In the heart of Greenwich Village, three women form an accidental sorority when a baby—belonging to exactly none of them—lands on their collective doorstep.
Lauren and her family—lucky bastards—have been granted the use of a spectacular brownstone, teeming with history and dizzyingly unattractive 70s wallpaper. Adding to the home’s bohemian, grungy splendor is the bar occupying the basement, a (mostly) beloved dive called The Sweet Spot. Within days of moving in, Lauren discovers that she has already made an enemy in the neighborhood by inadvertently sparking the divorce of a couple she has never actually met.
Melinda’s husband of thirty years has dumped her for a young celebrity entrepreneur named Felicity, and, to Melinda’s horror, the lovebirds are soon to become parents. In her incandescent rage, Melinda wreaks havoc wherever she can, including in Felicity’s Soho boutique, where she has a fit of epic proportions, which happens to be caught on film.
Olivia—the industrious twenty-something behind the counter, who has big dreams and bigger debt—gets caught in the crossfire. In an effort to diffuse Melinda’s temper, Olivia has a tantrum of her own and gets unceremoniously canned, thanks to TikTok.
When Melinda’s ex follows his lover across the country, leaving their squalling baby behind, the three women rise to the occasion in order to forgive, to forget, to Ferberize, and to track down the wayward parents. But can their little village find a way toward the happily ever afters they all desire? Welcome to The Sweet Spot.
Don't just take our word for it...
“The versatile and gifted Amy Poeppel has written a love letter to family, friendship and Greenwich Village. When baby Horatio arrives unexpectedly, Lauren, Melinda and Olivia who have little in common, unite to care for him, redefining the notion of community and the meaning of family. The twists and turns will delight readers. A smart, crisp, funny page turner. Book clubs will rejoice!”
– Adriana Trigiani, author of The Good Left Undone
“If Leo Tolstoy and David Sedaris ever had a chance to get together to write a novel, they might have come up with The Sweet Spot. It is at once intricate and laugh-out-loud funny, with characters who are drawn with such attention to detail that they feel like old friends. Filled with hope and redemption, I think it’s safe to say that The Sweet Spot is a masterpiece.”
– Annabel Monaghan, author of Nora Goes Off Script
“The Sweet Spot sparkles with Amy Poeppel’s signature wit and warmth. This genuinely uproarious novel celebrates families – born and made – in all their messy glory. It’s so much fun, you’ll wish you could pull up a chair at the kitchen table and stay forever. (Though you might need to remove a feral gerbil from that chair first.)”
– Laura Hankin, author of A Special Place for Women
Taste the very first page
Prologue
Felicity had walked by the brownstone on Waverly Place dozens of times without ever noticing it. The homes in this neighborhood were charming, harkening back to bygone horse-and-buggy days, but this particular house, tired and unadorned, asked to be ignored. The building had reached a certain level of disrepair wherein it was neither eye candy nor an eyesore. It was simply unremarkable. But the location! Felicity could not imagine how a potter could have landed such prime real estate in Greenwich Village, the only corner of Manhattan—with its rows of town houses and its famous park, mews and alleys, elms and sycamores—that reminded her of the best parts of London.
Looking up to double-check the number next to the peeling red door, she wondered: Was the ivy damaging the brick facade? Was the interior equally shabby? If so, would they gut the whole building? In- stall central air? Would they kick out that dive bar in the basement…
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