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.

A book for anyone who’s ever worried life isn’t going to plan, Confessions of a Forty-Something F##k Up by Alexandra Potter will make you laugh and it might even make you cry. But most importantly, it will remind you that you’re not alone, because we’re all in this together.

Time to fall in love with your life.

Out July 2020

512 pages

MY THOUGHTS:

I received this book in exchange for my honest review.

This must be my time for reading long books. This book started off slow for me, but as the story developed and the characters became familiar, I started looking forward to what was going to happen next.

I found the story relatable, hilarious and poignant. Perfect for those who thought life would turn out very different than what it has. The main character’s life is a mess. When she moves back to a more familiar setting, London, to start over, she discovers that life didn’t wait for her but had gone on full steam ahead. Her friends have lives that consists of family, jobs and marriages–things she does not.

She struggles to pay bills, finding rents high and the cost of living difficult to manage. All she can afford is to rent a room while she looks for a job. At this point, Cricket comes into the scene. She’s over 80 and has no kids. They become friends.

I found this story endearing, quirky and experienced many laugh out loud moments. With the unlikeliest friendship, the story shows how new beginnings are just as good as old endings. I loved this book and found the reading easy and enjoyable. I loved the characters and how they developed throughout the book. There are a lot of fun and funny moments and a great feel-good feeling to be had by the end of the book.

I gave this book: