Many thanks to NetGalley and publisher Pan Macmillan for giving me the opportunity to read this book prior to publication.
Expected: 31 December 2020
Nell Stevens’ life is a mess. When her business goes bust and her fiancé with it, Nell’s happy ever after in California falls apart and she moves back to London to start over. But a lot has changed since she’s been gone. All her single friends are now married with children, sky-high rents force her to rent a room in a stranger’s house and in a world of perfect instagram lives, she feels like a f*ck up. Even worse, a forty-something f*ck-up.
But when she lands a job writing obituaries, Nell meets the fabulous Cricket, an eighty-something widow with challenges of her own, and they strike up an unlikely friendship. Together they begin to help each other heal their aching hearts, cope with the loss of the lives they had planned, and push each other into new adventures and unexpected joys.
Because Nell is determined. Next year things are going to be very different. It's time to turn her life around.
The review
I loved this - probably because like main character Nell I am a forty-something single. Not quite a f##k up but certainly not on the same page as everyone else around me or necessarily where I thought I’d be.
As such I totally related to so many of the themes regarding age, marriage and children, with some of my favourites being:
Hopefully I’ve already managed to convey that this funny – truly hilariously funny. There’s funny one-liners: “My theory is that’s why our eyesight goes as we get older: to protect us from seeing ourselves in sharp focus.” But, also plenty of situational humour such as Nell’s attempts at babysitter or dealing with Arthur’s dog-poo.
But, it’s not all laughs. There are some serious messages and life lessons too such as: “Real life is messy and complicated. Shit happens. One size doesn’t fit all....We’re all just living our life, and it might not tick all the boxes or look Insta-perfect, but that’s OK.” Feelings of depression and anxiety were also alluded to as “The Fear” but sadly in this case were somewhat lacking. I felt the topic should have either been fully/properly explored or not included as just the implication didn’t do the topic justice or add anything to the story.
This was set over the course of a year, with chapters denoted by months, which I really liked. It just made the course of events and speed at which relationships developed more realistic and believable than some romance novels where boy meets girl and settles down with her a week later. Unlike some this also wasn’t entirely predictable – I mean it did end up exactly as I hoped and thought but somewhere in the middle it wasn’t a given.
And, finally (gushing nearly over I promise) this had a great cast of characters but even more so was the dynamics between them. In particular “the super fabulous Cricket” was brilliantly entertaining and the friendship between her and Nell touching – different generations but so many similarities. Like Nell at the moment but I really hope I’m like Cricket when I’m in my eighties. Then, there was that well-known situation (like in the brilliant film Bridesmaids) where your best friend has got a new best friend who upstages you at every chance but slyly so your mate continues to think the sun-shines-out-of-her. But, it was the love/hate dynamics of unlikely housemates Nell and Edward that I really loved.
So, in case you hadn’t guessed I absolutely love this. So funny, so relatable and such easy reading. A must-read for anyone but particularly if you’re too a forty-something or your life isn't working out quite how you'd expected.
The authorAs such I totally related to so many of the themes regarding age, marriage and children, with some of my favourites being:
- “This keeps happening to me now...I read articles about middle-aged people as if they’re my parents or something, and then I suddenly realise – hang on, we’re the same age!”
- “I always feel the pressure to explain why I don’t have kids, in a way I’m not sure women who have children do.”
- “Who can make that kind of promise [marriage] when you truly have no idea what will happen in the next thirty or more years ahead?”
Hopefully I’ve already managed to convey that this funny – truly hilariously funny. There’s funny one-liners: “My theory is that’s why our eyesight goes as we get older: to protect us from seeing ourselves in sharp focus.” But, also plenty of situational humour such as Nell’s attempts at babysitter or dealing with Arthur’s dog-poo.
But, it’s not all laughs. There are some serious messages and life lessons too such as: “Real life is messy and complicated. Shit happens. One size doesn’t fit all....We’re all just living our life, and it might not tick all the boxes or look Insta-perfect, but that’s OK.” Feelings of depression and anxiety were also alluded to as “The Fear” but sadly in this case were somewhat lacking. I felt the topic should have either been fully/properly explored or not included as just the implication didn’t do the topic justice or add anything to the story.
This was set over the course of a year, with chapters denoted by months, which I really liked. It just made the course of events and speed at which relationships developed more realistic and believable than some romance novels where boy meets girl and settles down with her a week later. Unlike some this also wasn’t entirely predictable – I mean it did end up exactly as I hoped and thought but somewhere in the middle it wasn’t a given.
And, finally (gushing nearly over I promise) this had a great cast of characters but even more so was the dynamics between them. In particular “the super fabulous Cricket” was brilliantly entertaining and the friendship between her and Nell touching – different generations but so many similarities. Like Nell at the moment but I really hope I’m like Cricket when I’m in my eighties. Then, there was that well-known situation (like in the brilliant film Bridesmaids) where your best friend has got a new best friend who upstages you at every chance but slyly so your mate continues to think the sun-shines-out-of-her. But, it was the love/hate dynamics of unlikely housemates Nell and Edward that I really loved.
So, in case you hadn’t guessed I absolutely love this. So funny, so relatable and such easy reading. A must-read for anyone but particularly if you’re too a forty-something or your life isn't working out quite how you'd expected.
Alexandra Potter is a best-selling British author of romantic comedies. To find out more visit www.alexandrapotter.com
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