college friends as if we have been spending the years re-reading the Nanny Diaries and remember them all intimately. I don't. And her husband is missing for pretty More...

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Dec 17, 2009

devra rated it:

Completely disappointing and too full of the cliches that were already overdone when "The Nanny Diaries" came out the first time. I was really looking forward to this book, to getting a glimpse of what Grayer X and his family turned into, and unfortunately all we really get is a glimpse. Most of the book is spent on manufactured marriage troubles for our Nan and a side-plot involving a former school friend that goes on for far too long and ultimately contributes little, if anything, More...

1 comment like (4 people liked it)

Jul 26, 2011

Kieran rated it:

Nanny Returns –

I loved the Nanny Diaries and when I saw the sequel hit the bargain bin (hard back) I knew this wouldn’t be movie material. It wasn’t that bad, honestly, but as low an opinion I had of Mrs X in the first book I think charging her down the collective imagination might have been flogging the proverbial dead horse.
There does seem to be a subversive plot in these two books – the necessity to peel back the upper East Side’s uber wealthy for what they are – morally More...

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Feb 07, 2010

Carly rated it:

I was really disappointed in this book. The first half was absolutely horrible, to the point that I just wanted to put it down and pretend I never saw that it existed but I was snowed in and decided to keep reading. The writing was really disjointed and the authors seemed to interject unnecessary big words in random spots just to prove that they knew them.
After the end of the first book, where Nan stands up for herself, it's upsetting to see her as an awful whiner and pushover in this More...

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Jan 19, 2010

Amy rated it:

I remember when NANNY DIARIES was one of the hot books back in 2000. It was marketed as a snarky darkly comic look into the hidden world of the New York City nanny. And I hated it. It was so incredibly disturbing. The way the NYC mothers were portrayed made them look like something just short of child abusers. And maybe that is how they should be portrayed. I do not doubt that NANNY DIARIES held more than a few grains of truth in it. I just didn't enjoy the ride. So, it was with some trepida More...

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