A book with very mixed emotions. You will laugh cry , smile. Prepare for your emotions to go on a rollercoaster ride. But trust me when I say it’s worth it

I first saw this book as an ARC on NetGalley, but it was in the middle of Covid-madness and I just didn’t have the time to read it. I was annoyed because I knew I would love it, so when I saw it in paperback recently at the supermarket, I had to pick it up.

And I was right, I loved it. At times hilarious, at times heart-breaking, it was amazingly written to draw me in and immediately love Andrew as a character.

He’s a bit of a strange guy – he works for the department of the council that deals with funerals for people who die with no family around. His job involves going into the houses of the deceased to try and find any details about potential family members and also to find out if there might be enough money to pay for the funeral. I’d never even considered that this would be a job, but I suppose someone has to do it…

To his colleagues, Andrew seems to have the perfect life at home – a wife and two kids and a lovely house to go back to at the end of the day. But what they don’t know is that this is all a lie, and at the end of the day Andrew goes home alone to his slightly depressing flat.

Andrew seems happy with this situation. Or at least, he thought he was, until Peggy arrives in his department and it seems like Andrew can’t keep up the facade forever. What he has to figure out though, is whether he wants to. And what might happen if he comes clean…

I thought I had this book pinned and I knew how it was going to end, but without giving any detailed spoilers, there was a plot twist that made me gasp with shock. I feel like that might be giving too much away, but I need to talk to someone about this book and I don’t have anyone!

I devoured this book in one day, I just loved the characters and the storyline so much and I felt completely invested in knowing how Andrew’s life would turn out. Laugh out loud funny, but also bringing tears to my eyes at times, it was a fantastic book to curl up with on a rainy Saturday afternoon.

I’m just sad I left it so long before I read it.

This put me in mind of Eleanor Olyphant is Completely Fine - quirky, warm-hearted and some deep issues tackled with a light touch. Apologies for the delay in posting this review - it some how fell down my TBR pile and I only recently rediscovered it! Recommended,

A great read, athough quite sad and emotional in places, but funny and entertaining in others. I would have liked more of an epilogue to find out what happened next.

Contemporary books are NOT my usual genre as I tend to read crime and psychological thrillers, but when I was offered the opportunity to read Something To Live For as part of an online readalong with 65 other readers I happily joined in.

Some of my favourite books feature quirky characters (Eleanor Oliphant, A Man Called Ove, Elvira Carr) so I was intrigued to start this book having read the blurb.

Andrew works for the council in a job I didn’t even know existed – he attends the properties of recently deceased people who have died alone with no obvious next-of-kin and it’s his job to find either a family member and/or funds to pay for the funeral. He is a hard-working and dedicated employee who goes that extra mile because he also attends the funerals to ensure the deceased get a dignified send off.

Within a few chapters you soon realise that whilst Andrew is a nice person, he is also harbouring a rather large secret from his employers and co-workers… he told a little white lie at his job interview which has now snowballed into a massive whopper and he can’t get out of it without jeopardising his job and reputation.

This is a very quirky, character driven story which I thoroughly enjoyed. There were some lovely moments of humour and some really sad moments in this story and the overall pace and flow made Something To Live For a quick but entertaining read. Perfect for people looking for some entertaining escapism from their life right now.

This was a good read with some deep themes and really makes you think about people and how they behave. I enjoyed thinking about Andrew and his life choices.

Thank you for allowing me to review this book.

A poignant and heartwarming story that moved me and made me smile. Andrew grew slowly on me and I loved his empathy and felt for this loneliness. Peggy is well written and it's a strong woman you cannot help loving.
I rooted for the characters and was involved by this engrossing and heartwarming story.
It's a great read that I strongly recommend.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Really good read. Would recommend to friends and family. I could sympathise with characters (important for any fiction novel!) and looked forward to picking it up and reading the next few chapters! Interesting plot line and a good ending. Will look out for more novels by the author. Thank you.

This book grew on me. I felt it started quite slowly and there was some clunky description and dialogue which nearly made me give up.

I’m so glad I persevered. Andrew is a really well written character. I understood his motivations and found myself rooting for him. The story itself is quite sad in places but the book manages to avoid becoming maudlin. The main theme is loneliness and all of the characters seem to have their own battles.

It’s hard to describe this gem of a book without spoilers so I won’t attempt it. Give it a try, let Andrew grow on you and you’ll be rewarded. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for my copy of this book.

I finished this in a matter of hours. Warm, funny, and with loveable characters! I loved Andrew and wanted him to find happiness.

A life lesson on how easily you can trip up on a lie. Andrew gets caught in a lie when starting a new job, but when he had a chance to have love and the friendship that he is missing, will he reveal the truth or keep on lying?

From the cover 👇

MEET ANDREW.
Everybody likes Andrew. But they don't really know him.

They know what he's told them - that he's happily married with two kids. Living the kind of life that's either so boring it's true, or so perfect it's a lie . . .

ENTER PEGGY.
Peggy arrives in Andrew's life in a burst of kindness and possibility. For the first time in ages, Andrew feels alive again. So now that he has everything to lose, can he risk it all and tell Peggy the truth?

Paperback published on 26 July!

This book is utterly brilliant! It gives a great insight into how lives intersect and how they impact. It has a great underlying theme of friendship. At time’s it becomes very dark and heartbreaking but it’s an important story to tell. Absolutely loved it!