First I should declare that I picked this book up as a freebie, not quite sure how or where or when, I don’t recall any interaction with the author until after I was half way through the book but I want to make this clear before I start because you guys know I am always really honest with my reviews even when it has meant criticising my favourite authors, so with that said let’s begin..
Lets see what Goodreads has to say about the book…
Coco Pinchard was never a single thirty-something. She married young, had a son, and put her dream to be a writer on hold.
Now her first novel is published. Husband Daniel has greyed nicely into a silver fox, and son Rosencrantz is grown up. It should be time to enjoy life.
That is, until the annual family Christmas when her hideous mother-in-law Ethel comes to stay, and Coco opens her gift from Daniel. It’s not the jewellery she chose, but an iPhone. This marks the start of Daniel’s mid-life crisis and she catches him in bed with a younger woman.
The iPhone becomes a confessional of sorts, through emails to her friends Chris, an ageing trustafarian and Marika a slightly alcoholic schoolteacher. Coco documents her seemingly endless (and often entertaining!) run of bad luck.
Then she meets the hunky Adam and she’s back in the world of dating as a single forty-something…
Read the emails that tell the hilarious tale of Coco picking up the pieces, in this fun, feel good Romantic Comedy.
I am forever downloading free books, from friends, from email lists and sometimes just from taking a nosy at the top 100 free ebooks on Amazon. Many sit on my Kindle and wait, some I read and try to forget they ever existed and occasionally there will be one I deem worth a review. For anyone new here I always say if I cannot pick as many positives as negatives I will not do a review just to slate a book unless it is by a big author who has committed some terrible sin (that has not happened yet). I had just read a true crime ebook which I will review at a later date but wanted something fun and easy to read and after scrolling through my Kindle the title for this caught my eye so I decided to give it a go.
I have to be honest I could not put this book down, I loved the format, the way the narrative is mainly composed of text and emails with a little of the traditional story thrown it to pull it all together. I really enjoyed the way this worked but if I had one minor criticism it would be that occasionally it would have been interesting to see a message or email she was responding to or for to at least quote the other persons words back at them once in a while to increase the feeling of dialogue rather than monologue but it is a very minor thing and quite possibly a matter of personal opinion, I am after all naturally nosy and like hearing both sides of a conversation lol.
Let’s be honest this book is not going to win the author Pulitzer prizes or a host of awards but that does not matter, I judge each book on it’s own merits and this is the perfect beach read or for reading in the garden on a sunny weekend with glass of wine in hand. There are places where it will literally make you laugh out loud (I did on a bus, rather embarrassing when everyone turned round) and it reminds me in many ways of Sophie Kinsella’s Shopaholic series.
So down to the scores… well for a wonderfully witty, fun easy read, 5 out of five stars.
Paula Acton 