This was such a wonderful read. It was a nice change to have a story about a divorced couple from the dad's perspective, and it had me on an emotional rollercoaster from start to finish.

Until Next Weekend will draw you in and keep you hooked until the very end.

Teacher Noah’s marriage has broken down. He spends every other weekend with his boys and in between seems to be having a meltdown. Drinking too much and generally failing at life. This book really makes you stop and think. Noah both infuriates you but also has you cheering him on throughout the novel as he navigates his ex-wife planning her wedding, a child in distress and a potential live interest. I found myself completely drawn in and the whole book engaged me to the very end.

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Michael Joseph and the author for the chance to review.

A really good read! It did take me a little while to get into this book as I struggled to connect with or even like Noah- it was however refreshing to have the story written from the male perspective. As the story progressed so did my understanding of the lead character and I was cheering for him by the end. A strong 3.5 stars.

As soon as I read Saturdays at Noon, I knew that Rachel Marks was going to become one of my all time favourite authors. As soon as I heard she was coming out with Until Next Weekend I knew I had to read it and oh my god, this book did not disappoint! I loved everything about it and it has just confirmed that Marks is a favourite of mine!

Told from Noah's perspective we see as he struggles with the change from being married to being a single dad who only sees his children every other weekend. Noah's story is heart-breaking as we watch him spiral as his whole life has changed around him. He is now just a weekend dad and he finds himself missing the simple things that come from having children. He has his flaws but that only makes him more relatable and realistic as a main character who is struggling. I find it rare to read books like this told in a male's POV and Rachel Marks has done it so perfectly and so compassionately.

I loved the side characters involved in this book and felt like they all had so much character, especially Mimi and Harley! I loved Mimi's character and I enjoyed the endless amount of banter between her and Noah! Harley was just a gem, a very chaotic but troubled gem who reminds Noah of when he was a child.

Whilst this story does contain trigger warnings (bereavement, suicide, mental health) they were dealt with sympathy and understanding.

This book was perfect and though it made me cry, it also gave me hope. Things can change, you can change as long as you're willing to put the time in to make those changes. It's also okay to ask for help, to lean on people you trust when things aren't good. I honestly will recommend this book and Rachel Marks till my last breath! Go read her books!

Thank you to Michael Joseph and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review!

This is the story of Noah as he navigates through splitting with his wife due to his emotional baggage from his past.
He’s Dad to two young boys who need a good role model but Noah drinks too much to forget his childhood and hide from trying to deal with his feelings.
Along come Mimi who agrees to help him become a better person in order to win back his ex wife Kate. With just six weeks before she gets married to someone else!
The story had a lot of relationships and emotions to deal with. A lot of childhood memories that had to be processed.
It all ends happily but maybe not how you were expecting!

I am an emotional wreck after reading this book!!!

The story is told from Noah’s point of view, a father of 2 boys who is also a primary school teacher. Noah is divorced from Kate but is still in love with her.

The story follows Noah’s attempts to come to terms with Kate moving one; his own traumatic past; new friendships; a difficult pupil and his troubled mother and more.

The book is so well written I raced through it, with my heart in my mouth. It is such an emotional rollercoaster, have your tissues at the ready. Brilliant, raw and real.

Sorry to say, I couldn't get into this and abandoned it partway through. Trying to explain why this was although that's difficult - sometimes you just don't click with a book the way sometimes you just don't click with a person.

I think the male narrator of this story was a bit off-putting, especially as his "voice" came across in the exact same way that many female narrators come across in this genre of fiction.

I also found the early scenes set in the primary classroom where said narrator is a teacher rather tedious, perhaps because I have been a primary school teacher. It felt a bit cliched to be honest. Perhaps someone who hasn't ever been a teacher might think otherwise.

Thanks to Penguin Michael Joseph UK and Netgalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for a review.

Noah is a weekend dad to 2 boys. He's a teacher, recently divorced but drinking far too much and still holding a torch for his ex wife and his former life. This book took me completely by surprise as I sat down this morning to read it and have just finished it - I really didn't want to put it down!

This is the story of Noah Colson, a primary school teacher and divorced dad of 2 little boys.
He’s still in love with his ex wife Kate, and with the help of his new friend Mimi, he attempts to win her back before she marries the steady but boring Jerry.
I thought this was going to be a light, fun book, but as the story develops, we get glimpses of Noah’s past and see how his childhood has affected his life and his relationships.
This book will make you laugh and cry. It’s about family, love, abuse, grief, hope, learning to trust again and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was not what I expected. It was a story written from a male’s perspective, a divorced primary school teacher, Noah, who has two children and still in love with his ex-wife, Kate. Noah is now a weekend dad and juggles his own life, kids life and his career. At first I didn't warm to Noah at first as I didn't like his attitude or behaviour especially as he was a primary teacher. He ends up drinking too much and has casual one night stands. Slowly through the story we become aware of Noahs past and with the help of his friend Mimi and ex wife Kate he tries to turn his life around. Noah realises that he wants to get back with Kate albeit a little late as Kate announces she is getting married. With the help of his friend Mimi he tries to win back Kate but things don't always happen as they should.
It was an OK read for me, sometimes I felt it was a little slow, however I would be keen to try other books by the author. I felt it strange to be reading it from a male perspective but in all it was well written.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Michael Joseph for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Not what I expected. Divorced dad of two still in love with his ex wife. Feeling a failure and letting everyone down. Why should I emphasise with his situation? His own life growing up was at the mercy of his turbulent mum and this has affected all his relationships.
Don't despair and follow on, you will fall in love with the characters, their generosity, flaws, kindness and stubbornness.
Enjoy I definitely did.

Rachel Marks has a real knack for writing complex family dramas with a romantic/ chick-lit spin. Her main character in Until Next Weekend is Noah, a single dad who seems determined to ruin his own life. It is so impressive that she makes him sympathetic to the reader and we eventually fall for him as he tries to improve for his kids, his ex and ultimately himself. I loved it and her last book and don’t think it’ll be long before her work is adapted to the screen.
Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Michael Joseph for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. I think Marks has a skill for writing complex families and relationships with a knack for writing great children who you can’t help fall in love with.

I would give a CW for mental illness and in particular depression and suicide and for those who could find these topics difficult I would approach with caution.

There is one part (a conversation) which I felt uncomfortable with and think that although it fitted into the story in a way, it was unnecessary and could be very upsetting to some.

The lead character, Noad, and myself got off to a bad start. i did not like him, his morals, his attitude, his lifestyle, his attitude to women, his behaviour, anything. How a man like him could look after a class of 4 year olds was unbelievable. but i decided to give him a chance at redemption, and that is exactly what the author intended.
Slowly we learn of his deep rooted issues and with the help o fMimi and his ex wife Kate, he really does try to pull his life together.
Although this book looks at some serious issues, it is not all dark, there are some very good humorous. moments, especially from Harley. Seeing life from a male perspective is interesting and the book looks at issues from a nother viewpoint.
everyone needs a little help sometimes be it a 4 year old child with parental issues, or a grown up with parental hang-ups. cue Larkin's "This be the verse"..

Until Next Weekend tells the story of Noah. A divorced primary school teacher with two children who’s not over his ex-wife, Kate. Now he’s a weekend dad missing the chaos of bed time and the challenges of meal times. But just as Noah realises that him and Kate were meant to be, Kate announces she is getting married. With the help of his new friend Mimi, Noah begins a mission to win back his family. But things don’t quite go to plan...

I’ll be honest, I really didn’t like Noah to start with. He came across as a selfish, arrogant idiot, who didn’t deserve his amazing boys or his brilliant ex-wife. But as the story develops we get to see what made Noah so closed off and want to run at the first sign of anything difficult. No spoilers but his backstory is truly heartbreaking and sadly more common than we’d like to think. I also found the story of Harley distressing and wanted to just give him a great big hug.

As with Saturdays at Noon, I found this book refreshingly honest. It shows the harder side of life and that things don’t always work out the way we think they will. It shows the importance of childhood and how our relationships with our parents form the foundations of all future relationships. Although there is some romance, this story is fundamentally about familial love.

The writing style is great and although there were times I could have happily smack Noah in the mouth, there were also times when he showed he was a genuinely good guy. The author didn’t shy away from portraying her leading man in a less than flattering light but that’s the reality of life. Parents aren’t perfect, husbands aren’t perfect, PEOPLE aren’t perfect. Instead everyone is just doing their best, sometimes we get it wrong, sometimes we get it right.

Although I didn’t have the same emotional connection to Until Next Weekend as I did Saturdays at Noon, I enjoyed the story overall and would recommend it as a good mix of comedy moments mixed with more serious topics.

Loved this warm and funny read! The characters were great and I really enjoyed how the plot developed. Think we all want a bit of escapism and light heartedness at the moment and this has both!

Many thanks to the author, publishers and Netgalley for a free ARC of this ebook.
Trigger warnings: attempted suicide, depression, alcohol abuse, child neglect.
I didn't enjoy this book at all. The protagonist is Noah, an Early Years primary school teacher. He is divorced with 2 young boys and a whole load of issues. He is implausible as a teacher, acts unprofessionally and doesn't project as a man at all, rather as how a female writer thinks a man would act. I couldn't 'believe' in the way Noah's ex wife still loves him, supports him and puts up with him and yet goes on to marry someone else. For me, there are too many flaws in this book for me to recommend it.

I almost gave up on this book at 5% as I found Noah to be unlikeable and generally not someone I wanted to spend several hours with. I read another book and went back to Noah and his problems and issues and I managed to get involved in the story. And I am glad that I did. It's a sad story on several levels with more needy characters than you can shake a stick at. But it covers grief, abuse, love, difficult and broken relationships, and change - which most of us find difficult to deal with. It is a very engaging book. I shall look for other books by this author. With thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review an e-ARC of this title.

✨UNTIL NEXT WEEKEND✨

5 stars ⭐️

Noah & Kate were meant to be together forever...the problem? In six weeks time, Kate is getting married
to someone else...

OH MY! I absolutely loved this book...I felt like I was on an emotional rollercoaster reading this! I spent my day off work reading thinking “i’ll get up soon” but ended up reading the whole thing I was so hooked🤣

This book me by total surprise as it’s one of those books that gave way more than I was expecting! I love that it was written from Noah’s perspective and to be honest I totally fell in love with him as a character, I went through the emotions of wanting to hug him but then shake him at the same time so he could realise what he was doing😭 and the love that was in front of him!

What a truly amazing book! Rachel you smashed this 🥂

Until Next Weekend is out 29 April 2021 so make sure you grab a copy!!!✨💛

Thank you to the author and netgalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

A great read which had me laughing out loud one minute and crying the next. There are some difficult subjects covered in the story and at times I got so angry with the main character but as more of his story came to light it all started to piece together. I really liked that it was written from a male’s perspective as well.