I am not leaving a review due to the fact that this book did not interest me enough to finish the story.

Brilliant character that’s nuanced, flawed, relatable, troubling but really compelling. Format of letters/emails etc works well, the mother character is superb as well. Really refreshing and different take on 30-something single woman angst without neat happy ending. Great read

Fresh and quirky. Definitely a writer to watch. In a similar vein to Miriam Toews. A flawed central character but a lovable one.

A bittersweet story that, for all its jaunty exterior, is actually dealing with serious topics of addiction, mental health, depression, self-harming, suicide and cancer. In fact, the litany of woes put me off a bit: it’s one thing having a protagonist determined to overcome her alcoholism and associated suicidal depression, but having her work in a cancer care centre so that even walk-on characters are suffering pain and battling death felt a bit too much to take. Throw in a sister with mental health and other issues of her own, and a mother ditto, and even the rather lovely love interest is a recovering addict... That Mackintosh manages to bring all this to a happy ending is quite a feat!

I liked the scrapbook narrative structure but if I’d known this would be quite as downbeat and steeped in issues as it is, I might not have chosen to read it. I can see why it has been compared with Fleabag but this isn’t funny and the trauma throughout is far more real. An honest book, for sure, but fewer issues might have made it a more successful read for me: 2.5 stars.