I admit it’s taken me a while to get around to reading ‘How to make time for me’ but I am glad I’ve read it now.

Callie is on her own with three teenagers a dog and her parents to look after, sounds like a lot right!? She has a lot going on with her life but not at least when her kind of son goes missing.

I was drawn into Wilf and Lily’s storylines in this book as Fiona writes these with such sensitivity with drama built in! I found myself laughing in parts and feeling sad with others. This story definitely kept me engaged.

‘How to make time for me’ is about the life of a single parent’ which I related to! Callie is one strong person. I give ‘How to make time for me’ 4*/5* 😊

Thank you to Aria Fiction for an advanced copy of this book via NetGalley.

A fabulous book that will have you rooting for Callie from start to finish. It has everything in a single book: family, hurt, identity and humour.

I don’t know why it’s taken me so long to get to this book. It certainly is a book that you won’t want to put down. I loved all the characters and where this book took me. A lovely read.

Heart warming and funny story about single mother Hood and not having time to be herself. Loved callie, she made me chuckle and I thought it was what I expect single motherdom to be like in her crazy busy world.
Thank you to netgalley and the author and publishers for the opportunity to read this ARC for my honest opinion

My thoughts


Narrative and Plot


The story is told from Calypso aka Callie's perspective. She is a single mother of three teenagers and feels pretty much invisible. Callie has a witty and charming tone which is the driving force of this book. You can't stop grinning at her remarks. With an ease, it touches some serious topics as well regarding mental health and also self care.


The plot is however very much slow moving. This is more of a character driven story. Most of the book is about how Callie shifts from being invisible to being herself in a subtle way.


Characters and Conflicts


I love books that give enough space to the supporting characters. The book does that nicely giving enough space for the friends and family of Callie without sidelining her own development. The romance in the book is evasive and light hearted. It is brought to forefront only in the latter half and that seems reasonable.


The conflict in the book is something serious and common. The dynamics of a modern day family are indeed complicated yet not unresolvable.
However, the way the book resolved this particular conflict felt a bit dramatic. It never really addressed the issue head on with a direct confrontation. Expecting such a culmination, the one you receive, might make you feel a bit apprehensive.


Conclusion


This book is definitely worth a try if you love a simple, funny and upbeat women's fiction. This is more about a mother and how she finds her own self. In a previous review of a book with similar subject, I had been going on about how glamour overtook the whole realism from the conflict. Luckily this book does not go that way and does justice to who Callie really is.

I loved Callie and her family! The book was well-written, lots of humour, very true to life. The drama towards the end was a bit OTT, though.

Especially liked the footnotes in the book, although I didn't exactly need them.

Received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for a honest review. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

A heart warming story about life as a single mother, as a single woman and family life. It’s an easy and funny read

I enjoyed this cute romp. Adorable characters that remind me of people I actually know in real life. Sweet story!

A very funny read, I enjoyed laughing along whilst I quickly got through the entire book in one sitting..

This is the first book I've read by the author, and I really enjoyed her chatty-like writing style that gave us relateable characters, and plots that make you think.

An enjoyable book that gives a great look at modern parenting while still living your own life.

The story of a single mom trying to juggle life with teenagers and her job.
Did not enjoy this read and it was especially bothering me when the kids were using cuss words.

3,5 Stars

Callie has a lot on her plate and always thinks about others first - and never about herself. Sometimes she even feels that she is invisible to the world. No wonder then her new neighbor runs her over with his bike.

This is a very nice book and probably also very true to life. I don't have teenagers yet to really know what it will be like. It is mainly a humorous book, but with some more serious moments as well, the problems and anxieties of the teens for example.
I found the incident with Wilf towards the end a bit overly dramatic, but all in all it was a good read.

I received How to Make Time for Me by Fiona Perrin as an ARC from NetGalley. This book was a fun and heartwarming read. Callie is a single mom to 16 yr old twin girls and her ex's 14 yr old son. In addition to the 3 kids, she is also responsible for her elderly parents. She is being pulled in many different directions and many moms can relate to the fact that she takes care of everyone but herself. She is run over by a bike delivery guy and decides to make some changes to her life to make more time for herself. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and could easily relate to Callie's life.

Overall I couldn't connect with this story. I will not be rating this book on other platforms because I feel that I am not the target demographic and my low rating would be unfair to this novel. I ended up skimming the majority of it. This doesn't mean that it is inherently bad just hat it was not for me.

Very fun and interesting to read. As a mum it was so true to life. Funny and down to earth and real. Gave me a good laugh

A fun summer read! This book made me laugh out loud right from the beginning! The story starts with a single mom, Callie, getting ran over by a bicycle food delivery man. The story then follows Callie as she navigates being a single mom/"step" mom, takes care of her parents, and trying to take care of herself. I enjoyed following her parenting style with her teenage children and how open she is with them.

I highly recommend!

Thank you #netgalley

Despite not being a parent, I still tend to go for reads focused on parents (Fiona Gibson's fabulous novels probably have something to do with this!) and How to Make Time for Me was on my radar as soon as I heard about it. Callie Brown is a possibly overworked single mother of three teenage children. Her time is also taken up by her demanding job and her often frustrating parents.

Life becomes even more challenging when her ex-husband and his awful, competitive new wife decide to move abroad and take beloved Wilf (Callie's stepson who still lives with her) with them. Suddenly, Callie faces a battle to keep the teenager she's always considered her own from leaving her for good. Plus, she finds herself being pursued by the lovely cyclist who lives nearby - who accidentally runs Callie over. Life is more hectic than ever for Callie and her family.

I really, really enjoyed this book. I loved Callie and her determination, her love for her family and the amusing love triangle she found herself in. This is a perfect, heartwarming, read full of emotion, warmth, drama and not to mention plenty of humour. I'm already really looking forward to what Fiona Perrin writes next!

A sumptuous read about a woman struggling to hold it all together while all around her take it for granted that she'll succeed . . .

Callie is on her way home with the makings of dinner for the three teenage children waiting for her, fully expecting her elderly parents to put in an appearance in time for the meal being dished up. With a sudden collision as she crosses the road, life takes an unexpected turn, bringing forth some feelings Callie has kept buried for quite some time, always putting everyone else first before herself.

This is a delicious tale which has nailed the life of a single mother bang on. Describing the endless cycle of work, children, home and responsibilities, the person trying to be in control of it all always falls to the bottom of the list. Callie does, however, have some excellent friends who are always there for her in times of trouble. This is a very entertaining novel - not without a bit of angst and worry, but then anyone who has lived with teenagers is aware they come with their very own package of ups and downs! Well structured, attractively written and so easy to read - I just flew through it! Fiona Perrin is an author always worth reading, and this is a fantastic addition to her novels. The book cover is marvellous - absolutely perfect for what you can expect to find inside! A simply superb read, one I enjoyed very much and which has definitely earned every one of the five stars I'm more than happy to give it.

My thanks to publisher Aria for my copy via NetGalley, and in particular to Victoria Joss for my place on this Blog Tour. All stated opinions, as always, are entirely my own.

A brilliantly funny, laugh out loud, well written story. So many women will be able to relate to a majority of the book. An absolute must to be added to your book list.

This is the first book that I have read by the author and certainly won’t be my last.. Being a single parent myself I just had to read this book and I sure has hell wasn’t disappointed. I am over the moon that I have found a new author to read.

From the moment we meet Callie I was laughing out loud, then found myself laughing throughout the story. This book is my kinda book. I absolutely loved Callie.

From my own experience it is a mission juggling two teenage boys and a job and finding time for myself. Fiona has done a brilliant job of portraying this has we follow Callie on a roller coaster journey. Which is exactly what it is living the live of a single parent.

There was plenty of OMG that’s so true moments which made this a fun and entertaining read. This is actually a perfect chill out read for when you do get time for yourself.

For me this was a truly uplifting story which made me think that I am not the only one in this situation. I love how the author has taken something that can be stressful and extremely hard work and turned it around and brings us a fun quirky read, which I highly recommend.

No-one said being a single mum would be easy.

Everyone knows that being a single mother means having no time to yourself. But for Callie Brown, its more exhausting than most. She's juggling the needs of three teenage children, two live-in parents, a raffish ex-husband, and a dog who never stops eating.

The last thing Callie needs is anything more on her plate. So when she bumps (quite literally) into a handsome, age-appropriate cyclist, she's quick to dismiss him from her life. After all, if she doesn't have time to brush her hair in the morning, she certainly doesn't have time to fall in love.

This was a lovely story that described the struggles of motherhood in a way I've never read before. It really made me take a closer look at what my own mother has gone through, raising my brother and I as a single mom.

*Book received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*