When we're in our twenties maybe even younger we have a plan, a vision of how we'd like our life to pan out. But what happens when all those carefully laid plans don't work out the way you'd hoped, what then?

This is Penelope or Nell to all who know her. This is Nell's life, in the midst of her forty's and everything suddenly seems to have gone belly up. She never envisaged renting out a room in a shared house, not being married to Ethan and living happily ever after in California, and instead back in London writing obituaries for a living. What now? Well if you're Nell you just suck it up and get on with it, hoping something better might come along.

I loved this book, most of all because it was so funny. That was the character of Nell, covering up how she really felt by taking a light hearted approach to all that went wrong. This is a quote from the book:-

"Embrace your sense of humour, don't ever take yourself too seriously, every day is another chance to laugh instead of cry, and when nothing is certain, everything is a hell of a lot less scary when you make fun of it."

That's a great philosophy to have in life and certainly made for a humorous read. But there is a deeper side to Nell. The disappointments, friends who seemingly have it all who she feels she's losing touch with.  Children? Nell would love children but the opportunity hasn't come up. Loss, she has suffered loss. So as well as all the laughs there are some very poignant scenes in the book too.

There are some wonderful supporting characters. Edward her landlord who she rents a room from, Cricket an 80 year old lady who Nell becomes great friends with after writing an obituary for Cricket in memory of her husband Monty. And all Nell's friends who she's known most of her grown up life.

At the end of most of the chapters Nell writes a gratitude list. I loved reading these so much so that when I stumbled on a gratitude app in the app store I downloaded it, and now I've got my very own. She comes up with the unlikeliest of things to be grateful for which makes you realise that a gratitude journal can be fun to look back on.

It's fiction but I'm sure so many women could easily identify with Nell and her not so perfect, not so insta-worthy life. There are lots of references to hashtags and social media and giving that outward appearance of having it all, when really we're all human with the same problems, the same 'lemons' to deal with. The message being just accept things the way they are and stop trying to live up to an impossible dream.

Just read it, it'll make you smile, cry but most of all you'll feel there's hope. You never know - you might even find yourself keeping a gratitude journal.


Review to be posted to blog 1 week before publication.

I really enjoyed this book, the characters and story line are so relatable. It was poignant, funny and warm - everything you want in a novel of this genre. Thank you!

Hilariously relatable! Brilliantly written with wit, charm, romance and self-deprecation. Nell is the ultimate hero and her friendships are truly realistic and often aspirational. I wish I had a Cricket in my life! Highly recommend.

Such a brilliantly funny book. Where do I even start? I absolutely truly related to this book and it made me cry laughing! such a great read!

I will be recommending to all!

An entertaining read. It doesn't matter what stage of one's life your're at we all have challenges to face whether at 20, 40, 60 or 80-something. Fun read with some wonderful observations of people trying to keep up appearances in this day and age. A relaxing light read whatever your age.

Being 40 something myself I found this book refreshing. Funny at times, poignant at others, I loved the realism. So many people seem to be focused on posting perfect pictures on Instagram. It's not real life and sets other people up to feel like they're failing if they don't match up. The subject matter of women and babies (and not having babies) was tackled well. Nell's friendship with Cricket was beautifully written. I loved Cricket. More older characters please! Nell's podcasts were great too. There's a bit of romance in the book, but it's not the focus. I really liked Edward. His interactions with Nell over all things eco were funny. I also loved Arthur (the dog). This is a book about friendship in the main, the most important friendship being the one with yourself of course.

With thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Confessions is a very amusing book which documents the journey of 40 something Nell on her return to the UK from the US following the loss of her business and relationship. She feels a failure as all her friends seem to have moved on, with successful jobs, relationships and children. Nell has to rent a room with persnickety, eco obsessed Edward, which is made more bearable by sharing with his dog, Arthur. She secures a job writing obituaries for a newspaper. Her first assignment introduces her to a widow in her eighties, Cricket. Nell and Cricket soon form an unlikely but firm friendship and Nell learns so much from Cricket.
This really is such a delightful, amusing book. The main characters are well-developed and so likeable, the plot flows beautifully and the humour is great but there are also some heartfelt moments.
Thanks to NetGalley for a Kindle copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Confessions of a Forty-Something F**k Up by Alexandra Potter is about Nell's life falling apart and how she learns that even people who look like they have it all are struggling.

Being a forty something myself I could totally relate to this book. I have always wanted to own a bookshop/ coffee shop so really felt for her loss here. I did laugh out loud, but also felt this rather tricky phase of life was dealt with really well in this book.

If you have ever asked yourself "where has the time gone, what the hell have I done with my life and why does everyone else have it all together but me?!", then you'll love this book.

Nell had it all - so she thought. Running her own business, living in California and engaged to a handsome man...but she finds herself returning to the UK broke, homeless and single. All her friends are married with young children - even her younger brother is settling down, and she can't quite bring herself to tell her parents the truth about what happened in America. She rents a room from a quirky energy-saving obsessive guy called Edward, also a forty-something, and gets a job writing obituaries for one of the newspapers. On one of these stories, she meets a widow in her eighties, Cricket, whose famous playwright husband has just died, and a very sweet friendship develops between the two women. Through Cricket and their various adventures together, Nell gets some much-needed perspective and realises it is possible to be happy, vibrant and full of life at any age - it really is just a number. And perhaps the life she lost and left behind in California wasn't her dream life after all.

Nell's friends and social circle also hold up a mirror to our social media-dominated society where a sense of perspective seems to be a rarer and rarer thing. Those that we presume to have perfect lives very rarely reveal what is going on behind the filters and hashtags. It is very easy to forget that everyone's lives are messy and full of stress, sorrow and overwhelm, at least some of the time. Maybe we need to start being honest about the less Instagrammable moments of life. Nell reaches that conclusion and decides to start a podcast about being a forty-something f**kup which, to her great surprise, is a hit because her honesty hits a nerve.

I related to a lot of Nell's struggles, particularly to how she mourns her changing friendships on her return to the UK, as she is the only one who doesn't have children (and as we find out, this isn't by choice) and finds the tunnel-vision of her friends who are parents quite isolating because she can't join in the conversations 99% of the time. This is captured by the author very well.

I enjoyed the friendship between Nell and Cricket very much, and the wisdom Cricket dispenses - as usual, I find novels to be full of sage life advice! A few curveballs are thrown Nell's way - I won't reveal them to avoid spoilers - but needless to say, she does start to realise that everything one holds dear can change in an instant, that life is a gift to be cherished and to worry less about what her life looks like to others and more how it feels to be living it for herself, on her own terms. And that everything she wants is possible - in fact, it may have been in front of her face the entire time! I also enjoyed how finding love didn't magically solve all Nell's problems - she just comes to the realisation that life is complicated, she won't ever have it all figured out and that's OK. A very valuable message.

All in all, this is a charming, entertaining and very enjoyable read. Perfect for the sunlounger!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. I normally like everything this author has written but not too sure about this book unfortunately, finished it, made no impression on me at all and kept waiting for it to get better.

If you have ever thought "where did my life go and is this it for the rest of it" this is for you
Nell is forty something, living with her handsome fiancé in America loving her life, until suddenly it all goes wrong and she returns home to England, single, jobless and homeless.
Her friends seem to have all got married and had children while she was away and now she is struggling to fit in with them.
Nell rents a room and takes a job writing obituaries for the local paper. When a famous local playwright dies Nell goes to meet his widow to find out more about him. Cricket is not at all what Nell is expecting and they instantly hit it off. At 80 something Nell did not expect her to be so vibrant and full of fun.
With the help of Cricket Nell discovers that maybe her dream life isn’t the one she left behind after all.

This is the first book I read by this author and it doesn’t disappoint.

Nell has arrived back in England from California. Her dreams of marriage and motherhood are in shatters. On the cusp of 40 and with all of her friends now married with children, Nell’s not sure exactly where her life is going.

When Nell meets eighty-something newly widowed Cricket with her outrageous life and pearls of wisdom, Nell finds herself slowly coming out of her funk. As their friendship develops, can they help each other look to a brighter future?

A great book full of humour with a great cast of characters which was an enjoyable and entertaining read.

This is such a delightful read. Enduring life-changing events all at once, our protagonist returns to her homeland where she feels left out of life around her. Making friends with an Octogorian who is rapidly losing her friends, lives will be changed forever. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for an ARC egalley.

I turned 40 myself in February 2019 which does make you think what have I done with my life and what am I currently doing?
I really enjoyed this book, it made me laugh and some parts made me sad. am so in love with this book…
I had a preconceived idea of the main character and was so glad that I was wrong about her, I can relate to parts of her life - how she just gets on with it. Nell really grew on me.
I think one of the other reviews of this book also touched on the part about inspirational quotes, which are everywhere with stupid hashtags of loving life etc and I am so glad to find someone else who also hates all this.

Really likeable character bringing humour about her forties. Highly recommend

I really enjoyed this book about how Nell finds her feet after her business and relationship fall apart. It covers about a year of her life, and it was great to see her personal growth over that time. Although there is romance in this story, it’s not really about that. I really liked the fact that falling in love didn’t magically fix everything for Nell, that it was more a gradual acceptance that life is complicated and confusing, and that’s ok.

This was a relaxing and fulfilling read, and I’d recommend it to anyone getting a bit sick of reading about 20-somethings partying and falling in instalove (not that those

This is just a perfect book. Entirely relatable and guaranteed to be a hit. Would happily recommend this book to anyone.