Bookstagrammers have been so amazingly generous with their time and their compliments for my latest darkly comedic novel, Louie on the Rocks (on sale now!). Here’s a sample:

@lindsaylovesreading: Heavy, humorous and thought-provoking.

Louie is a grumpy 66-year-old man who lost his wife six months prior. Louie is estranged from his daughter, who gets pulled back into his life after she finds out how Louie is living. Though they have extremely opposing views on politics and most things in life, she aims to get Louie the help and support he needs.

Brilliantly told through multiple perspectives, including Louie’s deceased wife, this story examines a grieving family polarized by politics. It was an eye-opening and insightful exploration of how deeply affecting politics can be within a family unit that doesn’t see eye to eye. Though politics is a main theme within this book, the reader does not need to be an expert in the subject to sympathize with these characters. The brokenness of this family goes well beyond their political differences. It was easy to feel for these characters.

There is a sarcastic, humorous tone throughout this novel which kept the heaviness from overshadowing the story. I enjoyed the authors writing and how she sprinkled in witty prose to offset the darkness. This family dynamic is heart breaking and grief-filled, yet there were many moments I was smiling and laughing.

The chapters are short, making this easy to fly through. There are legal document entries scattered throughout which gives a refreshing break to the narrative.

Upon reflection, I am surprised with how much I loved this book. This book has a heavy focus on American politics so being Canadian, and not considering myself any sort of political guru, this was outside of my comfort zone yet it worked incredibly well for me. It’s a book I’ll remember reading for a long time. I highly recommend you try it for yourself!

I loved Pumpkin, Louie’s late wife’s dog that is a central part of the story!🐾

@briannethebookworm: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5 I’ll start with saying Louie was an extremely triggering and infuriating character that was hard to empathize with. I pitied him for letting Cristall take advantage of him the way he did, but the way he treated Lulu and refused to compromise made it hard to give him any leniency. It was entertaining to have Helen’s perspective of the events from the grave, and I felt for her having to mediate Louie and Lulu’s relationship for decades; however I don’t think having her background knowledge and context of Lulu and Louie’s relationship added to the story significantly. I felt similarly about Cristall’s brief chapter at the end. Overall, I enjoyed the book and looked forward to picking it up each time to witness the dysfunctional Francis family. Louie was a spot-on stereotype of some Trump supporters, and many readers will relate to the struggles of navigating familial relationships when political views and values are vastly different. Grab your copy this week!

@livingmybookishlife: Our nation is divided like never before. There are Lulus and there are Louies. I am most definitely a Lulu. This review and book will resonate with Lulus. Louies will hate both.

𝗟𝗢𝗨𝗜𝗘 𝗢𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗥𝗢𝗖𝗞𝗦 is a tale of our time; an allegory of current events. It’s a hard lesson wrapped in an often humorous, always engaging piece of fiction. It’s a warning that we should have heeded, but ignored these past four years. It is a sad and sobering reflection of the destructive power of hate. It is where we find ourselves again and I’m both ashamed and frightened.

On its face, this is a story of the damage caused to one family by extreme politics told through three distinct points of view. Louie is MAGA to the core. A FOX News watching, conspiracy theory believer who searched for and found places to have his hate validated. At his core he is an insecure man battling demons of alcoholism and jealousy. Lulu is his estranged left leaning lesbian daughter. Their relationship was never solid and was irrevocably damaged when he refused to accept her sexual orientation and, instead, used hateful slurs to demean and belittle her. Helen is the recently deceased family matriarch who held them together by the thinnest of threads. Now that Helen is gone, all hell has broken loose.

It feels ironic that I finished this book on a day which sees the nation both honoring MLK, JR. and witnessing Trump’s second inauguration. One man stood for the power of love to conquer hate while the other uses vitriol to divide in pursuit of personal gain. The differences could not be more striking. Meredith O’Brien’s brutally honest and bitingly funny work of fiction should be a warning to us all. Sadly, I fear the Louies who learned nothing from history will continue to revel in the chaos.

Finally, to Ms. O’Brien: “Louie on the Rocks” is a brilliant and twisted play on words. IYKYK

@jaypippi: Finishing the yet-to-be-released Louie on the Rocks by Meredith O’Brien felt eerily on point today. This darkly funny, painfully relatable story dives into the fractures of family, grief, and division in the Trump era.

After losing their matriarch, MAGA dad Louie spirals into alcoholism, while his liberal, queer daughter Lulu fights to save both her father and their broken bond. Told in part through the ghostly narration of Louie’s late wife, Helen, the story gives a bittersweet perspective as she watches her family unravel.

Lulu’s identity as a lesbian adds another layer of tension, as she struggles to stay true to herself while navigating her father’s conservative worldview.

This book made me pause and reflect. We all know that family member who’s fallen down the rabbit hole, don’t we? And as the last breaths of democracy seem to sputter out, there are those who fear tomorrow, and others who celebrate it. Fathers, sisters, cousins—people we love—on opposite sides of history.

Messy, raw, and deeply relatable, Louie on the Rocks will make you laugh, cry, and reflect on your own relationships. It’s a reminder of how complicated family can be—and how love and humanity might still cut through the noise, even in the most divided time.

@bobbijoreads: It’s MAGA vs. LGBTQ+ in this dark humor domestic drama. Louis (father) and Lulu (daughter) are at odds while Helen (mom) watches and commentates from the afterlife.

“𝐈𝐭 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐦’𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈’𝐝 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐢𝐟 𝐈 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐮𝐬𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐝. 𝐇𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐞’𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐮𝐬𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐝. 𝐍𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝, 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐩𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐞, 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞, 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐦.”

I loved the format of this book with the three alternating POVs and Affidavits mixed in throughout. I loved the character of Lulu, her relationship with her girlfriend Jules, and the way Helen loved her and embraced them both. The family dynamics (like toxic peacekeeping from Helen & fighting between Louis and Lulu) felt extremely real and relatable. Louis name-calling everyone who wasn’t enabling him, and refusing to take accountability perfectly mirrored his idolization.

The ending caught me off guard but also fit so so well into the story. I wouldn’t have changed a thing.

@libraryscented: This book is a brilliant snapshot of how polarizing American politics have become since 2019. The story is told thru the voices of Louie, his deceased wife (ghost), Helen, and his daughter, Lulu.

Like much of America these days, Louie & Lulu have VERY different political views and it is destroying any semblance of family they have left.

This story will have you on the edge of your seat wondering how it will all play out.

@shopcoffeekids: This novel plays into today’s household landscape divided by politics. We meet a queer young women and her alcoholic father whose buffer in the home has recently passed away.

Louie on the Rocks is told through multiple POV’s, including the deceased mother, which moves the story along nicely with its short chapters. This book is a bit heavy in its reality, humorous and definitely thought-provoking.

This books timeliness is on point with now!

I’m sharing all of the Bookstagrammers’ posts on my Instagram story highlights reel.