I was really looking forward to this as I am a huge fan of Mel. It was good for what it was meant to be. A solid three out of five.

I read this book aloud to my elderly Mum and she absolutely loved it, ggling out loud and exclaiming at some of the situations the characters find themselves in.. Her joy rubbed off and I grew to love it too. There are real laugh out loud moments and it really does capture the characters so well. It is a heartwarming funny family riches to rags story and you can hear Mel's voice and wicked sense of humour coming through.. A fun uplifting jaunty read.

Sally and Frank Parker have it all. Then one day, because of Frank, they don't. As the bailiffs move in and the money runs out, Sally realises that she and her children don't have a clue about how to survive.

This book is so fun, witty and everything you would expect from the author. It contains laugh out loud moments, humour and best of all a relatable family.

This is the perfect pick me up type book, full of moments that make you think but most of all, leave you with a smile on your face. This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

I really couldn't get in to this one at all. I had zero relatable experience with the characters, they were chaotic, selfish braggarts and I couldn't care less how much their designer underwear cost. I was hoping for a light hearted, relatable, humourous story from this author but that wasn't it.

SPOILERS

Age old riches to rags story.
A completely chaotic family loose everything,and when they do ,it becomes obvious exactly how little they actually had.
I found every single character in this book unlikeable.
Spoilt,vain,self obsessed.
Sally especially was given everything,and lands up scared of her home,her staff,her children.
It took way too long for her to grow a backbone.

Yet the whole story is told with warmth and humour,that it endears the family to you.

Enjoyable.

I have been a big fan of Mel and Sue ever since I was a teenager in the 90s and their brilliant show Light Lunch - later followed up by Late Lunch. I have enjoyed their slightly acerbic, sarcastic take on popular culture for years so I was tempted to read this novel by Mel - billed as ‘hilarious’

Unfortunately, I cannot see myself finishing it. I have given it a few hours of my time, and simply couldn’t care less about the vacuous unlikeable characters. The plot appears to be moving at a glacial speed and I just don’t know if I can persist. I am not usually a person who leaves a book unfinished, and I do not restrict myself to any particular genre. However, the constant reference to brands and designer products and their prices which are, I assume, there to help us see that the characters are boring and senseless just struck me as... boring and senseless.

I had such high hopes for this book, and was really looking forward to reading it - after the past year I have looked forward to light hearted, funny books to cheer me up. but this one didn't cheer me up - how can a book about people losing their livelihoods and savings be funny? The start was good, and I liked the way the personalities were drawn in an area I know well. But, Chobham? Really? Not Cobham?
As things in the story started to fall apart, I hoped that the Welsh great-grandmother would save the day, but the ending was rather weak - in one way there was a solution, but in so many ways there were not. And an education was given up, as of no consequence, when actually it was a disastrous decision.
So in the end there was disappointment for me, and this made me rather sad.

The Best Things by Mel Giedroyc a parable along the lines of be careful what you wish for.


Description
Sally Parker is struggling to find the hero inside herself.
All she wants to do is lie down.
Her husband Frank has lost his business, their home and their savings, in one fell swoop. Their bank cards are being declined. The children have gone feral. And now the bailiffs are at the door.
What does an ordinary woman do when the bottom falls out?
Sally Parker is about to surprise everybody.
Most of all herself.

Review

This is Mel Giedroyc’s first novel, and one that I am sure will sell well due to her humour and likeability on TV. The story of a family struggling to cope with the loss of a business, home and their lifestyle is everything you would expect. There are glimpses of humour amongst the angst and sadness that the family are feeling as they lay a new path from the empty decadence of fanciness and fripperies, to a more meaningful understanding of what family means.

The premise of the book is perhaps a little predictable, the characters are a stereotypical - for example the wife has a housekeeper and nanny and does not need to lift a finger to cater for the children, to get them to school or look after the house. Circumstances change and she develops into the “hero” holding the family together. It felt like there were alot of characters, leaving little time to develop their part and the reader fails to form any sort of relationship with them.

Really - who cares what happens to the family? I did finish the book, not life changing but it is a light hearted romp through the countryside as the family come together. The book is mildly humorous and as a first novel it is a warm, light read that is perhaps a break from the literary fiction books out at the moment that have a purpose. It isnt a high scorer, but was a break from my usual genre.

Rating 2.5/5
#TheBestThings #NetGalley

Sally Parker is struggling to find the hero inside herself. All she wants to do is lie down. Her husband Frank has lost his business, their home and their savings, in one fell swoop. Their bank cards are being declined. The children have gone feral. And now the bailiffs are at the door. What does an ordinary woman do when the bottom falls out? Sally Parker is about to surprise everybody. Most of all herself.

This is very very long and oh my did it feel like it too! At 400 odd pages, there is just not enough content to fill the space and I have no idea why it needed to be so long. If you strip the plot back to the bare basics, I think this shows some promise of being an entertaining read but it got bogged down in unnecessary detail and I could feel myself losing interest. The read does have its moments of goodness, I found some parts amusing and some of the plot is entertaining but it just gets lost.

Perhaps the characters would be the saving grace? Well not for me. There are a lot of characters and they are too under-developed. Again, I think this could have been better had there been fewer of them. Some of them show signs of life and likeability but then it is lost. Disappointingly, I was connected to any of these characters and just did not find them interesting.

'The Best Things' was not the best read. There are fleeting moments of a promising read but there is too much detail and too many unnecessary characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and Headline for an advance copy.

At the beginning of this novel the Parker family are living a life of extreme wealth in the Surrey countryside. Their lifestyle is presented as obscenely wasteful, lazy, and materialistic to the point where I found myself wanting them (and everyone else) to lose everything. The veneer of extreme wealth is exposed, and the family pay the price for their complacency. On the whole I found the main characters to be fairly unsympathetic, even when being taken advantage of, and most enjoyed the scenes featuring their son Steven rising to the challenge in a way that others cannot.
Minor characters provide hope and support, in particular the dog walker who’s affection is presumed upon and exploited by Sally, and the jeweller who shares words of profound wisdom with Frank.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for this ARC.

I felt this book was very much a slow burner and one I really struggled to get into. I didn’t really like Sally or Frank, the way they were portrayed and just didn’t take to or feel I could relate to them. For me, there were far too many characters in the story line which made the story at times a very chaotic and confusing read. The authors writing style was ok, although it didn’t really have me hooked or wanting more. I don’t think this book was for me, it didn’t really live up to my expectations from the premise and I was glad when I reached the end.

A bit of a slow start but sets things up for later in the story. I became invested in the characters and loved the family dynamics. A relaxing read to leave the world behind.
Enjoy, I did.

A delightful, funny and uplifting book. I loved it. I found all the characters endearing and look forward to the next book from Mel.

When I first started reading #TheBestThings I wasn't sure how I was going to review it. When you meet our heroine Sally and her husband Frank you can't help but think they are anything but vile and unlikable - and stereotypical, along with their neighbours and 'friends'. I soon realised (about 20% of the way in) that this is the point. To watch Sally's journey from spoiled and pampered to having to find her independence and inner strength was the books purpose, and it was achieved well and made me completely change my mind about what I was reading.
As much as I began to appreciate the characterisations of the adults, for me the children are the stars of the show. They were well written and I recognized something in them all.
I think it was brave of the author to pick on the residents of Leatherhead in this way. I am guessing she lives there and I bet all of her neighbours are wondering if any of it is about the. Knowing the area well, I would say that a lot of it is based on fact!
Thank you to Mel Giedroyc, her publisher and #NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this refreshing book.

The Best Things by Mel Giedroyc, Pub Date: 01/04/2021
This book is about the Parker's and the changes that happen to the family when Frank (father) is declared bankrupt.
The story has no structure. It is hectic, complicated and disorganised, and it shifted chaotically between tedious and annoying characters.
I find writing a negative review challenging but unfortunately, I must on this occasion. I cannot recommend this book; this is my personal view.
I want to thank NetGalley, Headline and author Mel Giedroyc for a pre-publication copy to review.

I love Mel Giedroyc and thought this sounded great. It took me a very long time to get into it though - I didn't really engage with any of the characters until the second half of the book. I was enjoying it by the end though.

Sorry, I love Mel on TV but could not like this book. The characters are instantly brash, unsympathetic and not likeable. I found Sally (quite a wet blanket), husband Frank and spoilt offspring as shallow as their friends and acquaintances and just could not get into having any empathy for them. Sorry to say that I gave up on it two thirds of the way through and didn't really care what happened to the family. I do appreciate being given the opportunity to review the book by NetGalley but sadly, it wasn't my cup of tea.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an advance copy of this book.
I love Mel Giedroyc , have done for a long time, so when I saw there was a chance to review her new book, I jumped at the chance.
However- it just didn’t grab me. Sally is married to Frank, a high flyer in the City, and they live in a massive house with their children, staff and various hangers-on. I didn’t like any of the characters, they all seemed a bit flat and characterless.
The story I guess was plausible, but with no-one to root for, I wasn’t really interested in how it panned out and it was, unfortunately, an effort to finish.
Apologies for the poor but honest review.

This story was fun, pacey, witty and everything you would expect from the author. Humorous and sometimes silly situations and characters tumble from one disaster to another, a messy, complicated family all trying to work through a huge financial disaster which pulls the rug from each of them differently, and examines what keep each character moving forwards. Each of the characters was wildly different, sometimes extreme in type but warm and believable. This was a really lovely story, lighthearted and never boring.

Warm, funny, life-affirming and true, The Best Things is the joyous debut novel from much-loved comedian, writer, actor and presenter Mel Giedroyc.

It's the story of a family who lose everything, only to find themselves, and each other, along the way.

Sally and Frank Parker have it all.

Then one day, because of Frank, they don't.

As the bailiffs move in and the money runs out, Sally realises that she and her children don't have a clue about how to survive.

Or do they?

The Parkers are about to discover that the best things in life aren't things at all.

Wasnt sure what I would make of this author but was pleasantly surprised at the writing style which I quite enjoyed, the humour that made it feel light hearted and was thoroughly entertaining. Will watch out for other books by her in the future.

My thanks to netgalley for an arc of this book in return for my honest opinion.