A great book from Bethany, I really enjoyed the plot and the characters and I found myself hooked. Thank you netgalley for the review copy!

I read this shortly after also going through breakup of a very long relationship, so found it a fun and relatable read. I also love leopard print. The plot is entertaining, and while parts are somewhat predictable, I very much enjoyed the story.

A light hearted, funny read. This is the kind of book that is just easy to read. It was nice with the inclusion of plus size representation and you really connect with the characters.

A nice, easy read, just as I expected.

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

Instead of heading to the church for her wedding, Serena is hiding in a Harvester, with ice cream and wine instead. Having decided not to settle for life with Alistair, she sets herself a new target - 52 dates in 52 weeks. But will she find true love along the way?

Welcome to Your Life is a delightfully entertaining read. Serena isn’t your standard heroine, but she’s someone it’s easy to relate to. Her dating experiences don’t always go how she would like, but she picks herself up and tries again. Her sister, Melanie, being older, feels she can boss Serena around, whilst trying to manage a young child.

Great fun

A Light hearted and easy read about a millennial woman discovering her life. The story was a bit shallow and the characters did not engage me.

I absolutely adore this book.
It is so great to read such a positive story about a fat woman. I wish I had this in my single days. I'm definitely going to check out Bethany's other books and keeping my fingers crossed for a Sereba sequel!

Sorry , just wasn’t my cup of tea. I found it a bit bland and repetitive. A little bit predictable, I personally couldn’t seem to get in to the story.

Serena Mills should have been getting married that morning. Instead, she ate ice cream and drank a glass of wine as she realised that the 'love of her life' is just a part of a relationship that swept her along. As she separates her life from him, Serena builds herself a new one: new friends, a new job, a new home and a challenge to go out on one date a week.

To sum this book up: it's fun but fine. It does little to distinguish itself from the host of 'young woman finding herself through acceptance and a new romance' novels that have preceded it, but it's a topic that has, and will continue to, attract readers. Much of the content is silly and dramatic, but there's just enough substance to it for the book to be relatable. It's simply nice.

It's evident this is Rutter's first foray into adult writing. It retains much of the fast, fleeting pace and tone of a YA novel, just with more swearing and references to sex included. Thus, it's an easy read because it approaches all points of conflict on a surface level. This is fine (that word again) but feels disappointing as it could have done much more.

This is true of the discussions of plus-size women. There's a capricious tone used throughout; some comments are insightful, with balance and respectful consideration towards other people (e.g. thin/thinner women, men). The rest are Serena seemingly just being annoyed that thin/thinner-than-her people exist. There's a beautiful inner monologue at the wedding, exploring that feeling of constantly being aware of your differences (in this case, weight and body shape) and the taint that puts on your view.

I’m conscious, as he snaps a series of photos, that I’m the biggest person here. I don’t know when I started looking around rooms, gatherings, meetings and scanning the participants for their fatness or thinness. (p97)

The moment created is quietly endearing; one sees how she struggles and empathises. However, every character description features a pointed mention of their body size or shape. It's a fixation on the women but a targeted attack on the men. The discussion of the content of men's online dating profiles (always mentioning their height and that they're seeking a woman between 18-30) feels like it wanted to offer meaningful commentary on contemporary culture but Rutter couldn't find the words to do her point justice.

This difficulty is also seen in the characters' speech. Many of them sound alike, making it difficult to distinguish between them in large sections of dialogue. Serena's friendship with Nicole is sweet but, aside from Nicole sharing a body shape with Serena, there's little to ground their dynamic. Nicole is simply a larger version of Lola.

Ultimately, the book aims to combine humorous and poignant moments but results in not having enough of either.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the review copy of Welcome to My Life.

This book follows Serena on the day of her wedding, the day she realises she doesn't want to be with her partner anymore.
This follows her journey of self love, finding her own goals and passions, and - of course - her dating life as she maneuvers through London.
This was cute. Serena and her friends were really fun to read about. Think found family.
My only critique is that I wish there were more first dates!

A light hearted, quick, upbeat read.

There's some great body positive messaging along with themes of strong female friendships and finding your true self.

I was somewhat disappointed that we didn't get all 52 dates as the blurb suggested (not a spoiler by the way) and it became a slightly different story to the one I was expecting. However, maybe 52 would have been repetitive after a while.

I found some of it a little bit cheesy (how quickly Serena manages to land on her feet with a job, flat and new bestie in London) in how she gets to "live her best life" and I know her weight was a key issue for her, but I don't think the reader needed to be reminded as much about her insecurities; particularly when she was supposedly more confident and didn't care so much.

My second Bethany Rutter read and I will happily read more by this author.

This was a really enjoyable read, Serena's self love journey was a breath of fresh air.
Serena is meant to be at the church, she is meant to be saying "I do". Instead she is sat in a harvester eating ice cream and drinking wine.

You might be familiar with Bethany Rutter from her bookish podcast, What Page Are You On?, or from her YA novels (you can read my review of No Big Deal here). I listened to Welcome to Your Life, Bethany’s debut adult novel, on audiobook read by Ell Potter. This romcom begins when our main character Serena makes a last minute decision to not attend her own wedding and, instead, looks to turn her life around completely. It is a love letter to London and Serena’s adventures into the world of dating are a lot of fun. An uplifting, life-affirming read!

This was such a pleasant surprise of a book! I honestly didn't have any expectations going into this; I thought the concept sounded fun but I hadn't read Rutter's YA works before so had nothing to go off of. This felt like such a refreshing, realistic story - Serena wasn't the morally perfect heroine but that's exactly why I liked her so much, because she made mistakes like everyone else does. I thought Rutter wrote the dialogue in this so well, there were some of the most realistic conversations I've read in a book before, and her writing in general definitely helped me fly through Welcome to Your Life even though it's not the shortest of books! I also loved the love she had for London, but not the tourist traps, and mostly how Serena being fat was such a big part of the narrative without it being used as a tool for some massive transformation or a flaw in any way, but acknowledged and appreciated instead. Really liked this one!

I’m planning to write a blogpost about books millennials will enjoy and this will definitely feature.

On the day of her wedding, Serena panics and runs away from her husband-to-be and their ceremony. She ultimately ends up in a London flat, sharing with her university friend, and sets herself a challenge: 52 weeks, 52 dates.

As someone who dated in London, I can verify that it is The Worst. I loved relating to Selena’s story; it’s enjoyable, body positive, inclusive and funny. It made me want to read even more “books for millennials”!

** spoiler alert ** I will always thank this book for getting me out of a serious reading slump - it was a light, funny read with a lean towards more serious issues. As a larger lady myself, I adored the fact that Serena and Nicole were both plus size and I particularly loved Nicole's sense of confidence and 'my dude' attitude towards people who might look down on her because she is fat. Seeing Nicole help to bring Serena out of her shell was a joy in the book, possibly my favourite part.

I dropped a star because I didn't like the neat wrapping up of the ending nor the person who Serena decided was for her. I feel as though this novel would have been so much better if it fully embraced the idea of Serena being enough as herself, and enjoying the process of finding out who she was and who might be the right person for her. Certainly, I thought she had more chemistry with a couple of the one night stands she had than with the person who she ended up with.

So big plus for: showing that just because you've been with someone for years doesn't mean it's right and starting over is completely valid; showing that fat people deserve to date freely and widely and realising they don't need to self-censor the people they go for; excellent plus size rep; excellent bisexual/lesbian rep; excellent nod to changing perceptions regarding who can have periods.

Negatives: wrapping book up too neatly; giving an indication that Serena might begin a side hustle from a hobby (that's all on me - I did the same and lost my joy in that hobby!); putting Serena with a man who seemed wrong for her; slim side plot concerning Nicole and sexual harassment (definitely more could have been made of this!)

Overall: a really enjoyable read, and left me feeling I would pick up all Rutter's books (and not just because of the same surname!)

Serena Mills is meant to be getting married but instead she’s sat in a branch of Harvester with a huge glass of wine in one hand and a dessert in another. She’s just jilted her fiancé, Alistair literally at the alter and she feels like her life is flashing before her in slow motion. Over time Alistair will be able to see she’s done it for the both of them, she keeps repeating this in her head in the hope that she can rid herself of the doubts that set in every now and again. When she moves to London, to start a new job, live with her friend, Lola this is the fresh start she needs. Until Lola suggests dating again and the idea of a different date for a different week is born. There’s a problem though, Serena hates herself, sees herself as a horrible person. What if the person she needed to love first was herself ?

I absolutely loved this, throughout the book, I kept putting myself in Serena’s shoes and if I had to discover the minefield of dating now, like Serena I would not be confident in doing so.

The message within this book is for a person to love themselves for who they are. Don’t change for anyone but yourself. Such an important message in the day and age of social media, being able to filter out the unwanted bits.

This is uplifting, upbeat and just the book I’ve needed to lift my spirits. I was hooked quickly by this one and found it hard to put this one down.

This has been an easy and engaging read, I loved the book from quite early on. This is well written and easy to get lost in.

Rutter gives us insight into the fashion world with this book. It has been unique to anything I’ve read previously. A real positive for me has been the main character- a plus sized icon.

This is a book I could easily imagine on the big screen. It definitely pulled me in quickly and has been so impossible to put down. I have devoured page after page of this one.

The humour throughout this is a real bonus. I have been completely hooked and unwilling to put this down. The author definitely included the right balance of serious and light hearted with this one.

This is a great read, I will definitely be recommending this book.

I enjoyed this a lot. I loved the fat representation, and also loved that Serena made her own clothes (though I feel that may have been down to necessary rather than a genuine love of sewing.)

There isn't quite the promised 52 dates in the book, which was a little disappointing. Some of them were laugh out loud cringeworthy, and more than one gave me manic pixie dream boy vibes.

Get ready to fall in love with Serena.

When we meet our central character, instead of exchanging “I Dos” with her future husband, Serena is sitting in a pub having an ice-cream and a large glass of wine. What’s next? A move to the big city, of course, and a challenge: 52 weeks. 52 dates. 52 chances to find love.

What sets this book apart is its very clear message of body positivity. I don’t recall reading a rom-com or female centric novel where if our female character is big, it’s not somehow included for what sometimes feels like comedic effect.

Instead, this novel is a message of self-love. A rallying call to women everywhere to stop caring about what others think, and to instead embrace who you are. It’s heartwarming to follow Serena as she starts to find her confidence again, from going to spin classes to wearing the bright and bold clothes she actually wants to wear instead of what she thinks will make her stand out the least.

It’s funny, and romantic, and I just really, really enjoyed myself. One to bring on your summer holidays too, I think!