I love Serena Terry and when I heard she had written a book I couldn't wait to read it. It was really funny, and relatable. In a market filled with books picking humour out of being a mum these days, this is one of the best.

Tara is a 36 year old mother of three and holding down a full time job who spends most her time utterly exhausted.
When her eldest daughter turns 13, she suddenly starts feeling invisible and old. When she was younger, she used to dream of being Beyonce and decides to try and find her younger, fun self so that she can be seen as "cool" to her daughter and friends.

With the help of her friend, she writes a list on how to make herself cool again - but the change in her attitude and weird behavior causes concern for her husband and embarrassment to her daughter.

This is every mothers way of thinking - totally exhausted putting on a brave face for her family no matter how much it tears her apart inside. She tries new activities and soon learns what, and who is important in her life.

A totally relatable and funny book.

I love this book. Its so modern and completely relatable! I flew through this book it was that good! Really enjoyed it.

The download date was unfortunately missed, I would be happy to re-review if it became available again. I have awarded stars for the book cover and description as they both appeal to me. I would be more than happy to re-read and review if a download becomes available. If you would like me to re-review please feel free to contact me at thesecretbookreview@gmail.com or via social media The_secret_bookreview (Instagram) or Secret_bookblog (Twitter). Thank you.

I absolutely loved the sh*te before Christmas and so had high hopes for this. But, I'm thinking they were maybe a little two high for this debut. It was still good, and so much better as an audiobook to really get a good idea of the fantastic Irish drawl and the humour in this book. I love Tara and her family, her work colleagues, her besties and now 'the rebel Mums'. I just felt the book didn't have any real real highs or lows and just meandered along. Good and light-hearted but no real laughs out loud like the second one for me. Still worth a go!!

Absolutely brilliant true to life story from an exhausted harassed mom of 3. Some real laugh out loud moments that are totally relatable to any working mom who feels they have lost themselves somewhere along the way.

Would love to read more!

I loved this hilarious by tik tok sensation Serena Terry.
Be prepared to laugh out loud as Serena describes the life of Tara Gallagher, a mum who is trying to keep her life together as she parents and works and juggles life. Told in such a funny way that we can all engage with.
Side splitting

Well written, funny and hilarious. This book made me laugh out loud and I could relate to much of it. Highly recommended

Despite not being a Mammy myself, I absolutely adore Serena's TikTok and Instagram accounts – I even find them relatable.

Serena narrating the audiobook brings a realness to the book. It's highly relatable, as Tara tries to find out who she is outside of being a mother. I'm also in my 30s and even without having children found myself nodding in agreement to so many moments.

Recommended for fans of Serena's social media presence, and also mammies who feel like they don't have it all figured out.

The funniest book I have read in a long time. It's true to life, not just Irish life but all the stuff nobody talks about is true for everyone. Can't wait for her next book, if it's half as good as this one, it'll be a cracker!

As a follower of Serena on Social Media I couldn't wait to get stuck into this one. I absolutely love her authenticity and humour and as a mum of 3 sproglets myself i find me totally relatable.

Now even though I found this quote a simple easy read I also found it totally hilarious and remarkably honest in every sense.

As every Mum could tell you, once you have had a child or children you lose yourself, whether for just a short time or for the years to come. You lose your identity as just a woman and become known solely as Mum and Wife/Partner. It's so easy to lose that sense of who you once were.

This book portrays this perfectly and goes on to show that you CAN be a mother and still be yourself, you CAN be a wife and still be yourself,

This is all about Tara trying to once again gain control of who she is while also trying to parent her teen daughter and 2 small sons, be the 'perfect'wife and working a job she hates.

A completely unputdownable, laugh out loud, totally relatable read that had me sticking the 'do not disturb' sign firmly in place.

Solid 4*

Huge thanks to netgalley and Harper Collins UK for the ARC.

Funny, fresh, laugh out loud, realistic, completely relatable and a hoot. This book is really well written.

Funny realistic account of being a young mummy. Loved it , absolutely hysterical in places. Enjoyable read , it would be a nice easygoing read for a holiday.

I had this as an Author narrated audio book initially and thought that it was a VERY funny book but I found the Author's Irish accent really strong and difficult to understand - plus she narrates using a really whining voice at times which was a little annoying and this, coupled with the use of lots of Irish/Scottish colloquialisms eg, Boke (vomit), skuttered (drunk) makes the audio difficult to comprehend in parts. The ebook format is much more fun to read and as a mother I can absolutely identify with Tara Gallagher. The story is honest and relates especially well to what a busy family life is all about - I also really identify with her reminiscing about the 'good ol' times' of an era which I also have the same memories of. I'm not really a TickTok'er, so I don't follow Mammy Banter on TikTok, but after I listened to the audio I did look her up and she does seem very funny.

Many thanks to NetGallery and HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction for allowing me a different format for the book. It is most certainly a fun read I recommend getting the physical book or ebook.

This book absolutely tickled me, such an easy read and lighthearted – exactly what I needed.

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

Mammy Banter by Serena Terry another NetGalley read. The main character is Tara Gallagher is a mum of 3, her eldest of whom is just turning 13. Tara is moving ever closer to 40 and everything is happening at once and perhaps not as she dreamed. So Tara as a mini midlife crisis, wanting to prove she’s still fun and cool! This book was instantly funny and relatable. By no means will this be the greatest book you will read this summer but it’s definitely worth a read. Things spiral in Tara’s life and this all starts when her eldest turns 13, even though my daughter isn’t there yet (she’s 5), I get where this mammy was coming from, seeing your child grow up and becoming more independent js a big change on every level and I think the author captures this is every sentence and every word in this book. On the outside Tara comes across as a confident mother but firstly that couldn’t be further from the truth and also she’s finding out who she is apart from a mother, she’s been a mother for so long that she’s trying to find where she fits in the world now. What Tara goes through to find the new her doesn’t always end the way she intended but put she does it with conviction that you’ve got to admire her. However this midlife crisis isn’t always about Tara and the results of it don’t always just effect Tara because it effects the whole family. As I’ve said this book is honest and it’s raw, nothing in the emotion of the journey of Tara is tamed down. Its confident in the way that it’s written as through the author knows what she’s talking about and that’s what makes it a good book. Even though I enjoyed this laugh out loud book, like I’ve said it won’t be the best book you read this year nor is it the best of similar books like this, however if you like these types of books about experiencing motherhood then this is definitely for you but in all honesty I am glad i didn’t pay out to read this book. The book has a great flow but I’ve read better books I would recommend before this one. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I love this book and I love this Author, she writes fiction that is very realistic and true to life.
I found this novel about Tara, truthful and funny but serious when it needs to be, tackling some issues with a lighthearted sensitivity that really makes you warm to the characters.
The normal everyday setting fits perfectly with the normal everyday life of Tara, well not so normal really…

This book was a laugh a minute, so relatable. I could not put this book down. Definitely one to be read by every Mum. We are not on our own.

With Serena Terry's warm and engaging tone as seen on social media, it has a really strong sense of her voice and was immediately really readable, feeling like a Marian Keyes novel. Set in Derry, the trials and tribulations of Tara juggling work, motherhood, marriage and a world-rocking crisis of confidence was immensely relatable. It will fit in well with the other motherhood focused reads like those by Louise Pentland and Sophie Kinsella. I really liked that the wobble was not about her relationship, the marriage is really strong and allowed her to focus on self-improvement without needing to achieve it for a man. Hopefully Serena writes more as I devoured this in a few hours in one sitting and it has a really satisfying ending!

I had not heard of Mammy Banter before I read this book, this has since changed and I now follow her on both TikTok and Instagram. This book had me howling with laughter throughout and I could relate to it so much. Tara is in her 30s, married, works full time and is also a mother of three, 2 boys aged 2 and 5, and a daughter, her oldest, is just turning 13. Heck life is hard when you have a teen in the house, and I feel myself it is harder when it is a girl.
Tara is having a bit of a midlife crisis, every female around her at work is younger than her and she is starting to feel old. She tries so hard to be cool and youthful for her daughter however, her daughter thinks she is embarrassing. No matter what Tara does it seems she just cannot get it right with her. especially with the party, change in hair colour etc. Trust me I have been there. It gets better!
This is not just a story of Tara and her relationship with her daughter, but a story of Tara’s daily life, which is so comical in places and her whole family and work life and acceptance.

It was written well and is very true to real life. I am so glad I picked it up. I haven’t had full belly laughs from a book in a long time. It was a light read and so funny. People, you need to read this!