I was sadely disappointed with this book. I’ve really enjoyed all of Giovanna Fletcher’s other books but found this one to be slow and I just couldn’t get into it.
I did finish it but found it more of a struggle than I would have liked. I’m sorry to say but I wouldn’t recommend this one.

I'm a huge fan of Gi and I enjoyed this book for what it was. Unfortunately I did struggle to get through the story at times. It was quite slow and not a great deal seemed to happen. There was a lot of narrative going on but there didn't seem to be a substantial storyline anywhere.

Having read and enjoyed books by Giovanna in the past I was looking forward to this one, but unfortunately this one was disappointing.

The story is mundane and ordinary, and not even "book-mundane" but "real-life-mundane". The result is that it's just not that interesting. Books I enjoy are usually a concentration of interesting things that happen: Things that you don't see happening every day and which are fun to live through in book-form to give you a break from reality and to give hope that amazing, interesting, clever, funny, sparkly fun, romantic things happen. This book is so much like the most ordinary aspects of real-life that it just doesn't have that spicy sparkly fun I'm looking for in a good read.

Sometimes great writing can pick it up a book to add some enjoyment but Giovanna's writing is (and always has been) quite straightforward and down-to-earth. (I'm a big fan of the extraordinary poetic genius of people like Jandy Nelson and the wise life metaphors of Cecelia Ahern). If anything, the writing in this book is a little more crude than in other books because of a generous use of expletives.

Overall, it wasn't awful - it was readable - but for me it was just on the border between readable and too-uninteresting-to-continue-reading. Not one I'd recommend I'm afraid.

You know when you read a book at exactly the right time? This was what Some Kind of Wonderful was like for me. I know am not in the exact same situation as Lizzy, but I am going through an unexpected and pretty naff break up and moving back in with my Mum soon and so I related more than I normally would to her character.

At the very start of the book Lizzy is hoping for her boyfriend Ian to propose and honestly, I just didn't get it. It seemed as though she just wanted to get married because it was the done thing after 10 years of a relationship. She didn't have loads of wonderful things to say about Ian and he didn't seem to be a fantastic person from the glimpses we got. Obviously, he didn't propose and he wasn't a stand up guy, so I was pleased with that.

It was a story about Lizzy rediscovering who she is without her "other half" and who she used to be before her relationship. She looks at how she changed within her relationship and if she is the woman she wanted to be or the woman Ian wanted her to be. She does acknowledge that she was so young before getting into this relationship so she is not going to be her 18 year old pre relationship self now that she is 28 and single and I think that was very realistic.

A fun summer read which you can devour by the pool.

Likeable characters and not too cliche.

4 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley, Giovanna Fletcher and Penguin UK - Michael Joseph for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Reading Lizzies journey to find her true self from before her relationship and who she was now was like a like a trip back to my own teen days minus the more outrageous moments of course. I love that the characters felt very real and there was tender moments , cringe moments and lots and lots of funny moments.

I began this book after finishing 'Eve of Man', Giovanna's collaboration with husband Tom, which I absolutely loved. So I was expecting this book to be in a similar vein. It wasn't and it took me a while to get into the story and like the main protagonist. This is definitely ChickLit and well written ChickLit too. Once I adjusted I enjoyed the journey of the main character but had to accept there was no depth to the story or the characters and enjoy it for what it was.

What a lovely written and enjoyable novel. I absolutely loved every page. This is my first book by Giovanna Fletcher but now I've read this one I'll certainly be looking out for her other novels! It was enchanting, gripping and entertaining.

I'm so glad I requested this novel.

Perfect holiday read! Although I'd class this as an easy read, I was totally immersed in the story and really rooting for Lizzie the whole way though.

Another of our favourite authors at Compelling Reads, we’ve been reading Giovanna’s novels since her first and are always eagerly anticipating her next release…



In Some Kind of Wonderful we are introduced to Lizzie who is on holiday with her boyfriend Ian. We learn that they’ve been together since university and a decade later everyone including Lizzie is anticipating an engagement, every time they go away or have a day out and she comes back without a ring has been a disappointment. Now it’s the final night of their holiday and Lizzie is thinking it is never going to happen, Ian however is very drunk and when they arrive at a magical romantic meal on the beach it seems it’s finally time for that engagement, but on one knee, mid proposal and what should be a wonderful moments turns to Ian finishing the relationship.



Lizzie heads home a decade of relationship behind her and many questions in her head as to who she truly is, it seems that her life has been formed by Ian. Taking on his likes and dislikes and hobbies and without him she isn’t sure who Lizzie is or what she wants. So queue a book where Lizzie must learn who she is, and an intriguing look at how people enrich and influence the lives of others through their relationships with them.



A wonderful journey of Lizzie’s self-discovery that had me held from the beginning, I think this is Giovanna’s best book ever and I really truly didn’t want this book to be finished when I got to the last page. I hope that we get to see more of Lizzie’s journey in future books!

On starting this book I found myself skim reading quite a few chapters. About a third of the way on it really started picking up for me when Elizabeth decided to grab her life by the balls and be herself. I understood her ‘grieving’ for her relationship and found myself trying to look for similarities of losing myself within it. Quite thought provoking in that regard but like I said at the beginning, I did find myself skimming quite a few pages

I hadn't read something with relationship drama, female empowerment or best friends in ages and when I saw the blurb for Some Kind Of Wonderful, I was instantly excited.

Lizzy and Ian met in their first year of university and have been a couple ever since. 10 years have gone by and in that time life has been safe, steady (or as the Tories would have you believe, strong and stable). The only thing is, they still haven't taken the next step and Lizzy is still waiting on a proposal. In their relationship, this kind of move needs to come from Ian. Lizzy is completely invested in their relationship but it's always seemed that Ian isn't quite there yet. Will he ever be?

When I came home from work to find that Some Kind Of Wonderful had reached me, I literally jumped around with excitement. I dropped the book I had already started and threw myself straight into Lizzy and Ian's world. It had to be done.

The book began in the most heartbreaking way, with a holiday to Dubai that should have resulted in the proposal that Lizzy was longing for. Instead, Ian turned out to be cruel and heartless and Lizzy returned without even a boyfriend. Just imagining losing a 10 year relationship gave me the chills. I can't begin to imagine how horrible that would be.

With Lizzy's life completely overturned, she moved back in with her mum and revisited her teenage self. This is where the book becomes a story of self-discovery and finding what it means to be happy. I loved Lizzy's rambling voice. She overthinks and stresses and pressurises herself until she can't think straight anymore and needs a good night with her best friend, Connie. Her family is even more entertaining, especially Michelle, Lizzy's younger sister. She's a few steps ahead of Lizzy in life - with marriage and children on the horizon. Their dynamics were always pushing the limit between friendship and rivalry in the best kind of way.

Giovanna Fletcher is one of my favourite vloggers and I loved her shoutouts to certain messages I recognised from her channel, like CoppaFeel and her opinions on breastfeeding. It really made this book a Gi book and just like her backlist, notably Dream A Little Dream, I loved it.

Some Kind Of Wonderful was exactly the kind of entertaining winter read I was looking for. The spark of people coming together, shaping each other and pushing themselves towards contentedness is exactly what the season is about. As well as sisters calling each others bitches and all that....

So that's why I'd recommend giving it a go and if you already have, let me know what you thought.

I love Giovanna Fletcher’s books and this was another light easy read from her. You can’t help but warm to the main character and you want her to succeed rebuilding her life after being dumped. If I am being 100% honest, I’ve read better from Giovanna but I still love her and her books and will keep reading her new books. A great beach read.

I have read all of Giovanna's books and I was so excited to be able to this one.

Lizzy and Ian have been a couple since their first day at university. Now, after celebrating a decade together, everyone thinks they're about to get engaged. A romantic escape to Dubai is the perfect moment, but instead of the proposal Lizzy hopes for, Ian reveals he's not sure he even wants her anymore.

Lizzy is heartbroken. But through the tears, she realises this is her chance to seize the opportunities she missed as Ian's other half. But what does she want? How much of her is really Lizzy, and how much was Ian's influence? Determined to discover who she is at heart, Lizzy sets out to rediscover the girl she was before - and in the meantime, have a little fun . . .

As per her other books, Giovanna has a way of enrapturing her readers with her humorous and clever writing about down-to-earth girls that could be me or you. 

Some Kind of Wonderful is about a woman reconnecting with herself after a heartbreak of epic proportions. 

I found Lizzy's story enlightening and in the end uplifting and I wanted to keep on reading. 

The language of the book is classic British filled with slang that you may not have heard before,  but it didn't hinder the understanding of the text. 

All the characters are likeable in their own quirky way (though ex-boyfriend Ian is so-so).

So do I recommend this story?
Yes!
To whom?
To those who like to read a good Chicklit novel and aren't opposed to the British written language.

This book is a very light read that is perfect when you are just going through a breakup or are on holiday with too much time on your hands. Neither of this applied to me when I read it so I'm afraid it wasn't really for me.

Lizzy and Ian are together since university and now she desperately wants him to propose to her. Every holiday, every special occasion she waits for him to pop the question. And just when it looks like he will on a romantic holiday in Dubai, all her dreams shatter... So Lizzy sets out to rebuild her life, discover the girl she once was and take opportunities she missed because of her relationship to Ian.

I liked Lizzy and the way she went on about rebuilding her life seemed quite realistic to me. I just felt like the book almost peaked to early. After the initial drama it just petered out. Perfectly good read if the subject is current for you but a bit boring if it isn't in my opinion.

Lizzy has her whole life planned out, but then it all comes tumbling down and she finds herself completely lost, totally heartbroken and unbelievably lonely when her ten-year relationship breaks down.

This book is Lizzy's journey to find herself again and turn her life around.

At first, I disliked Lizzy intensely. She seemed like the stereotypical rom-com heroine, self-obsessed and superficial. I am so glad I carried on reading because you see the true Lizzy emerge and blossom in such a genuine, believable way. I was impressed by Giovanna's courage to portray the main character as shallow in the first chapters. She must really trust her loyal readers to stick around because it soon becomes apparent that Lizzy is far more than just a girl desperate for a diamond ring on her finger.

The relationships she has with her family, especially her sister and best friend are absolutely real even down to the bickering and making up. It was topical, heartwarming and downright laugh out loud at times. I found myself with tears in my eyes and didn't know if they were sad or happy tears, then I realised I was crying because I related to the characters entirely.

This is a book about 'girl power'. It's about facing the unthinkable, then realising that it's not a crime to like white bread and catchy pop songs (and wedding cake tastes great eaten straight from the face!)

If you're going through a break up you really need to read this book.

An inspiring read.

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Lizzie and Ian have been a couple for ten years, but not yet or ever will they now be fiancé's and later married after a disastrous string of getaway's which always got Lizzie's hopes of a proposal up, Ian backs out and instead breaks up with Lizzie.



Set to rediscover herself after spending ten years with weak Ian she heads to her best friend Connie's and her mum's to heal her broken heart.



From a minor flat party in her undies to finding out her best mate has landed her dream job while her sister is getting married whilst also expecting her first child, Lizzie digs through her past and memories to find her true authentic self untainted by Ian from the years before. From making new friends like Natalie at her sister's wedding to trying out new activities whilst ending up in hilarious situations that'll make you ache with laughter, Lizzie is a modern day down the earth girl who'll steal your heart through her journey to herself.



Lizzie started as a weak character in my eyes as she was always wanting to go the norm with Ian whom seemed flaky and not bothered a lot about her in my opinion so when she left him behind I was super happy. This book proves to all girls that girl power is everything and never to forget who you are. Sure co promises may be made but not complete change as it works both ways in a respectful relationship that's happy and healthy. Here's to needing no man and appreciating yourself for all you are!



Many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!

I first read a Giovanna Fletcher book because her husband Tom, from the band McFly, is someone I quite admire. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I quite like her books. They are nothing earth shattering but they are an enjoyable read and perfect for a day at the beach. I am reviewing this book based on an ARC received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest opinion.

Lizzy and Ian have been together for 10 years and Lizzy has tried to make herself the person Ian wants. He then tells her he doesn't want to be with her. Lizzy then discovers how much she's changed to be the person Ian wants. She must now try to get back to the person she was.