This novel was very different from what I was used to when looking for books in this genre. I started off hooked but felt that the pace slowed after the first few chapters and I started to lose interest. However, this being said, I believe I would have really enjoyed this book if I had been in another time in my life - such as a break up. I’ll look to read more from Giovanna Fletcher.

A very easy read, some lovely characters that are easy to get to know and love, a simple story that drags you in from the beginning, a really lovely read from a great author

A brilliant book by Giovanna Fletcher, I absolutely loved this book from beginning to end it made me laugh out loud numerous times. The book tells the story of Lizzie who is dumped while on holiday in Dubai just as she thinks Ian is about to propose, back home she goes on a journey of self discovery trying to find herself and the girl she was when she was 18. A really fantastic book and I really hope they’re will be a follow up.

What a joy to read. We meet main character Lizzy when she is eagerly anticipating (yet again) a proposal from her boyfriend of 10 years. Things don't quite go to plan and the book then becomes an exploration of Lizzy's life - her future choices, would her present be different if she'd made different decisions in the past? And was her relationship as good as she thought at the time? As bad as she thinks it must have been? Or just a natural progression in life. We meet likeable characters, with a story told in a natural, conversational style which I loved..The relationship between Lizzy and her sister Michelle is brilliant, so natural and a true reflection of many siblings. A great read.

All of Gi's books are like a lovely hug and gossip with a mate. I must admit, protagonist Lizzy was super unlikeable at first, but as the book went on I really started to root for her. Loved the whole cast (a particular shout out for the realistic sisterly relationship between Lizzy and Michelle!) and a gentle, Christmassy vibe without being OTT.


Goodreads / Amazon UK

Quickly becoming one of my favourite authors, Giovanna Fletcher nails it again with another amazing read. The characters are likeable and believable and you find yourself being drawn into the story, as if you're catching up with old friends. Listening to their struggles and celebrating their triumphs along with them. Brilliantly funny and terribly poignant in others, this is one hell of a good read.

Lizzie is on a dream holiday with her boyfriend and expecting him to propose in the most romantic way. The book explores shattered dreams, family dynamics and rebuilding your whole life when the one you'd hoped and dreamt about is cruelly snatched away. Lizzie works to rediscover the girl she was before and that she is entitled to have her own thoughts and decisions on what happens.
I loved the characters and the whole feeling around the family, even her nightmare sister.
I always enjoy Giovanna Fletcher's books

A good read, I literally read it in one night. I enjoyed the ease of the story, the way it flowed and was impressed that the story didn't go the easy route that some books similar to this genre would follow.
I liked the main characters, Lizzy and Michelle had a great sister relationship, lots of banter which is real life for some of us with sisters. I loved her best friend and she had me laughing out loud several times.
If you want an uplifting story, this is a great one to read.,
Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title, also, Penguin UK and Giovanna Fletcher.

This book instantly felt like a classic rom com as soon as I started reading it. The strong female lead, the rubbish boy friend, the whole premise of the book screams everything that I love from my favourite genre of book and it delivered as well. I loved the fact that we have a strong female lead in this book. All of Giovanna's books have this in common but this one seemed a little different from her others so I was a little worried that the lead might be a little more of a pushover but she is feisty and I loved spending time with Lizzy. The other characters in the novel provide great comedy moments and great moments of tenderness too. I loved that fact that Lizzy is close with both of her parents. She has an amazing best friend who is a serial dater and so has great stories to tell. My favourite supporting character though had to be sister Emily. She was wonderful, I want to be her and I loved every scene with her in.

This book is also very easy to relate to. Lizzy is in her late twenties and so has a lot of the same teenage memories that I have. She has some really nostalgic moments that I was nodding along with thinking 'me too, me too' so that was wonderful. She is also at a bit of a crossroads in her life and so goes back and relies on the support of her parents, something which I could also identify with, and I;m sure a lot of readers out there will also be able to understand. This book is also set in a very relatable setting Lizzy doesn't have a glamorous London lifestyle, she lives in Essex, so not a million miles away from London but still embraces the village life and is around those she knew growing up, I really liked this aspect of the book.

Although this isn't a Christmas book, Christmas does take place during the course of the novel and is a cosy family affair so I really enjoyed the fact that I left this book until December to really get into. There are also themes of a new beginning and reflection on the past which people do during the last month of the year before we see in a new one! I listened to this book on audiobook and I really enjoyed the voice that the narrator gave Lizzy, I found I could identify with her more because I got used to that particular voice. For more exciting moments though, the narrator was a little monotone. I couldn't imagine Lizzy not getting more than a little het up at an argument with her boyfriend or exciting moments on New Year's eve.

If you follow this author on YouTube or Instagram then you will definitely be able to see parts of her personality in this book and I liked that, she also mentions the charity that she works with which I thought was great. one of the other moments that I really liked was that she mentions more of my favourites authors, Lizzy apparently has the same taste in book as me since we are both fans of Lindsey Kelk and Paige Toon.

This was a really lovely read and if you are after a very classic, Sophie Kinsella feeling, romantic comedy then this one is most definitely for you. Although it isn't a Christmas book it makes for perfect reading at this time of year and so I would definitely recommend popping this one on your Christmas list or downloading it now and enjoying a moment of calm in the run up to the festivities.

Not quite as good as her other novels. I still enjoyed it though. Made me laugh and made me cry ( happy tears)
I give it a respectable 8/10

I loved Giovanna Fletcher’s You’re the One That I Want when I read it last year, so I was really excited to get my hands on an advance copy of Gi’s beautiful new book.

In Some Kind of Wonderful, we meet Lizzie and Ian, who have been in a relationship since university. After a decade together, Lizzie is eager to get married and friends and family are convinced Ian will propose every time they go out for a fancy meal or go on holiday. When they head to Dubai on a romantic escape, Lizzie is certain the time has come. Ian takes her on to the beach for a candlelit meal and gets down on one knee… only to reveal that he can’t do it. He can’t marry her and he can’t be with her.

This is a book about loss, friendship and coming to terms with who you are and how that changes over time. Unlike Gi’s other books, romance is not really the focus of this story. Instead, the focus is on Lizzie who has to learn who she is on her own, independent of the relationship that has been such a large part of her life for the past ten years.

My empathy for Lizzie grew significantly over the first few chapters. I was initially annoyed by her – assuming that she hadn’t communicated to Ian that she wanted to get married and had unrealistic expectations – but it was soon revealed that Ian had built her up to believe it was going to happen and that it was what he wanted. The grief Lizzie feels as her ten year relationship falls apart is very real and her emotion pours out of the pages. We see her move back in with her mum, reevaluate her life choices and go on a quest to discover who she is independent of her relationship with Ian.

This is an enjoyable, warm read, perfect for the winter months. It’d make a great present to go under the christmas tree too, especially with that shiny, starry cover!

This book was a nice easy read. Good fed descriptions. Nice end to the book. Loved the characters and the storyline

rstly thank you to Net Galley & the publishers for an ARC in exchange for a fair review.
This is a nice story about refinding yourself after your world gets turned around.
I liked the characters. It is well written, although sometimes a little too descriptive - I found myself skip reading some longer paragraphs of description of how Lizzie was feeling/could have felt/would have acted had Ian still been around.
I liked the fact this isn't a typical love story but a tale of how to fall back in love with yourself.
I would recommend it to fans of this genre and would definitely read more of the fabulous Mrs Fletcher's books.

I enjoy the author's style of writing and how she brings her characters to life. You are routing for Lizzie throughout while knowing she is so much better of as a single than being with someone who doesn't love her or want to be with her.

Great writing and will look out for her next book.

I found this book had a great start and a meaningful finish, but the middle was a bit slow in places.and bland.
I have read three other books by Giovanna which I really enjoyed, but I would not recommend this one.

A lovely read liked Lizzie's journey from the breakdown of her relationship to finding herself again think she made the right decision and loved how it played out liked the mix of characters could relate to them all think this book will appeal to people of all ages nice easy reading

I loveed following Lizzy on her journey for the first time without Ian... how she navigates her new found 'independence' and opens herself to new things... It was warm, with beautiful descriptions... absolutely perfect for curling ith on a holiday!
Special mention for Alistair... I just love that name soo much and the character did full justice to it!
Gorgeous cover!
Kudos.. Ms Fletcher!

4 sparkly stars... very much like on the cover!

I devoured this book within a couple of hours and absolutely loved it! The perfect easy read that will have you crying with laughter!

Ever since the release of Billy and Me, a book which I adored for so many reasons, I have always looked forward to new releases from Giovanna Fletcher. Some Kind of Wonderful is Giovanna’s most recent title to hit the shelves and, despite an ever growing pile of books to be read, I couldn’t wait to get started on it as soon as it dropped through my letterbox on publication day. Some Kind of Wonderful was a book that did not disappoint me in the slightest, it told a beautiful story and was one that I thoroughly enjoyed from beginning to end.

Some Kind of Wonderful introduces us to Lizzy who has been in a relationship with Ian for almost a decade since their first day at university. Everyone assumes that it is only a matter of a time before they will one day be married and that a romantic holiday in Dubai will be the place where Ian finally pops the question. However, it is not to be and Lizzy is truly devastated when the proposal she has always dreamed of never happens and Ian reveals that he no longer wants to be with her. Returning home to England and her family home, we stay with Lizzy as she mends her broken heart and tries to rediscover exactly who she is and more importantly who she wants to be now that Ian is no longer in her life.

Something that I have always loved about Giovanna’s previous books and what helps to make them so fabulous are the wonderful characters that she introduces us to. Her lead characters are always so perfectly created and thought through and this was certainly the case with Lizzy in Some Kind of Wonderful. I thought that Lizzy was an extremely likeable and down-to-earth character whose journey was a pleasure to follow. By the end of the story I felt like I’d really got to know Lizzy and had so much admiration for her and the things she was determined to achieve.

You might think that a book that begins with a breakup would be full of doom and gloom but this is definitely not the case with Some Kind of Wonderful which turned out to be a truly inspirational and uplifting read. Throughout the entirety of the book, Giovanna’s fabulous writing style that I have grown to love so much over the years really shone through and is perfectly balanced with some hilarious moments but also a few that brought a tear to my eye. As I found myself completely hooked on this book and unable to put it down, another thing I loved about it was the way in which it made me realise what’s important in my own life and the important message it contained about everyone deserving to be happy.

Every now and then you come across a book whose title is so entirely appropriate and Some Kind of Wonderful was one of those books as it really was absolutely wonderful, a real little gem. With Giovanna’s books getting better and better and this being my favourite to date, I’m already really looking forwrad to seeing what Giovanna will write for us next.

*Book provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review*

Giovanna Fletcher is a great author and I couldn’t wait to read Some Kind of Wonderful.

The story follows Lizzie, who finally wants to get married to her boyfriend Ian. They have been together for many years. Her dreams a crushed though and after a holiday, she finds herself heartbroken and alone and back at her parent’s house.

It’s also her chance though, a chance for a fresh start and of figuring out what she really wants. It was fabulous following her new journey and I liked getting to know the other characters on the way. Like her sister, her parents or Connie. They had their story to tell as well, which was funny and entertaining.

I really liked the start of this book, but then I kind of got lost in the middle. It didn’t grab me as much and there was too much going on at times. The ending took me in again and I was actually sad it was over. A prequel to Lizzie’s story would be wonderful.

Giovanna Fletcher’s style is warm, funny and cosy.

Rating: 3.5/5