When Amy's long term boyfriend Jamie tells her they're going away, Amy thinks he's finally going to pop the question and can't help but imagine how her life is going to play out. No matter that Jamie seems to be more in love with his start-up company, Headspace, and himself, than Amy. When they set off on their surprise trip, the journey is shorter than Amy expects, and when Jamie kisses her and leaves her - well, you can imagine how confused Amy is feeling...it turns out that there is no surprise destination or proposal, Jamie has set Amy up on a new reality show called The Shelf, where he surprisingly dumps her on tv, and she has to decide whether to cut her loses and leave, or stay on and possibly win £1,000,000.

The Shelf was a refreshing and fun read - I really liked Amy, she really came across as her character is described - the ultimate girl next door. She was kind and fun and friendly, and a delight to read. Her fellow housemates were all fantastic, especially Gemma, an instagram influencer whose family see more of the top of her head than her face these days. The story flowed well and kept me interested, and it was great to see how Amy and the others realised that maybe things weren't quite as perfect as they may have thought...

I'd definitely recommend The Shelf as a cute and quick summer read!

Thanks to Bonnier Books UK for providing me with an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Shelf will be released on 9th July 2020.

Holy forking shitballs

Fairly unexpected ending if I'm honest. Still an enjoyable read.

Compelling.

Whilst the premise of The Never Have I Ever Club was good, I just felt that the story was a bit flat. Nothing much really happened other than Robyn or 'Bloomy' as Will calls her, fretting about her ex boyfriend Ash (and frequently telling him to fuck off) and her conflicting feelings for his identical twin brother, the village doctor who seems to blur many lines - Will.

Will, Ash and Robyn came across as very young, even though they were all in their mid thirties - with a lot of sobbing and bending down to catch peoples eyes - it wasn't a terrible book, I did manage to finish it, but I think that was mainly due to the supporting cast - especially Eliot and Freya, and Fliss and the Brigadeer.

Some of the activities that The Never Had I Ever Club patricipated in were pretty fun to read about, Fliss's hen was a highlight, I just felt that there was quite a bit of needless bad language with no real point and a lot of repetition in the story.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a gifted copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

2.5*

- We should all choose our words with more care because we never know the scales with which they will be measured. - Joanna Cannon

Breaking & Mending was a fascinating insight into the life of a junior doctor. I loved reading about the different stages in Jo's career as a doctor and how she reacted during different situations. It was heartbreaking and life affirming, and it would be a pleasure to be treated by a doctor with Jo's bedside manner, you could tell from her words that she cared deeply about those patients who she mentioned in her memoir.

I think that the overall tone of the book isn't a humorous one like perhaps This is Going to Hurt, but still a must read for fans of the doctor / memoir type reads.