💭 ᴍʏ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛꜱ:
I don’t know what to say about this one to be honest. This was not the light Romance or inspiring story about picking up your life again from square one that I thought it would be. I did not need to read about every disgusting bodily fluid or noise in detail for 300 pages. It was super depressing and extremely negative. The only thing I did like was the snarky comments here and there and the last 2 chapters.
⭐️

🤓 ʀᴇᴀᴅ ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪᴋᴇ:
Short chapters
Disgusting humor

ꜱʏɴᴏᴘꜱɪꜱ:
𝘉𝘠 𝘛𝘏𝘐𝘙𝘛𝘠, 𝘏𝘈𝘕𝘕𝘈 𝘌𝘟𝘗𝘌𝘊𝘛𝘌𝘋 𝘛𝘖 𝘏𝘈𝘝𝘌 𝘐𝘛 𝘈𝘓𝘓 (𝘖𝘙 𝘈𝘛 𝘓𝘌𝘈𝘚𝘛 𝘚𝘖𝘔𝘌 𝘖𝘍 𝘐𝘛)
𝘈 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘳
𝘈 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘺, 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨-𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱, 𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨
𝘈 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 (𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘢 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘵) 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯

𝘉𝘜𝘛 𝘐𝘕 𝘙𝘌𝘈𝘓𝘐𝘛𝘠, 𝘚𝘏𝘌'𝘚 𝘉𝘈𝘊𝘒 𝘈𝘛 𝘚𝘘𝘜𝘈𝘙𝘌 𝘖𝘕𝘌...
𝘚𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳
𝘍𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘸𝘦𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘺 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴
𝘜𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯, 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳 (𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨) 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳

There's a lot of people who think that you should reach certain goals by 30/40/etc. Unfortunately life happen and some things are not meant to be.
I like the story of Hanna and how she evolved becoming a more mature persone.
I liked the style of writing and the characters, the author is a good storyteller and delivers a well plotted story.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

As someone married and approaching forty, I think I might just not be the target audience for this book. I really wanted to like it, and I gave it a really good go, but I just couldn’t connect with the main character - Hanna. Similarly to Hanna I don’t feel like my life is sorted, and there are some societal pressures that will always weigh on a woman despite her age, but I found it hard to sympathise with her at times.

The writing feels a little bit laboured at times, like the author is trying so hard to be funny with their turns of phrase that it feels heavy handed. I really don’t like being negative about books as I know the author will have put their heart and soul into it, but just wasn’t for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

"Everyone moves at different paces, but Hanna's life is in reverse." I was drawn to this storyline...turning thirty and nothing really going according to the plan you had in your mind!

I did enjoy the novel, it did take a little while for me to get into it though so I went for 3 stars. Hanna is our main character, very likeable and relatable, we meet her as she is leaving the home she has shared with her no ex-boyfriend. She has to move back in with her Dad...who is also single and now on Tinder! Their relationship was definitely my favourite and a great source of dry humour in the storyline!

If you're looking for a novel that will leave you feeling like everything will work out just as it is meant to, this is definitely worth a read over the summer!

Thank you to @netgalley and @randomhouse for the opportunity to review. Out now in the UK.

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A great story!!. Hanna, reeling from a recent breakup, has to find somewhere to live. . Luckily her dad comes to collect her with all her belongings. Is it moving forwards or is it going backwards?. This story explores family relationships later on in life when once again single. Also, getting to know and love yourself as a person, not as a couple. It was hilarious in places as poor Hanna had to try and get used to her dad and his funny habits, and navigate other adult relationships.... So well written. this book is a joy to read!!.
This free ARC book was given for an honest review.
#Netgalley, #randomhouse, #@nellfrizzell.

If you are looking for a light-hearted, feel-good, new beginning read this summer, 'Square One' is the book worth picking up!

Hanna is back living with her Dad after her relationship breaks down, who is also on the dating scene himself. It is during this life re-set that Hanna undertakes a journey of self-discovery and reflects on her past, her present and her future. Seeing everyone's lives within her social circle moving forward, Hanna feels stuck.

This is a comical read, highly entertaining and I became invested in Hanna very quickly. She is a likeable character, and I found her quite relatable. I found this hard to put down, and could have been a one-sitting read for me, had my schedule allowed!

The writing style of this author made the plot easy to follow, and it was paced well. I particularly enjoyed the conclusion and will be on the lookout for future releases by this author.

What an entertaining, fun novel Square One is – and, with a protagonist of a very similar age to myself, I felt like I identified with Hanna despite some of her faults. We follow her in the aftermath of her breakup with long-term boyfriend as she moves away from London, back in her with dad, and laments the fact she is over 30, single, and living with her parents.

Hanna is acerbic, funny and very dry, and though I really didn’t like how she treated her dad at some points in the book, she is still (for me) an entertaining and fun character. She is not always likeable throughout the whole book but I also understand she’s having a difficult time and dealing with a lot. Her preoccupation with being 30 and single is completely understandable but I also wanted to shake her and say that it’s not the end of the world – and surely it’s better to be with no one at all rather than with someone who makes you feel rubbish?

I loved the relationships in this novel; Hanna’s friendship with Dom and Shazia particularly but also the way that other people from your childhood can make you feel and behave a particular way. Hannah’s relationship with her parents also reminded me how irritating people can be when you’re around them all the time, so I think we can let her off for some of her irritableness.

There were moments in Square One where I genuinely laughed out loud. It’s definitely crude at times but I loved it for that and would have happily read a lot more about Hanna – in fact, I’m crossing my fingers for a sequel!

I really enjoyed this book and going on a journey with Hannah.
It was nice to observed the character development of Hannah. We really got to see how relationships and friendships evolved over time.
A fast paced and entertaining read

When Hanna starts back to "square one" - after breaking up with her long time boyfriends, she moves back in with her dad and they ahve to navigate single life together. He is getting back on the horse after his divorce and she is trying to get back into dating, feeling the societal pressures which come with hitting 30.

I think a lot of people could relate to the way Hanna is feeling when we are all pushed to believe we should have achieved certain things by a certain age but I didn't really warm to her as a character. I think this was the cause of a sense of disconnect between me and the book - although there were some funny moments!

Thanks for the chance to read this ARC

I have mixed feelings on this book - some of the writing was fantastic then some felt very out of place. I could somewhat relate to the main character and although I do sympathise with her situation and the themes, some of the things she was doing/saying I really just couldn't get my head around. Especially the extreme reaction she had to her dad. I didn't like the original implication of failure when she hadn't achieved the baby/marriage by 30 but I feel like it came to a really satisfying conclusion and would recommend it for some entertaining reading especially if you're late 20s/early 30s and feeling that same sort of societal pressure.

What happens when you break up with your long term boyfriend? You haven't met any of life's big steps, no house, no wedding no baby and your moving back to live with your dad whist hitting 30.
The rage, hope and finally acceptance that life does not always go in a straight line plan.

I’m not sure if I was the target audience here, but, as a 50 year old who still doesn’t have her life in order, I really enjoyed it.
I loved the relationship that Hanna has with her dad and I thought he was brilliant, though I bet he’s a nightmare to live with.
This was heartwarming and fun, the characters were interesting and the whole story was well told. And the ending was perfect.

Square One was one of my most anticipated reads of the year as I loved her non-fiction book The Panic Years and her fiction did not disappoint. In her debut novel, Frizzell tells the story of Hanna, a thirty year old woman who has move back to her childhood city (Oxford) after going through a break up of a long term relationship. When moving back to ‘square one’ she has to navigate sharing her space and life with her father, his habits, re-adjust to single life and figure out exactly what it is she wants. Hanna implies that she has ‘failed’ moving back to Oxford from London, leaving her job and her relationship behind, which is explored through Hanna’s comparisons to others on social media. The idea that we’re expected to be in a certain place by the time you’re 30, especially as women is a very relatable and gives Hanna a real human quality that is great in a protagonist. I liked the plot line of Hanna discovering what she wanted and realising that the things she had before may have been what she was expected to want, rather than what she actually wanted and I thought the ending was sweet, tying up that narrative nicely. Overall, this was a really lovely book, I think it would be the perfect holiday read, it’s light and heartwarming and I will absolutely be picking up a physical copy when it’s out.

An easy fun read about love, relationships and starting over.
The main protagonist Hanna could be annoying at times but a likeable character. I think a lot of people could relate to the themes in this book and would recommend it for some light entertainment.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Hanna has recently split up from her long term boyfriend and moves back to the town she was brought up, into her father’s small flat, with all her personal possessions. She starts a relationship with an old school friend, meets her old best friend for coffee and is determined to move to her own place so she can get a boyfriend, get married and have a baby. However, this plan does not come off. By the end of the book, Hanna is a stronger woman, who knows herself and what she wants, better than every before. She is still single, having been told by her old school friend he just wanted to live in the ‘now’ and didn’t want any commitments, but she has been given the keys to an incredible house boat to stay in, all on her own. Hanna now can move on and find the rest of her life.

Square One is a relatable, poignant and heartfelt read that I think every reader in their late 20s and 30s will relate to at some stage in their lives.

The novel explores the various relationships Hanna has with her family, friends and self as she overcomes the various obstacles that life throws at her. I particularly enjoyed the fact that the plot focused on Hanna’s character development rather than solely on the love interest element. I found myself rooting for Hanna throughout and was glad that the ending was a realistic one. I did find the plot to be a little slow in places, but overall this was an enjoyable first read from Nell Frizzell.

*Thank you to Random House UK, Bantam Press and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.*

This is a wonderful summer/ holiday read about family connections, fresh starts and finding love no matter what your age. Thanks to the father's perspective it's even relatable if you missed out on the dating app experience, which is often lacking in modern fiction.

I found this a bit slow to read, as I felt no affiliation to the uninteresting heroine, Hanna. She’s self obsessed and a bit tedious.
I did, however, find the book well written, and I kept reading out parts to whoever I was with; nice turns of phrase, clever observations.
And I liked the unusual, true to life ending too!

I found this an odd book...I'm not sure I liked the main character, Hanna. She was someone who always seemed to look on the negative side and sometimes you felt like she just needed a good shake!

However there are funny parts within the book which pulled me back in...one that I won't forget in a hurry.

Sorry to say that this wasn’t my favourite read. Overall I found it a bit depressing and I did not warm at all to the main character. I also found the narrative to be unnecessarily coarse although I understand that the author was trying to portray a certain scenario I guess it just wasn’t for me.