I found this a bit too glib, trying too hard to be wryly funny and the characters too cliched to be sympathetic. There are funny bits but mostly I just didn’t like anyone enough to care.

I loved reading the story of Sally and her frustrations of having lots of things dictated to her or done for her. You could see her change and grow as the story went on.

I really tried to get into this book, but it just did not keep my attention. I knew the area that it was based in, and was familiar with the myriad of characters outlined in the story, but I just could not continue reading it. I really wanted to given the author, but sadly gave up

This was a NetGalley review copy which I enjoyed. Sadly Parker is in the middle of her birthday party when suddenly it all goes wrong.
Her husband Frank is missing along with a couple of well packed suitcases. His business has gone under and he has gone to the sun. The bailiffs are at the door and her so called friends have abandoned her
Sally's realisation that her spoiled husband has been lying to her and has moved on to another life is the final straw.
They have three children and a niece. Of the children, their son eats too much, and lives for his next meal. Their self centered elder daughter lives in her social media and their younger daughter is a wheeler dealer who sails to the rescue. Their niece is the brains of the family academically and has come to feel that she is owed a good life by her absentee mother's family.
The book is funny and moves from the wealth of Leatherhead to the home of Frank's grandmother in North Wales.
There is a lot of humour in the book as one would expect from its author. It took me a while to get going and the ending was as expected, but the route to that ending was enjoyable. I've given it 4 stars and as a first book it's well worth that,

I requested this book because of the Author. A riches to rags story about a family who lose everything and discover that the best things in life really are...well you get the picture!. Enjoyable reading!

Mel Giedroyc The Best Things. ! This book is about the Parker Family and the madness that happens after the world they know implodes after Frank Parker is declared bankrupt. It felt like if January had been a book, this would have been the book, long, never ending and boring! So prior to reading the book, I obviously read what the book was about and that suggested to me that Sally Parker was the main character, however this didn’t come across, there was no strength behind any of the characters. The whole book came across as a bumbling mess of words, a story that I felt didn’t flow and at times left me confused as to what, where and when was going on. The story was to busy with different characters, none of whom stood out with any strength. The story would flit between characters and places, there seem to be no time line, so it was hard to know when everything was happened and for how long. One minute Sally would be talking to a friend, then it would flit to another character, in very quick succession. I was forever hopeful that this was a slow burner or that the ending would redeem it a little but the ending was as weak and pointless as the end of the book. So what I’m trying to say is that the book had no flow, no structure, it was busy, confusing and chaotic and there was no pull, there was nothing there that gripped me or gave me that warmth a good book would. Frank and Sally’s Parker’s world is falling apart around them, they both go in completely different directions, completely different stories with their kids floating in the middle. There are attempts at humour and jokes but I found them misplaced and they didn’t come off the page as perhaps they should or could have. Picking up this book was a chore, I haven’t been left with a book hangover, I’ve been left with this disappointed funk, unsure what to read next. I’m always dubious in reading fiction books from ‘celebrities’ but there has been a few that have been successful, unfortunately not for Mel Giedroyc, one of the worst books I’ve read. Wouldn’t recommend.

This is the debut novel of Mel, from Mel and Sue of The Great British Bake Off fame.

It follows a couple of weeks in the life of Sally Parker, whose life is turned upside down when her husband has large financial losses on the stock market.

It’s a light and entertaining read, which after a few serious books in a row was just what I needed. I could imagine it more as a TV show and the ending felt like it had left the door open for the second series. I had expected the story to have Sally become a bit braver and more in control by the end of the novel. I didn’t really like any of the adult characters apart from Sally’s grandmother-in-law, and they all seemed to rely on stereotypical comedy characters rather than being well rounded. I did enjoy the teenage characters more and they seemed to carry most of the real heart of the novel.

The humour in the book is very visual so do make the book a ‘movie in your head’ to get the most enjoyment out of it.

Thank you to Headline Books for gifting me advance ebook access to the title.

Giedroyc is a wonderful writer - as well as a fantastic comic - and I loved this book. It brought all of her expected wit, whimsy, and irreverence.

A humorous tale following Sally as she tries to keep her family together through difficult and unexpected times. I thoroughly enjoyed the character of Bronwyn, the Welsh grandmother.

I requested this book on the strength of the author. Unfortunately,I gave up on it almost immediately, finding the characters,at best boring and irritating. Sorry, but just because you are a comedianne doesn't qualify you to become an author. I give it two stars for the effort it took to write it

Just what I needed right now, a book with meaning and with humour. I was fascinated in the story also because of the setting in Leatherhead, Surrey. It tells about a family about to loose everything, a family who were hard to like, they had so much and they gloated about it. As the book progressed the family showed themselves as living a life that had made them unhappy, things had to change. There was no real plan and what happened was entertaining and engaging. It's not a conventional story and not really likely to happen but it was a fun book.
Hope Mel Giedroyc writes some more, there is always a place for these novels, the world needs more.

I really wanted to like this book as I love Mel Giedroyc but unfortunately I found this a hard read. It was quite disjointed and too many characters and plot points. The middle third was the most interesting as the Parker’s’ lives started to fall apart.

Some parts were humorous and I like how Steven learnt to cook through his love of food but I didn’t feel anything for the other characters.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for a review.

This book is like the author, it starts off as quite likeable but goes on too long and continues long after any humour has ceased.
Having read
This book is like the author, it starts off as quite likeable but goes on too long and continues long after any hjumour has ceased.
Having read Jane Fallon's Queen Bee which satirises the incredibly wealthy but futile, this seems to cover similar ground but with less payoff.
A flash money making husband loses his mojo just as hos business needs someone savvy. The faall out is long arriving and shows the futility of the perfect existence lived by the whole neighbourhood.
There are funny bits - but just not my cup of tea.
Queen Bee which satirises the incredibly wealthy but futile, this seems to cover similar ground but with less payoff.
A flash money making husband loses his mojo just as his business needs someone savvy. The faall out is long arriving and shows the futility of the perfect existence lived by the whole neighbourhood.
It's well written and the descriptives ovations are good
There are funny bits - but just not my cup of tea.

I really wanted to love this book! I am a huge fan of the author and I like her sense of humour, this book was an enjoyable read with some really funny situations. However I felt it was a bit disjointed with too many characters, as if too much was going on which disrupted the flow of the story. On the whole though I did enjoy it, and I liked the characterisation of the family especially the children.

I am afraid I fell into the trap of assuming that because I like the author as a comedienne that I would enjoy her book. Unfortunately I found it very difficult to get into and very bitty to read with so many deviations and asides that the overall coherence was lost.
Some of the characters were nicely written and some of the humour was spot on but overall a bit of a fail for me.

What a shame! Reasonable plot, but so side tracked in what is supposed to be witty analogies and metaphors that the plot gets lost in near slap stick situations that are just not funny. I didn't like any of the characters and didn't really care what happened to them in the end. The nicest part of the book was Steven finding his love of food actually translated to cooking. Tried too hard

Frank Parker's family rely on him and his money to fund their enviable lifestyle....- until the day he loses everything, Can this dysfunctional family rebuild their lives? Is it up to wife/mum/aunt Sally, who has never worked in her life, to put everything right? A really enjoyable ,hilarious read.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for my copy of The Best Things. Being a fan of the author I really wanted to love this book and knowing how much work must have gone into it I am really sorry that I didn't enjoy it more. There were so many characters and they were all spread too thinly so basically we only saw the worst side of most of them. It was quite funny at times but more often than not it was forced and unreal. The biggest disappointment was the ending. More investment in less characters and I think it would have been much more enjoyable.

I was kindly gifted an advance copy of this book by Headline Review via Netgalley in exchange for a review.

I was really looking forward to this book. Mel was always great on Bake Off and comes across so well in interviews that I had high hopes. I also thoroughly enjoyed Richard Osman’s book so maybe I was expecting a double-whammy of good books from people on the telly?

The Parker family are nouveau riche living on an estate in Surrey. Frank is a hedge fund manager and his wife Sally stays at home to be dusted around by the housekeeper, worry about the kids, and kept on her toes by her rather odious and snooty friends. Things take a bit of a turn for the Parkers when the financial crash of 2018 hits and they lose everything. There begins a tale jam-packed with plot devices that come at you thick and fast - narcolepsy, political commentary, errant children, childhood obesity... this list goes on.

The jokes sometimes feel forced and there’s just too much going on to make a cohesive story that makes any real sense. I found that I was no longer surprised when the tale took a completely left-field turn, despite it not really needing to happen.

There are some tender moments, most notably between Sally and her niece, but I found it hard to root for any of the characters.

I’m sure lots of people will love this book, but I’m a sorry to say that it just wasn’t for me.

I thought this would be a bit of a fluffy read but actually found it really engaging and I enjoyed it start to finish. The funny moments are very laugh out loud, as expect with Mel Girdroyc as the author! Her characters are stereotypical to the point of it being entertaining again and I really liked it. Its one of those books that absolutely anyone could find something in it to enjoy!