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How Hard Can It Be?
(Kate Reddy #2)
by
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 ...more
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 ...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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Start your review of How Hard Can It Be? (Kate Reddy, #2)

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
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

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
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

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. ...more
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. ...more

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
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

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

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
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

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
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

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
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

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
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

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
“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

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 / 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 ...more
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 ...more

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
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

Jun 15, 2018
Kristy
rated it
liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
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women-s-fiction,
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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
...more

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
...more

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
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

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

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
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

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
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

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 ...more
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 ...more

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
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

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
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

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
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

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

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
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

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
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

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

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
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

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

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 ...more
Again unlike Bridget, Kate is approaching her 50th birthday and worried about going back into the workplace. Her idea that she cou ...more
topics | posts | views | last activity | |
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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 | |
Who else was disappointed? | 5 | 30 | Jan 25, 2019 08:24PM |
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
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“Not unhappy is not the same thing as happy.”
—
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“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.”
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