Confession of a forty something f up
By Alexandra potter
Pub date 31 dec 2020
I loved everything about this book I’m more like nell in allot of ways I connected two nell character it was funny and loving. This story was full of humour I enjoyed. I couldn’t put it down I was part of the read along which I was so grateful for opportunity two read this I’m looking forward two read more by Alexandra potter as she a new author two me . I love the writing style easy two follow the cover beautiful. You follow nell on her journey she over 40 you learn about her life her ex her friends drama her new friend cricket there allot of fun and humour in this story you enjoy a 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 from me x

As a forty something myself, I was really intrigued as to what this book would be about!

Well, I was not disappointed. This book was a beautiful and honest account of how your life doesn’t always turn out the way you planned! Nell might have though she was a f**k up, but let’s be honest, none of us have a perfect Insta worthy life and this is what made this book so relatable. It was hilariously funny (I was literally snorting out loud at certain points) and I just adored Nell and Crickets friendship, proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that age really is but just a number!

Thank you Alexandra for an absolutely gem of a book and for one of my first 5 star reads of 2021!!

I read this book very quickly thanks to such an engaging talented author! Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review. Great characters, setting and storyline. Would highly recommend.

I lOVED this book, it really made me smile lots and it was quite realistic too in the dating world.
I am keen to seek out other books by the same author.
Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for this copy for me to read and then review with my honest thoughts.

I absolutely loved this uplifting, funny and absorbing read which was perfect for cheering me up after Christmas. I’ve been recommending it to everyone as I think we all need this book in our lives at the moment!

Firstly I absolutely loved Nell and I wish that I knew her in real life. She is such a realistic character, with many flaws and quirky ways of doing things that I warmed to her quickly. I think everyone will be able to relate to her in some way and it was great fun to follow her throughout the book. She definitely goes on a fascinating journey of discovery to find herself and it was an absolute joy to follow her on it. Cricket was another brilliant character who I grew fond of. Her zest and attitude to life was very inspiring and I hope that I am like her when I’m older.

The story builds slowly as we learn more about Nell, her past and the different groups of people in her life. There was always something happening which kept me glued to the page and lots of funny moments which had me laughing out loud, much to the amusement of my kids. It was very interesting to have a fly on the wall glimpse into the different parts of her life and to see how she dealt with all the problems she encounters. The modern twist of the podcast was a nice touch too, I’d definitely listen to a podcast like that.

I thought there was a lovely message running through the book that despite outward appearances no one’s life is fairy tale perfect and maybe if everyone was honest about what was happening in their lives it would stop a lot of problems. The ending was brilliant and very satisfying. I did guess how it would end but I actually enjoyed that as it meant I could relax more into the story. I was very sad to finish the book and I hope that there will be a sequel as I would love to visit Nell again.

Huge thanks to Pan Macmillan for my copy of this book via Netgalley.

The story centres around Nell, who finds herself in her early forties, newly single and job-hunting, feeling like one huge failure. Her oldest friends seem to have it all sorted: the relationship, kids, careers and Nell feels more and more removed from them as the years go by.

When she gets a new job writing obituaries she interviews widowed octogenarian, Cricket, and they strike up an unlikely but brilliant friendship. This aspect of the novel I really loved; I think everyone needs a Cricket in their life!

Nell starts an anonymous podcast, I think partially as therapy for herself, to sound off about her disastrous life, and her small following quickly grows into a huge one. It’s clear that more people than she thought can relate to her situation. It’s written almost like short diary entries, which makes it quite easy to speed though it.

I think most readers will find Nell to be a likeable and relatable character, and there are a lot of very funny moments and observations in this book. For me, how female friendships often change over time struck a particular chord, but there are also observations on the perils of house sharing and online dating that made me laugh.

I did feel like it was a little bit too long and, in parts, a little cliched. I was also, for various reasons, a bit disappointed with the ending but that’s certainly down to my own personal preference rather than a reflection on the book.

All in all, a solid, uplifting and funny read, and one that’s perfect for New Year time as it’s set over the course of a calendar year.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest, independent review.

Nell feels like a f**k up - a forty-something f**k up. After her business goes bust and she breaks up with her fiancé, she moves back from California to London to start over again. However, while she's been away, all of her friends have got married, had children and live in the perfect Instagram homes. Nell has been left behind.

After landing a job writing obituaries, Nell meets Cricket, an eighty-something-year-old widow, and strikes up an unlikely friendship, both living the lives they had not planned.

I enjoyed this book; it was an easy good and had lots of laugh-out-loud moments. Nell was likeable and I could relate to her. It made me realise life is not perfect for everyone, not just me.

The downside for me was the length. I felt at times, it could have been condensed, and at the same time I felt there was not enough mention of the Confessions of a Forty-Something F**k Up podcast Nell beings: she has lots of listeners, but it is not mentioned as much as I feel it deserves to be.

The ending was nice, though a little predictable.

We could all do with a hearty laugh right now and I knew this chunk of a rom-com would satisfy that need.

Nell Stevens is forty-something who has recently moved back to the UK after her life in California fell apart -including her relationship. Moving into a flatshare in London with eco-conscious family man Edward, Nell notices that all of her friends are happily married with children and seemingly have their lives in order. She can’t help but feel that she may just be a bit of a fuck up.

In a complete spur of the moment, Nell decides to start a podcast talking about her life and feelings. By injecting her natural quirky humour into in an honest stream of consciousness, the podcast acts as a kind of emotional release for her. I’m ten years younger than Nell but there were still some parts of her struggle that I could relate to. Admittedly not all of it but I have no doubt that I will by the time I’m 40.

Nell and her brother Rich, who is only a couple of years younger than her, have the typical sibling relationship that I think most brothers and sisters do. Despite being full grown (not even young) adults, they still bicker and tease each other constantly. I enjoy this dynamic with my own brother and it was really fun to watch how much love there is between them.

Nell makes friends with Cricket, a recently widowed woman in her eighties. Cricket is a fantastic character and we could all learn a lot from her. I actually thought she added to the humour of the book a lot and I definitely smiled at a lot more of her lines than I did Nell’s. She’s so honest and wise and graceful. I’d really like to be like Cricket when I grow up.

Although this is a ultimately a rom-com, there are some sad, poignant moments. Nell is clearly struggling with how different her life is to the one that she imagined and things get very deep and dark during a trip to Spain with Cricket.

I’ll admit that I found it hard to connect to Nell at first. At the beginning, she came across as a bitter, snarky woman and I worried that would be something that was going to stick with me for 500 pages but thankfully, it didn’t! Her true vulnerability began to show itself and by the end, I was really rooting for her to get all of the best things in life.

There is also a subplot involving Nell’s friendship group that reminded me of the film Bridesmaids. New yummy mummy Annabel has entered the group since Nell has been in America and she seems to be asserting her dominance over Nell’s best friend Fiona, who is completely enamoured with her. So, yeah almost exactly the plot of Bridesmaids! I adore that film and that pettiness and suspicion of newcomers is something that is relatable to anyone who has ever been friends with a group of women and I liked how this subplot was resolved. To be honest, I could definitely have read a whole book just featuring this part of the narrative.

Confessions of a Forty-Something F**k Up is a funny, heartwarming commentary on how society norms -particularly for women- and pressure from the media can make us feel like failures, when actually we’re not. It’s a story about learning to love yourself a little later in life and realising that there is still so much life left to live even when you feel like the best years have gone.

Provided by NetGalley for an honest review.

I thought this was an excellent book. It summed up everything that a person could possibly feel being in their 40’s. It’s good to know that practically everyone is in the same boat!

I thought life would be different. I thought I’d be in a different place and position and everything I thought has either not happened or happened differently. I am so glad I read this book and I would recommend it to any reader. 20, 40, 80 or otherwise!

Very Bridget Jones, in a good way! A little exhausting in places but overall I found it very entertaining!

Interesting take on living life in your 40s as a single woman who hasnt quite made it. i found this quite funny and refreshing. Nell is a single woman who has run back to England following a distastrous breakup with her fiancee and the failure of her business. She leaves with nothing and is forced to go back to her parents and pick up the pieces of her life. In sharp contrast, all her friends are now married with kids and living polished successful lives - hence the feeling of being a 40-something year old fuck-up.

As an almsot 40 year old, I could definitely udnerstand reaching a milestone and feeling like an underachiever in light of other people's lives and the gloss of instagram. The characters in the book are very endearing and relatable. I loved Nell and Cricket. Even the friend group were likable and honest in how they were protrayed. I admit to being pleasantly surprised by the men in the book - even as support characters, they were well defined and had some depth. I thought the book was well written and an easy read. The ARC e-book version had some formatting issues but that didnt hinder the readability too much. Its not exactly fast paced but i found myself reaching for it. The plot was also a little predictable in parts but no less enjoyable. I would definitely recommend it to an older demographic. I almost wish the podcast was a real thing as I'd listen to it :-)

This is a 3.75/5 stars and rated up.

I may not quite be a forty something yet but this is 100% the book I needed to read right now. I loved the humour and warmth as well as the realness of this book. This book, through main character Nell, shows you that nobody has it all together and that you can be a f**k up but still be living your best life the way you want to live it.

I could just related to Nell from the word go in this book. I could both sympathise and empathise with her and I loved getting to know her over the course of the book. We've all had instances of having to start over in one way or another whether that's just a small thing that you've been working on or a whole big life move and Nell expresses the feelings we have about it but are too scared to share. I love knowing what's going on in side her head and all the rubbish that she has to wade through in order to just carry on living her life.

This book deals with all the FOMO we have from seeing our friends' lives on whatever social media we choose to peruse and the feelings that we haven't quite met the expectations we believe society has placed on us but we've actually kind of placed them on ourselves. I loved the outer London setting of this book and just how ridiculous it is to try and find somewhere to live in the city, even when you're a forty something! I also really love the fact that this book delves apologetically into non traditional media and the power that has. I love when an author bucks the trend and has podcasts and dating apps in their books!

There are a couple of care warnings that come with this book in terms of baby loss and also traffic accidents. I did have to skip a couple of chapters myself but I was able to pick back up in Nell's life where I left off. I laughed out loud several times in this book, had a little cry and just nodded a long the whole way through. I really thought this book was amazing and I am sure you will too.

Loved this book it was a quick read as I couldn't put it down. The writing style flowed and it was entertaining and interesting with a lot of laugh out loud moments and quite a few sad ones too. If you are forty something or older I definitely think it will resonate with you but I think any age will enjoy it.

I loved Nell we shared a lot of the same opinions especially on Avocados and I thought her friendship with Cricket, who I also loved, was just beautiful.

A great book to end this crazy year with and a reminder not to be too hard on yourself we are all just winging it through life even the perfect #insta brigade.

Thank you to Netgalley and Pan MacMillan for the ARC

It's the first Alexandra Potter book I've read...and it certainly won't be the last. You know those books where, at times, you want to put it down, but you can't? This had it for me. There were (many!) times when I felt the story was too slow, where I just wanted for 'something' to happen, where I started looking forward to a thing happening...and it doesn't for pages and pages. Yep, was tempted to drop this and not go back (or head straight to the last chapter to find out how it ends)
Thank goodness I didn't, though, because little by little, this book worked itself under my skin and it's gonna stay there for a while! I'm getting close to 40, and I'm about as far away from Nell's life as you can get, but man, how that book was relatable! It just 'made sense'. Could be because of my age and thus being able to relate to the characters and their lives, to 'know' what it feels like to reach this era of your life and all the expectations piled on you. It felt way more realistic than, say, those 20-something mothers at the PTA or school gates type of chick-lits which tend to make it seem like life doesn't exist after 35...
But this one resonated. And there was a twist which I saw coming as much as I didn't see it coming! LOL, I mean, I started to wish...and then my wish was granted. Probably the highlight of this book for me.
Yeah, I loved it. Stick with this one, because it is worth it!

Nell has it all - or hasn't she? At least she thought she had it all: gorgeous boyfriend, living in the sunny California, running a business together. But now she finds herself in the UK again, single, with no job and no place to stay. Moreover, all her friends are married now and having their own families, and even her younger brother is going to be a father! Where did it all go so wrong?
Nell gets a job writing obituaries and rents a room from Edward, who has a list of rules longer than his arm, and so she's now flat - sharing in her forties. To tell that Nell has hit rock bottom wouldn't be an understatement - but then Nell meets Cricket and slowly starts to realise that age is just a number and that perhaps not only this what's left behind is perfect - maybe you should simply start appreciate what you have right now?

I am a forty - something... OK, not exactly a f##k up but sometimes I feel like this. I really felt this book is about me and Nell is talking about me and sometimes yes, I recognized myself in Nell. This book made me laugh out loud, laugh bitterly, nod my head with understanding, roll my eyes, generally speaking - totally and absolutely agree with Nell. She was brutally honest, telling things how they really are - they're not always perfect but that's life, so there, so simply make the most of it. There were moments that I thought Nell could be me or I could be Nell. I truly adored her character, she was normal and real and genuine, and even when a bit on the low side with her feelings she was still hilariously funny.
The group of Nell's friends couldn't have been better captured, the author has really got the essence of how it is to have your own family and what - different kind of problems, but still problems - life as being a part of it brings. It may seem that you have it all together and under control but whatever people tell you, don't believe them! Really, those background characters have added so much depth and dry humour to this story.

It was totally different in style to Alexandra Potter's previous books which I find brilliant and, I'd say, that this must be her best book yet. She has a great way with words and she brings the characters to life, giving them distinctive voices and personalities, and making them relatable and believable. Sadly, some parts of the book work only as a filler and I really could live without them, as they made the story drag on. But what confused me most was the end. I read it and thought, what the hell...? I think I know what the author wanted to achieve writing it like this, what was the message but it simply didn't sit with me at all.

Nevertheless, "Confessions of a Forty - Something F##k Up" is an addictive, hilarious and brutally honest story with real characters. It's a book that I truly needed in my life, it has lifted my spirits and showed me I am not alone! It's light - hearted but with depth that I perhaps didn't expect but all the more appreciated. And it taught me to make things how I want them, no regrets. It's so very human, and probably this is why it feels so close to life and heart. Highly recommended!

Confessions of a Forty-Something F##k Up by Alexandra Potter is about Nell Stevens, who is feeling like she has failed.  She's left her fiancé in America and moved back to the UK, and is renting a room in someone else's house.  She's looking around at her friends who are married with children, and feels alienated from them.  

She gets offered a job to write obituaries, and jumps at it.  She meets Cricket, an 80 something year old widow, on her first interview, and they become unlikely friends.

This is a lovely story of finding yourself, changing your life and friendship.  I really enjoyed it, and loved Cricket!

 Confessions of a Forty-Something F##k Up  by Alexandra Potter was published on 31st December 2020, and is available to buy from  Amazon ,  Waterstones  and  Bookshop.org .

You can follow Alexandra Potter on her  website ,  Facebook  or  Instagram .

I was given this book in return for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to  Pan Macmillan .

I really enjoyed this book. I loved the writing style and how the main character is talking to me. The book is filled with well rounded likeable characters and has a good plot to keep the reader interested. An easy read with ups and downs and life in general. I definitely recommend this book. Thank you #netgalley.

I was due to read this earlier this year, but then the virus happened and publication was pushed back, and so I, in turn pushed it down the TBR pile. I really wish I hadn’t, because this would have been the perfect antidote to the entire March to June period.

Witty, filled with hope, fun and just completely and utterly joyous – I don’t think I could have loved this more. I sailed through it in just a couple of days and I’d get all giddy-happy when I figured out some stolen unscheduled reading time here and there simply because I was so invested.

Nell is brilliant. Told from her point of view, this is a story of self discovery. This is what happens after the happily ever after crashes and burns, and I found myself nodding along, completely relating to her experience of life. Her character leaps from the page and I challenge any woman of a certain age not to find something in her that chimes. Although a few short years off forty yet, I found myself nodding along when she was talking about how you become invisible after a certain age. But then Cricket turns it around and tells her that invisibility is a superpower, and oh my goodness, that woman is just everything! Cricket, an 8o-odd year old widow is a somewhat unlikely friend for Nell (at least in terms of ‘societal expectations’ but who gives a Christmas fig about those!) and she is brilliant. I want a Cricket in my life. She’s sharp, witty and so full of life. Put simply. I love her.

After returning from the US following a break up with her fiancé, and the failure of their business, Nell finds herself renting a room from a grumpy landlord. As she settles back into life in the UK, reconnecting with old friends, reassessing her job prospects and attempting to jump back into the romance pool via online dating, she pours her dissatisfaction into a podcast. ‘Confessions of a Forty-Something F**k up’.

It felt as if Bridesmaids and Bridget Jones inspired parts of this novel and some storylines felt familiar, but in familiarity is recognition and comfort, and despite these parallels, the characters are so well drawn that they took the story and ran with it on their own terms. They’re a great bunch, all believable and each with their own set of problems that feel true to life.

This book has also started new habits for me. At the end of each fictional day, Nell writes a gratitude list; things that she is grateful for. And whilst these can often be a great source of humour on her darker days, I was so taken by this idea of creating personal perspective and finding the good, even when it’s very well hidden amongst a shed load of rubbish that’s hurled your way – that I now do this before I go to bed every night, and I have to say it’s incredibly therapeutic.

Out in hardback on 31st December, this truly is a book which feels right for a new year. Far more fun than an exercise DVD, it shouts loudly of accepting and enjoying your own life, living it on your own terms and to question what may be behind the glossy IG facades we’re bombarded with. Something I, for one needed a reminder of.

Nell Stevens’ life is a mess – moving back to London from LA after her business goes bust and her relationship fails she notices that many things have changed. Her friends are now all settled with children, and she is forced to rent a room in a house. Life just feels like it’s f**ked up!.

When Nell gets a job writing obituaries, she first encounters Cricket, an eighty-something widow with challenges of her own, and they strike up an unlikely friendship. Together they begin to help each other heal their aching hearts, cope with the loss of the lives they had planned, and push each other into new adventures and unexpected joys.

Because Nell is determined. Next year things are going to be very different. It's time to turn her life around.

Initially I didn’t think I was going to like this book, as I mistakenly thought it was transcripts of a podcast, but how wrong was I? This is in fact a laugh out loud funny novel, that every forty-something will relate to in one way or another!!!

It delivers everything you want, a believable, lovable main character in Nell, a cross generation friendship with Cricket, a great group of friends (think Cold Feet) and the villain of the piece is have-it-all Annabel(or does she?!)

Bravo, a lovely book.

Thanks to NetGalley and The Publisher for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was dubious about the use of profanity in the title but actually think its perfect.. I really really enjoyed this book, much much more than I expected. I haven't read anything by Alexandra Potter before but wanted to read this due to the age group of the characters. I find that as I'm getting older I want to read books that reflect and resemble my reality but have been struggle to find much that is relatable, until now! While the situations that Nell finds herself in, can and do occur at any age, the way you handle them changes And I think that's what made this book resonant with me so much. The thoughts and feeling expressed felt so much like my own, that just like the blurb says, it reminded me that I'm not alone. This book really cheered me up in what has been a difficult year. This was the perfect antidote for 2020.

I think readers of all ages groups (I'm actually in my late 30's) will enjoy this and recommended it to friends before I'd finished it.