So when tragedy strikes and Maisie and Grant lose their mother and Patrick's brother has a health crisis of his own, Patrick finds himself suddenly taking on the role of primary guardian. Despite having a set of "Guncle Rules" ready to go, Patrick has no idea what to expect, having spent years barely holding on after the loss of his great love, a somewhat-stalled career, and a lifestyle not-so-suited to a six- and a nine-year-old. Quickly realizing that parenting--even if temporary--isn't solved with treats and jokes, Patrick's eyes are opened to a new sense of responsibility, and the realization that, sometimes, even being larger than life means you're unfailingly human.
Comment: I've decided to read this book after seeing several positive reviews (including by some people I know don't read fiction as much as I do) and because the cover is super cute and summery. I also somehow created this idea in my head there would be some hint of romance and I wanted to see how the plot would focus on an uncle caring for his nephew and niece while falling in love.
In this story we meet Patrick O'Hara, whom we learn used to be a conceited actor in Hollywood, he was on a show that many people still remember, but Patrick is now living alone in Palm Springs, where he doesn't have to deal with anyone. His life changes again when his brother announces, right after the death of his wife Sara - who was Patrick's best friend first - he will be in rehab due to his pill addiction. Patrick is meant to take care of the kids for that long, but is he really that ready to be a carer? His lifestyle doesn't seem to match living with young children, but perhaps they will need to learn to live together and deal with their sorrows. Could this be the way for all of them to cope with Sara'a death and, eventually, move on?
Now I've finished reading, I can say I understand the positive reviews and why this appealed to so many readers. Sadly to me, I just didn't fully vibe with the humor and I feel the story is one of those that "didn't quite get there", in the sense that whatever goal the author had, the story didn't really reach that place.
Patrick is certainly a great main character and he brings the whole thing to live, but he is also a person who has had losses, even more than just his friend's Sara, and he is an actually sad person, who hides under the humor and the apparent carefree existence. Since we do have his thoughts, I should say I liked how he felt he had to leave his state of things so he could do something to help his brother and his children, and not only because he felt he had to help family.
In fact, Patrick is a very caring person, who has had disappointments but those didn't change his personality nor his need to help those he likes; only he feels now anything could hurt too much and he isn't willing to cope with what he believes he doesn't have to. He also had a career that made him famous and he wants to preserve his privacy, especially since he lost Joe, the man he was in love with, and that wound has never fully healed.
These elements all make for an interesting and richly complex plot, but I was still not fully on board. Perhaps the element that wasn't as thrilling as I imagined is how the humor just didn't seemed particularly on point, or maybe I just wasn't in the right mood. I also think all the movie references, which is something I can see why would make sense for Patrick to think/use, were a bit too much. I suppose I wanted Patrick to interact with more people instead of speaking so often about things that don't really interfere with the plot.
As the story developed and Patrick started to bond with the kids, we learn about why he is sad and why he seemingly stopped working. We know he has money but we also know he feels he needs to help his family, so he can't simply not earn more, but while this is addressed later on, I feel the reasons for why he chose to live mostly alone were delayed too long, and when he finally does something, I wasn't as invested in the story anymore. We are also told about other situations Patrick feels affected his will to be around people, and I can sympathize, but his decision to live alone didn't make s much sense once we discover why. I mean, not to me, in this context.
Sadly for me, there isn't any romance here. There is a slight hint, which is better than nothing, but nothing to contrast to Patrick's apathy until the kids show up. It's true most of the plot is centered on the children and how that makes Patrick decide to take actions, I can clearly see the cause and effect of what is happening, but I didn't really connect with Patrick's personality and the children are cute most of the time but I wasn't dazzled by them either.
This is meant to be a feel good type of story and there are moments I think this was accomplished, but it also hinted at fun and light content and it wasn't so, most of the time. I feel there were too many similar scenes or situations and not as cozy sweet things as I would expect. This said, the story is good, yes, and interesting, but I wasn't left as positively surprised as I imagined I would. I also wanted Patrick to be a bit more approachable both in terms of his personal life (as in opening up to meet more people so he could heal about his past tragedies) and personality wise, but he was a little too focused on his personal world, and on what his career used to be, for me to warm up to him.
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