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How Hard Can It Be?

(Kate Reddy #2)

Allison Pearson

3.76 · Rating details · 7,897 ratings · 1,430 reviews

Few sequels beat the original, but How Hard Can It Be? does so hands down.

Kate Reddy's comeback as a pushing-50 "Returner,” re-entering the workforce after a spell on the mommy track, is zesty, razor-sharp, and hilarious. With a robust absence of self-pity, she has defined the humiliating onset of "invisibility" that coincides with the onrushing pressures of parents, teen Few sequels beat the original, but How Hard Can It Be? does so hands down.

Kate Reddy's comeback as a pushing-50 "Returner,” re-entering the workforce after a spell on the mommy track, is zesty, razor-sharp, and hilarious. With a robust absence of self-pity, she has defined the humiliating onset of "invisibility" that coincides with the onrushing pressures of parents, teenage kids, and a marriage gone flat, all while attempting to reinstate her perilous professional worth. It’s full of such quotable casual profundity on the female condition I couldn't read it without a pencil to underline the abundance of great lines. Get ready for Kate!” —Tina Brown

Allison Pearson's brilliant debut novel, I Don't Know How She Does It, was a New York Times bestseller with four million copies sold around the world. Called "the definitive social comedy of working motherhood" (The Washington Post) and "a hysterical look―in both the laughing and crying senses of the world―at the life of Supermom" (The New York Times), I Don't Know How She Does It introduced Kate Reddy, a woman as sharp as she was funny. As Oprah Winfrey put it, Kate's story became "the national anthem for working mothers."

Seven years later, Kate Reddy is facing her 50th birthday. Her children have turned into impossible teenagers; her mother and in-laws are in precarious health; and her husband is having a midlife crisis that leaves her desperate to restart her career after years away from the workplace. Once again, Kate is scrambling to keep all the balls in the air in a juggling act that an early review from the U.K. Express hailed as "sparkling, funny, and poignant...a triumphant return for Pearson."

Will Kate reclaim her rightful place at the very hedge fund she founded, or will she strangle in her new “shaping” underwear? Will she rekindle an old flame, or will her house burn to the ground when a rowdy mob shows up for her daughter’s surprise (to her parents) Christmas party? Surely it will all work out in the end. After all, how hard can it be? ...more

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Hardcover, 352 pages

Published June 5th 2018 by St. Martin's Press (first published September 2017)

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Aug 31, 2017 Maureen rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley

Kate Reddy is heading towards a significant birthday, and it's a birthday that she's not quite ready to embrace - it's the big 50!

She's living in a large rambling home that requires the constant services of Polish builder Piotr, together with the never ending amount of cash being thrown at it. She has a husband who she's unable to communicate with, two teenage kids who have problems similar to most teens across the Western world, and also ageing parents and all the relevant problems that come wi ...more

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Jun 01, 2018 Melisa rated it really liked it

A rollicking good time!

I’ve never met a book so quotable and hilarious! If I
would have started highlighting while reading, my whole book would be glowing yellow right now.

Kate Reddy is quickly approaching 50 and is dealing with everything that comes with it - trying to re-enter the workforce after years at home, body and memory changes, and family matters that come with children maturing into teenagers.

For those of us who have aged with Bridget Jones, you will appreciate this tale equally.

Thi ...more

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Feb 24, 2018 Debra rated it liked it

Shelves: netgalley

How Hard Can It Be? is a sequel to "I don't know how she does it". I did not read the first book and I did not feel that I was missing anything but not having read that book first. This book worked very well as a standalone novel for me.

Kate Ready is almost 50, she is returning to the workforce and finds herself having to lie about her age to be considered for employment. Her husband is distant and appears to be more into his self-help books and bike riding than he is in her or their marriage. How Hard Can It Be? is a sequel to "I don't know how she does it". I did not read the first book and I did not feel that I was missing anything but not having read that book first. This book worked very well as a standalone novel for me.

Kate Ready is almost 50, she is returning to the workforce and finds herself having to lie about her age to be considered for employment. Her husband is distant and appears to be more into his self-help books and bike riding than he is in her or their marriage. Her daughter has taken an inappropriate picture of herself and it was posted on the internet, she has aging parents and is dealing with the onset of menopause. Kate has a lot going on in this book.

There are some zany moments of Kate getting caught, as in she is stuck and can't get out of it, in her spanx-like underwear and trying to host her daughter's Christmas party but overall the book this book failed to really blow me away. The main character is dealing with just about everything but the kitchen sink in this book, and although some of it feels cliched, the character is in the age range where she would be dealing with aging parents, teenager angst, pre-menopause, juggling a career with raising a family, etc. So, I can't really fault the Author for throwing all of those into this book. A lot of readers will also be able to relate to a lot of the issues brought up in this book. To add to Kate's woes, a man from her past comes into the picture and she feels those long-ago longing stirred up.

This book deals with a lot of issues: how social media can be used in bullying/sharing of inappropriate pictures, infidelity, the aging process, teenage angst, friendship, return to the workforce, and coping with change. This book does deal with some heavy issues but does so in a light manner. That does not mean that this book takes those issues lightly, it just chooses to deal with them in keeping with the characters personalities.

I liked this book, but I didn't love it. I would not go out of my way to recommend it to someone, but at the same time, if I saw someone reading the book, I would most likely say "Oh yeah, I read that. Good book". Good not great. There were parts that I felt went on a little too long. I know there will be readers who will pick up this book and love it, but when there are sections which I just want to skim so I get through them and back to the part of the book which I enjoyed. There were some things I found to be unrealistic in this book such as Kate not telling her husband about their daughter's issues with her picture being distributed on social media. Perhaps this was done to show the distance between them in the relationship, but I found it unrealistic that she would not have told her daughter's father about the incident and how this was impacting their child.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

See more of my reviews at www.openbookpost.com ...more

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May 28, 2018 Jennifer ~ TarHeelReader rated it really liked it

Shelves: arcs, 2018-reads, hard-soft-copy

4 fun and honest stars to How Hard Can It Be? ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

How Hard Can It Be is the sequel to Allison Pearson’s, I Don’t Know How She Does It, and while I have not read the latter, I felt there was enough backstory and character development here to read this as a standalone. I do plan to read IDKHSDI because it’s been acclaimed as the social comedy of working motherhood, and I already know I enjoy Pearson’s wit.

Kate Reddy is seven years older and about to turn the big 5-0. Her children are now ...more

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May 06, 2018 Liz rated it it was amazing

Shelves: netgalley, best-of-2018

Allison Pearson has written an “OMG, yes!” book. As in, she totally gets it. This book, about turning 50 and entering the age of invisibility, hits all the correct notes. It’s a real mix of comedy and drama, between dealing with perimenopause, teenagers, aging parents, a husband seeking to find himself at everyone else’s expense and the need to stay relevant in today’s business world. A book about needing to laugh so you don’t cry.

I have not read the first book in the series and didn’t feel lik ...more

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Jun 04, 2018 Berit☀️✨ rated it really liked it

Shelves: net-galley, 2018, need-to-review

5 ”50 Is The New 30” Stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Kate! You are absolutely being added to my book BFF list! Not sure when the last time was I read a book with such a relatable character... Kate and I are almost the same age... our kids are about the same age going through the same things as are our parents.... such a wonderful book, filled with laughter, tears, and love...

Kate is quickly heading towards her 50th birthday... she also needs to reenter the workforce, because hubby Rich has decided to take a two year ...more

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Apr 08, 2018 Holly B rated it liked it

Shelves: long, read-in-2018

3.5
This one is about Kate, who is about to turn fifty. It starts out with some hilarious scenes of her dealing with her teenage daughter, Emily’s “social media mishap”. I learned what a “belfie” is. Hmm…not sure if that’s helpful, but good to know!

She wants to return to work after being at home and that proves to be quite a hurdle to jump over. Her husband is going through a mid-life crisis of his own and is often seen biking around in lycra.

I enjoyed it for the most part. I felt it was a bit to ...more

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Jun 05, 2018 Kelly (and the Book Boar) rated it really liked it

Shelves: loveable-losers, arcs, read-in-2018, momcom

Find all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/

How Hard Can It Be? H.A.R.D. No one ever said being a mom was easy, but try being a mom pushing 50 who has been attempting to raise semi-functional humans and finds herself trying to re-enter the workplace thanks to a combination of a giant manchild of a husband who has decided riding his bicycle and taking classes is his new passion rather than going to a paying gig every day and an old “fixer upper” of a house that has morphed into s ...more

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Jun 05, 2018 Stacey rated it really liked it

Bloody brilliant! In 2002 Allison Pearson wrote I Don’t Know How She Does It and introduced Kate Reddy. A working mother with young children. I loved it so much because Kate Reddy was me. I identified with everything.

16 years later Kate Reddy is back! She is funny with a snappy wit. The kids are older and she has taken seven years off of work to care for them and aging parents and in laws. She and her husband, Rich have bought a house that needs a lot more fixing up than they realized. Rich is n ...more

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Sep 09, 2018 Victoria rated it really liked it

Bridget Jones for the menopausal, married and harried.

“What are the words you’d use to describe the fact that women take care of the young and the old, year in, year out, and none of that work counts as skills or experience or even work? Because women are doing it for free it is literally worthless.”

A bit predictable and a tad long, but still relevant and often hilarious. Kate’s inner thoughts are zingers and I read on just to see what predicament she would get up to next. There is a scene in a ...more

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May 20, 2018 ABookwormWithWine rated it really liked it

Shelves: contemporary, female-authors, adult-fiction, womens-fiction, summer-reads, cover-love, made-me-chuckle, romance-ish, not-set-in-the-usa, drama

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 / 5 rounded up.

So, I have a confession to make. I didn't realize How Hard Can It Be? by Allison Pearson was a sequel to I Don't Know How She Does It when I started reading it. BUT, I don't think that mattered all that much.

I really hope this book becomes a movie starring SJP. I loved the movie I Don't Know How She Does It and I think this book would also make a great movie (maybe even a better movie than a book??). This book does seem like a good standalone, but maybe I shouldn't have w ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 / 5 rounded up.

So, I have a confession to make. I didn't realize How Hard Can It Be? by Allison Pearson was a sequel to I Don't Know How She Does It when I started reading it. BUT, I don't think that mattered all that much.

I really hope this book becomes a movie starring SJP. I loved the movie I Don't Know How She Does It and I think this book would also make a great movie (maybe even a better movie than a book??). This book does seem like a good standalone, but maybe I shouldn't have watched the movie of the first book before I read this. The book and the movie of I Don't Know How She Does It definitely don't seem to match completely (from what I gathered from this book), so maybe don't watch the movie adaptation before reading this expecting it will make things more clear. I think it actually made things more confusing for me. Example: In the movie Kate only has eyes for her husband and no interest at all for Jack Abelhammer (who I literally can only picture as Pierce Brosnan now), but in this book it sounds like they were in love?? Very confusing.

How Hard Can It Be? expands upon the life of Kate Reddy who is now approaching the big 5-0. She needs to go back to work because her husband decides to take 2 years out of the workforce to train to become a counselor. Noble? Maybe, but he is no help to Kate financially or otherwise. Lets just say he won't be winning any husband or father of the year awards any time soon. Kate is dealing with hitting 50 soon, trying to find a job where everyone seems to be discriminating against her age and the time she took off to spend with her kids. Plus she is dealing with problems with her kids, her husband Richard's parents, her mom, her sister, and other random issues.

I think this book could have been a lot funnier than it ended up being. I thought it would make me laugh quite a bit, but there were only a few instances where I thought anything was particularly funny. I did love the short chapters though, and the fact that Kate calls her memory "Roy." All I could picture was this little old man shuffling around in her head finding her memories. She would often talk to "Roy" as well which was pretty funny.

How Hard Can It Be? was a little disappointing to me because the premise seemed better than the execution. But that was mostly because I was expecting lots of laughs, which I unfortunately didn't really get. I also think the book was a bit too long. I think it could have easily been around 300 pages and would have been perfect.

Final Thought: I think that lovers of (the book) I Don't Know How She Does It will be happy with how this one turns out. I do like Kate as a character and I thought there were a few very loveable characters in this book. Some of the lingo was a little confusing, but nothing I couldn't handle. I think this book would be much better in movie form though so I hope that happens. How Hard Can It Be? is a funny, interesting look at sexism/ageism in the workplace, turning 50, and dealing with everything life can throw at you.

How Hard Can It Be? in 3-ish words: Sweet, Honest, Insightful ...more

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Feb 11, 2018 Diane in Australia rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

I don't normally read fiction, so, obviously, I am not in the target audience for this book, but I won this in a Goodreads Giveaway, so, here goes.

I felt it was just a piece of fluff. Kate is nearing her 50th birthday, and the book is built around watching her try to keep 'all her balls in the air'. It felt like the storyline just skated over the thinnest surface of each issue facing her. Not really any depth.

As an intelligent woman, Kate seems to have blinders on regarding the disturbing behavi ...more

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Jun 15, 2018 Kristy rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley, fiction, series, read-in-2018, arc, women-s-fiction, ebook, a-real-book-wow, st-martins

Things have taken a bit of a turn for Kate Reddy--she's nearing 50, her husband has lost his job and spends most of his time cycling, and her kids are busy teenagers. With Richard out of work, Kate has to return to work. However, she finds that the financial community isn't welcoming to a woman on the cusp of fifty. When Kate decides to pretend she's seven years younger to enter the working world, she winds up working at the hedge fund she originally started. Once back at work, though, she finds Things have taken a bit of a turn for Kate Reddy--she's nearing 50, her husband has lost his job and spends most of his time cycling, and her kids are busy teenagers. With Richard out of work, Kate has to return to work. However, she finds that the financial community isn't welcoming to a woman on the cusp of fifty. When Kate decides to pretend she's seven years younger to enter the working world, she winds up working at the hedge fund she originally started. Once back at work, though, she finds herself overwhelmed dealing with everything: the unhelpful husband, the ungrateful kids, the demanding colleagues, and an unexpected appearance from an old flame.

This was a tough one for me. It was a slow read, although in its defense, I read it during a very busy time at work. I empathized with Kate's return to working motherhood--especially juggling kids and work and dealing with a male-driven workplace. I didn't enjoy the intense focus on how old Kate was, making her seem nearly decrepit at fifty. It's one thing to deal with turning the big 5-0 and its ramifications, but its another to make it seem like it's the end of the world. Even worse, while Kate could seem so strong in the workplace, she was such a pushover with her children. She was supposedly clueless with technology, unable to keep up with their exploits, and a complete doormat. (I also couldn't handle the endless endearments she used with her kids--there's only so many "sweeties" and "darlings" I can take.)

There are certainly humorous moments in the novel. This is a sequel to Pearson's first novel featuring Reddy and the parts I enjoyed here were the parts I liked about the first one: Kate's wit, her ability to take on the "big boys" at her fund, and the snippets of emails between her and her friend, Candy. There were definitely pieces of the novel that I found myself nodding along with--her moments of anxiety; her rants about how working moms are treated; some insights into kids and the social media era, etc. And Kate certainly doesn't have an easy go of it, with her clueless husband, helpless kids, crumbling house, aging parents, and stressful job.

That being said, I could see most of the plot twists coming a mile away, and you couldn't help but get frustrated that Kate couldn't see them too. Overall, while I found parts of this novel funny, refreshing, and quite apropos, I couldn't really get over Kate's obsession with her looks or her one-sided relationship with her children. In the end, 3.5 stars, probably bumped up a bit for a little Kate Reddy nostalgia.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher and Netgalley in return for an unbiased review (thank you!).

Blog ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Google+ ~ Instagram ...more

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Sep 25, 2017 Joanne Robertson rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

OMG I loved Kate Reddy the first time around but this time she really has become my absolute idol! I adored I Don’t Know How She Does It (NOT THE FILM! STAY WELL AWAY FROM THAT ONE!) and that iconic scene with the mince pies has always stayed with me. I can verify from personal experience that it was a very realistic reflection of the busy working mum. I once spent 6 months avoiding recipe requests for the “best brownies anyone had ever tasted” when I made them for the girls school Christmas Fai OMG I loved Kate Reddy the first time around but this time she really has become my absolute idol! I adored I Don’t Know How She Does It (NOT THE FILM! STAY WELL AWAY FROM THAT ONE!) and that iconic scene with the mince pies has always stayed with me. I can verify from personal experience that it was a very realistic reflection of the busy working mum. I once spent 6 months avoiding recipe requests for the “best brownies anyone had ever tasted” when I made them for the girls school Christmas Fair one year, unable to admit I had used a box mix from Costco! I think Kate spoke for a generation of stressed out mothers who were trying to prove that they could be all things to all people as an antithesis to that singleton life promoted by the Bridget Jones brigade. So I was delighted to see that Kate was coming back as an older, menopausal version of herself, her validity reflecting back at me as I also enter that particular phase of my own life, although Kate has yet to become a grandmother like me! Maybe there’s another book there for the future in fifteen years time!

Allison Pearson was able to bring out many conflicting emotions in me throughout How Hard Can It Be. I was mostly belly laughing out loud but just as quickly I would feel like bursting into tears with the poignant observations of a woman struggling to balance being one of the “sandwich generation”. Caring for elderly parents from both sides of the family whilst still having children is now much more common than it used to be and women are facing a pressure that can build up to a possible breakdown at a time when, once again, they have to be all things to all people. And they have to do this whilst facing the biological changes and stresses that come with middle age as they approach menopause. As Kate Reddy was born in the same year as me, I was able to relate to her character with much affection and understanding. I empathised completely with her life choices and the situations she found herself in whilst finding myself mentally cheering her along to the happy ending she deserved! And having tried to find employment recently myself at the grand old age of 52, I am used to being an “over qualified” candidate! Over qualified……..or “over the hill”?!

There were some very relevant observations here, revealed with an indulgent humour that captivates the reader from the very first page. I worshipped at the alter of the fabulous Kate before and I did so again here. I plan to re-read this one again in the near future as I loved it that much! It has shot straight onto my favourite books of 2017 so comes highly recommended by me! ...more

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May 27, 2018 Susan Kennedy rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction-family, giveaways-won-all, giveaways-won

This was a good book. I really enjoyed it and sadly, related to a lot of it. With menopause looming in the near future, it was really fun to have her perspective on menopause and reaching fifty years of age. And then with the unhappy marriage and the teenagers to deal with as well, I found myself laughing and wanting to cry all the way through.

I wasn't sure going in what I would think of this story. I laughed a whole lot through it and it was like I was one of her named nuances just along for t ...more

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Nov 17, 2017 Amanda rated it it was amazing

Shelves: giveaways

What a brilliant story and a fabulous author! I absolutely loved this book. The main character, Kate Reddy is fast approaching 50 and has two teenagers, a lovable dog and a self-centred husband going through a midlife crisis. This was one of the funniest books I've ever had the pleasure of reading. The descriptiveness of the ageing process for a woman in her 40's is so accurate and oh my gosh, at times, so hilarious! Apart from wanting to give her husband Richard a swift kick up the backside, I ...more

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Oct 19, 2017 Abby Watson rated it it was ok

How Hard Can It Be? Turns out, very.

I just couldn't get in to this book at all, I found it really scatty! It has had such strong positive reviews so I imagine that perhaps the main reason I didn't like it / couldn't take to it is because I can't relate to it?

Side note, the voice of Roy really annoyed me. I skipped over those parts.

(2.5 stars - it's not bad, just not for me)

Thanks to Netgalley for my free copy in exchange for an honest review. ...more

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Jul 14, 2019 StMargarets rated it liked it

Shelves: 3-star, library-book, cheating-explored, literary-fiction

Sequel to I Don't Know How She Does It

Kate Reddy is 49 now. Her children from book one are teenagers. Her husband is re-training as a therapist after he lost his job as an architect. Kate has been spending the last seven years raising her family and renovating a country house. To maintain their lifestyle, Kate must find a high-paying job since her hubby has two years to go in his training. She returns to her investment firm in the city after lying about her age (now 42) and accepting a junior po ...more

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Oct 01, 2018 Clif Hostetler rated it liked it

Shelves: novel

Early in this novel the story's protagonist/first-person-narrator is in a job interview and is told that she doesn't meet the job's "cohort parameters." In this context it means that she's too old at age 49 (going on 50). From that point the plot of this book involves her rejigging her resumé and her body to be 42.

She is subsequently successful at getting a job at an investment company of which she used to be the owner, but nobody recognizes her because there's been a complete turnover in perso Early in this novel the story's protagonist/first-person-narrator is in a job interview and is told that she doesn't meet the job's "cohort parameters." In this context it means that she's too old at age 49 (going on 50). From that point the plot of this book involves her rejigging her resumé and her body to be 42.

She is subsequently successful at getting a job at an investment company of which she used to be the owner, but nobody recognizes her because there's been a complete turnover in personnel since she left seven years ago. From that point on it's a story of a woman sandwiched between problems and demands from her children and aging mother and in-laws dealing with incipient dementia. Also, her husband is less than helpful, and she's dealing with pressures from work and needing to remember that she's pretending to younger than her real age.

The pressures placed on this woman are extreme and can be interpreted as satire of the devaluing of women of a certain age. But the author portrays this woman as enthusiastically invested in this unrealistic game of trying to be young. There are occasional hints of resentment, but not what I would want for a protest of such an environment.

In the end the young clueless young guys at the investment firm are saved from their own fumbling of relations with an important client by our protagonist using her experience and cunning to save the firm. In the process of doing so she reveals her true age which is no longer a problem because she's now a hero.

Her triumph at work is perhaps too good to be true. Likewise, the story has a romance element involving an old fling. That part of the story also ends too happy to be true. But it is a novel so I shouldn't be complaining about realism.

I was first interested in this book because I thought it might be able to be used in a "Next Chapter" book group for newly retired persons. I've concluded it's a novel for someone in the midst of the work-a-day word, not someone opening a new chapter in their life.

Also, I found myself not matching the intended "cohort parameters" for the readers of this book. This book elaborated in considerable detail about the discomforts of perimenopause and unpredictable menstrual cycles. I can accept that these are realistic issues for women, but I am an older white male conditioned to feel uncomfortable with too much such information.

The following excerpt was selected because it shows how problems in the daughter's life parallel those of the mother. In the following quotation our protagonist is editing her daughter's school assignment to analyze Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" and she considers the writing about Shakespeare also reflects the dilemmas of teenage life that her daughter faces. The irony is that the same can be said for Kate herself, our book's narrator.

Plenty of shrewd insights to make up for the dodgy spelling. She really should have more confidence in herself, but girls like Emily set themselves impossibly high standards so they never feel good about themselves. What was it she said to me? “I’m not the cleverest, I’m not the prettiest, I’m not the anythingest.” It’s the disease of the day. ... ...
Does my daughter know, or at any rate sense, that now she is hardly writing about Shakespeare at all? That she is, in fact, writing about her own desperate attempts to fit in, that all teenagers must put on “motley” to be in with the cool kids? That Emily’s daily makeup tutorial on Instagram is teaching her how contrive a Cateyed mask, to disguise herself and her gripping fear that she is not perfect. And making her think that being imperfect is somehow not OK, rather than a human condition. And what will future historians make of the fact that, at the start of the twenty-first century, when feminism seemed to have won the argument, girls like Emily tried their hardest to look like the courtesans of a previous age when women had almost no power except their looks and the ability to attract a man of status? (p158)

...more

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Aug 23, 2017 Lauren rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I received a copy of this book in a Goodreads Giveaway.

Although not my usual genre, I had heard many good things about Allison's previous book 'I Don't Know How She Does It', and so decided to enter the giveaway for 'How Hard Can It Be?'. I'm delighted I won as I loved this book! (I will now definitely be seeking out the first one to read too). Although this is a continuation of 'I Don't Know...', it stands by itself as well and I wasn't confused by the story at any point.
Even though I'm 22 yea ...more

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Jun 13, 2018 Rachel rated it liked it · review of another edition

3.5 Stars

This chick-lit / contemporary fiction, the sequel to I Don’t Know How She Does It earned 3.5 Stars from me.

SUMMARY
Kate Reddy is back! When I Don’t Know How She Does It left off, Kate had moved her family to Yorkshire and left her job to focus on her family. As How Hard Can It Be begins, her husband, Richard, has decided to have a mid life career change and has taken two years off work to train to be a counselor. In need of a steady income, the family moves back to London and Kate searc ...more

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May 15, 2018 Sherwood Smith added it

Shelves: fiction, romance

It turns out that this is a sequel to another book, which I’d never heard of, I Don't Know How She Does It. That’s a fact I discovered after I read this book, which functioned perfectly well as a standalone.

This one attracted me because there are so few books about older women that promise to be fun instead of dreary Problem Novels. I know what the problems of being old are, thank you. I don’t need to read fiction about it.

So Kate Ready is 49, almost fifty (which seems young to me, but still pr ...more

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Nov 23, 2017 Julie rated it it was ok · review of another edition

I do barely remember reading the original Kate Reddy novel by this author, many moons ago. Now Kate Reddy is back. Her kids are teenagers, her husband it busy riding his bike and ignoring her and the elderly parents are causing problems of their own. Her 50th birthday is fast approaching and so Kate finds herself shuffling all of her family round, as she has to head back into the workplace which is full of colleagues who are half her age.

Being the same age myself, I could understand her position ...more

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Aug 19, 2018 Andrea rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fiction

This book spoke to me.
And had me spontaneously laughing, enough to get odd, uncomfortable stares from other customers in the coffee shop. I wished it would go on and on.
So now I must reread it immediately.

Bravo Allison Pearson! & the audiobook is FLAWLESS

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Jun 22, 2018 Brooke (Brooke's Books and Brews) rated it really liked it

As much as I love thrillers, I also really love books that make me laugh. This book made me laugh out loud multiple times. Kate Reddy’s take on raising a family, aging gracefully, and attempting to reenter the workforce is so realistic and full of humor. It’s a very dry humor though but I really enjoyed it.

The story is told from Kate’s point of view. She is older than me but I still found her to be very relatable. She is fast approaching 50 and has found herself the sole breadwinner for the fam ...more

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Mar 01, 2018 Toni rated it really liked it

4.5 Strong, Smart Women STARS

Kate is currently 49, but will soon turn that "f-word" every woman dreads. Plus she's experiencing life's turmoils simultaneously it seems. An unemployed husband trying to re-find himself through cycling, therapy while ignoring his household duties. Two teenage children who delight at testing their independence boundaries while snickering at their Mom's technology naivete. Kids, you love them with all your heart while counting the minutes until they leave for colleg ...more

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Nov 19, 2017 Dale Harcombe added it · review of another edition

Shelves: abandoned, gr-giveaways

I received this as a Goodreads Giveaway and thought it would be an amusing tale of a woman nearing fifty, juggling demands of aging parents, teenagers, marriage and getting older. But in the end I am going to give up on this. I got to page 96 and cannot relate at all to Kate. I continually found myself getting annoyed with her and her teenage daughter. Every time I tried to pick the book up and start again I quickly put it back down and read something else. I am past the age of Kate and past hav ...more

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Feb 23, 2018 bbunny rated it did not like it

Shelves: crap-that-reduces-women-to-moms, dnf-shelf, goodreads-giveaway-wins, contemporaries-and-or-romcoms, read2017, arc, fiction

I won an early ARC on a Goodreads Giveaway. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was a quick DNF.

Simple, extremely mediocre, and stirring up drama (in a simple life even-- you're a normal wife in a normal family doing normal shit and acting like it's a big deal) and writing about the absolute nothings on people that don't even matter much in the book, this book is straight up annoying. Super unimpressive, redundant, and so obvious about woes, worries, stretch marks, gained weight, may I go ...more

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Jun 10, 2018 Amy rated it really liked it

Shelves: physical-arcs

How Hard Can it Be is the sequel to How Does She Do It and I haven’t read the first book, but had no problem jumping in. Kate Reddy is fast approaching fifty and she’s not happy about it. She’s about to renter the workforce after several years spent raising her kids (who are now teenagers) and she’s struggling to find a job where she’s not considered past her sell date. Even though Kate is older than me I found her to be super relatable, Pearson wrote about SO many issues females face from workp ...more

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Nov 12, 2017 Tracey Madeley rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary

The book has been compared to Bridget Jones which is unfortunate as it raises expectations the book does not fulfil. Unlike Bridget the Kate is married and there is a good use of technology and social media right from the start. However, it is the distress of the teenage daughter that is interesting, not the mother’s reaction, trying to pacify her and undo the damage.

Again unlike Bridget, Kate is approaching her 50th birthday and worried about going back into the workplace. Her idea that she cou The book has been compared to Bridget Jones which is unfortunate as it raises expectations the book does not fulfil. Unlike Bridget the Kate is married and there is a good use of technology and social media right from the start. However, it is the distress of the teenage daughter that is interesting, not the mother’s reaction, trying to pacify her and undo the damage.

Again unlike Bridget, Kate is approaching her 50th birthday and worried about going back into the workplace. Her idea that she could lie about her age and get away with it is a little fanciful. It is not only her O Levels, but her national insurance number which would give her age away, or at least suggest a discrepancy. The reader is largely told about her interactions with colleagues, rather than shown and it would have made a better impact if these scenes were given more prominence. Why does she think these young men act the way they do? Is it pure ambition, or a need to put someone else down in order to make yourself look better? A more insightful approach would have added more depth here.

Equally the way she dealt with the issue of ageing parents, would have had more impact if it had been given more prominence. What is Kate’s relationship like with her parents and her in-laws? The high-powered job suggests a distance, but some parents value the status more than the sister who may do the day to day caring. There is some obvious tension between siblings, resulting in a moment of crisis, but what has their relationship been like up to that point?

As for the affair, Jack may have been wonderful, but he didn’t come across as Mr Darcy. The reader knows very little about him. We don’t know if this is just a flash in the pan or a serious relationship? Does she give up on her husband too soon? What effort and problems has she sought to overcome in her marriage?

I think the writer has tried to appear trendy with her social media, tackled too many issues and in the end satisfied no one. An easy read but a lack of depth mens a less than satisfying read. ...more

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What's the Name o...: SOLVED. Adult Funny novel. London married mom returns to career after long break, going through perimenopause which she calls "Perry". 2nd book in series. [s]	3	9	Feb 06, 2021 08:08PM
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About Allison Pearson

Allison Pearson

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Allison Pearson was born in South Wales. An award-winning journalist, she was named Newcomer of the Year at the British Book Awards for her first novel, I Don't Know How She Does It. Allison has written for many magazines and newspapers including the Daily Telegraph, the Independent, the Observer, the Sunday Times and the London Evening Standard. For four years she was the popular Wednesday column ...more

Other books in the series

Kate Reddy (2 books)

Books by Allison Pearson

I Don't Know How She Does It (Kate Reddy, #1)

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Quotes from How Hard Can It Be?

“Not unhappy is not the same thing as happy.” — 1 likes

“This larder of memories, of sex, of life, of family that we had built up, could always be called upon in the leaner times of our relationship... Everything we had built together over twenty years was there to be tapped into, summoned as evidence that we were made to last... I hadn't realized how much I counted on that trick working until the time came when it didn't.” — 1 likes

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