Viv is suddenly faced with being a single mom of her seven-year-old when her cheating husband leaves her for his fellow doctor/mistress. Stuck in a going-nowhere job that makes “food pellets” and impending menopause hot flashes, Viv begins to regain confidence with the help of her good friends and an opportunity to share her friend Penny’s nostalgic fashion line in hopes to revive the line and the local museum’s relevancy.

This book is not another mid-life, woman who has been jilted story that I was expecting it to be. The story of Viv’s second chance at a new life played by her rules and not by a picky husband is a charming read and a great example of female empowerment wrapped up into lemony goodness.

I just love Fiona Gibson's books. I couldn't wait to start this one and I certainly enjoyed it. Funny, well written and lot of woman can identify with the main character. I definitely recommend it.

Really enjoyed this book thank you. Vibrant, believable, characters and an absorbing plot. I will ensure I look out for this author in the future!

Oh this was adorable: late 40’s Viv is in the throes of menopause, trying to keep everything together: including chasing after her seven year old “surprise daughter” Izzy. Her husband, an endocrinologist is often off at lectures and symposia, and their ‘together time’ is pretty much two people existing. Until one night when Viv has decided to use the app on his phone and discovers a nearly year-long affair. Of course, there are tears and his ‘determination’ to make it work: underfoot at every opportunity, she’s just not quite sure where to go or what to do. And just as Viv is starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel, he goes off again. And leaves her rethinking everything.

I ADORED Viv and her voice: she’s snarky, has a great sense of humor, and a determination to make things work, even when they are horribly off kilter. From rebuilding her own shattered self-esteem, to keeping her son (now in his 20’s) and her young daughter on track, she’s also busy wrangling a boss who, at the best of times is demanding and exacting, and these are not the best of times. With an ‘older” friend who offers sage advice that all seems based in her post-modeling 70’s self, the laughs are frequent, and even as Viv is fighting and sad, she’s finding moments to enjoy and move forward, almost sometimes without her noticing.

Gibson’s voice is solid and the characters are adorably quirky, allowing readers to feel a kinship even with those very different from themselves. With plenty of laugh out loud moments, the story never drags into the maudlin – Viv is moving forward and on, and dragging her baggage behind her…what falls off or out of the cases merely lightens her load. Clever and quick reading, this is a story full of hope and change – and new horizons for everyone.

I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Review first appeared at < a href=” https://wp.me/p3OmRo-aDn /” > <a> I am, Indeed </a>

Fiona Gibson just knows how life works, so many aspects of this lovely story ring true. A super relaxing read, amusing in places, warm hearted in others. I just spent so long hoping our heroine Viv wasn't going to give in and have her rat of a husband back. It all worked out beautifully in the end as you'd expect leaving you happy to have filled your hours with such a wonderful, true to life story.

thank you NetGalley for an advance copy in return for an unbiased review

Typical story line. Middle aged woman thinks her life is trundling along fine, but then discovers that her husband has been having an affair. He leaves and she thinks she’s going to fall apart, but pulls herself together and turns into some really successful woman, meeting a new wonderful man along the way. Husband realises he’s made a mistake and breaks up with girlfriend and wants to come back home, but her new found success and new man mean they can only be friends. We’ve all read this storyline a million times over and for me, unfortunately, this book is just a regurgitation of that same old storyline.

Viv is suddenly faced with being a single mom of her seven-year-old when her cheating husband leaves her for his fellow doctor/mistress. Stuck in a going-nowhere job that makes “food pellets” and impending menopause hot flashes, Viv begins to regain confidence with the help of her good friends and an opportunity to share her friend Penny’s nostalgic fashion line in hopes to revive the line and the local museum’s relevancy.

It was a bit of a slow burn for me. The reinvention took too long to start as did the romance. It was also deeper and longer than I expected from the cover (don’t judge a book etc ...). Still there were some incredibly funny and relatable moments

I had high hopes for this book but sadly this just didn’t make me smile and certainly didn’t fit the ‘hilarious’ byline.

It started off with a husband having a midlife crisis and the marriage splitting up – which felt incredibly similar to a previous book- in fact it all had an air of similarity to previous books. I know authors often have a ‘vibe’ but this felt a bit repetitive.

Viv was nice.
Viv’s daughter was nice.
Viv’s husband was a bit of a dick, but a wet, pathetic dick not an offensive dick.
Viv’s son was mentioned – but never really fleshed out.
Viv’s relationships with her neighbours were explored, and Viv was a bit of a wet blanket with them – and was also a bit of wet blanket at work. (Just realised wet blanket is a sort of pun on the menopausal hot flushes she was having at night – this wasn’t deliberate!)

The storyline built up to a big event – and potential romance – but both were a bit dull.

I persevered – and the book was ‘fine’. Inoffensive, easy to read, but just a bit dull.

I’m not sure if it’s because I’ve read some books I’ve loved recently – but it all just seemed a bit bland and done before and predictable.

If you’re after an easy read that is in no way taxing, then maybe this is the book for you – but didn’t really float my boat at all. Sorry!

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my advance review copy though!

DNF @ 30%. Not for me in any way, shape or form and I’m not spending any more time on this even thinking up a review.

I don’t normally think of books as being aimed at a particular age range but it didn’t resonate with me, nor was it amusing. At first I thought “great a story not set in London” but as the story unfolded I kept forgetting because it felt like any big city.
The plot was disappointingly weak, full of characters I wasn’t bothered about.
I guess the message is that there is life after the menopause and separation but it didn’t appeal to me.

A well-written book! I'm usually not a fan of the first person narrator, but in this case, it works! Read this book if you need a laugh, but be warned, there are some sad moments too.

Viv is suddenly faced with being a single mom of her seven-year-old when her cheating husband leaves her for his fellow doctor/mistress. Stuck in a going-nowhere job that makes “food pellets” and impending menopause hot flashes, Viv begins to regain confidence with the help of her good friends and an opportunity to share her friend Penny’s nostalgic fashion line in hopes to revive the line and the local museum’s relevancy.

This book is not another mid-life, woman who has been jilted story that I was expecting it to be. The story of Viv’s second chance at a new life played by her rules and not by a picky husband is a charming read and a great example of female empowerment wrapped up into lemony goodness.

Review will be up on my Instagram channel @tamsterdam_reads on March 5th.

This book was a great read. The heroine, Viv, is going through the menopause, in a job she is over qualified for that was meant to be a stop gap. She has two children, 7 year old daughter Izzy, who loves cooking and a much older son, Spencer, who has left home. Her husband Andy, is a doctor and the same age as Viv, 52. Quite early on in the book Viv finds out that Andy has been cheating on her and he leaves as he tells Viv he is in love with his girlfriend. Fortunately Viv has supportive friends and the book shows how she grows in strength after her husband leaves. Along the way there are tears but there’s also a lot of fun as you see the character develop and what she achieves by the end of the book.
I have never read any books by Fiona Gibson before but I will definitely be looking out for her books in the future.

Viv's Big Decision....
Thanks to a husband in the throes of a mid life crisis and a tacky affair with a colleague our protagonist, Viv, finds herself reluctantly back in the land of singledom. Faced with a choice of sitting back and doing nothing or proactively putting herself first, Viv needs to make a decision fast. Fun and frothy but endearing too this is an enjoyable, escapist read in the true tradition of Fiona Gibson.

When Life Gives You Lemons by Fiona Gibson is an interesting read that portrays highs and lows of the challenges of life. The story is told through one protagonist with many multiple characters. The story had some stand out characters.
Review copy received from the Publisher via Netgalley

A very true to life look at the sudden breakdown of a marriage and how to pick yourself up again. With kids, a job, friends, and a project to throw herself into, not to mention the arrival of a very handsome man, Viv takes those lemons life has thrown at her and squeezes the life out of them. She's pretty good with eggs too! I was rooting for her from start to finish. Loved it.

Having read books by Fiona Gibson before, knew this would be a great read. The title fits the story perfectly. Great to get to know Viv the main character who decides to get on with her life & change it for the better with passion & determination. Highly recommend it

Fiona Gibson is a writer of instant-classic women's fiction. This book is all about the journey that needs to be taken when your whole life is upended.

Viv finds herself divorced and has to to rebuild her life and rediscover herself after years of being a wife and mother. She now finds herself single, and she struggles to adapt and make it all work. We read all the myriad emotions that Viv experiences, and Fiona Gibson expresses Viv's emotions very eloquently.

A fine work of women's fiction, a quick and easy read. Great for summer at the beach or pool.

I really enjoyed this book, even more so as the main character was a fifty-something menopausal woman rather than the usual perky 20/30-something. I loved reading about Viv reclaiming her life and setting herself on a new path after being being treated so badly by her cheating husband, having her self-esteem stomped on and being called amphibious.
When life gives you lemons slice them, put them in a G&T and read this book.