I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Living My Best Li(f)e by Claire Frost Also by this author: Married at First Swipe, The One
Published by Simon & Schuster UK on 23rd July 2019
Genres: Chicklit, Contemporary, Humour, Love & Romance
Pages: 400
Format: eARC
Source: from Netgalley
Goodreads
Amazon Kindle
~*~ This heart-warming and funny novel is the perfect balm for the Insta-weary mind ~*~
Bell had it all, the perfect job, the perfect partner, and on their 10th anniversary she thought she would get the ring… But two weeks later, Bell wakes up to find herself still clutching a wine bottle and the memories of Collin saying those dreaded words: ‘We need to talk…’
Determined to get on with her life before she hits 40, Bell starts following ‘inspirational’ people on Instagram. Her favourite lifestyle guru is @mi_bestlife, whose life seems Insta-perfect but if you were to zoom out of the heavily filtered picture, you’d see reality strike.Millie is a single mother, with a cute son called Wolfie, whose father is absolutely useless and not much on the scene. Instagram and the profile she has built up online is more ‘best lie’ than ‘best life’. It isn’t until Millie and Bell’s paths finally cross that the two women begin to understand what is real and what it is that they really want.
Thank you to Simon and Schuster for my copy of this book via netgalley. I have seen Claire host a Fabulous event a few years ago so the name was already familiar to me. I also heard an extract at the Spring Blogger Event hosted by Books and the City earlier this year. Sadly my schedule has been full to the brim so I have only just managed to fit in some time to read it.
The premise of this story is very interesting. We all know that we shouldn’t believe everything we see or read online but we can also easily get sucked into the glossy photos that we see on social media.
The story follows two women Bell and Millie. Bell is a 39-year-old woman who recently got dumped by her boyfriend of 10 years and Millie is mum to little 5-year-old Wolfie. Millie is a social influencer, while she has a lot of followers she doesn’t really have any friends. When these two bump into each other they soon become fast friends.
This is a heartwarming story. It has so many important themes running through it. This story deals with postnatal depression, loneliness, bullying and heartbreak. The story had a shaky start and I wasn’t sure about it but the story quickly progressed and I soon fell in love with all the characters. I’m not ashamed to admit I had a tear or two running down my face on more than one occasion.
This was a great debut and I can’t wait to see what Claire brings us in the future. I can see so much potential from Claire, I am really looking forward to seeing her grow and blossom into an excellent author.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
@TeamBATC @simonschusterE @simonschusterUK Thanks for this lovely review, Emma! 💗