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JESS JUST READS

A BOOK REVIEW BLOG

July 2, 2021

Loving Lizzie March by Susannah Hardy

July 2, 2021

Life is not going to plan for failed fashion designer Lizzie March, and then she finds herself pregnant to super-hot bad boy Jake Wheeler.

Convinced that he’s The One, now all she has to do is make him realise that she is The One for him!

But is it possible she’s been looking for love in all the wrong places? Maybe everything she has ever wanted is right under her very own stilettos.

Susannah Hardy’s debut novel Loving Lizzie March is a romantic comedy about life, love and friendship in your 30s. Lizzie’s relationship history is a bit of a trainwreck and her fashion career is on hold. Actually, it seems like her friendship with best friend Clem is the only stable element of her life, but even that’s starting to blow up. Lizzie’s life isn’t heading where she thought it would, and she needs to learn to take control.

Most of the humour in the novel is situational comedy, rather than humour in dialogue. We meet Lizzie as she’s stalking her colleague and former one-night-stand, climbing on top of his bin trying to find out he’s home or not. That opening alone sets the tone for the rest of the novel, and gives us a clear picture of who Lizzie really is.

I would’ve loved a bit more humour in her workplace, if there was capacity. She sells wine over the phone, which is kind of quirky. Her job at the call centre is used as a setting rather than a plot device, so we don’t really get much of a sense of her actual work at the call centre and that could’ve been an opportunity for even more humour in the novel. But I did like how Susannah set up the tension between Lizzie and Jake at work, as well as the other colleagues who weave in and out of the story.

“Most conversations with my mother centre around the same subject: Mr Right. And how and when I’m going to meet him. As far as she’s concerned, being thirty and single is a tragedy. She simply cannot understand why I haven’t been snapped up.”

Pacing is a strength in this novel, and I think that’s an important factor in women’s fiction — especially romantic comedies. We need to move through the story at heightened speed, and it needs to feel like a lot is happening. The protagonist’s life needs to feel chaotic in order to trigger self-reflection, and eventually, self-improvement. Being written in first person allows Lizzie to reflect on her life choices and acknowledge her mistakes. It also allows for an authentic voice to come through, and it aligns with the genre really well.

The nappy bag idea is cute, and the relationship between Lizzie and Clem is one of the strongest components of the plot. The majority of people who read this novel will be women and they’ll be able to relate to Lizzie and Clem’s friendship. It’s long-lasting and it’s secure, but there are also expectations that need to be met. Lizzie tends to railroad conversations and doesn’t really think about what Clem is going through, and Susannah has set up quite a complex dynamic between the two women that reflects everyday life. Their personalities certainly allow for interesting interactions — Clem is the sensible, emotionally secure, level-headed lawyer and Lizzie is…Lizzie.

“I’m thrilled with my idea. I’ve never had any sort of plan before so I’m already one step ahead. Now, all I have to do is be mysterious and aloof — occasionally resist the advances of a devastatingly handsome man to whom I’m pregnant, as well as incredibly attracted and desperate to marry. Piece of cake.”

There is a level of absurdity to the storyline, and things do feel like they wrap up a little too neatly. Whilst Lizzie does grow on the reader over time, she is quite unlikable in the beginning — and dare I say, certifiably bonkers. The segue into the drugs arrest was a bit bizarre, and shoe-horning the storyline about Cherie into the novel felt a bit unnatural. Sometimes the dialogue felt a bit inauthentic, like I couldn’t see the conversation playing out in real life.

But the intended audience for this kind of book won’t care about any of that. They’ll be glad to delve into an easy, light read. Something you could imagine reading on a plane, if we can ever go anywhere again. On a beach somewhere, far away. Loving Lizzie March will take your mind off all that’s going on in the world right now.

“After inheriting my nana’s sewing machine, I chose textiles as my elective and I loved it. My teacher, Miss Wilton, was fantastic. She was young, hip and inspiring, and encouraged me to really push myself and my creativity in all sorts of wacky directions.”

Heartwarming and heartfelt, Loving Lizzie March is for readers of women’s fiction and chick lit. Readership skews female, 25+

Thank you to the publisher for sending me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Loving Lizzie March
Susannah Hardy
July 2021
Pan Macmillan Publishers

Leave a Comment · Labels: 6/10, Adult Fiction, Book Reviews, Romance Tagged: adult fiction, book review, chick lit, fiction, review, women's fiction

March 19, 2018

On A Beautiful Day by Lucy Diamond

March 19, 2018

Treasure every moment. Life can change in a heartbeat.

It’s a beautiful day in Manchester and four friends are meeting for a birthday lunch. But then they witness a shocking accident just metres away which acts as a catalyst for each of them.

For Laura, it’s a wake-up call to heed the ticking of her biological clock. Sensible Jo finds herself throwing caution to the wind in a new relationship. Eve, who has been trying to ignore the worrying lump in her breast, feels helpless and out of control. And happy-go-lucky India is drawn to one of the victims of the accident, causing long-buried secrets to rise to the surface.

On A Beautiful Day by Lucy Diamond is a novel that explores friendship, family and the importance of letting others in. The novel is set in England, and at its core, it is about unexpected events and wake up calls — it is about tackling the unknown and not being afraid to let others in.

When these four women — Laura, Jo, Eve and India — witness a car accident, they’re shook. The driver had a heart attack and unintentionally ploughed into multiple people. The four women were so close to where it happened — it could’ve been them pinned under that car. And so the accident affects them all in different ways.

“They hadn’t discussed IVF before, or undergoing any tests. As a sales manager for a medium-sized insurance firm, Matt could talk for Britain about claims and premiums; as a lifelong United fan he could bore on for hours with his mates about managerial tactics or the pros and cons of the 4-4-2 formation; but ask him to go into detail about his baby-making skills and he would fail uncharacteristically silent.”
LAURA

At first glance, these women may appear to lead perfect lives. But underneath, they’ve all got their struggles. Laura and her husband have been trying to get pregnant for years but they’ve suffered many miscarriages and it’s starting to feel like this will never happen for them. Jo has split from her husband and has just begun a new relationship with a man, but his step daughter Maisie is quite rotten and difficult. Eve keeps secrets from her husband, and she’s not even sure why. And India has long-buried secrets that she’s never told her husband and she must learn to face them so she can let go of this secret that is holding her back.

On a Beautiful Day is about being brave, confident and determined even when your whole world is in turmoil. The characters are full of emotion and passion, and despite the fact that I thought there were too many characters in the novel and I sometimes found it hard to keep track, I did read this book rather quickly and I enjoyed following the characters on their journey post-accident.

The novel alternates between the four different point of views, allowing the reader to follow each character as they confront the issues that they have been ignoring or keeping secret for some time now. Personally, I was more invested in Laura’s storyline. Her marriage and her hopes for a baby are shattered after the accident, and I kept reading because I wanted to find out what would happen to her.

“It wasn’t as if they didn’t talk — they did, all the time; anecdotes about work and friends, what to do each weekend, news and gossip. But not the big stuff. Not the exes.”
JO

Unfortunately, most of the men in the book are quite unreliable and pretty disappointing. The four women are fun and determined, but their partners are all very flawed and I wish there wasn’t so much of an imbalance. Laura’s husband is unable to cope with difficult conversations, Jo’s new partner likes to keep his head in the sand and doesn’t realise that his daughter Maisie is manipulative and troubled, India’s husband brushes her off all the time and she feels undervalued, and Eve’s husband is quite self-absorbed and doesn’t really pull his weight around the house. I found myself growing quite frustrated as the book progressed.

The book is set after ‘happily ever after’. All of these women have found love, had children, and are now facing what’s next. For some of them, it’s a new start, and for others, it’s about strengthening what they already have.

“Tuesday night was the one evening of the week when India actually peeled herself away from the sofa and TV in order to venture out for some self-improving Pilates with Laura.”

On a Beautiful Day might have some deep and important lessons for the reader, but aside from that, this is also a fun read. I think if you love reading novels that feature strong friendships, then you’ll love this novel. And if you’re the kind of person who likes historical fiction, then I think you’ll enjoy this read as well.

Thank you to the publisher for mailing me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

On A Beautiful Day
Lucy Diamond
February 2018
Pan Macmillan Publishers

Leave a Comment · Labels: 7/10, Adult Fiction, Book Reviews Tagged: adult fiction, book review, chick lit, fiction, review, romance

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