Vicky Hope, Kat Lloyd and Mikey Murphy used to be the best of friends when they were in their early twenties. After university, Vicky and Kat decide to go travelling together, but at the other side of the world things slowly start to go wrong and it ultimately leads to all three of them going their separate ways. Now, at the age of thirty, Vicky (now known as Vee), seems to be back at the starting line: no job, no relationship and back at her parents' house. With nothing to lose, she decides to reach out to Kat and Mikey, in the hope of figuring out what happened all those years ago and perhaps rebuilding their friendship. But things are a bit more complicated than expected, especially when some big secrets and misunderstandings come to the surface and change everything...

'Whatever Happened to Vicky Hope's Back Up Man?' is another enjoyable read by author Laura Kemp; one that focuses on and is told from the perspective of three different characters: Vicky, Kat and Mikey, who used to be the best of friends, but due to specific circumstances they've not seen each other for years. I always enjoy stories told from multiple POVs, because this usually means there is more than enough going on to keep the reader guessing and interested. I easily warmed to Vicky and Kat's story was definitely my favourite; Mikey didn't really do a lot for me, but put together it definitely resulted in a thoroughly enjoyable story mainly focused on friendship and romance, but dealing with some other issues at the same time. 

The book is divided in quite long chapters that focus on both the present and flashbacks to when Vicky, Kat and Mikey were younger. This provides the reader with insight into the history between the three friends, which I really liked. While I did enjoy the author's writing style I did feel that there was a lot of description and not enough dialogue, which made reading the book a bit tiresome to me personally at times. Overall, though, I'm glad I got the chance to check out another Laura Kemp novel and 'Whatever Happened to Vicky Hope's Back Up Man?' is a light-hearted and warm romantic comedy read that I'm sure many readers will enjoy!

At 21, Vicky prods her best friend, Mikey, into agreeing to be her back-up man in the event neither are married by the time they’re thirty. She then takes off to see the world with her other best friend, Kat, but their friendship comes unstuck during their time abroad. Years later, Vicky heads back home when her relationship with an artist falls apart. She decides to look up her former friends again. Mikey has become successful in the tech world, while Kat may be getting married but still hasn’t escaped the clutches of her controlling mother. Told with short flashbacks to earlier periods in their lives, this is an engrossing story – albeit with predictable twists - with a raft of interesting characters. As the trio deal with disappointments, troubled family matters and life-changing secrets, are their ties strong enough to bring them back together again?

I really tried loving Whatever Happened to Vicky Hope's Back Up Man but I could not. It does not happen to me often but so I am rather disappointed. The novel was horribly boring and I had to drag myself through it for a decent month. I gave up at around 70%. 

One thing I really appreciated about the book is how real it is. The situations described do happen to people and sometimes they are not as successful or unsuccessful at handling them. That part I really really liked. What I did not like is the writing style. I am pretty sure this was the case since I liked the story but I could not get myself through a chapter without dozing off or feeling like I need a reward right after. Another thing is that I did not feel the switch between POVs. I felt like this whole story was told from Vicky's side instead of having three different people. Her voice was the strongest and, in my opinion, the author failed at switching that voice once the story was told by Kate or Murphy. As I result I could not connect with anyone except Vicky. Also, she was forever Vicky to me, I absolutely could not believe in any changes she was going through, so no Vee for me. 

I feel like this book had so much potential but the writing absolutely destroyed it. I also hope that there will be readers who will enjoy it more than I did!