I enjoyed this, the humour is typically dry but occasionally made me laugh out loud - a real guffaw. You rarely hear this term now, but you know exactly what I mean.

The last chapters made the book for me, for a while in the middle section I kept finding myself wishing for more dialogue and more show, not tell.

Female friendships are weird, brilliant and challenging, one of the best things ever when they’re good. Stressful and strange when they go awry. I think Nina Stibbe has captured this complex mix extremely well.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an ARC of this book.

I absolutely loved this! What a fantastic plot, beautifully written, intertwining the relationships between the characters in such an ingenious and realistic way.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The author of Reasons To Be Cheerful and Love, Nina, Nina Stibbe has long been one of the nation's funniest novelists, perfectly capturing the more eccentric aspects of British life. In this novel, she does it again as she vividly chronicles thirty years in the life of a woman as she grows from early 1990s undergraduate, into a wife, mother and ultimately a pillar of the university and some of the peculiar friendships she forms along the way.

I was thrilled to get an email offering me the chance to download this title. As always, whenever Nina has a new book it’s difficult to wait to get your hands on a physical copy. I’m not going to go into lots of plot or character here, as I think part of the thrill of reading this book is the unexpected sense of what transpires between the main characters. It has all the trademarks you’d expect from Nina Stibbe, it’s funny and ironic but also has a subversive undertone that makes it compulsive reading . Anyone that’s either had a decades old friendship or observed the interplay between two long-standing friends will enjoy the delicious relish that Nina brings to this story. I can’t wait to buy it and highlight all my favourite parts and dialogue. It’s absolutely brilliant and full of heart. #oneDayIShallAstonishTheWorld #NetGalley

I have been a fan of Nina Stibbe since I read Love Nina, but this is the first of her fiction I have read. One Day I Shall Astonish the World is a stunning book about the intensities of female friendships, providing a realistic portrayal of life and relationships amid the backdrop of the working class midlands. I found it easy to read but not too simple, and very funny! I would definitely recommend Nina Stibbe to my colleagues.