Giovanna Fletcher is skilled at writing enjoyable, light reads with characters that draw you easily into their world. This story contains emotional moments alongside some really good touches of humour, and some moments which make you cringe - a bit like life really! And don’t be fooled into thinking that’s it! As always with Giovanna’s novels, there are serious underlying themes, gently woven into the plot.
Messages that resonated were the importance of family
and good friends, to look for the positive, accept changes that relationships can make on your life and the importance of knowing who you really are and the joy of self-discovery. A great read!

I received this ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Great read! Premise is great and it was delivered and written well

I really enjoyed this book and would read more from this author. May have been first but won't he the last.

Lizzie is on holiday desperately waiting for her boyfriend Ian to propose. She is devastated that there is no proposal, but instead a break up. This is the story of Lizzie rebuilding her life and finding herself. Thoroughly enjoyable,

The premise of the book is great and the author really delivers. Great read. Highly recommended. .

This was not really my kind of book but I don’t think I’m really the target audience. It was a light easy read, though.

This book was not for me. I did not particularly like it and ended up DNFing it thus won't be able to provide a detailed review.

I really enjoyed this - chick lit yes, but better than average, with some great themes and characters that I enjoyed getting to know.

I thought that Giovanna was a teen writer but that clearly isn't the case and I will look out for her other novels, although my next read of hers is likely to be part 3 of her 'Eve' trilogy co-written with her husband, that having read parts one and two, I can highly recommend.

thank you to NetGalley for a review copy

This book is about the end of relationship and how it’s not that bad. It tells the story of lots of different friendships and relationships and how they are all different but that’s ok if they work.

As someone whose life plan suddenly changed overnight due to someone else’s decisions, I knew that I’d be able to relate to Lizzy as soon as I read the synopsis. I read Giovanna Fletcher’s You’re The One That I Want last year and loved the believable characters and cute romance, so I was expecting similar things from her new release Some Kind Of Wonderful.

Lizzy and Ian have been together for ten years and everyone is expecting an engagement announcement very soon. However, the exact opposite happens and a heartbroken Lizzy moves back in with her mum and stepdad. After some wound-licking, Lizzy embarks on single life and learns how to make her own happiness while learning lots about herself in the process.

Although the writing itself is simplistic, it’s not the kind of novel that requires flowery purple prose. It focuses on raw emotion and empowering self-development which is best expressed in the simplest way. However, Fletcher still manages to accurately depict heartbreak at the height of its sting. The idea that Lizzy has lost her identity now that she is no longer Ian’s girlfriend can come across as a weakness in her character but it’s actually incredibly true of the immediate stages of the breakdown of a long-term relationship. When you spend so much time with someone and invest so much of yourself in them and the relationship, it is literally like losing a part of yourself when they leave.

Of course, I knew that Lizzy would be ok. Having gone through it myself and knowing that she was a character in a funny contemporary romance novel, I knew that she would pick herself up but I was still really interested to see how.

There is a point where Lizzy realises how much of herself is a direct cause of being with Ian and what that means. Her inner monologue on this did bring tears to my eyes while simultaneously causing me to nod my head. Trying to figure out how much of your personality and your tastes are the real you or just a reflection of your former partner is a true realisation of how much of an imprint they’ve left on the deepest parts of yourself. Untangling the acquired parts from your true self is difficult and sometimes impossible.

I can understand how some readers may feel that Lizzy is whiney and immature. If you’re not familiar with the realities of sudden severe heartbreak, she may come across as a woman who simply can’t let things go. Her healing process is a long, rocky road but if it wasn’t, the whole novel would come across as unrealistic. There were definitely points where she seems to wildly swing between being ok to remembering exactly what has happened and it’s almost like the pain is fresh again. I can definitely see how that would frustrate some readers but for me, it’s accurate to life. Sometimes all it takes is a quick flash of an unhealthy thought or memory to bring it all back.

Lizzy is really lucky (as am I) to have some incredibly supportive and wise friends and family members around her. Her younger sister is heavily pregnant and about to get married and she constantly teases Lizzy about her new single status. It’s incredibly funny and their relationship is beautiful to watch, as are the rest of the dynamics within their unconventional family. Despite their parents’ divorce, their father remains very close to their mother and her new husband. Later in the book, we find out the real reason for their divorce which I did slightly suspect earlier on but it definitely added a new dimension -and a little extra degree of warm fuzziness- to the family.

By the time we’re at the closing chapters, we really get the sense that Lizzy has learnt so much about herself and grown into a better person. It’s almost as if losing Ian was the catalyst for her blossoming into a sensitive selfless person. Of course, the transformation isn’t quite complete and nor does it need to be. There is still a fair bit of soul-searching and learning for Lizzy to do but when is anyone really done with learning about themselves?

The overriding message that true happiness lies within your true self and not the person you love is so life-affirming and uplifting. As I’ve been struggling with issues relating to being alone, Lizzy’s story was one that I needed to read this month. I needed to remember that the right people and the right opportunities will present themselves at the right time and that I just need to exercise patience, love and above all else, self-care. Fluffy, funny and authentic, Giovanna Fletcher is fast becoming one of my go-to authors when I need a pick-me-up.

DNFd at 14%.
I wanted to love this, I really did as I have enjoyed other work by Gi in the past but oh my the main character of this book is so annoying. I 100% understand her expectations but the let them consume a large portion of her life and to get annoyed at her other half for them is just ridiculous.
The writing is just fine it's honestly not the worst but I've read better by Gi, the setting for the first 14% was lovely but just seemed very flashy just for the pure fact of being flashy.
It was as though there was no depth at all to the characters, plot or setting.
Maybe this type of romance just isn't for me.

Please note that this book is not for me - I have read the book, However I had to DNF and because i do not like to give negative reviews I will not review this book fully - there is no specific reason for not liking this book. I found it a struggle to read and did not enjoy trying to force myself to read this book.

Apologies for any inconvenience caused and thank you for the opportunity to read this book

Great book from MrsG Fletcher little bit different from your normal chick lite but still full of likeable characters and few sad moments also.

I read and loved this in 2017 but never wrote a review. I found this uplifting, heart warming and a real feel good read by the end, i found that it was sweet, sad and at times i laughed out loud. I really enjoyed this and continue to read by this author

I adore Gi, her books are always so heartwarming and lovely! This one did not disappoint, I got sucked right in!

Got this for my sister and she enjoyed it. I, sadly, never got around to reading it though. Apologies.

Her fiance says she's not the one and she's left to start again. An easy to read, chick flick. Pack in a suitcase!

I wanted to like because I think the author is fab... however, try as I might; I just couldn’t. The story lacked depth or any interesting plot. The characters were empty and had no fascinating qualities between them but above all - nothing actually happened. At all. However, Fletcher is fab so I’ll probably give another book a whirl just in case.

There are times in life when you just need to read an uplifting, awe-inspiring, heartfelt novel,. Before I read ‘Some Kind of Wonderful’, I was definitely in the mindset of ‘omg can someone take me away from all this shizzle….’. I needed to read a book that allowed me to escape, give me hope and try to defrost the several layers around my heart.

Did it work?

At first I thought the storyline was a bit too sickly sweet, however, within a couple of chapters Lizzy’s world began to overshadow my grumpy mood and I ended up losing myself in hers and Connie’s lives.

Lizzy has been with her boyfriend for over ten years. They live together. Their lives are merged, yet for Lizzy, something is missing. I say something like it’s a very small thing, but it’s not. It’s something that Lizzy has been waiting for. It’s something that Lizzy’s friends and family have been waiting for. That said, it’s NOT something that Ian, her boyfriend, has been waiting for. All I will say here is that if Ian deserved extremely colourful language, and I may….just MAY have accidentally, probably, purposely…….called him a c-bomb out loud whilst my daughter was asleep (thankfully). Don’t look at me like that, he deserved it! Look, I have nothing against his choice as such because if he chooses that something isn’t for him, then who is anyone to judge? What I was miffed about was the way in which he conducted his twat-ism, because lets face it, he was very twattish.

I loved how we got to watch Lizzy blossom again, as she tried to find the confidence to spread her wings and live life selfishly. It’s clear that the last ten years of her life had been exciting, but it was also clear that those ten years ended up changing Lizzy. I know, I know – time does change people, it’s when you end up losing sight of yourself that you have a problem. Luckily Lizzy realised that, but it came with a price.

Even though I did think that the storyline was a bit too sickly to begin with (I blame my foul mood), I ended up thoroughly enjoying this book as the uplifting theme was very contagious. I’ll admit that I wasn’t in the frame of mind to suddenly make over my life, yet ‘Some Kind of Wonderful’ made me want to do that. I adore Giovanna Fletcher’s heartfelt writing style as I could tell that the author believed in everything she was writing, even the uncertain parts in the book. I also loved how colourful all of the characters were – take a look at Connie for example. A woman who considered swiping left or right a pastime, yet Tinder ended up becoming an after thought. The personalities of the characters in this book could not be more different and whilst I thought that was a brilliant move, I found it to be brave as I’m sure a lot of readers may find some of their personality traits a little….shall we say, questionable? I didn’t…FYI. I laughed out loud and rubbed my genie lamp (no…that’s not a euphemism….I’m not Lizzy’s sister!) as I wanted a best friend like Connie!

Speaking of Lizzy’s sister. Hahahaha omg, Michelle is a hoot and again, even if you weren’t aware of Giovanna’s background from the media, you can definitely tell that the author has children because half of the things that were written involving Michelle just couldn’t have been Googled. High five sister!

All in all, ‘Some Kind of Wonderful’ truly is, some kind of wonderful. I mean, it doesn’t matter whether you are in the most rubbish mood ever to begin with, or whether you’re sitting on your bed naked singing ‘All By Myself’ before starting this book, as I can guarantee that this book will end up making you laugh out loud, sigh with hope, and think about your own life whilst dusting off your SClub7 cd’s.

Giovanna Fletcher has a magical way of writing, and ‘Some Kind of Wonderful’ is proof of that. An all round, gem of a book which made me feel rather cosy. ‘Some Kind of Wonderful’ indeed!

Elizabeth met Ian at university when she was 18 years old and they have been together ever since. Ten years later, all their friends are getting married, while Elizabeth is still waiting for Ian to propose. And when she thinks he is finally popping the question, he announces that he can’t see a future with her.
Heartbroken, Elizabeth moves back to her family home and tries to move on with her life. She soon realises that since she’s been with Ian, she is no longer the funny, outgoing person she used to be. She had dreams and aspirations that she gave up on. So she decides to get back to her old self, the one who used to go dancing in clubs, who used to sing all the time, who used to wear high heels, and not turn down a night out with friends.
Although I found the character of Elizabeth a bit too self-absorbed at times, I found her entertaining and liked her vitality and determination as she goes on a journey of self-rediscovery. This is the first novel by Giovanna Fletcher that I have read and I really enjoyed it. I like her writing style, fluid and clear, and she created an engaging, feel-good, and thought-provoking story. Now, I am looking forward to reading all her other novels.