Harriet Hates Lemonade – book review (AD)
I was kindly given an advanced electronic copy of Harriet Hates Lemonade by Kim McCollum in exchange for an honest review.*
Harriet Hates Lemonade book blurb
Meet Harriet. But don’t be surprised if she isn’t interested in meeting you.
Harriet has life all figured out, and she doesn’t hesitate to inform others of their shortcomings.
Though her attempts to become president of the homeowner’s association failed, that doesn’t stop her from berating “off-leash-dog-man” or reporting the neighbor who had the audacity to leave their easter decorations up an entire week past the holiday.
The problem is, unbeknownst to her, Harriet’s rigid rules and judgmental opinions are not her own.
Her ordered life plunges into chaos when a twelve-year-old neighbor knocks on Harriet’s door seeking help because the girl’s father is physically abusing her mother.
Reluctantly, Harriet comes to her neighbor’s aid and, in the process, recognizes her own insidious abuse which has unwittingly shaped her isolated, rigid existence.
To escape her crushing loneliness, she must learn to break free from the patterns of control and isolation that have defined her life and learn to connect with people she previously viewed as heathens.
Publisher: Black Rose Writing
ASIN: B0G2YPGWHV
ISBN-10: 1685137059
ISBN-13: 978-1685137052
Print Length: 312 pages
Purchase a copy of Harriet Hates Lemonade on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Bookshop.org. Be sure to also add it to your GoodReads reading list.
My overall thoughts on Harriet Hates Lemonade
Harriet Henderson is one of those characters you don’t immediately like — and then suddenly, you can’t stop thinking about her.
Abrasive, blunt and rigid, she’s a 52-year-old widow who lives by rules, routines, and a very narrow view of how the world should behave.
Particularly in the opening chapters, she’s difficult, judgemental, and emotionally closed off… and yet, that’s exactly what makes her so compelling.
Because it quickly becomes clear that Harriet isn’t unkind by nature — she’s learned it.
Her behaviour is conditioned, shaped and inherited.
Her late husband Les still lives rent free in her head, still issuing rules, still setting boundaries for a life that no longer exists.
Her dog Bibbo is the centre of her world, and when her neighbour Kevin refuses to leash his dog Rocky, Harriet goes to war via the home owners association with a ferocity that feels ridiculous… until you realise it was never really about the dog.
As new neighbours Chris and Robyn Carter and their daughter Audrey move in across the street, Harriet’s carefully controlled world starts to fracture.
Slowly, unwillingly, she becomes entangled in their lives — helping Robyn seek support, protecting Audrey, and in the process being forced to confront her own past, her own trauma, and the emotional architecture of her own marriage.
What starts as a sharp, character-driven, slightly quirky story quietly takes off its cardigan and reveals teeth.
This book handles the theme of abuse with real care and intelligence.
There’s a clear trigger warning here — not physical abuse, but emotional and verbal abuse — and the novel does something important by showing how devastating and insidious that kind of control can be.
The isolation, the rules, the erosion of identity, the way it traps women in relationships that don’t leave bruises but leave scars all the same.
It’s handled without melodrama, without spectacle, and somehow that makes it hit harder.
The realisation sneaks up on you: this book has been setting you up all along, and you fall for it willingly.
There’s poignancy, warmth, and a deep undercurrent of sadness here, but also humour, heart, and real emotional payoff.
Harriet’s journey is one of redemption and second chances — not in a glossy, sentimental way, but in a quiet, human one.
She learns that rules don’t protect you from everything. That honesty isn’t always safety. That control isn’t the same as love.
At its core, Harriet Hates Lemonade is about resilience, growth, and the slow unlearning of harm.
It’s about connection. It’s about kindness arriving from unexpected places.
And it’s about a woman learning — late, imperfectly, bravely — how to live differently.
Smart, sharp, and sneakily powerful, this is a novel that starts small and ends deep.
Funny when you least expect it, devastating when you’re not ready, and emotionally generous without ever being soft.
A quietly brilliant four-star read that refuses to stay in the neat little box you put it in.
With thanks to the publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
About the Author
Kim McCollum graduated from Barnard College with a major in Japanese and was soon navigating the hustle and bustle of Wall Street.
When her first child was born, she stayed home to raise her children.
Once they headed off to school, Kim finally found time to pursue her passion for writing.
Her award-winning debut novel, WHAT HAPPENS IN MONTANA, was published in January 2024, and her short stories have appeared in several publications.
She lived in Bozeman, Montana, with her supportive husband, Brian, and their blended menagerie of five kids and three spoiled pets.
You can find her online at:
- Her website: https://kim-mccollum.com/
- Twitter: https://x.com/KFMcCollum
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kimmccollumauthor/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/author.kimmccollum/?hl=en
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*Disclaimer
This review has been written with 100% honesty.
I was not financially compensated for this post. I was given a copy of this book for review purposes. The opinions expressed in this post are completely my own based on my own experience.
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