Absolutely loved this book. Great little plot and good character👍 would reccomend this book as a holiday read.

Josh get dumped by his girlfriend after proposing to her on the London Eye. Feeling shaken in his ability to make good decisions he decides to base everything on the toss of a coin. Honestly I DNF this book which is really rare for me and I'm struggling to find something good to say about it. I found the plot quite predictable (it's a rom-com, that's sort of a given but half the fun is getting there and this journey is signposted in neon lights). Also Lucy, the love interest is just too Manic Pixie Dream Girl for my tastes. One for diehard romantics only.

This is an enjoyable read which is told from the male perspective and has a light, easy tone. Having witnessed Josh's attempts at romance crash and burn in the opening scene, you are rooting for him from the start and he keeps your sympathies throughout. His friends and family are a varied bunch and his observations about his life made me smile.

Josh's decision to let a flip of a coin direct his actions for a year is a clever device which makes what happens to him in the course of the year credible. I was actually surprised by the outcome as I had decided that a different fate awaited Josh. I suppose I fell for a red herring which the author planted there! This is a great holiday read and one which I could imagine as the subject of a film. There are some great locations and striking visual images.

In short: Heads or tails?
Thanks to the publisher for a copy of the book

Many thanks to the author, publishers and Netgalley for a free ARC of this ebook.
I don't have too many good things to say about this book, so I'm not going to labour the points by droning on in detail about the derivative plot, poor character development, forced humour and lack of sincerity. It wasn't the book for me, so I'll leave it there.

I read this in a day, because once I’d started, I had to know whether Josh would get his happy ending! No spoilers - but the journey didn’t disappoint. He was an easy character to empathise with and I’ll bet everyone who reads this book will hate Jade by the end of the first chapter. Karma though - again no spoilers! A clear but not over-predictable plot, good use of settings across Europe and some good supporting characters makes this a good, solid read for its genre. I’d definitely read more from this author - I loved it.

This book is the antidote to the hideousness that has been 2020. A charming, genuinely funny novel about a man who, after a failed proposal on the London Eye, decides to put his faith in the fate of a coin flip for the next 12 months.

Travels, TV appearances and tragedy follow, alongside a European road trip to find 'The one'.

Highly recommended! 4.5*

After a marriage proposal that couldn't have gone any worse, protagonist Josh decides to leave all decisions over the following year to chance by flipping a coin. We follow Josh's life over the year as he navigates his friendships, family relationships and healing heart.

I enjoyed reading a romcom from a man's point of view, which feels like a rarity. I was also pleased to read a British book that wasn't set entirely in London. The bits of the book that worked best for me were the little silly moments that felt relatable, like when Josh smashes his knees on the underside of a table while standing up to greet a woman who turns out to not be his blind date.

Unfortunately, as a whole, the book did not work for me. I don't think the protagonist Josh had a strong enough voice to carry the novel, and the conflict that threatened to tear apart the developing relationship was too flimsy for me.

There was also a lot of repetition in terms of the quips made and the internal sardonic musings. And a lack of an internal monologue to guide readers through the story and what Josh was thinking and feeling. Often it was hard to know whether the author was setting things up to have a pay-off later or if it was just a one-off moment to show how awkward and British the protagonist is.

An example being when Josh spilled red sauce on his shirt before going on TV, which resulted in... nothing. Also, there was no internal narration explaining Josh's reason for trying to hide the stain and not changing into one of the other shirts he brought. It could have easily been explained away had the narration included something like, 'The death glare I got from the wardrobe woman earlier makes me question whether I'd rather get caught in a shirt with a stain or in a shirt she didn't pick.' (I can't see any production allowing anything other than water in the wardrobe department anyway.)

There was quite a bit of clumsy writing that made me wonder why an editor didn't pick up on it, though perhaps I didn't read the final draft and am being overly harsh.

Some examples:

1.
There's one scene at a fancy dress party where everyone's come as London Tube stops. Josh is talking to someone and says:
'Yes, that's not too hard when that guy's carrying a can of beer and has got a dildo on his head, dressed as Cockfosters.'

This is weird and unrealistic dialogue and is clearly included only for the joke. But if it had been written this way, it could have done more:
'Yes, that's not too hard when you're competing with Cockfosters,' I say, nodding at a guy with a dildo on his head and carrying a can of beer.

2.
One part in the book went:
Yes, I think I saw. Congratulations,' I say, falling asleep listening to her.
That is a weird way to phrase it. Instead it could have been something like:
Yes, I think I saw,' I manage to wake myself up enough to say. 'Congratulations.'

And lastly, this isn't necessarily bad, but I wondered why the protagonist's mum didn't support her son's coin flipping. She was into horoscopes and other woo-woo stuff, and I'd have expected her to support her son following fate? Her support would have added extra conflict within the protagonist because he would then have to grapple with the fact that he was going along with something his mum believed in.

All in all, I would recommend this book to those who are avid romcom readers. If you dip in and out of the genre like I do, I'd say give this one a miss.

Twentysomething Josh proposes to his girlfriend, Jade, who says no, then immediately dumps him. Awkward, especially as he works in a hotel and lives in a flat both owned by her father. Lacking confidence in his decision-making, Josh decides rather strangely to trust future decisions to the flip of a coin. His friends think he's nuts - Jake, who has a boyfriend called Jake (confusing), and Jessie, who loves unicorns (FFS). Nearly everyone's name begins with J, including the author's.

This story was OK, I guess. It was a light hearted read, though it certainly didn't make me laugh out loud as some reviewers have said. There are some fun set pieces, like the "dress as your favourite tube station" party, but a lot of over the top stuff, like Josh's parents (nobody acts like this) and an absurd scene at a funeral near the end.

The writing style did annoy me at times, though, especially after Josh sets out around Europe in pursuit of a girl he met once and then lost in a crowd. A customs official has a "stereotypically strong German accent" (German person has German accent shock!) Josh is sometimes just too stupid for words - questioned by the same official as to the purpose of his trip, he gives an unnecessary chapter and verse all about his life (who does this, apart from people in romcoms?) and, seeing someone in traditional lederhosen (for a festival), wonders if everyone in Germany dresses that way. (Um, probably not, Josh.) Not to mention arriving in Munich without having booked anywhere to stay. What an idiot.

In fact (spoilers) the whole Sunflower Girl quest is utterly bizarre and uncomfortably stalkerish. (And unnecessary. He could have achieved the same end by googling English bookshops in the relevant cities and phoning them - a bit embarrassing, yes, but a lot cheaper.) Lucy, when found, seems far more like Quirky Fantasy Girl than an actual person, and claims to have never read the end of a book, despite being an English Literature student who wrote her dissertation on Jack Kerouac and the Beat Generation. How the heck does she manage that while refusing to find out the ends of any of the books? Well, she's quirky, you see. But I call bullshit.

The whole coin-flipping idea ultimately feels a bit wasted - the plot would have been exactly the same without it.

Maybe I'm being a bit hard on the book - it's a fun enough read, but just didn't really hit the spot for this reader.

The Flip Side is a very refreshing, hilarious and uplifting comedy fiction with a tad bit of romance in the story!

The follows the life of Josh, an average guy with good family, good friends and a decent job, and a good looking girlfriend whom he proposes to marry on the New Year's eve and gets dumped. All of a sudden he is now jobless, homeless and have to move in with his absolutely hilarious parents who still manage to embarrass him in front of the village at the age of 28! This guy is super weird by himself that he decides to flip a coin for every decision he has to make because he is not sure of his life anymore. His mates, the 'All Jays' are equally weird and absolute bonkers. They support, humiliate and bully each other in every possible way and it is all so laugh-out-loud funny!

"It is only when I get off that I realize the headphone jack isn't connected properly to my phone and everyone else on the packed bus could hear me listen to 'Un break My Heart' on repeat for the entire journey."

Follow Josh's journey through Munich, Paris, Amsterdam where he gets dropped by Jesus! Lol I loved those scenes. There are so many favorite scenes and moments I totally loved. I've been provided a proof copy by the publisher but will be buying myself a published copy to reread whenever I feel down and sad. Who knows, may I'll flip a coin and follow Josh's weird path!

I'd love to read anything that comes out of James Bailey's imagination.

Poor Josh, after a hideous snub from his girlfriend Jade, ends in him being homeless, jobless and his self esteem at an all time low, he decides he must take drastic action.

His friends think he should just ‘find someone else’ and he decides that if life can change so quickly then he will just flip a coin instead of procrastinating over decisions like her has previously.

It is a very funny book. I liked Josh he is genuinely a nice guy and I loved Pap and Josh’s parents particularly his Mum who insists on the engagement party regardless of any engagement and the whole Valentines Day episode is so awful that you had to laugh or you would cry.

Things go from bad to worse when he goes on a Tinder date with Emma and he takes her home, as he thinks his parents are away.

The school reunion was a perfect example of why I have never been to one. Awful !

However, a chance meeting at the London Marathon has Josh looking for his dream woman will her succeed ? When his friends enter him into a quiz show Josh hopes that his luck will finally change.

The setting in Bristol was great as I am from the South West and I do like a book set in an area I am familiar with.This book was a real breath of fresh air, I liked the perspective of Josh and it was great to read about a man’s disasters in love for a change and it made me laugh out loud.

This is a perfect read if you are looking for something to raise your spirits and make you smile. I loved its feelgood perfection.

An excellent read if you are looking for a pick me up after a break up. You will laugh and then laugh some more and it will help you escape the heartache and immerse yourself in Josh’s world for a while.

This book will be a huge success and I have already recommended it to a lot of people!

A fun and light romantic book, and one written by a guy which is uncommon enough for me to remark upon. Enjoyable. Didn't require too much of my brain.

Loved the book, very interesting actually! Specially the main concept. it's totally a fun book with messages. I liked the relationship of Josh and his grand father. The characters are well described and also the whole plot! Loved it!!

This is a nice light hearted read that didn't have too much drama going on. The main character Josh was likeable enough and his trip to find Sunflower girl was fun to follow. There was some depth to the novel which balanced it out nicely and even though the book was based on making decisions on a coin toss,, I didn't really feel like this was an important part of the book

Overall, a nice easy feel good type of book, perfect if you want something light.

This story is centured around the life of Josh, who I loved! He leaves the most important parts of his life up to the toss of a coin. I loved the suspense of this book and it made me want to read on more and finish this book quickly. James Bailey has definitely had a clever idea with this book and it has worked extremely well and made the story both humorous and heartwarming.

This was a lovely story to settle down with and quite uplifting and entertaining.

I had high expectations of this book and it did not disappoint. I really identified with the main character and loved the idea of flipping a coin. I was slightly disappointed by the ending but I'm probability in the minority there.

How long does it take you to make a decision? Do you make a long pros and cons list or do you go with your gut? Would you be brave enough to leave every important decision you have to make in a year up to a flip of a coin?

That is exactly what Josh does after proposing to his girlfriend on the London Eye on New Year’s Eve goes horribly wrong. He starts to feel like he can’t trust his own judgement, so he puts his fate in the flip of a coin. It takes him on a journey he could never have expected and one that might just lead to love.

This book is a perfect romantic comedy, packed with genuinely funny moments, beautiful European cities, a great friendship group (where the men and women can actually be friends without us having to constantly worry that they will fall for each other) and a rabbit called Jeremy! I loved the main romance in the story and the fact that the book acknowledged that chasing a girl across Europe might just be a tiny bit creepy..!

The Flip Side was a well-paced and fun read. I’ll definitely seek out whatever James Bailey writes next. If you have a The Flat Share shaped hole in your life this year (and I know many of you will because it is such a well-loved book!), I definitely recommend checking this out. It is, dare I say it, better than The Flat Share and one of my favourite romcoms of recent years!

I love books where there's a strong friendship group and this book had that in spades. They're the kind of friends who take the piss out of each other, and then the next moment lay down their lives for each other.

A few of Josh's embarrassing moments were a little too OTT and overdone. There were some moments where James Bailey maybe pushed the boat out a little farther past the believable (Josh and Emma's date is one example) but every escape was written with so much humour and love.

Any book involving travel is a winner in my books. I loved following Josh on his trip around Europe in search for Sunflower Girl. This is especially true in a time where air travel isn't on the cards.

This book was such a wonderful and light-hearted story. It's well paced and well written. I'll be looking out for more from James Bailey for sure.

Contemporary romances and romantic comedies are becoming a bit of a go-to for me at the moment. In June and July, I got myself through a disgustingly large amount of the genre - and I'm here to share some thoughts on some of my favourites, of course. The Flip Side by James Bailey was a book I read in the midst of my reading tornado - and to be quite honest with you, it was one of the books that truly reignited my love for the genre.

The Flip Side by James Bailey Book Review

The Flip Side by James Bailey is a fantastic romantic comedy - but at the same time, it's not. It's not the stereotypical romantic general fiction book that I've come to expect, and become addicted to. The Flip Side follows a young man, Josh, who's not having all that great a time. He proposes to his girlfriend in one of the London Eye pods, and, unfortunately for him and his livelihood, she says no. Thus follows him leaving his job, moving out of their flat and moving back home to his family home. After a failed date that involved losing his wallet in a supermarket after buying his date flowers and ordering the cheapest things on the menu AND using a coupon to cover the cost, he decides that from this day forwards, he'll be making all of his decisions using the flip of a coin.

Whilst waiting for his friend to pass during a marathon, Josh meets a girl, who he affectionately calls Sunflower Girl. I say affectionately, because he doesn't know her name - all he knows about her is that she lives in a city that hosts one of the Van Gogh Sunflower paintings, and that she works in a bookstore. After another failed attempt at romance - aka, his mother trying to set him up with a childhood friend- Josh decides that he's going to track her down. One problem? Van Gogh has more than 1 Sunflowers painting and there is definitely more than one bookstore in each of these cities... Throw in a pub quiz, two very down to earth best friends and a social media viral campaign,  Josh is on his way to track her down - but will she be in Berlin, in Amsterdam, in Paris?

I absolutely adored this story - it was hilarious at times and snort-worthy at others. I loved Josh - he's a character you can't help but feel sorry for, everything that could go wrong for him really does and it's a mixture of heartbreaking and hilarious and I am completely in favour of it. I loved how the journey from country to country unravelled and the measures he (and his friends) went to to help him find the glorious Sunflower Girl.

A heartwarming and affirming story that will make you laugh and give you that warm, fuzzy hug that you didn't know you were craving.

‘The Flipside’ is the debut novel by James Bailey.

When Josh proposes in a pod on the London Eye at New Years’ Eve, he thinks it’s perfect. Until she says no. And they have to spend the next 29 excruciating minutes alone together. His life is falling apart. Realising he can’t trust his own judgment, Josh decides from now on he will make every decision through the flip of a coin. Maybe the coin will change his life forever. Maybe it will help him find the girl of his dreams.

I was raging with myself when I started this book late one evening, as soon as I started I was snorting throughout and knew it was going to be an enjoyable story. So, the following day I put some time aside to properly delve it and boy, was it worth it.

The story starts at the point that Josh proposes to his girlfriend called Jade, having booked a pod on the London Eye, he wants it to be a magical. But by the time he has stepped off the London Eye, he’s single, homeless and jobless. With his tail between his legs Josh leaves the busy streets of London for the pub quizzes of Bristol as he tries to get his life back in order with his best friends, Jake and Jessie and the help of a 50p coin that he is convinced will help him make the best decisions in his life. But whilst supporting Jessie taking part in the London Marathon, Josh runs into a woman who affectionately becomes known as ’Sunflower Girl’ as they met in an art gallery and with the aid of the 50p coin and his best friends, finds himself flying across Europe hoping to meet her again.

Right from the start, this book was a fun and fresh story and it’s refreshing to see a man writing about romance and Josh has done is superbly with, the witty dialogue, the colourful characters and the hilarious scenarios that Josh gets into dependent on the flip of the coin.

The characters are completely fun and relatable, where they were are a point in their lives where it’s expected to know who and what you want to do be doing with your life. Josh approaches this pressure and questions with humour and for this, made the book a charming read. His parents are equally as fun, with his buying shop bought Victoria Sponge but adding some more jam to prove the illusion that she made it herself and his dad was a regular Del Boy with scams and moneymaking ideas at every opportunity. One thing, I loved was the dynamics of Josh’s friendship with Jake and Jessie, I loved it when the friends got together as the banter between was always honest and fun, but even though they think Josh is mad with the 50p flipping, they support him and are there for him along the way.

There are many parts of this story that I enjoyed but I really loved accompanying on his search across Europe to find ’Sunflower Girl’ and when it took him to Paris, I loved the vivid descriptions of ‘Shakespeare and Company’, a wonderful bookshop that I also visited on my own visit to Paris, so reading these entries were a welcome return.

I loved this debut and the concept behind it and would love to read more about Josh and his friends as they embark on new adventures in their lives. A deliciously fun and fresh story which is a welcome distraction from what is going on in the world, ‘The Flip Side’ is a roller coaster of a story, or should I say a London Eye. Packed with banter, drama and a seriously cute rabbit called Jeremy, I found this quick witted and cleverly written book to be the perfect pick me up, no matter what side your coin falls on.

You can buy ‘The Flipside’ from Amazon for 99p on the Kindle Store and will be available to buy from good bookshops from 20th November 2020.