T. B. Markinson

"Those who fail to learn from history, are doomed to repeat it." This famous quote kind of sums up Lizzie's life in A Woman Lost, or so she thinks.

Lizzie hasn't changed much since A Clueless Woman. She's still in self-sabotage mode and has several insecurities. This story does focus more on her relationship with her family or lack thereof. From Lizzie’s interactions with them and what is told, she did not have the type of loving upbringing children deserve, and as an adult, it shows in her relationship with Sarah. Her trust issues and need to hide (or lie about) all weaknesses and shortcomings are the major conflicts in this story.

About 4% into the book, it was hard for me not to hate Lizzie. As a doctoral student, you'd think she would be smarter and wiser; however, that's not the case when she used her "Lizzie Logic." When a person makes statements like "I despise my own girlfriend" and "My brother's girlfriend is a goddess who should be fed grapes while reclining on satin sheets," all respect for that person takes a nose dive into asshole zone. Leading up to the climax, that asshole zone is exactly where my respect for Lizzie eventually landed.

Lizzie’s actions infuriated me, and at one point, I almost believed that Lizzie and Maddie made a better couple than Lizzie and Sarah until I remembered just how unreliable Lizzie is as a narrator. My “Arghhh!” almost made this book became my first DNF. However, I stuck with it, and I'm somewhat glad I did 'cause Lizzie got a slap of reality that brought a smile to my face. The jolt of reality forced her to think about another old saying, "You never miss the water till the well runs dry."

Lizzie spends time alone analyzing what she wants most in life and the choices she's made. Ethan, Lizzie’s sounding board, mentioned she needs to "grow up...and take responsibility for [her] own life." Can she? I guess I'm about to find out in the next book of this series A Woman Ignored.… (més)

This was an enjoyable read and the best of the series so far. Per Ethan's advice in [b:A Woman Lost|34602498|A Woman Lost (A Woman Lost, #1)|T.B. Markinson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1489595992l/34602498._SY75_.jpg|25557066], Lizzie has grown up and is taking accountability of her life—if only her family (mom, dad, and brother) would do the same. This story has a nice balance between humor and tense moments. I do wish that Lizzie's situation with her mom ended differently, but perhaps that's the point. Life isn't always going to give the neat endings/resolutions we hope for. And Tiffany Tie-Fannie. Man, I hope women like her don't really exist?… (més)

A Family Woman was an okay read for me. Nothing and no one stood out. The story continues with Lizzie growing as a new parent and strengthening her relationship with her father and other family members. The one thing that did grate my nerves in this story was the constant use of the words idiot and stupid when referring to Lizzie. I get that in the first three books of the series ([b:A Clueless Woman|27959372|A Clueless Woman (A Woman Lost, #0)|T.B. Markinson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1448433062l/27959372._SY75_.jpg|47964578], [b:A Woman Lost|34602498|A Woman Lost (A Woman Lost, #1)|T.B. Markinson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1489595992l/34602498._SY75_.jpg|25557066], and [b:A Woman Ignored|24955616|A Woman Ignored (A Woman Lost, #2)|T.B. Markinson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1424166113l/24955616._SX50_.jpg|44616925]), Lizzie had a lot of growing up to do, but man, giver her a break. I found myself respecting her father, step-mother, and other brothers more than Sara and Maddie. Or maybe I'm the clueless one and people do normally call family members and close friends idiots and stupid like you'd say sweetie and honey.… (més)