Greta is not perfect - she’s overweight, her career doesn’t appear to be going anywhere and her relationships with her mum and dad are tricky. She also struggles to get enough sleep and becomes addicted to sleeping tablets. So far , so depressing but Greta’s fight to recover and learn to love herself is hopeful, inspiring and a comforting read. I recognised some of her personality traits in myself and it was good to be reminded that yes, we are ALL good enough and deserving of the good things in life, no matter our outward appearance.

Greta Gayle is brave, vulnerable and oh, so relatable. It’s impossible not to root for her as she takes not only a road trip but a journey of self-discovery. My Pear-Shaped Life is a wonderful book that will cause your eyes to grow a little damp but will ultimately leave you smiling.

My Pear Shaped life follows the story of a young woman named Greta who struggles with substance abuse. One day her life is impacted by her actions and things take a turn for the worse.
After Greta is released from the rehabilitation facility she makes the decision to follow her dreams and so a new adventure begins.

I really enjoyed the story of Greta and her character is instantly relatable and vulnerable. She battles her demons throughout the story and chases her dreams.

The story itself is a great story to get lost into. I enjoyed the twists and turns of the plot and always wondered where it was going go next.

The only issue I found with the story is Greta goes on the adventure with her uncle. I did find this a bit odd, however it soon became clear they had a very special Uncle/Niece bond.

Overall this book is quite a satisfying read with a story to keep the reader guessing. I enjoyed reading the plot unfold and I was kept engaged throughout.

There are also sweet little references from the Wizard of Oz which I found interesting. It's a definite must read for anyone who loves the Wizard of Oz as there are so many similarities. I would definitely recommend as a holiday/beach read to join Gretas adventure.

A sweet read. At times quite sad but overall thoroughly enjoyable. I didn’t foresee the twists in direction but was happy to be along for the ride. Not as predictable as you may think but you find yourself rooting for the characters. Relatable and heart warming. Highly recommended.

Thank you Netgalley

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

This book is a fabulous read.

Covering different areas such as drug addiction, body weight issues, the death of loved ones, finding true love and so on.

The first half of the book was very heart touching and poignant. Whereas the second half was happier and lighter.

Taking a road trip trought America, feeling like you’re there,

I recommend it.

I really enjoyed this, especially because it wasn’t ‘cookie cutter’ - the fat girl doesn’t magically get thin and solve her own problems. The characters are flawed and don’t all have happy endings, even though you desperately want them for them. I loved Greta and Uncle Ray’s adventure too - a perfect backdrop for her recovery which wasn’t predictably linear.

I really enjoyed reading this book. The characters were very relatable and the story kept me entertained throughout. Would read more from Carmel Harrington.

Fantastic book - Greta is a great character and her progression throughout the book is heart warming. Tackling some hard issues, this book kept me engrossed. Definitely recommended.

I am so pleased I read this book! Not usually my cup of tea, and struggled for the first few pages.....but then!! Wow....just brilliant!!
Greta is struggling with her life, which is just going wrong in all departments......until her uncle Ray suggests a road trip.
The references to the Wizard of Oz are just brilliant and inspired.
I need to read a few more books from Carmel now.....and I think we all need a road trip right now!
Thank you for the early read, much appreciated.

Greta's story is emotional, insightful and poignant. Greta is used to being the family joke, she joins in with the laughter, but on the inside, she's dying. It takes a mistake or a cry for help to make her realise she is in control of herself. A road trip with a caring uncle is a surprise, but she finds more than new places and people.

This is an engaging story, something to escape with, and it leaves you with a warm hug.

I received a copy of this book from Harper Fiction via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

A book about being true to yourself and not feeling the need to put on a public persona. Be true to yourself as you are enough. A journey of discovery where it is okay to have flaws and not be perfect. We all need to read this to realise we need to love and accept ourselves. Nobody is perfect.

I enjoyed this book, to a certain extent. It has some interesting characters, and the main plot line following the main character finding true self through adversity and rebuilding her life after hitting rock bottom was good. The whole road trip across America was a rather unbelievable and really stretched the imagination somewhat to believe it could happen, but that’s the joys of fiction, it doesn’t have to be true to life, so I just went with it and enjoyed the ride.
Great to have a curvier main character, but this was portrayed as a bad thing - I’m not saying obesity is good, far from it, and the main character certainly was obese which played its part in her story, but sometimes certain comments made, even by Greta herself in a self-deprecating manner, just felt a little too much like fat-shaming. I also really did not like how sleeping pills were portrayed as the root of all things evil: I acknowledge that it was in fact the case for the main character and was a necessary foundation for the entire story; but another three or so characters also spouted the evils of them and the harm they cause - no room for middle ground. As someone who has suffered from severe insomnia for more years that I care to think about (ironically, I read this book, as I do all others, through the night) and who has tried everything under the sun to try to help her sleep but occasionally does need some prescription help to get to sleep I felt very alienated by the author’s descriptions and writing about sleeping tablets, as if I was doing something wrong, that I should feel ashamed about it and that everyone who takes sleeping medication is on a short slope to addiction. The author completely lost me at that point, but I continued to the end anyway, and the book, on the whole, was good.

Loved this story. Follow the trials and tribulations of Greta Gale. She follows her famous namesake on twitter and feels lacking. Insecurities lead to addiction
Facing demons and leaving the country for a road trip. Perspective changes and hope starts to leak into her psyche. You can relate to Greta but want to comfort her as well.
You want to be her friend. Enjoy the story I did.

This is such a great story, I must say I was expecting a light fluffy read but this definitely gave me so much more!

The writing was great and flowed making it an easy read and I must say I really loved the characters and wanted the best for them.

A light hearted easy read with serious undertones about learning to love ourselves.

Greta has some issues but can always laugh about it.

A witty book with a great main character.

I really enjoyed this novel and Greta Gale is a wonderful character. I felt her pain when she was addicted to the painkillers and felt that it was great how the rehab showed how tough it was and the battle for Greta to remain off the pills. It was also refreshing that Greta had battles with her weight and her self-esteem.
I found the family very funny especially when Greta's Mam felt the need to dress up for facetime calls however you could sense that they were a loving family who despite everything wanted the best for each other.
I felt the title was very fitting especially when Greta looked at the pear and the fruit bowl and realised it’s skin was almost perfect but that it had a blemish and that despite this is was beautiful and gave it character, like a light bulb moment about herself.
I felt I was on the road trip with Greta and Uncle Ray and enjoyed the various locations they visited and the fact that Ray had been pining for the love he lost all those years ago.
I also thought it was lovely to see the friendship between Dylan and Greta and how she turned her life around and things started to go in the right direction for her in matters of the heart and work.
I thought it made a refreshing change that there was no happy ever after with Billie and Ray but that he found happiness in the end.

Learning to love yourself!
Meet Greta, or Big G, as she’s called by her family. Her family don’t realise just how unhappy she is with her weight and how it makes her feel. She laughs along with people’s banter but she feels worthless, even though she’s smiling and looks happy on the outside. The only solace she finds is to sleep and uses sleeping tablets to help her along the way. Only the sleeping tablets become an addiction and they take over and leave her on life’s edge.
After a stint in rehab, where Greta faces her demons and meets some colourful characters, she is invited to take a road trip with her Uncle with a hidden agenda. Along the way Greta starts to rediscover herself and finally starts to love herself for who she is.
A wonderful book, which I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend. It’s the first time I’ve read a book by this author and I will certainly be looking out for more books from her.
Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the opportunity to read this ARC, in exchange for an honest unbiased review.

My pear-shaped life is an easy to read book that features romance, addiction and self-discovery that many will be able to relate to. The most real part for me was the relationship with the protagonist and their family and how their words really impacted how they felt about themselves. It can be very easy for people to form an opinion of what you should be rather than what you are and this is the fate of the protagonist in this book.

And whilst it might seem that the subject of this book is one of depth and gravity, The romance side of the story lends it self to an easy read. At times I found The chain of events Unbelievable,, without giving too much away, and if you are prepared to just go with it and believe in the world that is put to you in the story then you’ll get on just fine.

Pear Shaped Life by Carmel Harrington a funny five-star read. This one sucked me in and spat me out snorting my cup of tea, it was funny and real this story goes so many ways it will keep you hooked. I went into thins thinking one thing and ended up going on a whole different journey and what a complex, interesting and funny journey.

This was a new author for me, but the cover and synopsis appealed.

I believed the story would be a comical look at Greta’s situation. I thought ‘Pear-shaped’ referred humorously to herself and her situation. While this was the meaning, it was not meant in a light hearted or comical way. This book covered some of the unseen, darker moments of Greta’s life and mind.

I could relate to a lot of things covered and this made the read quite uncomfortable at times. But it was the kind of ‘uncomfortable’ that was also intriguing and I wanted to read more.

I liked the road trip and watching Greta changing as a character.

Overall, I enjoyed this, but it wasn’t quite the happy, rosy, escapism I usually like when reading romance or women’s fiction.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for my advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review 📚