What do you think?
Rate this book
Celia at 39
Celia Bernhart, on the cusp of turning 39, thinks her life is all planned out. She has a successful career selling pharmaceuticals. She's about to marry her longtime fiance, a doctor. Oh, sure, her mother and her two sisters drive her nuts, but that's normal, right? Then a package unexpectedly shows up at her door -- the address is correct, but it was mailed nearly forty years earlier, to another woman, whose whereabouts are now a mystery. Inside is a curious old cookbook, along with a sealed note from a daughter to her mother. Celia decides to deliver the package to its rightful recipient. Instead she finds the woman's grandson, Dante Zebulon, the pitmaster of a small barbecue joint nestled in the Appalachians, a man who literally plays with fire, and who juggles cooking classic Southern barbecue with raising a young daughter alone. When the note reveals a long-kept family secret -- and when sparks fly between Celia and Dante -- it's not just Celia's life that gets turned upside down. Soon the future for all becomes a question mark.
302 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 30, 2019
40 people are currently reading
1810 people want to read
About the author
Jason Pomerance
7 books119 followersJason was born in New York City, raised in Westchester County, and graduated from Middlebury College. His first novel, Women Like Us, was published by the Quill Imprint of Inkshares in 2016, and his four-part novella, Falconer, debuted the same year on Nikki Finke’s Hollywooddementia. His short stories have appeared in Writing Bloc anthologies Escape! and Deception. Writing Bloc is also the publisher of Celia At 39. He lives in Los Angeles with his partner and their animals and has written film and television projects for numerous studios and production companies, including Warner Brothers, Columbia Pictures, Fremantle Media, and Gold Circle Films.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
December 13, 2019
So, as the editor, I am clearly biased. But I will tell you, I have read this book approximately 18 billion times, and it still impresses me. From the first page, I empathized with Celia Bernhart (full disclosure: I just turned 38). Celia is a pharmaceutical rep engaged to a doctor, and I'm a librarian who's been married for 12 years, but I could definitely relate to the feeling of dread that comes with getting older. When you start to wonder - what have you done with your life so far, and what do you need to do next? On the outside, Celia's life seems perfectly respectable, but it's clear that something is missing. When she receives an old cookbook, mistakenly mailed to her, that "something missing" is what drives her to seek out its owner. And when she does, her journey truly begins. I would love for all of you to discover this delightful and poignant novel, and to meet Celia.
February 17, 2020
I've been a fan of Jason Pomerance's writing since reading his first novel Women Like Us. I'm pleased to report that Celia at 39 did not disappoint. True to Pomerance's style it quickly immersed me into a world full of unique, well-rounded characters and a flawed, relatable protagonist questioning the direction her life is taking. We've all been there, right? As always Pomerance's story was dotted with sweet, moving moments that led to my re-reading occasional paragraphs over again just to soak in the empathy. I'll be grabbing anything this author writes in the future.
February 14, 2020
I always like when a man can get into a woman's head so well that I forget that the author is actually male. Celia at 39: A Novel is definitely an example of this concept for me, joining the ranks of She's Come Undone and Memoirs of a Geisha. Jason Pomerance did a great job of creating this flawed, sensitive, and genuine woman that she was practically right in front of me the entire time.
Celia at 39 was an enjoyable story that I kept recommending as I got further and further into reading it. It went in directions that I really wasn't expecting. It made me think about my own life, even though I'm a few years past 39. There was a lot of humor and heart with some really sweet moments that carried the story along nicely. The descriptions of food sounded delicious, even though I don't eat pork. It still made me want some really good barbecue.
There were some minor timing errors that I noticed, such as someone saying they needed to do something by the end of the day to meet a deadline, but then it was the next day and suddenly the deadline had been magically extended. Also, the age Celia thinks Dante is (late twenties or early thirties) doesn't make sense in regards to when the note was written. I tried not to put too much weight into the timing issues, but I am glad to help edit future books for this type of thing.
Aside from being a bit quirky, Celia at 39 is a sweet and thoughtful novel that I had a lot of fun reading. It would be perfect as a romantic comedy film!
Movie casting ideas:
Celia: Ellie Kemper
Dante: Jason Momoa
Barry: Colin Hanks
Daisy: Mary Kay Place
Bernadette: Annie Wersching
Rosalie: Rooney Mara
Roberta: Molly Ephraim
Celia at 39 was an enjoyable story that I kept recommending as I got further and further into reading it. It went in directions that I really wasn't expecting. It made me think about my own life, even though I'm a few years past 39. There was a lot of humor and heart with some really sweet moments that carried the story along nicely. The descriptions of food sounded delicious, even though I don't eat pork. It still made me want some really good barbecue.
There were some minor timing errors that I noticed, such as someone saying they needed to do something by the end of the day to meet a deadline, but then it was the next day and suddenly the deadline had been magically extended. Also, the age Celia thinks Dante is (late twenties or early thirties) doesn't make sense in regards to when the note was written. I tried not to put too much weight into the timing issues, but I am glad to help edit future books for this type of thing.
Aside from being a bit quirky, Celia at 39 is a sweet and thoughtful novel that I had a lot of fun reading. It would be perfect as a romantic comedy film!
Movie casting ideas:
Celia: Ellie Kemper
Dante: Jason Momoa
Barry: Colin Hanks
Daisy: Mary Kay Place
Bernadette: Annie Wersching
Rosalie: Rooney Mara
Roberta: Molly Ephraim
December 18, 2019
This is a beautifully written and crafted story. I read Jason Pomerance's earlier work, Women Like Us, and loved it. Celia at 39 is equally as moving. The characters are easy to relate to and believable. The plot rolls along at a crisp pace, and the touches of humor and description are fantastic. Buy this book to make yourself smile, and maybe cry a little, but more importantly share it with others for Christmas, they will thank you - my wife sure did.
May 4, 2020
The human interactions in this book are so real it's both impressive and annoying. It's great from a writing perspective how organic it comes off as but it's annoying because of the almost cringing flashbacks it give me. I know almost all the characters here in real life and I've have most of these scraps with my own family filled with girls. The only problem I have with this book that cost it the last star was the fact that I believe this should have been a first person narrative and I'm not sure why it wasn't written as one. I even started reading it as such without even noticing I was. Overall, great slice of life story about the troubling midway of life that we all struggle with. The very ending makes you feel very happy.
Read
August 4, 2024DNF around 30%. It's literally just a Hallmark movie in book form 🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️
The audiobook narrator did a good job! Too bad all the characters were annoying and rambled
The audiobook narrator did a good job! Too bad all the characters were annoying and rambled
March 25, 2020
Celia Bernhart, almost 39, thinks her life is all planned. She has a successful career selling pharmaceuticals. She's engaged to marry her longtime fiancé, a doctor. Then a package unexpectedly shows up at her door -mailed nearly forty years earlier, along with a sealed note from a daughter to her mother. Celia decides to deliver the package and a delicious adventure of self-discovery ensues.
Jason Pomerance spins a wonderful tale, in a fast, fun read. I loved the story of Celia, and there were so many great nuanced details that were clearly well researched. The BBQ details in particular really resonated for me. Even the many small steps involved in properly building a fire for a smoker (which I have personally done many times and learned from a real pitmaster) rang 100% true. The reader can easily see the iconic car that figures into the story in their minds eye, and its eventual transformation. Celia’s “work uniform” is easy to picture, including her made-up face vs. her more laid-back self once she meets the grandson of the person who originally mailed the mystery package.
I really felt like I wanted to take a vacation down to the BBQ shack in Macon and eat Belle’s biscuits for breakfast after reading this book. (We won’t even start on Daisy’s Coconut cake!)
The food descriptions are so good I can’t believe I didn’t gain 5 lbs. just reading it.
But, as good as the food descriptions are, the descriptions of the action going on around Celia, are awesome. There is a scene where she goes for a night-time dip in a river, and you can almost feel the water and see the steam coming off the bodies.
In the long run, this is a story about listening to heart, and finding second chances, and you should absolutely take a chance on this book and author!
Jason Pomerance spins a wonderful tale, in a fast, fun read. I loved the story of Celia, and there were so many great nuanced details that were clearly well researched. The BBQ details in particular really resonated for me. Even the many small steps involved in properly building a fire for a smoker (which I have personally done many times and learned from a real pitmaster) rang 100% true. The reader can easily see the iconic car that figures into the story in their minds eye, and its eventual transformation. Celia’s “work uniform” is easy to picture, including her made-up face vs. her more laid-back self once she meets the grandson of the person who originally mailed the mystery package.
I really felt like I wanted to take a vacation down to the BBQ shack in Macon and eat Belle’s biscuits for breakfast after reading this book. (We won’t even start on Daisy’s Coconut cake!)
The food descriptions are so good I can’t believe I didn’t gain 5 lbs. just reading it.
But, as good as the food descriptions are, the descriptions of the action going on around Celia, are awesome. There is a scene where she goes for a night-time dip in a river, and you can almost feel the water and see the steam coming off the bodies.
In the long run, this is a story about listening to heart, and finding second chances, and you should absolutely take a chance on this book and author!
April 4, 2020
Family and Life-Changing Events at Middle Age
I downloaded this book at one of my favorite book review sites, and the download just said Writing Bloc as the author. When it was time to read and review the book, I jumped right to the story, skipping the title page. So when I came to review the book on Amazon, I was shocked to see that a man wrote this book, but in a good way! I am surprised that a man could understand the way a woman thinks and acts so well.
As soon as I started reading the book, I could completely identify with Celia's relationship with her mother and sisters. Parts of it, unfortunately, reminded me so much of my life. Families are awesome, but they can be big buttinskis who can impact your self-esteem, the way you think about yourself, and even the way you act. So I was kind of glad to see Celia’s life shaken up a bit. Okay, more than a bit. The characters in the book were so believable and relatable. Honestly, I just kept on reading when I should have been doing other things. I loved that the protagonist was a woman approaching 40. Not all books have to be about sweet young things! Excellent characters, a well-done plot with some surprises in places, and good pacing. All in all, I found this a page-turning, sweet, and delightful read.
I received a free copy of this book, but that did not affect my review.
My book blog: https://www.readingfanaticreviews.com
I downloaded this book at one of my favorite book review sites, and the download just said Writing Bloc as the author. When it was time to read and review the book, I jumped right to the story, skipping the title page. So when I came to review the book on Amazon, I was shocked to see that a man wrote this book, but in a good way! I am surprised that a man could understand the way a woman thinks and acts so well.
As soon as I started reading the book, I could completely identify with Celia's relationship with her mother and sisters. Parts of it, unfortunately, reminded me so much of my life. Families are awesome, but they can be big buttinskis who can impact your self-esteem, the way you think about yourself, and even the way you act. So I was kind of glad to see Celia’s life shaken up a bit. Okay, more than a bit. The characters in the book were so believable and relatable. Honestly, I just kept on reading when I should have been doing other things. I loved that the protagonist was a woman approaching 40. Not all books have to be about sweet young things! Excellent characters, a well-done plot with some surprises in places, and good pacing. All in all, I found this a page-turning, sweet, and delightful read.
I received a free copy of this book, but that did not affect my review.
My book blog: https://www.readingfanaticreviews.com
February 24, 2020
Celia at 39, the debut novel on the burgeoning Writing Bloc imprint (they previously published two anthologies) hits the spot. This is Jason Pomerance's 2nd novel (after Women Like Us), and his maturation as a writer is fully on display. The only criticism I can level at the book is the lack of a trigger warning; reading this book after 10pm on an empty stomach might lead to the following:
Late night fridge raids
Standing outside at 11pm on a weeknight grilling ribs
Stomach grumbling that wakes your spouse up
Oh, and the writing is great as well. Celia is compelling, relatable, and admirable in her moxie. I'd love to meet her some day.
And have dinner.
Late night fridge raids
Standing outside at 11pm on a weeknight grilling ribs
Stomach grumbling that wakes your spouse up
Oh, and the writing is great as well. Celia is compelling, relatable, and admirable in her moxie. I'd love to meet her some day.
And have dinner.
March 2, 2020
The Long Road To Finding Your Self
I almost made the dumb mistake of not reading this book; a novel of women's literature written by a man? This is a wonderful story! Like many of us, the heroine is stuck in many ruts and doesn't quite realize it. With a fortuitous occurrence, she begins to realize that the life she has is not the life she wanted. This is a great story that leaves the reader to either make up what the rest of her life turns out or maybe read the sequel. I know that I will be watching to see what this author writes next. I received this ARC book for free from Booksprouts and this is my honest review.
I almost made the dumb mistake of not reading this book; a novel of women's literature written by a man? This is a wonderful story! Like many of us, the heroine is stuck in many ruts and doesn't quite realize it. With a fortuitous occurrence, she begins to realize that the life she has is not the life she wanted. This is a great story that leaves the reader to either make up what the rest of her life turns out or maybe read the sequel. I know that I will be watching to see what this author writes next. I received this ARC book for free from Booksprouts and this is my honest review.
January 7, 2020
A thoughtful “coming-of-middle-age” story about finding oneself at the middle of your life and wondering how you got there. Celia’s comfortably bland and risk-free life is turned on it’s head in an instant when she decides to deliver a package that arrived at her address, forty years too late. A funny, heartwarming, and very *human* story about love, family, and life. And don’t forget the food! Pomerance’s descriptions of barbecue and other dishes practically made my stomach growl. The ending was pitch perfect. I highly recommend this book.
March 20, 2023
I read this book before and after I read “Book Lovers” by Emily Henry. (BL was a library loan so I paused my reading of Celia in order to read BL). The books were similar to me. Buttoned-up woman from NYC travels unexpectedly to a small southern town, complete with quirky characters, where she finds love. BL was disappointing and flat for me. “Celia at 39” wasn’t necessarily better written, but the characters were more likable and the storyline more interesting. A few aspects could have been improved: letting the reader see the reuniting of Celia and Dante at the end and a better reveal of Celia’s feelings about Dante. That was really lacking. I never felt her love for him, but he sends her a car and she goes running?
Overall, a cute read. And way better than “Book Lovers.”
Overall, a cute read. And way better than “Book Lovers.”
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 11, 2023
I read this in a single day. It's not my usual genre, but sometimes it's nice to read something more real and down to earth for a change of pace. The characters are richly drawn and the story has surprising twists and turns that keep you reading to find out what happens next. And while it has a light beach read quality, it doesn't take any easy outs. I like that the ending leaves a little room for audience interpretation. It still resolves the primary conflict, which is about Celia's crisis of identity. It's a little more indie romantic comedy than Hallmark or Lifetime original. Anyone who's ever found themselves singled out for ridicule at family dinners or questioned whether or not it's too late to pursue their dreams can relate. Highly recommended.
August 27, 2024
I actually liked the characters, but I'm a 2 because Dante knew she was drunk and going through a rough time, and he had sex with her anyway. I don't care if she started it and was continuing to come on to him. He was sober, she wasn't, he should have stopped it. And when she was upset the next morning, he followed her into the bathroom to pee rather than give her space? Really? Would have liked the book if he had tucked her in and watched out for her, but him sleeping with her when she was so drunk she'd passed out was a huge flaw. The chase scene was also rough.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 22, 2025
This is a great summer read! It is fun and the characters are interesting. It has a love-story imbedded into the narrative. The conflict between Celia and her family are very "Jersey". Anyone from the greater New York area will appreciate their relationships.
And this book was not too long and did not have a section that you were waiting to get through. Each part of the book led into the next. Highly recommend!
And this book was not too long and did not have a section that you were waiting to get through. Each part of the book led into the next. Highly recommend!
May 10, 2023
Celia at 39 is a funny contemporary romance. I listened to it & loved the quirky characters and the plot. It’s a twist of fate that brings Celia and Dante together. Read & it & find out a letter written & not delivered years ago can change one’s life trajectory. There are wonderful characters along the way.
July 29, 2025
"It's going to turn out alright."
Celia At 39 by Jason Pomerance is a lighthearted romance that had me laughing and crying the entire book. The journey in finding yourself hit hard for me, and I loved it even more. It did feel a bit like a hallmark movie, but that is not a bad thing in my eyes; comical, emotional, and serious all at the same time.
Celia At 39 by Jason Pomerance is a lighthearted romance that had me laughing and crying the entire book. The journey in finding yourself hit hard for me, and I loved it even more. It did feel a bit like a hallmark movie, but that is not a bad thing in my eyes; comical, emotional, and serious all at the same time.
September 16, 2020
It took a while for me to get into this story and once I got hooked it ended! I wanted to know what happened with Celia and Dante. I wanted more towards the end when in the grinning I wasn’t sure I’d finish the book. Another 20 pages would have done nicely.
November 20, 2020
Quite a good book. I definitely enjoyed it. Well written with great characters. And Penelope was adorable.
Docking one star only because the ending and much of the plot was utterly predictable, almost formulaic. That's not to say it's bad, but it was rather by the numbers for this genre of book.
Docking one star only because the ending and much of the plot was utterly predictable, almost formulaic. That's not to say it's bad, but it was rather by the numbers for this genre of book.
January 12, 2023
Celia at 39--PG
Violence: no
Language: about 35, including deity and one fbomb
Sex: yes, no details
Happily for right now. But I read romance for the happily ever after, so that is a little disappointing. Also, definitely not a fan of cheating, whatever the circumstances may be.
Violence: no
Language: about 35, including deity and one fbomb
Sex: yes, no details
Happily for right now. But I read romance for the happily ever after, so that is a little disappointing. Also, definitely not a fan of cheating, whatever the circumstances may be.
April 25, 2024
I am thoroughly enjoying these light and fun books…this one made me laugh, blush and root for the MFC! Throughout the entirety of the book, I wished she would “find” herself, explore what she wants from life and just find joy in everything.
August 10, 2020
I recommend checking out the audiobook on this one.
February 8, 2024
It had some charming moment and it left me musing at the end. But it still need more character development. I didn’t feel like I ever really got to know the characters.
May 30, 2024
Not interesting but it could also be me
August 7, 2024
For fans of Finlay Donovan and starting over.
Themes: BBQ, Middle Child, Getting out of your comfort zone, and starting over.
Themes: BBQ, Middle Child, Getting out of your comfort zone, and starting over.
September 5, 2024
Such a great story! I was easily hooked.
July 2, 2025
Completely unrealistic and silly but adorable nonetheless!
September 8, 2025
As someone who is currently 39 - I adore this book.
September 28, 2025
Enjoyed, gave me some good laughs. The end of the book I wish had a more straightforward ending or an epilogue. I was happy with it as one I picked out of the blue for no specific reason.
November 1, 2022
I listened to the audible of this book. I have to say that I think that if I had read the book, I would possibly not have finished it as it seemed a bit boring. HOWEVER - the narration of this book was fantastic! The narrator gave such life to the characters and I found I was laughing quite often while enjoying one of the characters talking! Especially Celia's mother! What a hoot she was! And even grumpy ol' Dante - the narration gave him a personality that was at times humorous! I really enjoyed listening! I was annoyed that at the end, it just .... ended. The reader doesn't know if she went back to him to stay or say goodbye or what. Assumably, she stayed but we don't really know as she didn't go back intending to stay and the book just ended. Could be the first in a "series" book, but those annoy me because I don't like to be left hanging. Especially not when I get so involved in the story. My suggestion is.. listen to it. You'll enjoy it!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews