It was not my cup of tea i think.
Most times i was just confused what Dave was doing and why, and everything and everyone.

This is the first book that I have read from this author and was really not sure what to expect. Dave is your stereotypical middle age man having a midlife crisis of sorts, but just on a larger and way odder scale. It took me a while to really get invested in the story, however am glad that I kept going. The last half of the book was pretty hilarious at times and just had so many different imaginative and off the wall type of things that occurred. I think the obsession with the other Dave went on way too long and was focused on too much in my opinion. It almost felt like reading a Tiger Beat as a teen girl in the early 90's. I would like to see what else this author can do and want to read more. Thanks for the ARC, NetGalley.

This is another of m backlist reads. It is a book I have had on my shelf a while and only now gotten around to. It has a very odd premise, although, if you think about it, the rapid obsession shown in the tale rings true.
Dave Brookman is an ordinary man leading an average life with a house, wife and kids. Then one day, in a flashy car with a better-looking family, another Dave Brookman moves in next door. This sends our original man into a spiral. He uses his brain that works in percentages to chart out how different he is from his new neighbour. Insane jealousy and poor self-worth have him drowning in sad thoughts while his family is pushed away due to his behaviour.
It is a realistic portrayal of a man who feels sorry for himself. I would have liked it even better if it was a shorter escapade. He has one too many almost recoveries before the actual epiphany. If not for that and maybe a slight reduction in the swearing, I would have rated it higher.
I am sure that people who are not bothered by casual swearing of people at the end of their rope would enjoy this chaotic but eventually positive learning arc even more than I did.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley, the review is entirely based on my own reading experience of this book.

46% better than most other books in its genre.

I read a lot of chick lit for men. Well, it’s not chick lit at all, is it, really, its for everyone. It’s everyone-lit. Anyhow, enough with the gender appropriation, I don’t want this review to get all serious, after all this is not a serious book.

So, on the surface the story here seems all a bit lighthearted and fun (which it is) but not exclusively, there is also a universal message going on under the surface, which is BE HAPPY WITH WHAT YOU HAVE ALREADY! Sorry for the caps. I didn’t mean to shout. But it felt necessary to hammer the message home.

So yeah, get the book, read it, laugh and be humbled.

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and Netgalley for their generosity in allowing me to enjoy this book free of charge, it isn’t taken for granted.

Dave Brookman has a good life. An amazing wife, two great kids, an upcoming promotion at work, a top of the line Meat Master 3000 barbecue - everything a middle class guy could want. Then a new neighbor moves in next door.

His name is also Dave Brookman. And his life is so much better. His wife is a former model, his kids seem almost perfect, he owns his own business... he has the brand new Meat Master 4000! New Dave seems better than "original" Dave in every way and "original" Dave can't stop obsessing over it.

In his third novel Alistair Puddick brings a unique perspective to the standard midlife crisis by putting a original spin on it and adding a "keeping up with the Jonses" mentality. The result is a humorous story with serious undertones.

Not as much of an out and out comedy novel as the author's previous efforts but it still highlights his quirky comedic style.

***Thanks to NetGalley, Raven Crest Books, and author Alistair Puddick for providing me with a free digital copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.

This is my first read by Alistair Puddick and I dare say it won't be my last! It was so refreshing to enjoy the journey of all the characters - not just the heroes/protagonists but the "anti-heroes"/antagonists.
This book centers around Dave Bookman and his new neighbors, aptly named Dave Bookman! I really enjoyed the back-and-forth between characters and found this to be a fun, quick read!

Dave is such a whiney character. By the time I was 7% through the book (according to my kindle) I was annoyed with his whiney obsession over New Dave. He reminded me a tween girl obsessing over the girl in her class who got her boobs first. Through the book, everyone is holding his hand and stroking his ego and he still continues to sulk about not being as good as his neighbour New Dave. The entire focus of the book is him trying to be better than New Dave. I thought it was an interesting concept and couldn't wait to read it but rather than funny I just found it to be annoying

At one point Dave gets extremely drunk, falls into New Dave's pool and almost drowns. New Dave rescues him and instead of being at least a little thankful, Dave is consumed with thoughts about how New Dave "had got one over" on him.

I've read in other reviews that this book was funny. While there was about 3 funny lines in the book, the rest of it was just not funny. Obviously, I just don't get it.

The writing itself was good. The story was fine. This just wasn't for me.

This book was an ARC copy i received via net galley and raven crest books. Dave Brookman has your average suburban life, married 2 children until his new neighbour turns out to have the same name but what appears to be a distinctly better life. Jealousy overwhelms Dave (1) taking over every aspect of his life and unleashing a catalogue of disasters and attempts at improvement.

It was certainly an easy read and there was a current of humour under-running the whole but for me the plot line simply had no legs. There wasn't enough meat to the narrative to make it really interesting.

Soooo! This one is so out of my general pick of the week that it’s not even funny. Although the book itself is funny. So, about this book, someone on GoodReads called it the adult version of “Diary of a Wimpy Kid.” and I think it’s pretty on point.

This book uses the literary doppelgänger trope winningly, Dave Brookman is a victim of his plans and ideas. When another Dave moves in the neighbourhood, our Dave starts to feel a bit odd (but obvious) and a bit intimidated/sad because the other Dave apparently has everything this Dave doesn’t. A successful career, a model wife and everything that suddenly seems to be what our Dave wanted his life to be.

I think I read it quickly but didn’t update it on GoodReads promptly. (Story of my life) It’s not super new but it’s certainly interesting and entertaining enough that I kinda flew through it. Underneath the humorous take on the situation, there’s a serious thread running throughout the story. It gives focus to how much we compare our lives and everything in life with others, with those we think are superior to us or living better on self-imposed criteria and eligibility.

While this is a fairly good book, there were parts that I felt dragged a bit, at times too many times for my comfort. I did giggle and snort and it’s a solid 3.5 stars for me but I wish it was edited a bit better so that the flow was better. Overall, a fun and quick read and something that makes you think once you are finished reading.

At first I nearly dismissed this as another whiny bloke book, but I am glad I carried on as it did get better. Dave discovers his new neighbour has exactly the same name and background as himself and goes into meltdown trying to prove himself better. Along the way he nearly loses everything, but realises what is important.

It was great having a different type of book to read. I love romance and thrillers, but this was totally different. You start to feel for Dave, and understand what he’s going through...... but can also see the errors he keeps making along the way. It was a fun, lighthearted read with a happy ending.

'46% Better Than Dave' is a cautionary tale of 'keeping up with the Joneses', told in the first person of Dave Brookman, a not very likeable 45 year old creative at a Midlands marketing agency.

And Dave very much 'tells' his story - little is left to the reader's imagination, or conjured up by the alchemy of dialogue and evocation. This isn't a writing style I usually enjoy, however Alastair Puddick writes good enough gags that I plodded through to the end, occasionally laughing out loud.

When another Dave Brookman, also 45 and also an ad man, moves into the house next door - our Dave embarks on an implausible mission to compete with New Dave on every level. This involves a spreadsheet with marks out of 10 for a range of categories from car to attractiveness of wife. At this point I very much began to dislike Dave. Even when Dave realises how much he truly loves Catherine, it seems her perfection as a wife really boils down to her willingness to laugh at Dave's jokes and support his career.

The characters feel almost familiar and yet they don't quite add up within themselves. I assumed from the first page that curtain-twitching Dave would be an accountant or IT consultant, but maybe that's just too obvious. He certainly doesn’t come across as a very creative person; I really struggled to imagine him as the Creative Director of a marketing agency.

It's as though Alastair Puddick has merged tropes from 1980s British sitcoms set in suburbia with the contemporary world he inhabits himself (as a copywriter) - and the result is a little confused.

Around halfway through reading '46% Better Than Dave', I commented to my husband, "It's a shame you can't read because I think you might actually enjoy this book." His weary response - "I can read, I just don't read very much fiction" - might sum up the issue with this book. The people who would probably enjoy it most are least likely to buy it. (To test this theory I'm going to buy my husband the paperback when it comes out and torture him with dinner parties until he promises to read it.)

So, I can't in all honesty recommend '46% Better Than Dave' - although I do love the title, which is why I wanted to read it. I found the writing too flat and Dave annoyed me more than he amused me. But maybe other people (such as middle-aged men having a mid-life crisis) will think it's brilliant, or at least a good beach read. It's sort of a male version of Chick Lit. Brit Lit? As in, the continuation of nineties Brit Pop, with all the young men now in their forties, married with kids, a bit paunchy and trying to resurrect their ironic coolness with 'hilarious' results.

A light look at one man's attempt to improve his life after comparing himself unfavourably with a new neighbour. A comment on how materialistic we have become as a society but in a very light hearted story. His wife's story is well written and she is a character you sympathise with. It is good to have a story in this genre that has a male central character.

Publisher’s description: Dave Brookman’s new next-door neighbour is ruining his life. Because in a bizarre coincidence, he’s also called Dave Brookman, he’s the same age and he even grew up in the same town. There is one big difference, though – this new Dave is vastly more successful in every way.

As Dave starts questioning everything about himself, suddenly his perfect life seems a lot less than perfect. And what starts as friendly rivalry soon turns into obsessive jealousy and crazy behaviour that could see Dave lose it all.

Can he get a grip before it’s too late?

************
The best way for me to describe Alastair Puddick’s “46% Better Than Dave” is that it’s the adult version of “Diary of a Wimpy Kid.” When Greg Heffley grows up, he’s going to be Dave Brookman. The hilariously sad and pathetic turn of events that is Dave’s life after the new Dave Brookman moves in is all because of his own idiocy. Just as Greg Heffley has grandiose plans and ideas that end up with him failing 10 times worse than he could ever have anticipated, Dave makes one bad decision after the next, and even though WE can absolutely see what’s coming, Dave doesn’t seem to have a clue.

I loved this! It was such a quick read, kept me laughing, and I just couldn’t help but feel sorry for Dave. What a fantastically fun read!

Thanks to NetGalley and Raven Crest Books for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. This title is scheduled for release on October 15, 2019.

Imagine if Bridget Jones were a middle-aged man. That's Dave Brookman. He's happy with his life, his job, his wife and two kids. Then a guy moves in next door with the same name -and he's a better dresser, has a nicer car and his wife was a model. This sends Dave the narrator into a huge spiral of self-doubt and he undertakes a massive upheaval of his life.

There are some very funny spots where I giggled out loud. Other parts drag on and on.

A quick, light read. Perfect for summer.

*I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher and I am required to disclose that in my review in compliance with federal law.*

This is such a funny and well written book. It’s a very easy read and I was instantly drawn into the storyline. I had a lot of laughs, and some sad moments. I will definitely be recommending this book to friends and will be buying the two other books that Alastair Puddick has written.

There are a few typos here and there, these need to be sorted before publishing the book.

Alastair Puddick has another humorous take on modern life in his latest book with Dave having the mid life crisis from hell. When his doppelganger moves in next door this triggers emotions that have no logic thinking he is facing the biggest challenge to his own self esteem.
Underlying the story is a subtle lesson cleverly managed with humour to understand what is important in our lives and appreciating all the good points. Except when driving behind a slow moving car with an elderly person at the wheel in the wrong lane as Dave finds out.
This is NetGalley / Raven Books read

3.5 stars...This was entertaining, and I'm going to read the author's other novels. But it did have some issues. One burning question I'd love to know the answer to is why there was a cool or cold breeze going up the main character's pants leg every other chapter.

A fun, funny read. This is not high art, but it is told in an interesting way. It is a good light read with interesting characters and storyline. I plan to read the other books by this author.

I really appreciate the advanced copy for review!!

Intriguing and thoroughly enjoyable; Puddick's novel centers around Dave Brookman's life and turmoil as he meets his new neighbour, also called Dave Brookman, who seems to be doing considerably better in life than the original, 46% better than the original, to be exact. A witty and unique take on the the literary doppelgänger archetype that questions the constant need of human beings to constantly compare themselves to other, to measure themselves against self-imposed factors.