Cover Image: I Give It A Year

I Give It A Year

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Member Reviews

Heroine made too much of a bad/harsh impression right from the start that it was hard to root for her throughout, and this killed the enjoyment for me on this one. Found her rather unsympathetic and could not get behind her

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A very enjoyable and emotional read - easy to devour in one sitting.
Realistic, relatable, fun.
3 stars.

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This was my first time reading a book by Helen Whitaker and I really enjoyed her writing. This was a lovely story and I look forward to reading more from the author in the future!

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I loved this one! It definitely will be added to one of my favorite books of 2021 list.
Premise
It's New Year's Eve, and Iris has just found out that her husband, Adam, is cheating on her. Furious, she kicks him out, and enlists her Dad to move in and help with the children whilst she tries to mend her broken heart.

But her Dad soon starts to display signs of Alzheimer's, and Iris realises that if she loses her partner, she'll be managing an awful lot on her own. Soon, she realises that Adam wasn't the only one taking their marriage for granted, and for the sake of the children she decides to give him one more chance.
I love how Eve deals with things and how she has to weigh all these things in her life that help her come to the ultimate conclusion of whether she will stay with Adam. It was at times funny and heartbreaking and everything in between, but the story, writing, and characters really pulled me in and I really really enjoyed this one!

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Ive never read this author b4 and im glad i took the time to read it.

It was funny and kept we smiling.

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A very true to life read, but with lots of humour thrown in – this for me was what made me keep wanting to carry on.

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

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I was very impressed by "I Give I A Year", the first book I had read by Helen Whitaker, which deals with serious issues is a relatable way with plenty of humour to balance serious moments.
On New Year's Eve Iris discovers her husband has been having an affair. Will she decide to end their marriage after ten years and two children? She decides to give it a year before making any big decisions. Can she stick by her resolution to give it a year? What will happen during that year and what will be the outcome for Iris and her family?
A great read dealing for love, marriage, ageing parents, and parenting children whilst running the household and everything else I have mentioned!
Thanks to NetGalley for a Kindle copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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Firstly a big thank you to the publishers for my copy to review. This is a new author for which never gets old.

What happens when you discover your husband has been cheating?

A real honest look on what this does on not only the wounded party but those around.

Fresh funny and so relatable. It looks at the mundane routines married couples can get into especially when they have kids.

Temptations, secrets and a new outlook … what will Iris do and will she last the year?

This is a great modern love story about finding the truth and a lot more and perhaps even some rekindling of a flame…

Published 7th January and I’ll definitely be reading more from Helen.

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Overall I really enjoyed this book, devoured it in days.

It’s about a married couple who go through a challenging time and make the decision to ‘give it a year’ and review their feelings at the end - if it gets that far!

It’s an emotional read because of the issues outside of their relationship.

Thank you to @NetGalley & the publisher for this ARC

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On New Years Eve Iris founds her husband Adam, has been having an affair. She throws him out in a fury. She does need help though, in managing work and the children so convinces her Dad to move in and help. Under the same roof, she realises something is wrong with Dad. He’s possibly showing early signs of Alzheimer’s. There’s no way she can manage Dad’s illness with the children too. If she and Adam split up for good she’s going to be shouldering a lot, alone. Is infidelity a complete deal breaker though? Are there promises she’s broken? Iris wonders if perhaps he wasn’t the only one taking their relationship for granted. She thinks that it’s possible they’d both stopped trying and decides to give their relationship another chance. Can she fall back in love with Adam or are they trying to paper over huge cracks in their marriage?
This was a great read, not like the usual infidelity tale of revenge or simply kicking the relationship into touch. When I’m counselling, I often open people’s eyes about their relationship by pointing out that infidelity doesn’t have to be the end and that couples break their vows in many ways. We have a way of making women in stay in their marriages after infidelity as weak or stupid, but that’s not always the case. Sometimes, people rate other problems as more important than infidelity, or feel there were mitigating factors they can work on together. I love the marriage counselling bits of the book of course, but I also liked the honesty of this depiction of marriage, Iris is able to look at her own faults and both know that marriage has its ups and downs. I think it’s an honest look at parenting too. I thought it was a great pace and was very funny in parts. I’d recommend this as a frank look at marriage and that experience of being in the middle with both children and parents needing care.

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I Give It A Year is a story that follows a year in the life of Adam and Iris's life after Adam's indiscretion.
They are a typical, middle aged couple that find themselves juggling careers, childcare along with aging parents and a rather dull sex life.
This book was certainly one that was easy to relate to, as I am sure that most middle aged couples would. The story is told in such a humorous, endearing way that has you well and truly invested in the characters and their lives until the very end.
I truly enjoyed this book and the way in which the character's grew as individuals throughout was wonderful to follow.

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Iris, Adam and their two children Jack and Savannah are seemingly a normal family, working hard, worrying about money and juggling childcare. That is until one day when Iris discovers Adam is having an affair. Can she ever forgive him? At first, she can’t bear to even be in the same room as him, but for the sake of their marriage, children and future they agree to ‘give it a year’ and see how they both feel at the end of it.

I loved this book and Iris and Adam were two characters which you could really connect with. Whilst Adam is obviously the ‘bad guy’ in the story, he is still a really good character and I loved his relationship with Iris and his children. Iris is wonderful, and my heart went out to her when she discovers the affair. The family have had a difficult time with Iris’s mum dying a few months before and we meet Iris struggling on the first New Year without her. Straight away I immediately connected with Iris, and then spent the rest of the book going through the same emotions that she was! Told from Iris’s point of view, the storyline takes us through the year of her and Adam trying their best to save their marriage. The chapters are interspersed with transcripts from their marriage therapy, showing their arguing and bickering, which I loved!!

Running alongside Iris and Adam’s storyline is the one of Iris’s dad, Terry who is not only struggling with the death of his wife but showing early signs of dementia. My heart broke for Iris on so many occasions having to deal with so much, and I found myself wiping away the tears at the same time. We also get a little insight into Adam’s family throughout the story, which ties in nicely with his and Iris’s problems. I loved all the supporting characters throughout the book and they all played their part adding their problems into the storyline. Whilst it sounds like such a sad book, it really wasn’t! There was lots of laughs and light-hearted moments to get you through the upset and grief, with my particular favourite moment being Iris walking out of the supermarket holding a hotpot she didn’t really want!

I connected with the book in so many different ways. I totally sympathised with Iris in her grief, in a way that only someone who had lost a parent would truly understand. The author had managed to get certain situations absolutely spot on, and I could barely read the part where Iris describes death as nothing like it’s seen in the movies because of all the tears. Iris’s anger and resentment at Adam’s betrayal was captured well, as was Adam’s regret. I loved reading about Iris’s job and have never thought about how places such as the National Trust raise their donations. Everything fitted so well into the storyline which captivated me, ensuring I wasn’t able to put the book down until I’d finished it!

It’s a book full of betrayal, lies and grief, with a healthy dose of second chances, new beginnings and better times thrown in for good measure. It will make you laugh and cry, but will have you hooked from the first page. Wonderful! Highly recommended!!

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I give it a year is a witty, relatable read that follows a year in Adam and Iris’s life after an indiscretion on Adams part! The typical middle aged couple juggling childcare, careers, ageing parents and a lack lustre sex life!
I think the majority of middle aged couples will be able to empathise/ relate to several of the issues here particularly the aging parents coupled with childcare, the reality of this is described in a humorous,engaging and often emotional way that makes you want to reevaluate your domestic situation and ensure that you are working as a team, which is particularly poignant at the moment as so many people are affected by the ongoing lockdown.
Thank you netgalley for this early read.

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I think I saw someone reading this on Instagram, and being very easily lead, asked for an advance review copy from NetGalley! I actually didn’t get it until after publication date – but at least that means if I tempt you with it you can order it immediately – my friends often moan I talk about a fabulous book and then they have to wait months to actually read it!!

Here’s the blurb:

“Her husband’s moved out – and her dad’s moved in…
Curl up with the page-turning story full of emotion about family, marriage and second chances
It’s New Year’s Eve, and Iris has just found out that her husband, Adam, is cheating on her. Furious, she kicks him out, and enlists her Dad to move in and help with the children whilst she tries to mend her broken heart.
But her Dad soon starts to display signs of Alzheimer’s, and Iris realises that if she loses her partner, she’ll be managing an awful lot on her own. Soon, she realises that Adam wasn’t the only one taking their marriage for granted, and for the sake of the children she decides to give him one more chance.
But is it braver to stay than to run? And can anyone fall in love with the same person twice?“

The book starts on New Year’s Eve and Iris finds out Adam is cheating on her (interestingly in the same way a friend of mine found out her husband was looking to buy a Porsche whilst we were on a girls’ weekend away #randomfact) and the remainder of the book is the following year and the aftermath. (I loved the fact the book concluded on New Year’s Eve exactly 12 months later – perfect!)

As well as dealing with the fall out from a cheating spouse – Iris also has lots of other things going on. Her Mum died not long before, her Dad is clearly suffering with dementia, her job at the National Trust is at risk due to falling donations – all at the same time as normal life with kids and friends and general juggling. It was so reminiscent of the sandwich generation us 40 somethings find ourselves in.

I have to say that I liked Iris and wanted things to work out for her – whatever that may be. I really enjoyed the intertwining of her work life – who doesn’t love a good National Trust property?! (I loved the George Clarke “National Trust Unlocked” TV programme where he visited NT sites during the first lockdown)

The writing about ‘the juggle’ was also brilliant – and very true to life. I found myself moaning at my husband yesterday for getting a homemade curry out of the freezer for the kids tea, when I’d planned it for later in the week once naan breads had come in the shopping! I should have been more grateful for him making an effort to plan their tea – than expecting him to be psychic about naan breads………

There are some real twists and turns in the 12 months – and you’re never quite sure what’s going to happen, which keeps you wanting to read more. It’s also an emotional rollercoaster – I laughed and I cried!

Overall a lovely, well written, modern book – I’d highly recommend it.

Now to plan which National Trust properties to visit once we’re allowed again……..

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A very real and down to earth book. Iris was unsure of how she felt through out the year and I can just imagine the upheaval which she was going through. Beautifully written and a true to life reflection of love, loss, trauma and family.

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I am always heartened to find a book where the heroine is not a young twenty-something woman. Seeing as we (women over 40!) are a significant proportion of readers, it is good to be able to relate to a character and understand her world. I also like books that show the importance of friendship and have strong female main and support characters.
#IGiveitaYear is heartwarming, it has relatable characters, a good plot and made me consider what I would do in Iris's shoes. I enjoyed it and would certainly recommend it.
Thanks to @NetGalley, Helen Whitaker, and her publishers Orion for the opportunity to read and review this book. I believe it will do well.

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The story of ‘I give it a year’ follows Iris and Adam’s journey through marriage, after events of unfaithfulness. Will the marriage end, or will they be able to salvage it?

This book was such a delight. The humour in it was to my taste and not too cheesy.

The way Whitaker managed to take serious themes of grief, unstable families and illness but still make for a lighthearted read was really beautiful. Although I feel Iris’s fathers illness could have been explored more in depth, this would have made it more of a sad story which may put readers off.

I enjoyed the character development of Iris, and found her a relatable character. This book would easy have been 5 stars, however, I found the parts dealing with Iris’s work a bit flat.

If you are looking for a book that is relatable to adulthood and the struggles of marriage, this is the book for you.

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This was a great read, well thought out, relatable and well written.
Iris finds out that her husband Adam has been having an affair with his teenage love. After throwing him out whilst she thinks about her next steps (and juggling fulltime work and fulltime childcare), they decide to start couples therapy and spend a year working on their relationship. Full of emotional ups and downs, as Iris and Adam both work out what they want, why they fell in love with each other, and if the spark is still there. Their relationship is set against a background of aging parents with illhealth, adult siblings with their own demands, friends giving unwanted advice and a tricky job that demands fulltime commitment.

It is all too believable, I hope Im never in the same position as Iris -the emotional turmoil and angst is all too real

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read it.

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I very much enjoyed this book. New Year's Eve and Iris finds out that her husband is cheating on her with an old girlfriend. She asks him to leave and enrols her Dad to help out with the children. But soon her Dad isn't himself and things are getting tricky. Should she give Adam another chance? Are there things she could have done or not done as well? They decide to give it a year to see if they can save their marriage.

Helen Whitaker handles the every day issues we find in relationships, combined with aging parents, with great warmth and sensitivity. The scenes in the relationship counselling are fascinating and the pressures Iris is under at work are entirely believable. Iris works for the National Trust and I found that whole set up very interesting.
I was engrossed in Iris and Adam's relationship and really wanted to find out what happened as the year progressed.

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What do you do when you find out that your husband is having an affair? Throw him out, start counselling? A very real and human story. Marriage and each other slipping down the priorities as children, work and family illness take precedence.
Iris and Adam are very real and you feel the emotional roller-coaster as they decide what to do next.. A story you can relate to.
Enjoy I did.

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