This heart-warming and funny novel is the perfect balm for the insta-weary mind – get ready to shatter the illusion that is #LivingMyBestLife
Bell never thought she’d be facing her 40th birthday single. Recently dumped by her boyfriend of ten years, Bell is struggling to move on with her life – and surrender the fleecy pyjamas she’s been living in since January. Sick of being bombarded by #blessed on social media and feeling like her life doesn’t live up to everyone else’s, she decides it’s time for a change; time to find out who she really is, not who she thinks she should be.
Enter Millie, a successful online influencer posting under the handle @mi_bestlife. But as a single mum trying to make ends meet and stay ahead of the younger generation snapping at her heels, her Instagram feed is far more #BestLiethan #BestLife. With the internet trolls continuing to bring her down and an ex who cares more about playing football than seeing their son, Millie begins to wish her life was more like her filters.
It isn’t until Millie and Bell’s paths cross that the two women begin to realise what they’re missing. Will Bell finally learn to live life for herself? And will Millie see that she needs to start living for the moment and not for the likes?
Review: Oh this book was just absolute perfection. It has all the feelings of those classic rom coms we love so much but with a fresh take that comes from a debut novelist especially when that someone is so wrapped up in the world of social media.
Bell and Millie are great characters to spend this novel with. They have just the kind of flaws that I love to read about that make them so likable and so easy to relate to. Bell is struggling to get over a break up and also panicking about turning 40. She has a lack of confidence and a lack of joy for life. I loved watching her grow and develop over the course of this novel because she really is a lovely person and I wanted to see her literally living her best life. Millie is one of those people we really can't believe exists but it really is a job these days to be a social media influencer but it isn't as shiny and bright as it would seem as we are beginning to realise in the real world. You would think that she has it all, a beautiful son with a footballer for a dad and the chance to schmooze luxury brands at London parties all in the name of instagram. But Millie is also suffering from a lack of self-confidence that is only further fuelled by those online trolls. You can see you're going to be in for a treat with these two at the helm.
I love the fact that this book is structured so that we switch back and forth between these two ladies and we also gain the ability to see some situations from both points of view... no spoilers of course. I love the fact that these two women approach social media from very different points of view but both are aware of its strengths and weaknesses. This is explored so well over the course of the book. The fact that social media can be used for great things but it can also cause pain and trauma and isn't always as glossy as it would be made out to be. Claire Frost really doesn't handle this issue well without this being an issues driven book, she examines the pros and cons of social media through the lives of her characters and this makes the events of the book just as easy to identify with as Bell and Millie themselves.
There are also some brilliantly developed side characters in this novel. I absolutely loved Bell's friend Suze. She is so funny and brings a touch of diversity to the book as well which is never a bad things. I was discussing with a friend of mine that we would both love to be mates with Suze, I think she is a great person to have around and I really wouldn't mind seeing more from her in the future.
Overall this is just a really great read for so many reasons. It is well paced and had me turning the pages to find out what was going to happen next with Bell and Millie. It is easy to relate to and it does a great job of exploring the truth about social media without that being directly what the book is about. This feels like a classic romcom with a fresh new twist and I urge you to add it to your reading list now.
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