I had high hopes for The Best Things as I like Mel Giedroyc when I see her on television but unfortunately I found this novel did not hold my interest at all. Perhaps it's just me.

I was thoroughly looking forward to reading this book but was a little disappointed and found it difficult to pick up the story. I found it hard to remember who all the many characters were and the storyline had an unusual flow..

We meet the Parker family who are extremely wealthy but lose everything when Frank loses his business. I found Frank , his wife Sally and their children quite stereotypical and unlikeable.. Even the staff were full of contempt and difficult to connect with.. There are funny moments but I didn't recognise Mel's familiar intelligent wit and joviality, which is the reason I was keen to read it in the first place.

A dysfunctional family with more money than they know what to do with the Parkers live the high life until a financial crisis turns their fortunes around. Father Frank who has been a wheeler dealer since youth has run a Hedge Fund Company but he takes his eye off the ball and his key partners have abandoned him. The family is left penniless and the larger than life Frank crushed. How will they cope? This is about the family eventually pulling together.
I found it a bit hackneyed and I did not particularly care for most of the characters except young Mikey who was a bit of a chip off the old block.

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

Sally Parker lives a lavish lifestyle in Surrey, with her workaholic husband Frank, and their four children in a stunning home. But now Frank has lost the business, their home and their savings, and Sally's world is falling apart. But now she must be the strong one to hold them all together in this crisis.

I was sadly disappointed with this book; I really wanted to like it as I love Mel's humour, but this was not reflected in the novel.

It felt like there was too much going on: too many funny moments put in, which then made it not funny as it was too expected. I felt the entire mockery of the well-off, lavish lifestyle also felt a bit OTT and stereotypical at times.

I found it hard to root for any characters, except for youngest daughter Mikey who felt like the most normal out of the bunch.

I can see lots of other people like this book, but sadly it was not for me.

The Best Things by Mel Giedroyc has Sally Parker, a wife and mother, and also a woman struggling to see where she fits in life.  Her husband, Frank, has always provided well, and so there is a nanny, housekeeper, driver for Frank and so on.  

When Frank's business goes belly up, life changes suddenly and dramatically, and Sally has to see if she too can change

I found this book to be quite slow in pace, I liked the ending, but found the story to be very full of characters and story arcs that didn't need to be there.

You might know Mel Giedroyc a little better as Mel from Mel and Sue on Bake Off.

 The Best Things  was published on 1st April 2021, and is available from  Amazon ,  Waterstones  (signed edition) and  Bookshop.org .

I'm afraid I couldn't find anywhere where you can follow Mel Giedroyc.

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to  Headline

I wanted to like this, as I love Mel so much, but sadly I was very disappointed. I found it lacked Mel’s humour, or at least it wasn’t recognisably Mel in style, it was too cliche at times, wasn’t interested or couldn’t empathise with the characters, there were too many and so I didn’t feel they were developed enough to care. It just wasn’t funny and in fact I cringed at points, sadly not as good a read as the author is a comedian

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

I thought there were too many characters and stereotypical ones at that, to actually like or care about them. So it made me not invested in the story at all.

I DNF'd this at 60% - I really wanted to finish it but I just couldn't.

The Best Things follows Sally and family - rich and living in Surrey, they seem to have it all. Until they don't one day. The stock market crashes and they lose everything. Sally's husband, Frank and his business partner Amerjit both have different breakdowns and that is about where I got to.

I found this did not have any flow at all - one minute we were looking at Sally and the next one of her four children or someone else seemingly random. This meant, for me, I found it really hard to keep up with and was a bit lost at times. I did not feel any empathy towards the characters, even though they had lost everything and just found it all a bit odd. Everything happened quite fast, but in a way it was very slow to get into.
Rich family losing everything is a trope that is well-used in books, and one I thought I could get behind in an easy to read sort of way. But I just could not.

I really hate leaving negative reviews, but I just could not get into this one. Perhaps for a different reader it would be their book of the year.

Sally Parker’s life would seem to be perfect - a loving husband, 3 children a large house with people employed to do all the work for her, and more money than they know what to do with. But all of a sudden, the whole situation changes and her world starts to collapse around her. Can Sally take control and get her life back together?

The best Things is a curious book. The main characters - Sally, husband Frank and their children - all have very annoying traits and are difficult to empathise with. At the same time, these traits make for very amusing reading - Frank’s decline is pitiful, but in a humorous way, and the wheeler-dealering of youngest daughter Mikey, keeps the story flowing well.

Definitely worth persevering with, and an enjoyable read overall.

I am embarrassed to say that I could not even get past 6%.

I really like Mel Giedroyc and was delighted to receive an ARC of her new book but despite several attempts over the past four months I just cannot get into the writing enough to read further. I made another attempt after seeing Mel on Saturday Kitchen Live but still I couldn't get engaged.

So here's what I did glean. Sally Parker has a large house and fabulous lifestyle but she's not in control. Her husband, her children, her housekeeper and her au pair rule the house and she just wafts around feeling inadequate and swallowing tranquilisers. Clearly all of this is about to change when Sally's husband loses his business and the family become destitute.

This sort of reminded me of a tv series from the early 2000s called At Home With the Braithwaites in which the mother won millions and didn't tell her family, obviously the plot isn't the same but the sheer awfulness of most of the other characters and the way in which each and every one of them is so very clearly 'a character' just grated on me.

So, barely getting halfway through chapter two is particularly shameful but I am quitting now.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

This is very much a book of two halves! I struggled a bit with the first half of the book. I was frustrated by Sally and I actively disliked Frank. Their employees were leeches and there was not enough of the humour I was expecting. Suddenly at around 50% the tale took on a whole new edge - I was frequently laughing out loud and although it often took on the guise of a farce it was totally entertaining. For me the whole book was worth reading just for the description of the restaurant in the woods!!!
Three and a half stars!
Many thanks to Netgalley/Mel Giedroyc/Headline for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

I was instantly attracted to this book as I love the author and the synopsis sounded like it would be a fun read. Whilst it delivered to some extent - I found it easy to read and there were some genuinely funny moments - overall it was somewhat disappointing as I think I was expecting more.

The story of the Parker family, living a privileged life, suddenly lose everything as Frank Parker's hedge fund business fails. Sally, until then a rather bored housewife, is forced to step up to the plate as Frank fails to cope with their diminished circumstances. It did take a while to get into the book - the cast of characters is considerable which at times made it a little confusing and the storyline somewhat chaotic - but for me it picked up in the middle as I got to know the main characters and the family got themselves into some amusing situations as they tried to come to terms with their new life. The Parker children in particular provided some funny moments and it was hard not to warm to them. Frustratingly, the ending felt rather rushed, with lots of loose ends and I was left with feeling slightly flat as I wanted to love the book more.

There were incredibly mixed reviews on NetGalley – and so I was a bit wary of starting this – but seeing that Marian Keyes and Graham Norton had enjoyed it, I gave it a go. Then I saw Mel interviewed about it on Lorraine the next day (I’d left it very close in the ‘advance’ department to start reading it!) and she was so warm and funny, and said that some of it was based on real life – when she and her family lost everything some years ago – which gave it a different edge.

The first third of the book is the Parker family in their fancy house in Leatherhead. Sally is part of the ladies who lunch / gym / charity fundraise set – and she and her ‘friends’ appear to have more money than sense. (I have to say they reminded me of certain people who live in the village next to ours!!) Frank has a very successful hedge fund business, the kids are all at private school, the house is full of ‘help’ and all is well in their bubble. The referencing of the price of items from the local farm shop was so true!! Sally’s Mum sees them very much as ‘new money’ (which we’ve had thrown at us as an insult in the business class lounge for Emirates at Birmingham Airport by a tweed clad stuck up old crone who was just how I imagined Sally’s mother to look!!)

Then – things go horribly wrong. Frank’s business crashes and he becomes ill and all the material trappings are taken away from them. Sally tries to save the day with help from her one true friend – the dog groomer – when her other ‘frenemies’ take flight.

The reaction of the children was interesting – and different for each one (the concern at lack of phones and devices would be very similar in this house should the same situation arise!)

There is then a cross UK train / road trip for all of the characters which brought its own tales. It then concludes in Wales – but I’d really like to know what happened to everyone next.

There are a lot of characters in the book – the Parker family, their staff, their extended families, colleagues, friends, school friends – and that sometime felt a bit chaotic. There are some real laugh out loud moments – but not as many as I’d hoped for given Mel was the author.

Overall it was a fun, easy, escapist read – but it didn’t set the world on fire and I’m not sure it would have been published if it wasn’t a celebrity author. Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for my ARC.

When I saw this available as a digital copy from NetGalley for a review then I jumped at the chance to read it, however, I was disappointed with it.
I nearly gave up at around the 30% mark but stuck with it, feeling sure I just needed to get into it and a proper story would emerge, but sadly it never did.

A mishmash of random characters, none of them developed very well, a storyline that jumped here and there, none of it believable, very little point to much of it.
Yes, some of it is funny, there are some great one liners, and some of the characters you can recognise others in. But most of the time it just made me cringe.

I shan't be rushing to read any of her further novels, sadly I fear it has only been published because of her celebrity status, I doubt it would have got anywhere near that stage had it been written by an unknown.

DNF : 27%
I as looking forward to reading this debut novel, as I enjoy watching Mel on tv.
However I struggled over several days to read as much as I did.
The book started with a very strange piece about manure. Also I found the characters were very unlikable. I felt that there was too much trying to be crammed into the book and for me the writing was disjointed and didn't flow.
Thank you to netgalley & the publishers for this advance read in exchange for my honest opinion.

It has to be said that I was rather excited about this one - and sorely disappointed.

Sally Parker and her family are rich. When her husband loses all their money and life begins to fall apart, she knows that she should be the strong one who holds her family together - but how does she manage that when she can't even hold herself together. As life around them crumbles, so does Sally - can she find her inner strength?

I expected great things for this book - not least a few good laughs according to the celebrity quotes peppering the blurb, but it wasn't to be. Having just finished reading a book where poverty loomed large, I immediately found myself annoyed at the vast sum of money and benefits give to the au pair. I didn't identify with Sally at all and whilst I'm no prude and don't object to bad language in it's place, the characters in this one all came across as thinking of themselves as a class above everyone else on the planet and tended to show their disdain by swearing - continually. I didn't feel empathetic towards any of the characters and it was a chore to read, instead of the pleasure it should be. It struck me as a rich person's story with rich people's problems and it just didn't resonate with me at all. Not one I would recommend at all and I'm struggling to give it the two stars I've struggled to muster.

The Best Things by Mel Geidroyc. Sally Parker and her family have become accustomed to the finer things in life. Sally, however, feels invisible as her home is overtaken by domestic staff. Her husband Frank and her children are too busy enjoying the trappings of wealth to appreciate each other. A financial market crash puts an abrupt end to all these as Frank loses his hedge-fund business. This is an inspiring novel as the family learn how to survive in the face of adversity. Mel Geidroyc's sense of humour comes across as she tells the story of a family who has to pick up the pieces of their shattered life. The different characters with their unique personalities make this book entertaining. An engaging read from a brilliant comedian.

I liked this one but didn't really love it. It was both light and dark, funny at times but also a bit challenging. The characters weren't terribly likeable and it was all wrapped up at the end a bit suddenly for me. Would try another bu the author though.

I read this ARC for an honest review
All thoughts and opinions are mine

A combination of light and dark
A mix of quite a few characters which made the book feel busy and a little chaotic
I'm afraid I didn't love it which |I found disappointing as I absolutely love the author

A bit sad about that

An odd combination of light-hearted humour and heavy. I read this one very quickly and quite enjoyed it but found something off about it. I understand what the constant mention of cost was meant to do but it felt clunky and juvenile and every one made me feel fairly queasy. The lessons eventually learnt by the protagonists felt a bit quickly wrapped up - like they'd be flawed and obtuse to self-awareness all the way through and suddenly it all resolved really quickly. An OK read.