Why Amanda French Feels Like Someone You Know (Or Maybe Even…You?)

Some book characters feel larger than life, too perfect, too dramatic, too big, too much…and too far removed from reality. Amanda French is not one of them.

She’s fierce, flawed, and funny in ways that make you feel like she’s sitting next to you telling you about her day on the trading desk or in the Barrio. They aren’t so different, each created to roar, the roaring twenty and the go-go years, bear markets and the barrel-chested bull, the jungle is an eat-or-be-eaten sort of place. Amanda is still standing, still ready to fight another day or hunt a bigger fish. Yes, I know you don’t hunt fish. I was just saying…

She’s been through love and loss. She’s had to fight for her place in a world not built to accommodate her. She’s made mistakes, learned some lessons the hard way, and learned how to keep moving forward. Sound familiar?

Does This Book or Character Feel Relatable?

1. She’s Had to Start Over (Haven’t We All?)

Life doesn’t always go as planned. You think you’re set—career, relationships, the whole thing—then something happens, you crash and burn and suddenly, you’re rebuilding from scratch, cinders and all.

Amanda had a high-powered career in the chaotic world of Wall Street, where she was one of the first few women in a room full of men who underestimated her. She didn’t boast but was the highest licensed individual registered at the SEC and knew what she was doing. Were they going to let her be, to do her job and manage her clients? Of course not. The men, management included seemed to relish setting traps and playing games. There was too much at stake and she walked away.

Now, decades later? In “Real Time?” She’s in a sketchy Texas town, renting a small empty house with wavy glass in the windows, cracks all over the gypsum-chalk ceilings, and messages and recipes penciled onto the dry forties wallpaper in the ancient kitchen.

Haven’t we all, at some point, had to start over? Whether it was a new job, a new city, or just realizing who we used to be isn’t who we are anymore?

Amanda’s journey is a reminder that it’s never too late to change direction—even if that means walking in sensible shoes through a burning fire, in a freezing ice storm.

2. She Knows What It’s Like to Be the Only Woman in the Room

If you’ve ever worked in a male-dominated industry, you’ve already witnessed this bizarre gender phenomenon, whereby men lose their minds and women lose their jobs.

Amanda didn’t just survive in the ruthless, high-stakes world of finance when she was a beautiful thirty-something—she thrived. She learned to play the game better than anyone else, navigating deals, egos, and office politics like a master.

But that kind of pressure? It wears on you.

She’s had to be twice as good, work twice as hard, and let things roll off her back that would have crushed anyone with less pluck.

Sound familiar? Whether you’ve worked in the garment district in NYC or as a public defender in the nasty big city of your choice, nothing changes if nothing changes. Being a woman means constantly proving yourself, Amanda’s struggle hits home.

3. She Knows That Love Can Be… Complicated

Ah, love. It’s supposed to be simple, right? You meet someone, fall head over heels, and everything magically works out.

Except in real life? Love is messy.

Enter Reed Petty, the ex who comes waltzing back into Amanda’s life with a political campaign and a marriage proposal that’s more strategy than romance.

She still feels something for him (ugh, why do feelings refuse to listen to logic?), but she also knows he’s not the kind of man you trust easily. He’s not the guy you want holding your babies and smiling into the camera with one big fat smile meant to beguile and nothing else, ugh!

We’ve all had that one person, maybe not a politician with a grand scheme, but someone we couldn’t quite break away from, even when we knew to cut and run.

4. She Knows What It’s Like to Be Torn Between Logic and Emotion

Amanda is smart. She’s calculated. She knows how to read people, analyze risks, and make solid decisions that deliver the most favourable outcomes.

But when it comes to Reed? That’s where things get murky.

• Because logic says run, this man hurt her before, and he’s back for a reason that has nothing to do with romance. Just some gobbledy-gook sweet talk meant to stir up and confuse.
• But deep emotion? That’s a laugh. People don’t change, and the first cut is the deepest. Remember that. History doesn’t just disappear; it’s out there in the rearview mirror flapping in the wind like so much wet wash waiting for the sun or a storm.

Bottom Line: Amanda French Feels Like Someone We Know Because She’s One of Us

She’s been underestimated. She’s had to prove herself. She’s had to start over. She’s navigated love, power, money, and the pull of the past. And she’s not that young woman anymore.

She’s smart, bold, and strong—but not invincible.

And that’s why we love her.

So here’s the real question: Have you ever had to choose between clear logic and sentimental emotion? Between who you were and who you wanted to be? And who you have developed into is who you are. What if you matured into an extraordinary female specimen? No, I mean it. Amanda is still clear-eyed and has perfect skin. Her gait is still mesmerizing and her voice can still, sell out an entire municipal bond issue with a simple telephone call that begins with “Hello…”

Amanda knows she doesn’t have a great deal of time to fool around and waste it on a man with no…moral fiber.

Drop your thoughts below! And if you haven’t met Amanda French yet, grab your copy now because her story might feel a little like yours.