Review: Take Mum Out by Fiona Gibson

Fiona Gibson returns with a laugh-out-loud read, sharply observed and full of dating disasters.

Three blind dates

Two teenage boys messing up her plans

And one man who'll melt Alice's heart.

'You need to get back in the saddle…' Alice despises that phrase. She's fine being single – with two slothful teenage boys and a meringue business to run, she has enough on her plate without negotiating the troublesome world of modern dating.

However, Alice's three best friends have other ideas. Each one will present her with an utterly delicious, eligible man – all Alice has to do is pick her favourite.

Review: I found this book really easy to get into. You warm straight away to the character of Alice, a single mum with 2 teenage sons. She is the perfect chick0lit heroine in that she ins strong and independent but just a little bit ditsy too. You find yourself rooting for her the entire way through the novel and so that really carries the storyline along. The other characters in the novel were there for emotional value and comedy value. The two teenage sons are written beautifully, given the teens that i know/have worked with, and they add pure moments of magic to the novel. Throughout the novel, Alice goes on dates with various men picked out by her girlfriends. These guys really do just add pure comedy value. I have to say though, i found them all rather hard to warm too. I had this same problem with Alice's ex Tom, perhaps this was because I felt somewhat protective over Alice and her family and didn't want anything to burst their little bubble. 

The storyline of this book was nothing new. The idea of a women dating several guys and having to choose between them or eek out their pros and cons, however it was told in a light-hearted and fun way, and every aspect of dating was explored-from the butterflies in your tummy beforehand, to the thought of sex with another man when its been a while. The whole thing is definitely heart-warming, and really highlights the importance of a strong family unit. There were some real laugh-out -loud moments, especially moments from her fortieth birthday party, and so you will definitely fin yourself chuckling at several points in this book!

I liked the fact that this book was set in Edinburgh, you know I love a good setting, and I found it really easy to picture Alice's surroundings and all the different scenes where her adventures were taking place. In one part of the book, she travels to a different city and there could have been a lot more description of her surroundings, but there were a lot of events going on at the time and so I can understand why the author chose not to include too much setting description at this juncture. 

Overall this was a fun read and definitely something I would recommend to fans of chick lit, or fans of this author. It had all the makings of a really good contemporary women's fictions novel and will definitely keep you entertained. I've not read any novels by this author before, although I have a couple sitting waiting to be read, this novel would definitely encourage me to explore more of her writing in the future!