Review: The Rosie Effect (Don Tillman #2)

Author: Graeme Simsion
Started reading: June 10th 2019
Finished the book: June 16th 2019
Pages: 368
Published: July 21st 2015
Source: Kindle Copy
Goodreads score: 3.58
My score:

Synopsis
The Wife Project is complete, and Don and Rosie are happily married and living in New York. But they're about to face a new challenge because - surprise - Rosie is pregnant.

Don sets about learning the protocols of becoming a father, but his unusual research style gets him into trouble with the law. Fortunately his best friend Gene is on hand to offer advice: he's left Claudia and moved in with Don and Rosie.

As Don tries to schedule time for pregnancy research, getting Gene and Claudia to reconcile, servicing the industrial refrigeration unit that occupies half his apartment, helping Dave the Baseball Fan save his business, and staying on the right side of Lydia the social worker, he almost misses the biggest problem of all: he might lose Rosie when she needs him the most.

My thoughts

I've heard from a lot of people that they didn't like the second book in this series as much as the first. I saw it in the Goodreads score as well, but I decided that I wasn't going to be influenced by other people. Sadly, I have to agree with all those readers! I didn't like this book as much as the first and thought for a while that I was going to give it 2 stars. The main reason: Rosie.

Pros

• Don: Oh my, Don is so sweet! He's hilarious without himself even knowing it. He's concerned and involved with the people who are dear to him. He's so committed to being a dad. It's so lovely to read all this. I really like Don the most of all the characters that are in this book and I feel like Rosie could be a lot more understanding towards Don.
• Story: The story is hilarious. All the things that Don gets himself into are so funny. You wouldn't expect it, but it feels totally fitting to his character. He's kinda clumsy and socially awkward, so that's a big pro for me, since it's amusing!
• The Gene Mystery: This, I was so happy to read! There is a big revelation about Gene in this book and it made me so happy! Gene was a nicer character to me because of this. I didn't really like him in the first book, but I understand him so much better now.

Cons

• Rosie: I'm sorry but I can't. -2 stars in this book for Rosie. She feels like she's an irresponsible mom, by just doing nothing with the concerns that Don wants to talk about. She is horrible towards her husband, who is, in his way, trying to be so dedicated and she won't even see it. Rosie felt so selfish and it felt like she wanted to be alone in this parenthood. This marriage felt like Don was so restricted and Rosie was trying to make him something he's not. Rosie took away all the fun in reading this book for me.

Overall

This is still a hilarious book with a main character, I'm sure, a lot of people will LOVE! You just gotta ignore Rosie in this book... I don't think this book lives up to the first book, but I'm very curious to find out what the final book will bring me.

Other opinions on this book

"Though painfully aware of his emotional shortcomings, Don determinedly sets out to be a good dad. Hilarity ensues... Simsion's tale offers a playful look at how a family of two fare when a third enters the mix. There's a moral to this quirky story: The best things in life can't be planned on a spreadsheet."

- Good Housekeeping

"The Rosie Effect is a celebration of the best attributes to be found in a friend, a husband, or a father, regardless of the way they are expressed."

- Booklist

Memorable quotes from this book

"But I had concluded that being myself, with all my intrinsic flaws, was more important than having the thing I wanted most."

"Rationality was returning to deal with the mess that emotions had created."

Thanks for reading!

I'd love to talk books; please let me know what you think about this book/review.