book review

Book Review: Food Isn’t Medicine – Challenge Nutrib*llocks and Escape The Diet Trap by Dr Joshua Wolrich

Posted on by Libby Price

I read this book a little while ago – but have been nervous about writing a review. Not because I didn’t like the book – I really did – but I was nervous about what people would say and think. Now I don’t mean random internet trolls – by ‘people’, I mean family and friends who would say ‘of course she wants to sack off diet culture, being so overweight’ and such like. Where many things are now deemed unacceptable – making comments about people’s perceived health based on their size is still rampant. But as that’s fairly fundamental to the book – I thought I should but on my big big girl pants (repetition intended!) and write a review!

Here’s the blurb:

“Losing weight is not your life’s purpose.
Do carbs make you fat?
Could the keto diet cure mental health disorders?
Are eggs as bad for you as smoking?
No, no and absolutely not. It’s all what Dr Joshua Wolrich defines as ‘nutribollocks’ and he is on a mission to set the record straight.
As an NHS doctor with personal experience of how damaging diets can be, he believes every one of us deserves to have a happy, healthy relationship with food and with our bodies. His message is clear: we need to fight weight stigma, call out the lies of diet culture and give ourselves permission to eat all foods.
Food Isn’t Medicine wades through nutritional science (both good and bad) to demystify the common diet myths that many of us believe without questioning. If you have ever wondered whether you should stop eating sugar, try fasting, juicing or ‘alkaline water’, or struggled through diet after diet (none of which seem to work), this book will be a powerful wake-up call. Drawing on the latest research and delivered with a dose of humour, it not only liberates us from the destructive belief that weight defines health but also explains how to spot the misinformation we are bombarded with every day.
Dr Joshua Wolrich will empower you to escape the diet trap and call out the bad health advice for what it really is: complete nutribollocks.”

I’ve followed Dr Joshua Wolrich on social media for some time – so when I saw he had a book coming out I was keen to read it. After a failed attempt to download the audio book off NetGalley, I parted with hard cash for a hard copy. A couple of years ago I read ‘Just Eat It’ by Laura Thomas – and it was interesting that she, and intuitive eating, are mentioned early on by Dr Joshua – and I was glad to cover the topic again.

The various chapters include ‘Your Weight Does Not Define Your Health’, ‘Stop Demonising Carbs’, ‘Food Cannot Cure Cancer’ and ‘Improving Your Relationship With Food’ and cover a whole range of different topics surrounding the diet culture we live in and, as so eloquently put, nutrib*llocks!

Dr Wolrich starts by talking about ‘health at every size’ and how often people who do carry extra pounds are discriminated against – particularly when it comes to medical treatment. I witnessed this through a friend who had a number of chronic health conditions and was permanently being told that they would improve if she lost weight. Following bariatric surgery she lost a lot of weight – but unfortunately this has not been the magic switch to cure everything else.

He also talks about how diet culture has normalised ‘disordered eating’ – how many people have said ‘Oh I can’t eat that, I’m being good’? For most people disordered eating stays that – but in some instances it can lead to a full blown eating disorder. Throughout the book Dr Wolrich references specific documents – but also to organisations and resources that could provide help and support such as BEAT.

I know that for myself – being immersed in diet culture for most of my adult life has left me with disordered eating issues. Last year I went to see a nutritionist who ran various tests – and despite being classed as morbidly obese per my BMI (I was shocked to read in the book how BMI was originally set up – and the spuriously random way levels were set) my visceral fat was only just above the normal range. This is probably because I exercise regularly and eat a pretty varied and sensible diet. The nutritionist said that my excess poundage was therefore mostly aesthetic. When we looked at my diet I was significantly lacking in fibre – which I think harps back to a low carb phase I went through in the noughties (who didn’t?!). Reintroducing complex carbs properly into my diet has helped no end with my piles issues (never knowingly undershared!)

When our then 7 year old was diagnosed with CRMO (Chronic Recurrent Multifocal Osteomyelitis) a couple of years ago she was prescribed a high dosage of ibuprofen by the consultant rheumatologist. We asked if she should look at her diet – but their advice was no, as long as she was eating a sensible, varied diet. However, many friends and family made suggestions of what she should try – cut out dairy / cut out wheat / low carb / anti inflammatory diet etc. But when this was suggested to the small, grumpy girl who was struggling to walk because of painful bones – her response was ‘but if I cut out gluten and start taking the medicine at the same time, how will I know which of them is working if the pain stops?’ Pretty perceptive from the child. And thankfully the prescribed drugs HAVE worked and currently her CRMO is seemingly in remission. Yay to medical science! Anyway – I digress wittering on about me and my family – back to the book!

Dr Wolrich is not saying that everyone should stuff their faces every day with doughnuts and hang the consequences – but he is saying that food should not be used instead of medicine. He also points out that food consumption often depends on many different factors – including socio economic situations and education – and food inequity is a big issue even in the UK. He also states that in specific situations and with specific illnesses there are times when dietary interventions are sensible, to quote:

Can food be used alongside medicine? 100 per cent. Should we be encouraging the dietary interventions when possible? Of course Might this be important when someone can’t tolerate medicine due to side effects? I’d say so. Are they equivalent to medicine? Absolutely not.

There’s also some really interesting points about putting a disease (such as diabetes) into remission rather than curing it with food – and the alleged obesity / cancer link that Cancer Research UK put on recent adverts is also unpacked excellently.

I really enjoyed the fact that the book feels very well researched – with references aplenty, kind of like a medical journal in itself. So much ‘noise’ in the ‘wellness’ area is being peddled by people who will make a financial gain from what they’re selling – and, as with many areas of life, some of the most vocal exponents of specific fads have chosen only to find evidence to back up what they believe rather than look at the wider picture.

We eat FOOD we don’t eat individual nutrients – and food is definitely more than it’s constituent parts. He concludes with the following short guidelines:

– Eat more vegetables and fruits
– Eat more sources of fibre (grains, seeds, nuts, beans and legumes)
– Include oily fish, lean white meat, eggs and plant sources of protein (such as tofu)
– Include both olive and rapeseed oil (extra virgin if you can afford it)
– Include diary (yoghurt, milk and cheese)
– Eat less sugar, saturated fat, and red and processed meat

And to focus on inclusion. Including more nutritious food rather than trying to exclude less nutritious items is going to both improve your health and benefit your relationship with food. Win-win.

All of this sounds eminently sensible and achievable – definitely food for thought (shit pun definitely intended!)

Book Review: Waiting To Begin by Amanda Prowse

Posted on by Libby Price

I’d had an advance review copy of this on my Kindle for months and never got round to reading it – but I’m so glad I finally did, and just before publication date which was 8 June 2021!

Here’s the blurb:

“1984. Bessie is a confident sixteen-year-old girl with the world at her feet, dreaming of what life will bring and what she’ll bring to this life. Then everything comes crashing down. Her bright and trusting smile is lost, banished by shame―and a secret she’ll carry with her for the rest of her life.
2021. The last thirty-seven years have not been easy for Bess. At fifty-three she is visibly weary, and her marriage to Mario is in tatters. Watching her son in newlywed bliss―the hope, the trust, the joy―Bess knows it is time to face her own demons, and try to save her relationship. But she’ll have to throw off the burden of shame if she is to honour that sixteen-year-old girl whose dreams lie frozen in time.
Can Bess face her past, finally come clean to Mario, and claim the love she has longed to fully experience all these years?”

The book is based on Bess’s birthdays and follows two timelines which alternate – her 16th birthday in 1984 and her 53rd birthday in 2021. I’m a little bit younger than Bess – but still close enough in age to totally empathise with the setting of both birthdays. Many a rugby club party where I embarrassed myself too (throwing up on the geography teacher’s shoes being one of the more repeatable ones!).

The two timelines are totally believable – although you’re not sure exactly what has happened to Bess in the intervening years. The relationship between Bess and her brother Philip and parents is written so well in both timelines – and whose retired parents don’t love a voucher for lunch out?!

I also liked the random fact that our favourite resort in Portugal, Vale do Lobo, where we used to have a house (must be a construction company thing – as the people who own a house there are skip company owners #newmoney) gets a mention. I could picture the beach top dog walk. (Please let us be able to go back there soon!!)

A number of times I wanted to shout at Bess to not do something – but obviously couldn’t!! Overall I enjoyed the book – and was keen to see how each timeline played out – and found the ending very satisfying.

It’s out now – so you can download it immediately if you like the sound of it. A huge thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my ARC.

Book Review: Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Posted on by Libby Price

Like the rest of the world, I read Daisy Jones and The Six back in 2019. I really enjoyed it, and so when I saw Taylor Jenkins Reid had her next book out, I jumped onto NetGalley for an advance review copy. Here’s the blurb:

“From the New York Times bestselling author of Daisy Jones & The Six and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo . . . Four famous siblings throw an epic party to celebrate the end of the summer. But over the course of twenty-four hours, their lives will change forever.
Malibu: August 1983. It’s the day of Nina Riva’s annual end-of-summer party, and anticipation is at a fever pitch. Everyone wants to be around the famous Rivas:
Nina, the talented surfer and supermodel; brothers Jay and Hud, one a championship surfer, the other a renowned photographer; and their adored baby sister, Kit. Together the siblings are a source of fascination in Malibu and the world over—especially as the offspring of the legendary singer Mick Riva.
The only person not looking forward to the party of the year is Nina herself, who never wanted to be the center of attention, and who has also just been very publicly abandoned by her pro tennis player husband. Oh, and maybe Hud—because it is long past time for him to confess something to the brother from whom he’s been inseparable since birth. Jay, on the other hand, is counting the minutes until nightfall, when the girl he can’t stop thinking about promised she’ll be there. And Kit has a couple secrets of her own—including a guest she invited without consulting anyone. By midnight the party will be completely out of control. By morning, the Riva mansion will have gone up in flames. But before that first spark in the early hours before dawn, the alcohol will flow, the music will play, and the loves and secrets that shaped this family’s generations will all come rising to the surface. Malibu Rising is a story about one unforgettable night in the life of a family: the night they each have to choose what they will keep from the people who made them . . . and what they will leave behind.”

The book flicks between two timelines. Firstly there are the 24 hours building up to and including the annual Rivas party – and then back to the 1950s when Mick and June Riva meet and have 4 children. The second timeline continues at pace through the children’s childhoods and all they go through. I enjoyed the different speeds of the timelines.

Much like ‘Daisy Jones and the Six’ it appears to intertwine real life people of the era with the characters in the book in a very clever way. Malibu itself and the amazing coastline is also a character in itself.

The eldest sister, Nina, has definitely put herself way down the pecking order over the years – looking after her siblings, and I felt sorry for her at times as she’d never put herself first. Equally the siblings all had secrets from each other that evolved during the hours leading up to and during the party.

The party itself is fairly horrific – and the trashing of the house awful – it made me feel quite sick the amount of destruction that happened.

One minor niggle was the book talked about Madeira being in Portugal. And whilst Madeira is a Portuguese territory, it is a totally separate island in the Atlantic and it wasn’t mentioned like this at all. (I realise this makes me sound like a total pedant – but hey ho!!) But I had never realised Madeira was a surfers haven – I think of it as a place where my parents and other retirees go for some winter sun!!

Overall it was an immersive read and I did enjoy it, and the twists and turns in both timelines were excellent. In fact I think I enjoyed it more than Daisy Jones and the Six. I also thought that the ending was really well done with lots of the individual story arcs being concluded.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for my ARC. It was released last week, so if you like the sound of it you can buy it now!

Book Review: How Britain Really Works by Stig Abell

Posted on by Libby Price

I’ve always enjoyed watching Stig Abell on the Sky Newspaper review (before Sky stopped him for doing it when he went to work at Times Radio) and always felt he was sensibly even handed when it came to a whole range of subjects. I figured we were a similar age (although when reading the book I found out he was born in 1980 – so I am in fact 6 years older – he must have had a tougher paper round!!) and had both taken our daughters to watch One Direction in concert. When I saw he’d written this book I was keen to read it – but somehow never got round to it (too busy drowning in ARCs from NetGalley!) but my Mum, who is also a Stig fan, purchased a proper copy – so I borrowed it (as I often have a hard copy non fiction as well as a Kindle copy fiction book on the go at the same time – living life on the edge!). Mum’s top tip was to make sure you had a book mark in the main part of the book and also the references at the back – and this proved to be very useful! Here’s the blurb:

“Getting to grips with Great Britain is harder than ever. We are a nation that chose Brexit, rejects immigration but is dependent on it, is getting older but less healthy, is more demanding of public services but less willing to pay for them, is tired of intervention abroad but wants to remain a global authority. We have an over-stretched, free health service (an idea from the 1940s that may not survive the 2020s), overcrowded prisons, a military without an evident purpose, an education system the envy of none of the Western world.
How did we get here and where are we going?
How Britain Really Works is a guide to Britain and its institutions (the economy, the military, schools, hospitals, the media, and more), which explains just how we got to wherever it is we are. It will not tell you what opinions to have, but will give you the information to help you reach your own. By the end, you will know how Britain works – or doesn’t.”

From the introduction Stig’s ‘voice’ shines through – which I always like in a book – and I liked his style of writing immediately. After the introduction it gets into the nitty gritty of various British institutions with chapters on:

  1. Economics
  2. Politics
  3. Health
  4. Education
  5. Military
  6. Law and Order
  7. Old and new media
  8. Identity

The inner geek in me loved all of the history! There was, as my mother predicted, a lot of toing and froing from the main body of the book to the references at the back and initially I found this quite annoying (and wondered why bother doing it like this, when surely everyone would want to read the references, so why not include them in the main text?) but I got over myself and got used to it. It might be easier reading an electronic copy where it’s just a click of a button (ooh, and that’s made me wonder if there’s an audiobook and how the references would be done in that?)

The ‘Health’ chapter was great for the history of the NHS etc – but did feel like it had been slightly blown out of the water by the last 18 months of the covid pandemic. Interestingly within the chapter Stig refers to the fact that an institution like the NHS wouldn’t change significantly without an earth shattering event such as a global health crisis – so maybe this is the start of a new era for British health?

The ‘Old and New Media’ chapter also has evolved since Stig wrote this – with the new radio station being one change, along with the global phenomena of TikTok which has exploded during lockdown in particular. However, again, the basics and the history are always going to be there.

The epilogue contains Stig’s advice for the future of Britain – and how he thinks certain things could be solved. I wouldn’t necessarily agree with it all – but it’s definite food for thought.

Overall I feel like I’ve learned lots from the book and enjoyed it (and will probably quote facts from it in quite an annoying way for some time!)

Book Review: The Wife Who Got A Life by Tracy Bloom

Posted on by Libby Price

You know when you start reading a book and you think – this is a bit close to home?!?

Let me introduce you to Cathy Collins – she’s:

  • Late 40s – check
  • An accountant – check
  • Resident in the Birmingham area (well, close enough to go to her husband’s colleague’s house in Edgbaston – I’m assuming the nice bit, not the red light bit I lived in after my divorce in the late 90s) – check
  • One of three sisters, and one lives abroad – check

And for those of your not quite as spooked as me by this point – here is the blurb:

“Cathy Collins is a mum on a mission – to change her life. 
When her husband drops a midlife-crisis bombshell,
Cathy decides it’s time to take control. 
No more laundry, teenage tantrums or housework.
After years of putting herself last, she’s going to be first for a change. 
Cathy Collins is carving a new path, and nothing is going to get in her way… 
From No.1 bestselling author Tracy Bloom, The Wife Who Got a Life
perfectly captures the joyous chaos of family life.“

Cathy’s sister who lives in California, sends her a motivational journal in which to record her goals for the year. Initially Cathy is incredibly reticent – as she doesn’t want to write down goals like ‘learn Mandarin / bake your own bread’ etc to not achieve them and then feel even more fed up. But then she decides upon some monthly goals that she will try and achieve which are very much hers:

JANUARY – Write the list!

FEBRUARY – Ditch Periods

MARCH – Ditch Cooking

APRIL– Get a Life Outside the Family, preferably with ‘Young’ People

MAY – Secure My Son’s Future – i.e. Put a Rocket Up His Arse

JUNE – Teach My Daughter How to Not Get Screwed Over by Relationships

JULY – Reduce My Carbohydrate Footprint

AUGUST – Agree Who Will Clean Mum and Dad’s Toilet

SEPTEMBER – Make the Necessary Announcements about the Menopause

OCTOBER – Have the Really, Really Important Chat with My Husband

NOVEMBER – Fall in Love Again

DECEMBER – Dance with Hugh Jackman

I am so with Cathy on these goals!! The book follows each month as Cathy ticks off each goal in turn.

She used the pill to ditch her periods – I had an endometrial ablation.

She contacted the local catering college to get someone to come and assist with family cooking – I employed a friend to do our cooking (RIP Mrs Patmore – although I should add she’s not dead, just relocated to Cornwall!)

The book is so well written and laugh out loud funny. I loved the book – and Cathy – right from the start. I guess I was always going to be onto a winner having so much in common – but it was ace!!

I had a smile to myself every time The Mustard Factory trendy working space was mentioned – clearly not based upon The Custard Factory in Digbeth in Birmingham, nope, not at all!!!

The book made me laugh a lot (teenage parties / first love) but also have a huge lump in my throat (neighbour battling cancer) – I guess the roller coaster is what makes a book so great. The writing about life with teenagers is so true to life – as with the extended family / friends / book club / colleagues – it was really great.

A massive thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my ARC – but I was slightly slack, due to an overload of books, and it was out at the end of April 2021 – so you can buy it immediately if you fancy it – and it’s only 99p on Amazon – result!

Book Review: The Road Trip by Beth O’Leary

Posted on by Libby Price

I really enjoyed Beth O’Leary’s previous book, The Flat Share, and so when I saw she had a new one out I jumped at the chance of reading an advance review copy from NetGalley. Here’s the blurb:

“Addie and her sister are about to embark on an epic road trip to a friend’s wedding in rural Scotland. The playlist is all planned and the snacks are packed.
But, not long after setting off, a car slams into the back of theirs. The driver is none other than Addie’s ex, Dylan, who she’s avoided since their traumatic break-up two years earlier.
Dylan and his best mate are heading to the wedding too, and they’ve totalled their car, so Addie has no choice but to offer them a ride. The car is soon jam-packed full of luggage and secrets, and with four hundred miles ahead of them, Dylan and Addie can’t avoid confronting the very messy history of their relationship…
Will they make it to the wedding on time? And, more importantly, is this really the end of the road for Addie and Dylan?”

I enjoyed this book from the start. I loved the relationship between Addie and her sister Deb, who was leaving her baby for the first time (I remember the breast pumping joys of doing that myself!) There is clearly no love lost between the sisters, and Addie’s ex Dylan and his BFF Marcus (who is a total dick!) but they agree to take them with them to a mutual friend’s wedding in Scotland – along with an additional guest, Rodney, who needed a lift. The dynamics of 5 of them in a mini was ‘interesting’ and I can’t begin to imagine how they got all of the luggage in!

The book alternates between ‘now’ which is the road trip from the South Coast of England to Scotland – and ‘then’ which is initially the summer that Addie and Dylan meet, and through their relationship – although most of the characters appear in both time periods.

I loved the descriptions of ‘holiday Addie’ who first meets Dylan – she was so free and loving life. Even back then Marcus was a knob and didn’t want to share his best friend with her – and this only gets worse as Addie and Dylan’s relationship gets more serious. The setting of the villa in Provence where they first met was beautifully described – please let us be able to go on holiday soon?!

The extra wedding guest, Rodney, comes across as a bit of a drip – but there is a twist with him which provides much interest. I also liked Mike the trucker – although maybe he wasn’t a real person at all?!? #weddingsprite

Whilst primarily this is a funny, entertaining, rom com esque book – it does deal with some big issues too – alcoholism / attempted rape / stalking / single parenthood / controlling parents / homophobia – but they’re all wrapped up into the storyline really well.

It was a great read – and I really enjoyed it – Beth O’Leary has definitely done it again. And it’s out on 29 April 2021, so not long to wait.

A big thank you to Net Galley and Quercus Books for my ARC.

Book Review: The End of Men by Christina Sweeney-Baird

Posted on by Libby Price

Firstly, a disclaimer – this book was written in 2019, before anyone had heard of Covid 19! The author herself has added details about this at the start of the book. It isn’t based on what the world has experienced in 2020 / 2021 – but the whole coronavirus crisis does make it so much more believable. I’d seen this book on a few ‘books for 2021’ lists – and was lucky enough to be given an advance review copy by NetGalley.

Here’s the blurb:

“Glasgow, 2025.  Dr Amanda Maclean is called to treat a young man with a mild fever. Within three hours he dies. The mysterious illness sweeps through the hospital with deadly speed. This is how it begins.
The victims are all men.
Dr Maclean raises the alarm, but the sickness spreads to every corner of the globe. Threatening families. Governments. Countries.
Can they find a cure before it’s too late? Will this be the story of the end of the world – or its salvation?
Compelling, confronting and devastating, The End of Men is the novel that everyone is talking about.“

The book starts in Glasgow being told from Dr Amanda Maclean’s viewpoint when she first identifies this new virus that seems to be killing only men but being carried asymptomatically by women. She tries to quickly raise the alarm – but is dismissed as being a hysterical woman and so it takes a while for it to be taken seriously.

Subsequent chapters are told by different points of view from around the globe. Mostly these are women – because only 9% of men are immune. It deals with horrific grief, jealousy, death, fear, changes to governments, jobs, vaccines, rationing – and the various stories are all intertwined over about 4 years from the initial diagnosis.

I think the fact we’re all going through a global pandemic makes some of the things that may have been considered far fetched – are actually potentially more imaginable. Rationing of food? Deciding who can and can not have children? Enforced labour? Thankfully a few steps further than the lockdowns we’ve endured – but not complete pie in the sky after the last 14 months.

I found some of it incredibly moving – in particular the women giving birth and not knowing if they’d have a daughter who would live, or a son who would probably die within days. Also, the rationing of ‘normal’ medical supplies to people who actually stood a chance of living – rather than men with the plague or the elderly made you question how close the UK could have got to that? We all know how much the coronavirus pandemic has delayed cancer diagnoses – for example – but how much worse could it have been?

The ethics of discovering a vaccine was also part of the storyline – and who the intellectual property rights do or should belong to! Thank goodness Astra Zeneca are distributing their covid vaccine at cost.

Dr Amanda is determined to uncover the initial cause of the virus in patient zero – and the similarities with the suspected start of Covid 19 are spooky, and does question the treatment of animals in foreign countries. The relationships built between some of the characters in the book also evolve really well.

Overall I found the book incredibly well written and thought provoking. I had an early download – so I’m hoping a couple of the continuity errors have been sorted (Devon becomes Suffolk and then back to Devon again at one point!) – but these did not detract from an excellent book. I would highly recommend this debut novel.

A huge thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for my ARC.

Book Review: The Summer Job by Lizzy Dent

Posted on by Libby Price

“Have you ever imagined running away from your life?
Well Birdy Finch didn’t just imagine it. She did it. Which might’ve been an error. And the life she’s run into? Her best friend, Heather’s.
The only problem is, she hasn’t told Heather. Actually there are a few other problems…
Can Birdy carry off a summer at a luxury Scottish hotel pretending to be her best friend (who incidentally is a world-class wine expert)?
And can she stop herself from falling for the first man she’s ever actually liked (but who thinks she’s someone else)”

The book starts with best friend’s Birdy and Heather in London. Heather is supposed to be working a summer season at a hotel in Scotland – but instead wants to jet off with her current ‘this is it, real love for definite this time’ boyfriend to Italy and ditch the sommelier job. Birdy is supposed to be calling the hotel to tell them Heather can’t go – but instead, decides to go and do the job herself – but doesn’t admit to Heather that this is what she’s doing.

The hotel in Scotland isn’t the run down property that Heather and Birdy were expecting – instead it’s been massively done up and is a beautiful ‘place to be seen’. I have to say that the setting and the Scottish countryside is so well described it made me want to visit immediately. To go and stay in a beautiful hotel, on the banks of a loch, with amazing food and wine flights – bliss………

Birdy is clearly totally out of her depth as ‘Heather’ as soon as she arrives – but she works super hard to get up to speed on the wines – and the team at the hotel become really important to her. Her loyalty to her new friends – and to Heather – is what keeps her going and working so hard.

Whilst the book is generally a fun, light hearted read – with some real laugh out loud moments – it does also cover some heavier topics – alcoholism, being the child of an alcoholic, gaslighting by parents and partners, bullying, friendship – but all as part of the over riding storyline.

Most of the characters were lovely – if slightly flawed in some way. The only one I couldn’t stand was Tim, Birdy’s on / off boyfriend. He was an utter knob – and she could do so much better.

The ending surprised me, and it’s more convoluted that you had expected throughout the book – but I still liked it.

Overall a really lovely read. It’s out in just a few days time – so I’m not tempting you too far in advance!

Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for my ARC.

Book Review: The Best Things by Mel Giedroyc

Posted on by Libby Price

I love Mel Giedroyc, so when I heard she had a fiction book out – I jumped onto NetGalley and was kindly given an advance review copy. Here’s the blurb:

“Sally Parker had a morbid fear of big social events and it was for this reason that she was crouching down low in the shoe section of her wardrobe…
Sally Parker is struggling to find the hero inside herself.
All she wants to do is lie down.
Her husband Frank has lost his business, their home and their savings, in one fell swoop. Their bank cards are being declined. The children have gone feral. And now the bailiffs are at the door.
What does an ordinary woman do when the bottom falls out?
Sally Parker is about to surprise everybody.
Most of all herself.
A big-hearted story of a family on the brink, The Best Things is a life-affirming tale of failing, falling and finding a way back up.”

There were incredibly mixed reviews on NetGalley – and so I was a bit wary of starting this – but seeing that Marian Keyes and Graham Norton had enjoyed it, I gave it a go. Then I saw Mel interviewed about it on Lorraine the next day (I’d left it very close in the ‘advance’ department to start reading it!) and she was so warm and funny, and said that some of it was based on real life – when she and her family lost everything some years ago – which gave it a different edge.

The first third of the book is the Parker family in their fancy house in Leatherhead. Sally is part of the ladies who lunch / gym / charity fundraise set – and she and her ‘friends’ appear to have more money than sense. (I have to say they reminded me of certain people who live in the village next to ours!!) Frank has a very successful hedge fund business, the kids are all at private school, the house is full of ‘help’ and all is well in their bubble. The referencing of the price of items from the local farm shop was so true!! Sally’s Mum sees them very much as ‘new money’ (which we’ve had thrown at us as an insult in the business class lounge for Emirates at Birmingham Airport by a tweed clad stuck up old crone who was just how I imagined Sally’s mother to look!!)

Then – things go horribly wrong. Frank’s business crashes and he becomes ill and all the material trappings are taken away from them. Sally tries to save the day with help from her one true friend – the dog groomer – when her other ‘frenemies’ take flight.

The reaction of the children was interesting – and different for each one (the concern at lack of phones and devices would be very similar in this house should the same situation arise!)

There is then a cross UK train / road trip for all of the characters which brought its own tales. It then concludes in Wales – but I’d really like to know what happened to everyone next.

There are a lot of characters in the book – the Parker family, their staff, their extended families, colleagues, friends, school friends – and that sometime felt a bit chaotic. There are some real laugh out loud moments – but not as many as I’d hoped for given Mel was the author.

Overall it was a fun, easy, escapist read – but it didn’t set the world on fire and I’m not sure it would have been published if it wasn’t a celebrity author. Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for my ARC.

Book Review: The Frequency Of Us by Keith Stuart

Posted on by Libby Price

Last year I loved the BBC2 Book Club programme “Between The Covers” presented by Sara Cox. Recently she revealed the books which will be featuring on the upcoming new series – and ‘The Frequency Of Us’ really appealed, and NetGalley were lucky enough to grant me an advanced review copy. Here’s the blurb:

“In Second World War Bath, young, naïve wireless engineer Will meets Austrian refugee Elsa Klein: she is sophisticated, witty and worldly, and at last his life seems to make sense . . . until, soon after, the newly married couple’s home is bombed, and Will awakes from the wreckage to find himself alone.
No one has heard of Elsa Klein. They say he was never married.
Seventy years later, social worker Laura is battling her way out of depression and off medication. Her new case is a strange, isolated old man whose house hasn’t changed since the war. A man who insists his wife vanished many, many years before. Everyone thinks he’s suffering dementia. But Laura begins to suspect otherwise . . .”

The book follows two timelines – firstly back during the Second World War and the romance between Will and Elsa, and then 2008, where Laura is assigned Will as a client for the care agency that she’s working for.

(This did actually make me realise that it would be difficult to write a book in the present day with people having memories of the Second World War. My Grandmother – who died at the age of 90 two years ago – was an evacuee during the war. My children have been so lucky to be able to talk to their Great Grandma about her experiences when they’ve studied evacuees at school. As the last few people of her generation pass away, so do the real life stories of the war, which has made me quite emotional.)

I enjoyed both timelines a lot – and I have to say the city of Bath was a character in the book in its own right. The descriptions of it were excellent – and it’s made me want a weekend break there (when we’re allowed again, obviously!)

The relationship between Will and Elsa was beautifully written – and I wanted to find out more about them. Equally the very different relationship between Laura and Will is also interesting, if not conventional. Laura has so much ‘stuff’ going on in her own life, and her struggles with her own mental health – that being able to focus on helping Will seems to help her too.

The comparison of young Will (radio geek, passionate about his work. madly in love with Elsa) and old Will (grumpy, rude, loner) were excellent – and as the story develops you realise why this has happened.

The book also looks at Laura’s past and her relationship with her every present Mother – and absent Father – and why this has made her the person she is today. It’s not been an easy life for Laura or Will.

The run up to the ending was really unusual – and not what I’d expected at all. I don’t even want to compare it to anything (although I have a book and a TV programme that I could easily reference!) but I think it’s better reading it without any spoilers at all.

Overall I enjoyed the book and a big thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC – but you don’t need to worry, as if you like the sound of it, it’s out now so you can order it immediately!