Lana and Nancy are both writers and both at a stage in their lives when they need assistance- of different forms but they need it nonetheless. Lana thinks her real problem is that her boyfriend has left her and her second book isn't written but there's a deeper issue there. Nancy has dementia and if I have a quibble it's that this doesn't fully appreciate that disease. That said, the novel is not exploitative and does show some of the daily struggles for both patient and carer. There's a little romance (I liked Jake) and a good story. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. This falls somewhere between chick lit and "domestic fiction" and it's a good read.

While I really enjoyed parts of this book, I never really felt connected to the characters or intrigued by the storyline, so I had a hard time wanting to read. I kept wanting just a *little* more (detail, explanation, something) that I only got about half of the time.

The main character, Lana, was confusing to me. I started off liking her, but none of the events in the story seemed to paint her in a positive light. Some of the other characters were far more interesting.

The plot kept my interest, but again I just wanted more. Especially when Lana would describe how she would have written the scene and I bought “yes, I’d really like to read that story!”

Still, the book was well written and I do think this was more a case of this vein the wrong book for me than it being bad. People who love light romance, and watching a women struggle to let love find her would probably be big fans (as evidenced by the many positive reviews here!)

Thank you to Netgalley for sending me an eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I really enjoyed Sophie's debut novel, it was an easy read that I devoured in a weekend. It is one of those books that makes you laugh out loud and the cast of characters are all believable and ones which I could identify as being part of my circle of friends. I really liked the writing class scenes, giving me an insight into the literary world. I am already looking forward to Sophie's next book.

Unbearable

This was an empty sort of read, for me. It fell flat and its climax and its resolution was incredibly rushed. But I think my disappointment was, also, in part because the title 'The Forgotten Guide To Happiness' held such promise. You would think the book would be uplifting, possibly life-changing. For a fiction novel especially, you would think there will be incredible depth to the lessons it contains...

It wasn't even close to what I expected. And the only lesson I learnt was, don't read too much into a title and don't pick a book because of its title.

A bit about the book: Lana Green is an author, she's struggling to write a sequel after the success of her debut novel. She had written about her relationship. Trouble is, the relationship is over: he is now her ex. She needs a new hero and is looking to be inspired. Along comes Jack, a cynic more than a hopeless romantic. He believes love without all the drama is the ideal kind of love and he is determined, for reasons that remain unknown, to be Lana's hero. They grow closer when Lana opts to house-share with Nancy, Jack's eccentric stepmother.

For me, aside from the overall lacking depth in the writing and the story, I couldn't understand some of the motivations of the characters. Jack, for example. Why did he feel it necessary to change Lana's view on love? The reader never gets to know his character- but it's more of an oversight than an attempt to create some mystery.

I think anyone who reads this book will agree that Nancy is perhaps the most well thought out character. Lana, I think, is a bit egotistical. She's not horrible about it but she overestimates her self-worth. This is not bad, alone, but it wasn't ideal when she's the narrator of the story. She also doesn't have very many friends which isn't explained- and so it reads as though she only made friends once she began to suffer with a writing block. It wasn't plausible, even if I was irritated by her personality. There were other minor flaws- both she and her ex were proud of maintaining their independence but she readily accepts Jack when he rejects this. Also, when she was seeing her ex, she would agree with him completely and claim his words were logical. She couldn't really stand up nor think for herself and no one helped her realise this.

Or again, it's very possible that I'm reading too much into this ;)

I received this book from Netgalley for review consideration.

Ohh, pretty covers - how many times am I going to be hurt by you? Obviously the cover caught my eye. The description was very lovely, and I was expecting something along the lines of The Lido by Libby Page (loved that one!). But this wasn't anything like that. It probably wasn't meant to be anything like it, but I think my expectations got in the way.

I could tell from the very first pages that I wasn't going to like this book, but I kept giving it chances - hoping with all my heart that something would change my mind - but alas, that didn't happen.

My main problem was that I couldn't see the point of this book - not at 20%, not at 51% and not at 71%. I just didn't know why I was reading it and what the book was trying to make me feel. Because I didn't feel anything. Nothing. And if the book doesn't make you feel then what is even the point?

It didn't help that Lana wasn't a very interesting, or for that matter a nice main character to follow. And don't get me wrong, I love unlikable protagonists, but I just couldn't stand Lana. To start off she was as bland as white bread.
​She was also very selfish, petty and "know it all". She tried teaching a class, but the students had way more insight on the subject than she did. She violated Nancy's privacy and read her journal because she selfishly hoped to find a story in there. I'm sure she was meant to come off as relatable to the readers, because she had so many flaws, but to me she didn't.

​Because Lana was so self-centered the whole book had the voice of conceited stiffness. Everything she did was for self gain - all she cared about was her book, which in hind sight didn't sound like a good book at all.

The plot also didn't make much sense - a random guy encounter who offers to be her "hero" and they go on bunch of fake dates - that's just so unrealistic. Once again I'm sure the goal here was to come off as "sweet" and "different", but to me the whole thing was just weird.

​I'm happy for all the people who enjoyed the book, but for me it lacked depth, and I just wasn't the fan of the whole thing altogether. It offered little nourishment and no emotional value to me and that is definitely something I look for in a book.

Big thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books for providing me with a digital arc for review. All opinions are my own, honest and come from the heart.

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

Lana Green is a writer, who is now trying to write her second book, after having successfully published Love Crazy. It was based on her real life experiences and now that her boyfriend is gone, with no goal to come back anytime soon, she doesn’t know what to write about. Lana doesn’t know what to do and her financial problems don’t help at all.

Lana starts looking after Nancy Ellis Hall, a once successful writer, who suffers from dementia now. She also starts spending a lot of time with Nancy’s stepson Jack. The two of them get along really well and I really adored their scenes and moments together. He made her enjoy life again and she finally had something to write about again. I definitely felt a chemistry between them, but for Lana it wasn’t an obvious connection at all. It all gets destroyed when her former boyfriend Mark comes back.

Lana also started teaching literary classes, where she made new friends. When Mark is back, she just goes back to him, as if nothing happened. That’s where I kind of lost interest in the book, because I didn’t understand her decision and her actions.

The characters, who kept me in the book were Jack and Nancy. He was a lovely character, with a great heart and a lot of passion. Nancy is so sweet and I think the author found a great way to include dementia in this story.

The ending was a bit confusing in my eyes and I just couldn’t find a connection to Lana anymore.

Sophie Jenkins writing is cute, quirky and enjoyable, but I really struggled with the flow of the story.

Sophie Jenkins’s book has been devoured like a fine wine and cheese, thoroughly enjoyed from start to finish, I was sad to come to the end!
Lana and Nancy were easy to love characters and so easy to relate to! The hat scenario made me laugh lots as I too have played this game (and I still have the hats and memories!)

This lovely cover got my attention but the story had me settle in for the night!

Don’t you just love Netgalley? It gives you the chance to read wonderful books from authors you don’t know, and depending on the author, opens up a world of undiscovered books waiting to be read.

I have never read anything by Sophie Jenkins but this one was really charming. Life-affirming even. Despite dealing with serious issues like dementia, adultery, and grief, Jenkins shows the reader there is a silver lining and that we can celebrate life instead of loss.

The MC Lana, had everything she ever thought she wanted. A published novel, the man she loves… basically the life she had dreamed of. That is until the man leaves and she is crippled with writer’s block and can’t deliver her second book. Forced to re-evaluate everything, Lana finds a different sort of life, one that perhaps is better than the one she thought she wanted.

I really enjoyed this story. The characters are quirky and in the case of Nancy, larger than life. I also loved the writer angle to the story as it gives readers an inside look at the process. This was a delightful book and I would happily recommend it.

Rating… A

*Thanks to Netgalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review

A quirky and enjoyable read. I liked the way this was a book within a book, in that Lana is a novelist in the story and is also writing a romance (or trying to anyway). Although there was a romance it was very subtle, in fact, I felt there was more emphasis on Lana's relationship with Nancy - another author. I liked the literary theme, and coupled with the theme of dementia this book makes for an insightful read. One thing didn't ring true - the way Lana was with her ex-boyfriend when he returned from his travels - but that's my only criticism.

Very good surprise! I wasn't sure if I was going to like this book, I was a bit "afraid" to read it, and I am really happy that I did in the end! To be honest with you, at around 20% into the book I almost decided to gave up this book because I wasn't really sure about the writing style and if I was going to like it or not but I then I decided to go on with my read and a little after that I realized that I had a little gem between my hands! After the mark of 20% into the book, the story begins to be very interesting and then you can't stop turning the pages! I was totally addicted to that book! and the story is really beautiful! The characters are lovely, especially the ones of Nancy and Jack. And I really liked the end of the book! I recommend this novel!

Your typical rom-com with very little pay-off. This is definitely an interesting novel, particularly when it's got a slightly unlikeable main character who is flawed and not exactly living the high life. She's a writer needing a hook for her next book, after writing about her own whirlwind romance with a travel photographer. While she's doing that, she befriends an eccentric novelist with dementia and her stepson, who she eventually falls in love with. It's very formulaic and everything you would expect from chick-lit.

As an aspiring writer myself, I had lots of fun reading this book, I felt honesty and empathy leaping off of the page and I loved the author for welcoming me into the world of her immensely likeable protagonist, Lana Green. From the very first page, through the ‘dear diary’ like feel to the book I felt greeted as a kindred spirit, let into the the thoughts and feelings of the bruised and confused yet still aspirational and creative, Miss Green. Lana is like a little sprite, a little Tinkerbell, who despite the uncertainty around her, manages to sprinkle ‘hope, and trust and pixie dust’ with every turn of the page.
Lana’s natural openness in sharing how she wished her most recent days had panned out in her fantasy realm, as compared to the reality of what actually happened to her, clinched our friendship and I was hooked. Who wouldn’t want to be able to edit, ‘lop and crop’ their lives as they were going along? It’s what many of us do on social media isn’t it? showing only the best bits to the world. As we all know real life is less perfect, but to truly communicate with one another, Lana learns that we may need to “lose a layer of skin” now and again, so that we can ‘write in hope’. Lana’s kind heart warms the soul and I was wishing her good fortune right from the off. We meet her at a point when her love life is ebbing away, and her cookie is most definitely crumbling. Yet this is a journey full of lots of love and laughter as well as heartache and poignancy.
The writer nails the different aspects and characteristics of what makes us human and has us laughing, crying and catching our breath as we notice and compare our own thoughts and reactions alongside those of the cast set before us. The inimitable Nancy Ellis Hall, novelist has the greatest voice of all and speaks with the most wit and wisdom in the grand tradition of the ‘lady in the attic.’ Mark Bridges and his polished, polite, successful, society-savvy family have another well practised perspective. The wry humour of Jack Buchanan plays perfectly off of the motley crew of fellow writers at the London Literary Society. As a teacher myself, our author had me pegged from the beginning – making me laugh out loud at her observations of the personality behind my profession.
We are encouraged in the book to remember our own humanity, to look less judgmentally and more compassionately at the choices of others and to look more at our own motivations for love instead; to be aware of chasing a fantasy that could never be as good as the real deal, even if that is more likely to be a beautiful mess.
I loved that the book challenges us to consider what makes a hero and what our own idea of real love looks like. I enjoyed looking at the different sides to the coin of love – what we gain and what we must lose to keep love real. We have to be the ones to toss that coin and to call it, we have to decide what matters most to us. The book gently suggests that we can settle, or we can search for our truth. Movingly we see that some people can come so close to true connection yet miss it. The book is infused with the sweetest of notions, the idea of sacrificial, non-self-serving love and the unexpected kindness of strangers – who are just one smile, one conversation, one date, one shared experience away from becoming our best friend and maybe more.
This is a salutary tale, a timely reminder to us to tread lightly as we go and a warm and hopeful story that gladdens our hearts. I am so glad that I found The Forgotten Guide to Happiness before it was too late, a little gem of a book just waiting to cast its magic on the reader.

I loved this book that is moving, heartwarming and entertaining at same time.
The characters are great, well written and really likeable and the plot it's a bit slow at the beginning but once it start going it keeps you hooked till the end.
Recommended.
Many thanks to Avon Books and Netgalley for this ARC

Lana is a struggling author, trying to write a follow up to her last book which was based on her relationship with her boyfriend Mark. However, Mark goes abroad for work and breaks up the relationship, so Lana decides to write a follow-up book on heartbreak - this does not go down well with her agent, who urges her to write another romance book.

Struggling for money to pay her rent and inspiration, Lana bumps into Jack, whose stepmother Nancy is a famous feminist writer now in her 80s and suffering from dementia. A friendship grows between Jack and Lana and she moves in with Nancy. She discovers the ups and downs of living with a sufferer of dementia and why Jack wears bright colours.

This was one of the quirkiest and loveliest romances I have read for some time. The subject of dementia was treated very sympathetically. At no point did I feel sorry for Nancy and the slow-burning romance between Jack and Lana is beautifully written.

Wonderful!

Thank you Netgalley and Avon for giving me the opportunity of reading this book for an honest review.

An interesting story about Lana, a writer, and her friendship with Nancy, a writer who has dementia, and Jack, who becomes Lana's love interest. Took me a bit to get into the story, not sure why, but trying to keep everything straight and on the building up took a bit of effort. Glad I did though, as once I got into the swing of the story I enjoyed it, and would recommend this book and story.

The Forgotten Guide to Happiness is an irresistible and exceptional debut novel from Sophie Jenkins, a writer set to become as big a name in commercial women’s fiction as Jojo Moyes, Jane Fallon and Rowan Coleman.

Twenty-eight year old Lana Green is not like most women her age. While her fellow contemporaries are busy socializing and partying up a storm, Lana is perfectly happy to be left alone with only her beloved books for company. Books have always been a great source of comfort for Lana. Having never been much good at making friends, books have been constant companions in Lana’s life that have never once let her down. Books are her friends and she cannot imagine this changing anytime soon. She is perfectly happy with the way her life is at the moment – or so she tells herself. She doesn’t want friends, social acquaintances or relationships to mess up her perfectly ordered existence. However, fate has got other plans in store for her. Plans that are going to turn her life upside down!

Nancy Ellis Hall was once a celebrated writer whose books had once spoken to generations of readers, but life moves on and not even her fame and celebrity could shield her from the harsh realities of life. Now, eighty years old and suffering from dementia, she lives all alone in her North London home. From the outside, it seems that Nancy is coping admiringly well, however, the reality is far different. Dementia is a cruel disease that is slowly but surely taking its toll on Nancy’s life and leaving her vulnerable, frightened and alone.

When fate puts her into the path of young Lana Green, neither of the two women realised that their lives were going to end up intertwined and when they find themselves sharing a house, these unlikely housemates realise that their whole lives are about to be changed forever in ways neither one of them ever expected. As an unusual friendship develops between the two of them, Lana and Nancy soon begin to realize that happiness and fulfillment are there for the taking, but if only they have the courage to grab them with both hands.

Will Lana and Nancy find what they have been searching for so long? Are they ready to take a leap of faith? Or will they continue to cling to the shadows of the past?

The Forgotten Guide to Happiness is a fantastic read that will make you roar with laughter, cry buckets and have you believe in all that is good in the world. A tale of friendship, love, loyalty and the ties that bind, The Forgotten Guide to Happiness is a book that will speak to women everywhere as it is wonderfully written, deliciously uplifting and absolutely impossible to resist.

A book that will stay with you long after the last page is turned, The Forgotten Guide to Happiness is a book to treasure and one which you will never forget!

This is such a feel good book. Very easy reading, vivid characters and altogether delightful. Lana is a character a lot of us can identify with. I especially loved the characterisation of Nancy and her antics. Well worth a read !

I forgot how much I love Sophie Jenkins! Great quick read and also a refreshing read. This is def a great read for the beach or even on thunderstorm day!

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. This was an easy read about Lana a struggling author and a bit of a hermit who makes friends with Nancy. A warm read

A really enjoyable poignant book , very sad and funny at times and educational, and i look forward to more books by this a Author.