With a fun premise and a memorable cast of characters, The Shelf is an enjoyable, uplifting book about acceptance and self-love.

This novel was really funny and entertaining. I
Enjoyed it, although I thought the reality show was too much in its sexist comments - I realise it was to make a point, but it was way too much.
Overall I would recommend it if wanting to read something light!

Amy Wright, 32, has been dating her boyfriend Jamie for the last two years. Amy wants to settle down, have children and family, so when Jamie announces he’s whisking her away, Amy is sure he’s going to propose. She prepares herself for a nice exotic holiday, so when it turns out that Jamie has just dumped her, in the most spectacular and humiliating way, on the set of a new reality show, well, it’s a shock. The show is called „The Shelf“ and is supposed to teach Amy, and six other contestants, how to be a perfect woman, „The Keeper“. Other than that, it’s your typical reality show, where the audience will vote the women off each week, with a live feed to comment from the viewers. The question for Amy is to stay or to go? The potential winner will get a million pounds but is it worth the humiliation?

I liked the women taking part in the reality show, well, almost all of them, as there was one that was stirring the pot, that’s for sure, and I loved the way they were thinking and also seeing them getting stronger and self – confident with every passing day. They were all so different, with different life goals and every single one of them brought their own unique story and it was really nice to see how they all hit it off from the very beginning and how they celebrate each other – this was the most brilliant aspect of this book, I think.
On the other hand, the male characters were absolutely unlikeable, and while it was done on purpose, I couldn’t stop thinking that there are too many cliches about them, that they are very stereotyped. I don’t want to defend them, oh no, those patriarchal, sexist, chauvinistic dudes, I would just love them to be more open and reasonable and getting their lesson at the end.

If this book was a satire, then I – sadly – didn’t get it. I think I simply couldn’t get over the idea for the book itself, so patronizing for women, because well, are women really so desperate for a partner that they’d take part in such a reality show as the one described in this book? OK, probably some are, and maybe this is this that I can’t agree with? To let patronize you, only to be in a relationship? And there is one passage that I would probably will never forget, the panel where the men outside and the women inside are allowed a discussion, and again, let the men be as they are, no matter how lazy or demanding, do anything they like or they will leave you for another woman who will read their minds. I mean, really? And the sharp, clever and intelligent female characters really didn’t have anything to say? Yes, this book is supposed to make some valid points and maybe it does but it annoys me that such a book should be written at all. I am not a feminist but the tasks, trying to make women behave as if we were back in the 1950’s, learning how to throw the perfect tea – party, having the right manners truly brought me on my limits – the sexism, the woman hate, the stereotyped male characters made my blood boil. I get it, this was the whole idea of this book, to show the contrast, but it got old too quickly. The ending was a little too cute for me as well and yes, it was great to see that this whole hapless adventure showed the women how they can benefit from being themselves again, it was simply too neatly wrapped – up.
Nevertheless, there are some good things that you can take with you after reading this book. It is a story about self – acceptance, showing that being yourself is the best way forward, that it’s better to stay true to yourself than to follow the herd mentality. It also shows a great diversity of characters and I loved that the women taking part in the show didn’t actually agree with its idea, that they simply wanted to do something for them, rebelling against the chauvinistic aims of the programme.

This novel is full of messages about present society, about social media and how easy it is nowadays to hide behind your computer screen and post poisonous and unfair comments, about feminism and while those issues may sound strong and heavy, the book is written in a light – hearted and easy to read way. It is a thought – provoking and eye – opening story that will help you understand that sometimes it’s better to stay single than in a relationship that you feel is not working.

An original idea but it dragged on way too long for me and I admittedly skipped bits at times.
The main character, Amy, is placed in a reality show called The Shelf, which is a send up of the reality shows out there. The early chapters are pretty tough reading because of the blatant sexism shown by the host of the show and some of the male leads in the book but as long as the reader takes this as a set up then that’s fine.

The camaraderie once Amy gets in the house is brilliant and goes against the stereotypical cat fights that seem to make tv ratings and this is the point of the book. The contestants on “The Shelf” are in two minds of winning the prize of “The Keeper” because they know that there more to life than pandering to their ex/partner.

Worth a read if you want a laugh or generally like light reading and I certainly wouldn’t rule out another book written by this Helly Acton.

Oh my goodness, the start of this book made me want to weep and shout in equal measure.

The Shelf follows Amy as she's thrown from what she sees as a relationship (which isn't because her boyfriend is soooo horrible) onto a show called The Shelf. A reality TV show where five women are pitted against each other to win the hideous title of The Keeper.

I loved all five women and grew to cringe less, the more they found their own ways.

Thanks so much to Netgalley and Bonnier Books for the opportunity to read and review.

This book had a fantastic concept, and I was intrigued from the start. I liked it, but didn't love it, as I didn't gel with the writing style, but it had a memorable story and compelling and sympathetic characters. Very very topical, and gave me a lot of sympathy and empathy for contestants on shows such as this.

This was a solid 3🌟 for the first half as the sexism, that the book was clearly and effectively outing, was making me cringe with anger, but I quickly came to love all five women on The Shelf and champion each of them in their journeys to loving themselves and stepping away from the horrible men in their lives.

I’m really looking forward to seeing what Acton writes next.

Loved this book! Amy is in a ‘relationship’ with Jamie, thinking everything is heading in the right direction, what she doesn’t know is that she is heading for a reality tv show where she is dumped and left on a show called ‘the shelf’.

It’s witty, indulgent and thoroughly enjoyable about a group of women on a reality show!

Loved it!!

There was something very interesting about the concept of this book I will admit I was a little unsure at first if I would like the reality TV aspect because I’m not a big fan of reality TV in general but I was very curious to see how it would work in this book.

I immediately felt very drawn to Amy there are so many similarities between us at the moment and so it was quite fun to go through this journey with her and what a journey it was. This book is just so much fun, it deals with a subject that probably plays on a lot of women’s minds; being single past a certain age and feeling out of touch with friends that are reaching different milestones; but in a lighthearted and empowering way.

I loved all the female characters in this book, they were all so different and each brought something unique to the house, I liked that they all had their own ways of fighting back against the misogynistic tasks. I have to say there was a lot about the ‘show’ that riled me up just as much as it did the contestants, especially the presenter, but it also added a lot of humour to the story.

The growth that Amy goes through in the story is great, being able to accept herself and realise that she doesn’t have to have the same life goals as everyone else, or at least not at the same time. Most of the contestants are also changed by the end of their time on the show, and it was good to see the variations of that, but they all felt stronger within themselves and it was nice to see them all band together.

My only slight criticism is that I would have maybe liked one likeable male character, Jason was the only one who came close but even then, he wasn’t a big feature of the book and he still wasn’t a shiny example.

I love it when I read a book at the perfect time that I need it and that was definitely the case for this book, it helps that it was funny and entertaining and really has the feel-good factor. This is one that I would highly recommend and I am very much looking forward to what this author will come up with next.

'The Shelf" is a reality show that sounds horrific. Why would anyone put themselves through this sort of thing? However this was strangely enjoyable, a mad cast of characters,

This is a very easy, light read and I was surprised to find I enjoyed it. Generally, I'm not a huge fan of reality TV so wasn't sure what I would think of this.

Amy is trying to convince herself her two year relationship with her boyfriend is going somewhere, and when he announces she needs to pack for a surprise trip she's convinced he's going to propose. What happens couldn't be further from what Amy imagined, and she finds herself as a contestant on a new reality show, called The Shelf.

Like many of us, Amy compares herself and her relationship to what's posted on social media and feels at the age of 32, she should be at least engaged and planning marriage and children. She's embarrassed about being single and thinks she needs to catch up with her friends. She ignores the red flags in her relationship and tries to convince herself they're both happy and suited to each other.
I found this quite relatable, and it makes you question the idea that all women should be in a relationship, getting married and having children.

Initially, I didn't like Amy's character at all and you wanted to shake her and tell her to wise up to her boyfriend's behaviour. When she's on the show she realises she's better off without him and ends up happy to be single and learning to enjoy her life.
There's a good mix of characters in the book and I ended up liking most of the women on 'The Shelf'. It was nice to see them be able to realise what made them unhappy in their life, and change for the better.
The host of the show was really insufferable, sexist and not remotely funny but I think you were meant to hate him.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and it was an easy read. It was quite predictable but an interesting idea for a story. It would be a great holiday read.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Thanks to NetGalley and Zaffre for providing a copy of this book for review.

I really didn’t like this, sorry. It felt so shallow and derivative, basically a novelised version of one of those saccharine Facebook posts saying ‘u do u gurl’. Not for me.

I love reality tv so the premise of this book interested me a lot. I enjoyed the characters and found it to be a fun summer read.

This book is great fun but there is great depth to it as well.. Moving, perceptive and knowing, it manages to satire a genre without being unkind to the participants and deserves to be widely read

This was a joy to read but despite that,Straight away I wanted to chuck my kindle across the room as I hated Jamie. He is the main male character who dumps Amy on a reality show called The Shelf. He was so arrogant and horrible and rude! I don’t understand why Amy stayed with him. The people who worked for the show were not any better especially the host Adam. The things he would come out with was appalling. I’d of preferred there to be different points of view - from the other contestants as we mostly heard from Amy. I found the ending too predicable but over all I enjoyed the writing and liked the women and the friendships that blossomed.

Thanks goes go Net Galley and the publishers for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

"The Shelf" is a lighthearted and easy to race through book, perfect especially for reality tv lovers. In this story, Amy is being dumped by her boyfriend in front of the cameras and left with a choice to participate in the new reality tv show called The Shelf in which she and other women are to compete in the series of ridiculous challenges, for one of them to be crowned The Keeper. My main issue with this book was the amount of sexism, body-shaming and relationship issues which I thought was not always fully addressed by the author, however I was pleased about the way the book moved forward, as it concentrated on important messages concerning self-acceptance, societal pressures and female friendship. No doubt readers who watch reality TV (I do not) will find it more relatable, but I thought it was a fun and easy read, perfect for the summer.

Unfortunately, I made it through until the premise was revealed (chapter 5) but couldn't stop being angry so had to stop reading. Fairly well written. I imagine I'd probably have enjoyed it if I could force myself to read further.

As someone who loves a bit of reality tv, and who watched all the early series of Big Brother, I was intrigued by the concept of The Shelf. The main character Amy finds herself dumped on live tv and on a reality tv show in a "Big Brother" type house where she and five other women compete in a series of challenges to work on themselves, with the winner getting £1m.

A fun, easy read, this also deals with some topical issues - reality tv and the power of social media - from an interestingly feminist perspective. Over the course of the book the very different woman form strong bonds whilst learning about themselves and ultimately the message is all about acceptance, learning to love yourself and not to succumb to external pressures. As a book it is both funny and clever and well worth a read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bonnier Books for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Amy thinks her boyfriend is going to propose when he tells her to pack a suitcase. She doesn't realise that he's putting her on a reality show called The Shelf to publicly dump her. Very different book and didn't know whether I would like it but you soon get engrossed in all the participants.

This book is a triumph in the Women's Fiction genre! Lighthearted, fast paced and easy to read, yet explores some very important, close to home topics. Very timely look into our television habits, attitudes towards women and dating. I look forward to reading more from Helly Acton!