I thought that this book was very well written and the story was interesting enough to keep me reading. I liked the characters, but I felt they were a little underdeveloped and I didn't feel much chemistry between the two main characters. The serious topics in this book were dealt with appropriately, but I feel they could have been explored more deeply. Aside from that, I enjoyed the book and flew through it.

This book is cute and light while still managing to deal with topics like depression, homophobia, and unknown illnesses. The best part (for me) is that the book takes place in Scotland. I love a good European read! Anything that reminds me even a little bit of Harry Potter gives me a cozy feeling.

Overall, I liked this book and I'd recommend it to people.

I did not like this book, I couldn’t finish it.
I did not enjoy the characters not the way it was written. I couldn’t get into the story at all, either!
I’m really disappointed as I heard great things about it.

First of all I love the cover. It's so cute and it really fits the book.
Lily's Just Fine was a quick and fun read, but predictable.
The first chapters weren't that interesting, but after a few chapters it became more interesting.
If you are searching for a cute romance with drama, this book is perfect for you!

Interesting! I thought it was pretty good, but not exemplary. It seemed pretty ordinary and kind of stereotypical, but it was a nice read.

The premise seemed to offer a book that was sheer fluff but this is not what was delivered. The book has it's hard hitting moments looking a chronic illness, depression, carer children, and strained familial relationships. I'm glad Lily had growth throughout this as she was always a weaker character when compared to Tom who seemed more fleshed out from the instant. I don't know if this is going to be a series but this book is certainly an interesting way to start it.

Lily is juggling a lot from school finishing she finds herself involved in the local gala where she comes up with many great ideas but mainly what the elder folk don't like.



Meanwhile Tom's sister Sarah has been ill for a while with a mystery illness that's undiagnosed while his friend Gemma who's Lily's best friend ropes him in to help at the gala too as he does sailing.



As Lily and Tom slowly get together, Lily's mum suffers from a very bad depressive episode while Sarah becomes worse too and at their event day, things go very wrong, can they all get through this?



This book was a very packed adventure which gave so much within it's under four hundred pages which was great. Personally the portrayal of a chronic illness in young adult fiction isn't seen nearly enough and I was so happy to discover it mentioned in this book as a sufferer myself it was relatable from every angle it was shown and truly realistic. Tom and Lily made a sweet couple even though they had their rocky times of course like any relationship does which just won me over more. If you want a sweet if at times dramatic relationship book, this is the one for you.



Many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!

I real liked how this book wasn’t about a girl hung up on some boy. While Lily’s life isn’t as perfect as it seems she doesn’t go on complaining about it.

Maybe internalized misogyny has lead me to believe women who try hard are irritating instead of leaders. It's not as if Lily imposes on others. She has a self image of impenetrability but the more she opens up, the more I like her earnestness. She recognizes the potential in others and rather than turning a blind eye, she encourages them to simply do what makes them happy. She's a facilitator organizing and mobilizing action. Her straightforwardness side steps the awkward, "Does he like me enough for me to like myself?" dance. Lily showcases why sometimes the popular girl is also well liked.

In comparison to Lily, Tom (the obligatory, replacement love interest and "better guy") is just a hateful person. He's super judgmental and fearful of his attraction to Lily? In the beginning, he leers at Lily's curves and then resents her for making him feel that way. However, Lily is a force to be reckon with and convinces Tom that acting like he doesn't care about anything is not something to be proud. Tom is such a coward, he would rather keep bigots happy. His privileged self is content to not stir the pot because he's not the one being discriminated against. He even argues that the LGBTQ+ community doesn't want to participate in city affairs, but there's a big difference between not wanting to participate because you have the option vs you're not even allowed to choose. The only redeeming quality he has is the empathy to recognize unseen pain and mental illness. Other than that, he seems below average.

Actually, I wouldn't mind if this was just the Lily Show. I'm also happy that inclusion is no longer groundbreaking but the norm. Lily grows as a person to admit that she can't fix every problem. That some problems take an enormous amount of time to address and there isn't a solid solution. In the end, Lily enforces the idea of doing the right thing as opposed to the easy thing. What a surprising book, flipping the usual dynamics and involving a whole host of characters to do something more than go to prom and make fun of the cool/mean kids. I recommend this for a good addition to your YA collection.

COVER REVIEW:
I can totally see this as Lily's desk. I think the lighting in the background flattens the image and would benefit from sunlight casting in or some type of wall texture. The hand lettering fits but the black looks too harsh with the teal. Maybe a nice gold or orange would integrate the title. It could use some touch ups and I think it's missing some memorable element.

This was a great summer read. It did cover mental health which i do like in a book as infeel it can give people some more understanding of it and to try and beat that mental health stigma. It was a great summer romance book!

This book.is such a perfect beach read for the summer. I just like to say the mental health rep and LGBTQ Rep is spot on. I love Lily she is such a go getter always wants to be involved with everything and get things done in an relate to that. This book is such a fast paced read I liked the POV from Lily and Tom but i would loved the POV from Gemma and the Other Chractures. I did get annoyed with Tom and Lily using surnames all the time that irritated me. I loved the mental health rep with Lilys mum and Tom if made Lily more vaunrable and with Tom's sister Sarha as well made Tom vaunrable as well. Plot was interesting trying to get a small town to accept differences was refreshing the adults were a bit mean and not very nice. I felt the book did need fleshing out. All in all a enjoyable read 4 stars.

A really well paced story for young people around 11-13 group maybe younger depending on maturity. I enjoyed the story and character development. Gill Stewart has pitched the tone excellently for accessing school reading clubs/ class discussions/ nurture groups. I did think for a while that there was too many different areas of life covered: Illness, family relationships, peer relationships, depression, anxiety, friendships, gender, homosexuality, generational differences, coping strategies and romance to name a few- but after some thought - that is what life is like and these situations are what our young people face in the mix up of modern life. An ideal book for reading as a whole or for picking sections out of to facilitate a group discussion. I'm looking forward to more Galloway Girls. It may be helpful within family situations to help young people relate to siblings/ friends situations.

Thanks to NetGalley and Sweet Cherry Publishing for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review..

#LilysJustFine from @GillStewart2 is a deceptively deep #UKYA romance about a girl who seemingly has it all & a boy with a chronically ill sister. Beginning of the #GallowayGirls series, I'm really enjoying it so far! Thanks @SweetCherryPub for the proof (out now!) https://t.co/34TTZxFXwt

A cute read that covers some serious topics most teens experience. Definitely recommend this to teenagers.

Sadly, I didn't manage to finish this one. I made it to the 15% mark and had to stop. I know that characters develop over time but Lily was such an abrasive, bossy, and bullying character that I couldn't stand it. Also, there's a real lack of depth in this book. We just seem to be flitting from plot point to plot point which drives me up the wall. There's no background and no time given for us to see who the characters are outside of plot points.

To be fair, I'm a Fantasy/Sci-Fi/Dystopian reader about 75% of the time with the remaining 25% being YA Contemporary so I don't spend a lot of time in this genre as a whole. So, maybe it's me more than the actual book itself. I'm very thankful that the publisher let me have an ARC of the book and don't want to seem unappreciative. I just couldn't manage to force myself through the book. Which is disappointing considering how short it is.

Again, I understand that the character I have such a problem with is probably going to develop during the story and become a much kinder and more relaxed person. I just don't want to spend my team reading something I won't enjoy when there are so many books out there.

Scotland? Yesh. Guys from Scotland? yeshhh. This novel is your usual girly girl novel, with romance, of course, and a female who is totally in charge of everything. Except the way her Mum is feeling lately, stuck up in her room all the time. But Lily has a lot to do, she's helping around town, getting people to be more inclusive of LGBTQ+. And she has a break up, will she get with Tom? But what about her Mum? It was a very nice read, not very long at all. Since it says Galloway Girls #1, I suppose there will be more. Maybe one on Lily's friend Gemma

Such an adorable and lighthearted YA book. Really loved the characters and the way the story was written from the perspective of two different characters. Also thought it was great that this book touched upon important subjects such as mental health and LGBT.

Good choice for a summer read. An interesting mix - it's a fluffy romance with some fire in its belly and doesn't shy away from tackling some important issues.

Lily's Just Fine is a fluffy summer romance starring Lily Hildebrand, the event orchestrator, and Tom Owen, the reluctant follower. At first I loved their banter and I thought I would become invested in the slow-burn romance, but eventually I began to think that if they spoke constantly of how annoying the other was, I would never believe the romance. I think the main storyline suffered from a lack of chemistry between Tom and Lily, and therefore the emotional stakes fell short of expectations.

Where the book shone was its side characters. Gemma, Lily and Tom's best friend, was relatable in her anxiety, and I loved her support of Lily and Tom. I think my favorite character was Sarah, Tom's little sister. She has Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and I liked that she was included in the group regardless and that she got to be a person outside of her illness. (I would have loved to see representations of the art she drew for the gala as an extra in the back of the book!) Sarah was probably the most well-rounded character, and I read mostly for her scenes. Because she was supposed to be a secondary character, that actually becomes a problem.

The second most developed character was Lily, and I appreciated her can-do attitude and relentless energy, but I also felt that some plot points suffered because of her steam-roller personality, and that some of her actions should realistically have had more consequences, especially when other people had problems with her opinions. I struggled to believe some of the scenes.

Tom felt a bit two-dimensional at times, despite the fact that the POV was split between him and Lily. Many of his chapters were filled with his annoyance at Lily, which wasn't a great start to their romance.

I did like how the book featured mental health and LGBTQ+ advocacy. Lily's mom has depression, and despite how much Lily takes on outside her house, she still wants to help her mom get better. She also campaigns to add a Pride Parade to the gala parade to help her town be more inclusive. I liked the addition of the Gala King and the Queer Gala King and Queen as well as the town's more traditional solo Gala Queen that she proposed.
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Despite some of my issues with the romance, Lily's Just Fine is still a fun beach read for those seeking a light summer book. 3/5 stars.

I enjoyed reading this book, however it wasn’t something memorable. I found this to be another regular contemporary about teen problems. All the characters seemed to be regular with nothing special to make them stand out in my mind. Overall I liked the writing style and the story did talk about certain topics that are important and I really enjoyed that.

This is just okay. As a teen romance, it's got its fair share of twists and an extra bit of drama that only a high school romance can bring. It did bug me because Lily is extremely out there, but her co-lead is not, he's more into saving his sister than the world. It was almost as if Gill Stewart thought, "what if we had a story that saw through a manic pixie dream girl's eyes?" There was some depth here, because, while Tom learns a lot from Lily, he's still the more grounded of the two. He's the one who reminds Lily to stop being so extra, to learn to chill out. Lily, does teach Tom to care a little bit more about the world around him, but she still had a tendency to treat people as if they were game pieces.

I can see where teens would enjoy this story, and there were some highs, but it is just an okay romance, with some small lessons mixed in.