“This second chance romance combines friendship, love, and loss into a cohesive, moving storyline. Wright crafts an entertaining tale that is at turns both funny and touching, as Emma Davis searches for love and new beginnings after a devastating divorce. When Evy Hanover enters her world, she functions as a best friend, confidante, and, in some ways, guardian angel. The two navigate the ups and downs of dating together while Emma searches for Mr. Right, and the story’s bittersweet ending hits home. Emma’s first-person narration is sharp, witty, and the perfect fit for a woman whose cheating husband has left her floundering. Wright’s prose stays light for the most part, though it veers into sad moments that add depth to the story. Both Emma and Evy are well-executed characters who feel real, relatable, and enjoyable to be around. Despite the hard circumstances facing each woman, they both manage to stay grounded, and their interactions with each other pull at the heart strings.” – The Booklife Prize
https://booklife.com/project/charcuterie-girl-102330
“Emma’s first-person perspective effectively gives Wright’s novel a lighthearted and conversational tone, and it’s filled with humorous dating mishaps, clever gripes about dieting, and several slapstick moments.” -Kirkus Reviews
“Charcuterie Girl is JA Wright’s stunning debut novel about the power of sisterhood. Emma is stuck in a rut of self-loathing and anger, when Evy becomes a beacon of hope for the down-on-her-luck single mother. Together, they navigate adversity, celebrate wins, and offer unwavering support. The author highlights the beauty of building up other women rather than tearing them down, and I’m here for the feel-good vibes!
Every woman needs a partner in crime when embarking on life’s adventures, and Evy and Emma (along with their friend Mona) have their fair share of fun. From speed dating fiascos to leaping out of airplanes together, there is no shortage of knee-slapping humor as the women find themselves in amusing and sometimes shocking situations that will have readers in stitches. I haven’t had this much fun reading a novel in a while. The writing was so effortlessly immersive that I felt like I was part of their group.
Beyond the lighthearted aspects, Charcuterie Girl explores weightier themes like grief, illness, and death, which adds another layer of dimension. The heart-wrenching moments will appeal to readers who don’t shy away from emotionally charged writing, reminding us that we must take the bad with the good. Sometimes life can be tremendously unfair, but when we find our tribe of people, it makes the landing much softer when we fall.
Charcuterie Girl by JA Wright is a well-rounded novel that boasts excellent character development thanks to a cast of relatable characters. Readers will experience a full range of emotions while engrossed in Emma and Evy’s adventures. Add this book to the top of your summer reading list; you won’t regret it!” – Reader Views
https://readerviews.com/reviews/charcuterie-girl-wright/
“I got a real kick out of this debut novel. The author writes in a refreshing tone. While there is a lot going on in this book, it still felt engaging and easy to read. There were some poignant moments of female friendship that resonated with me. The love story was cute too.” — Goodreads Review by Michelle
Some books meet you exactly where you are, and Charcuterie Girl does just that. It doesn’t try to tidy the mess or make heartbreak noble. It lets the chaos breathe. It’s a story about two women, Emma and Evy, who are bruised, brilliant, and trying to remember who they were before everything came apart.
What I loved most is that this isn’t a redemption arc dressed up as self-care. It’s friendship as oxygen. Two people fumbling through the wreckage together, learning that being seen can be just as healing as being fixed. Their humor is beautifully awkward, their grief familiar, and their resilience quiet in the best way.
J.A. Wright has a gift for writing women who feel like someone you know or maybe someone you’ve been. She captures the strange poetry of survival, the way laughter can slip through even the hardest moments, the way healing never looks the way you expect it to.
If you’ve ever hit that point where your life no longer fits but you’re too exhausted to start over, this story will find you. It will pour you a glass of wine, hand you a plate of leftovers, and remind you that beginning again doesn’t have to be pretty to be real. — Goodreads Review by Starling
Wow! What a great book! I am not a huge reader, but I could not put this book down. I read it in a day. I felt it was real. The character build descriptions revealed just enough of who they were without overdoing it. The writer was humorous and witty throughout. I laughed, I cried, I laughed again and she just tied it all together beautifully. I kept thinking I would watch this as a movie. For a debut book, I look forward to many more.” — Goodreads Review by Reader
“I will never eat a French fry again without seeing the visuals from the first chapter, which completely hooked me. The book started strong, and I remained engaged throughout.
Charcuterie Girl contains multitudes as our main character, Emma, navigates challenges across her life: a pending divorce from her unfaithful husband who makes custody sharing unpleasant, limitations in her career thanks to a toxic boss, financial strain, challenges with her health and self-image, and the loss of her circle of friends due to the divorce.
Ultimately, though, this is a book about the power of female friendship, as Emma first meets Evy, then together they meet Mona. I adored seeing this new friend group form a circle of support to lift each other up. Although the story is largely from Emma’s point of view, each woman is a fully-realized person with their own dreams and aspirations, with a complete arc. I grew to care about each of them.
The emotional scenes are truly touching, and I felt for the characters as they faced obstacles and heartbreak. What impressed me most is how JA Wright managed to write both sentiment and humor with equal skill. The comedic chapters are a master class in set up, suspense, and payoff, with the total chaos feeling both inevitable yet still surprising. (I was reminded of the Christmas pageant scene from A Prayer for Owen Meany as well as many moments from A Confederacy of Dunces.)
Charcuterie Girl is a truly impressive debut, and I look forward to reading more from J.A. Wright in the future.” — Goodreads Review by Beka Wueste- Author of “Fireflies in a Jar” and “The Unsent Letters of Lucy Prior“
“Charcuterie Girl by JA Wright is a rom com at its core and it is a lovely one. A love story, full of friendship, food and fun. “We don’t just get one soulmate in life. We can have many. Soulmates come in all forms and sizes. And you, my friend, are one of mine.” Those lines shared by one friend to another sum up this story of friendship and second chances at romance.
I appreciate Wright’s handling of the everyday, the mundane, like grocery shopping with a friend who advises her to start dating, of the cashier’s suggestion she start online, of her mild and timid flirtation with a man in the dairy section. It is an old story, told many times, best friends, traveling through life together who become closely bonded. Then one day while one friend falters, the other finds love. Wright has handled friendship through life’s challenges well.
I’ve always admired writers who can do humor. There were times reading this novel when I laughed out loud. The funny not only brings lightness to the drama in our daily lives, but it often brings insight tucked inside that humor. Wright’s writing is funny, sharp, and thoughtful as Emma is forced to ask the biggest questions of her life. I highly recommend Charcuterie Girl for those looking for a book about life and our everyday struggle to make it through the hard times with love and humor.” — Goodreads Review by Jadi Omowale – Author of “Soul Look Back in Wonder”
Read more on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/234257536-charcuterie-girl
JA WRIGHT Author 