If there's a thing a lot of people know about me is how much I love the Fletchers. Tom, Gi and their two beautiful sons are the most adorable thing ever. I always end up getting way to excited about their projects but I never read their books and I don't know why. To be honest, I only read Giovanna's first book and I loved it. As you might imagine, I ended up being really excited when I was approved for this book but while I enjoyed it I still expected a lot more from it.

One thing I really liked about this book was that it was about Lizzy finding herself and not about romance. We have a girl who had been in a relationship for 10 years that ends up quite abruptly. She ends up realizing how much she changed in her relationship mostly due to her boyfriend. I really enjoyed Lizzy's self-discovery journey but in my opinion there was something missing. I know I said I was happy that this book was about Lizzy's journey but I wouldn't mind a little bit more of romance. There's also the fact that not a lot happens in the story which was a bummer. However, what I loved was how important family and friends were in the story. Let's be honest, I didn't like Lizzy's sister at all. That girl had some serious issues but the girl was about to get married and super pregnant so I kind of understand her.

Seeing that the only time I read one of Giovanna's books was years ago and since she released a lot of novels after Billy and Me, I didn't really knew what to expect from her writing. I did enjoy it but sometimes she would ramble a bit making the book a little bit slower than what I normally like.

Overall, this ended up being an enjoyable read. There are a few things I would have changed and I would have liked it way more if there was more stuff happening but it was still a good read and I definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys these kind of books.

I have (nearly) worked my way through all of Giovanna Fletchers novels (I still have to read Always With Love - exciting!) and I've got to be honest, I didn't think anything could beat her first novel, Billy and Me.  I loved Sophie and Billy's story, and I really believed that this was Giovanna's best work.  Until I read Some Kind of Wonderful.

Lizzy is heartbroken.  She has spent 10 years of her life loving Ian, a man she believed to be The One.  She has also spent 10 years waiting for The Question.  Holidays and milestones have passed them by as she continued to wait for him to confirm her belief that they were meant to be together forever.  When the moment finally arrives however, Ian removes all her hopes and dreams for their future whilst waving a diamond under her nose.  Heartbroken, grief-stricken and direction-less, Lizzy returns home to her family to try to rediscover exactly who she is and who she wants to be post-Ian.

We follow Lizzy as she reminisces about who she was before she met Ian.  I particularly enjoyed her reminiscing about her nights out in Chelmsford and in Dukes, somewhere my friends and I spent many fun filled evenings in our late teens (most Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays to be precise!).

What I loved about this book is that it was not about a boy.  Yes, I appreciate that Ian ditched Lizzy, but that is only the beginning of the story.  This is a story about Lizzy the woman, a woman who needs to find out what she wants from life.  Discovering who she wants to be as a person, as a professional and what she may eventually want from a future relationship.  It is also about her discovering what she doesn't want to be, and the breakdown in her relationship finally gives her some perspective about some areas of her life that she has stringently ignored due to her total focus on The Question.

This is chick-lit, but it is chick-lit that makes you consider your own position in the world.  It makes you think about what is really important, and whether you are really acknowledging your own needs as well as everyone elses.  Life is short, and everyone deserves to be happy.

I loved this novel, and it really does make me excited for what Giovanna will present to us all next.  I definitely recommend this thought-provoking, uplifting novel about self-discovery which really does highlight just how strong women really are.

Thanks to Netgalley, Penguin and Giovanna Fletcher for providing me with a pre-publication copy in exchange for my honest review.

Loved this book. Heartwarming story, lovable characters with their own personalised dilemmas what's not to love. Could not put it down. Hope it is not the last we hear of Lizzy.

Lizzie and Ian have been together since the beginning of uni and now 10 years on she is starting to wonder if he will ever pop the question, but the last night of a romantic holiday is the perfect time isn't it......... unfortunately not instead of becoming engaged Lizzie is dumped!

Returning home to her parents house she goes through all the classic breakup stages... comfort eating, drunken texts etc until she starts to pull herself together and realise that she has to find herself as a person and not the other half of Ian.

A lovely book full of great characters that you can really relate to and some great fun moments along with the warmth of friendship and a great leading lady that you are really rooting for

Another fabulous book by Giovanna. Lizzie and Ian have been together for so long that Lizzie is sure she knows how her life will end up. What happens when nothing goes to plan and she finds herself alone again?

I love that this book is not your run of the mill romantic book and is all about Lizzie finding out who she is when she is not in a relationship. I won't go into the story because it is well worth the read!

A real thought provoking story that will be relatable to most women!

A lovely story with a nice positive attitude, not really a love story - more about learning to love yourself.
Some great characters and fun situations, all of which felt very believable and written with genuine warmth.
It's never to late to make a change and start again.

Well I have to say this is a bit of a departure from the normal Giovanna Fletcher writing style but one that I absolutely loved. Lizzy has been with Ian since Uni and she has their whole lives planned out, even if it is only in her imagination. When they go on a trip to Dubai Lizzy is convinced that this is 'it'. Instead she finds herself at the polar opposite of where she thought she would be and flies home a single woman. This throws her and she returns to her Mum's house to lick her wounds and find out who she really is.

The reason I say this is a departure is that it doesn't follow suit with some of her other fabulous books where everything is wrapped up neatly by the end. This isn't about Lizzy finding the man of her dreams which will fix everything, it's about her journey from being part of a couple to suddenly re-discovering what she likes to do and the things she wants from life.

All of the additional characters were brilliant in this book especially her friendship with her friend Connie. Then there is her very funny sister Michelle, her Mum and husband, her Dad and a whole fleet of other people who pass through. This truly was a fantastic read if only because I think it will resonate with so many people. It's been written with humour and love throughout without the condescending tone that some books manage to spill out. It was a sheer joy to read and I loved every page of it. Although I absolutely loved her other type of books such as Billy & Me this really was a brilliant book. The icing on the cake was the ending where it's not all wrapped up and the options for Lizzy are limitless, bravo Giovanna!

Liz has dreams, big dreams of the perfect wedding to the perfect man, Ian. Ten years on and the dream is still there but without the ring or any sign of a proposal in the near future. What should have been the most romantic proposal in a stunning setting ends in tears with Liz becoming a singleton.

It’s time for Liz to take stock of her life and decide what she really wants to do that will be fulfilling for her and not to satisfy someone else. It’s take Liz a lot of soul searching to discover who she has become and who she wants to be. From quitting her mediocre job to moving on with her life.

This is a lovely story of hope, broken dreams, new dreams and new starts. Definitely worth reading.

High octane, fast paced crime fiction is my bread and butter genre reading wise but, every so often, I crave something lighter. That said, I do like my lighter reads to have some kind of substance and not be all airy fairy so I was delighted when I read You're The One I Want, also by this author which ticked all the boxes I needed for a lighter read. This book continued on in the same vein and what I read here was a great story played out by convincing characters that left me satisfied at the end having gone through a few emotions along the way.
Lizzy and Ian have been together since they met early days at University. Ten years later and Lizzy has almost given up of them ever getting married. So many times she's been convinced he's been about to pop the question. Our story here starts on the last day of their latest holiday and she has all but given up on this being the occasion he finally gets round to it. But then, over a rather swanky, romantic, secluded candle lit dinner, he finally produces a ring. Having shown her the goods though, he decided that not only can't he go through with proposing, he actually doesn't think he really wants to be with her anymore. Shocked and devastated, on returning home Lizzie does the only thing she can do, move back in with her parents, via her best friend for some support first. As the dust settles and things become less emotional for her, Lizzie reassesses her life and this is where our story really begins...
Initially, when Lizzy was banging on about not being engaged yet, I was literally screaming at her to just do it herself. Buck tradition and just propose to him. As time moved on and I got to know more about their situation, I realised that this really wasn't a viable option so I swallowed my opinions and let the book take me on what turned out to be Lizzie's coming of age story. I had an absolute blast as I reminisced with her over things from her past. Groaned with her over some of the things she had done, especially those that also appear in my own timeline. I laughed with her, I cried with her, I cringed with her. Basically I got a bit emotionally involved. To be honest, I related to her a little too much at times having gone through a similar sort of relationship breakdown (actually divorce) myself and saw quite a few things we had in common both during and after the relationship. Bit close to home at times but that's what made the book real for me.
Other than that, it was for me a nice quick and easy read with enough substance to keep my attention nicely throughout and which left me completely satisfied at the end. This kind of book is never going to really set my world on fire as it is not the genre that does this for me but for what it is, it did the job; very well. Aficionados of the genre should love it.
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

A romantic, picturesque holiday was bound to be the perfect place Ian would finally propose to Lizzy, after a decade of dating.

Instead, it is the place he will end their relationship, leaving Izzy heartbroken and questioning everything she ever thought she knew about herself. The book goes through all the stages of a break-up - including the comfort eating - as Lizzy goes on a mission to put herself first and move on with her life. Drunken texts, arguments, confessions, Coldplay, best friends and lots more, help Lizzy realise life didn't end with Ian...

I do love a romance but what I loved most about this book was that there was no man saving the day. Instead, it was Lizzy's family and friends, helping her feel like herself again, which makes it so relatable. It's a really positive, feel-good book, with some genuinely funny and touching moments. It is an easy read to get stuck into and the characters are very likeable - you'll definitely be cheering for Connie.

Perfect for: All ages - love, heartbreak, friendships, family's ups and downs and nostalgia - everyone will have something to relate to in this feel-good book.
Do: Pass around your friends, particularly anyone going through a break-up. Also, make more time for yourself and the things you like, regardless of whether you're single or in a relationship.
Don't: Drunk/impulse text an ex - you may regret it a la Lizzy! Or attempt to wear clothes from your teens.

This is a wonderful read .. with touches of sadness but mostly it is a heartwarming, mood lifting read and I enjoyed every bit of it!

Lizzie had been with Ian for 10 years and has spent most of them waiting for him to pop THE question. But when he finally gets round to it, it’s obvious he’s not sticking to the script she has in her head and it all goes shockingly wrong. With the relationship over and back living in her old single room at her Mum’s, Lizzie sets about finding herself. No longer one half of a couple she want to rediscover her own identity and begins with the memories of the person she was last time she slept in that bed.

The easiest thing in the world to do would be to plunge Lizzie back into another relationship but this novel is about more than romance. It’s about a woman who has lost her single identity to a double one, and her working out how to become her own person again. Settling back into family life, she finds out things which she hadn’t realised were happening whilst she was invested in becoming the woman she though Ian wanted her to be. Rekindling family relationships and making contact with old friends sets Lizzie on the road to recovery.

Well written and smoothly flowing, this book is an easy read – and an uplifting one which will leave you with a sense of accomplishment, even though you were only the reader!

My thanks to publisher Penguin for granting me an arc via NetGalley. This is my honest, original and unbiased review.

Lizzy and Ian have been a couple for as long as anyone can remember, and it appears to everyone that a marriage proposal is the next step. A romantic trip to Dubai surely is the perfect setting for the question to be popped?! But instead of the happy-ever-after moment, Ian confesses to Lizzy that he doesn't feel the same way as she does, and that he's not sure that he wants to be with her any more.

After the initial shock of now being a singleton, Lizzy realises that Ian had many flaws and that she often went along with his decisions rather than speak out, and so she decides to rediscover the girl who used to wear shocking outfits and dance like a loon to Bananarama...she decides to live life and have fun again!

I adored this book - it mirrored a part of my younger life, when my partner of nine years suddenly declared he didn't love me any more and off he went - I wish I known Lizzy back then as we could have partied together, drank many glasses of wine together, and sobbed watching romantic movies together.

This was a really lovely book and felt like it was written from the heart.

I was given a free copy of this book for an honest and open review.

A story about love, relationships and family. An easy read to sit and relax with. What happens when your relationship ends suddenly? If your life changes suddenly what do you do? After Lizzie and Ian split up Lizzie takes time and re-evaluates her life and what she wants out of it. A book that is a lovely way to escape for a few hours.

Ah, how nice is it to have Gi back writing fiction? It seems like ages ago I last read something from Giovanna Fletcher, so I was eager to get stuck in to Some Kind of Wonderful as soon as I was approved for an advanced copy.

Some Kind of Wonderful is written in the first person so Lizzie herself tells her story and the book starts off with her and her partner of 10 years, Ian, enjoying a luxurious holiday in Dubai.
From the outset, there are a lot of difference's between the couple but Lizzie's love for Ian is second to none, unfortunately it soon becomes clear during a very romantic dinner on the beach that Ian's feelings don't quite match Lizzies, and even though he has the ring in his hand ready to ask that all important question Lizzie is desperate to hear, she ends up flying home - minus an engagement ring and minus a boyfriend.

Moving back to her childhood home and living with her Mum and Stepdad isn't exactly how Lizzie planned to spend the rest of the year but as she embarks on trying to mend her heart, she also works discovering who the real Lizzie is and what she is meant to be doing with her life.

Giovanna writes with such warmth and humour it's easy to get lost in her novels, for me though Some Kind of Wonderful lacked just a little bit of oomph in the middle - I sped through the beginning and the ending but I felt like I was waiting for something to happen in between which didn't come.

Don't get me wrong, Some Kind of Wonderful is a great read - it had me laughing and welling up in equal measures and had some great sub plots (Lizzie's sisters wedding and her Dad's secret spring to mind) and secondary characters (Connie is a hoot!) and of course Gi's signature reference to a certain Billy Buskin (Billy & Me - what a book!) - but I just lost my way a little in the middle of the book.

Despite this, I truly feel that Some Kind of Wonderful will make a fabulous gift to yourself this Christmas ;-)

This is the first of Giovanna's books I have read. I've noticed her and her books a lot on social media, and everyone says how great her books are, so I thought I should find out for myself. Plus I love her husband (shh! don't tell her) - not in 'that' but cos he seems like such a lovely bloke and they seem to be the perfect couple. Plus I swear I bumped into him and he said hello to me at a Muse gig in Camden, though I was so excited that day it was only afterwards I realised it was him. Or maybe it wasn't.

Anyway this is supposed to be a book review, not a gushing-over-lovely-people fest. So here goes...

Readers, I loved it!

To begin with, our heroine is on holiday with her boyfriend of ten years. It's in her life plan to be married to him. She doesn't know anything else - and everyone around is expecting the same. The build up to the great moment that never is, is full of tension, even though you know what is going to happen. But I can't believe Ian let it get as far as it did - that was pretty cruel, weak and pathetic, and quite frankly she's better off without him.

Lizzy deals with the blow admirably - yes she's devastated, but it's time to re-evaluate her life. At first she flounders, like most of us would, but gradually she gets her confidence back. During her soul-searching she initially thinks she needs to find the 'old' Lizzy, but it's the New Lizzy that needs to emerge from this change.

The supporting cast is good; Lizzy's mum is supportive, her sister Michelle less so (and is quite a selfish, self-centered biatch, though for much of the book she is pregnant so I'm guessing the hormones are to blame).

It's an easy and enjoyable read, and I'll be adding Giovanna's other books to my ever-growing To Be Read pile..

A really fun read. Giovanna Fletcher writes great conversations and the reader is really swept along with the Lizzy's story. The pace is good and the back stories are interesting. I wondered at times if Lizzy gets over Ian too easily, after all they were each other's everything for ten years and inevitably other relationships would have fallen by the wayside. I also thought that it was strange that not much was made of the response to the breakup from the couple's joint friendships but all in all it was a good story.

This was an easy quick read, I thought the overall message of the book was great and I loved the feel good ending. However I felt like nothing much happened in the first 60%, I loved the last 40% though and would have easily have given 5 stars if it would have been great the whole way through.

Great book but not as good Fletchers others.

This was my first Giovanna Fletcher novel and I really don't why I have left it so long!!! Some Kind of Wonderful was a heartwarming read, it was one of those reads that are so emotive that you have to pause for a second and breathe. From the beginning I was hooked as I read how things in your life can unravel but the strength to come out the other end is more powerful. Lizzy is a role model to everyone throughout the story rebuilding herself, finding time to discover who she really is and who she wants to be.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest and independent review.

I've never read anything by Giovanna Fletcher, but I was pleasently surprised by how much I enjoyed her book. I really warmed to the characters, and found them all likeable. It was a nice story of friendship, and easy read, funny in places too; a nice little comfort read.