Published by HQ – August 2019
Synopsis:
After eight years together, Lil Bailey thought she’d already found ‘the one’ – that is, until he dumped her for a blonde twenty-something colleague. So she does what any self-respecting singleton would do: swipes right, puts on her best bra and finds herself on a first date with a handsome mountaineer called Max. What’s the worst that can happen?
Well it’s pretty bad actually. First Max ghosts her and then, after weeing on a stick (but mostly her hands), a few weeks later Lil discovers she’s pregnant. She’s single, thirty-one and living in a thimble-sized flat in London, it’s hardly the happily-ever-after she was looking for.
Lil’s ready to do the baby-thing on her own – it can’t be that hard, right? But she should probably tell Max, if she can track him down. Surely he’s not that Max, the highly eligible, headline-grabbing son of Lord and Lady Rushbrooke, currently trekking up a mountain in South Asia? Oh, maybe he wasn’t ignoring Lil after all…
Review:
I was sent this novel by Netgalley & the Publisher.
This isn’t my usual choice of novel but I do occasionally like to dip into the rom-com genre. I really enjoyed this feel-good novel about Lil who gets dumped and then ends up pregnant after a first date. Lil is a breath of fresh air, I absolutely related to her and I loved how her character didn’t need to grow she just appears fully formed (and still ends up developing by the end of the novel). Every step of Lil’s journey was wonderful to read and made me smile, laugh and maybe even cry a little.
Sophia Money-Coutts has a breezy and likable writing style which manages to balance serious and witty all in one. At first I was a bit taken aback by the detailed sex scenes but to be honest, they are few and far between. The characters are really relatable and honest in their actions with conversation flowing easily throughout the narrative. Lil in particular is a lovely character and focuses on herself more than the romance side of things (although it isn’t missed out) which was great, I honestly felt like Lil was speaking directly to me through her frank and sarcastic narration. On the romance side of things, Max has some realistic reactions to a believable situation. Max and his family have a difficult backstory which is used well and doesn’t distract from the narrative in any way, only supports it.
All over, a really positive read which I enjoyed and would probably read again. I would recommend this for anyone wanting a nice light holiday read and I will be looking for Sophia Money-Coutts publications from now on.
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