Lots of issues explored in this story, and all of them are done with sympathy and tact. Light-hearted in places, it's not necessarily a light read, but it was entertaining all the same.

For a while I had a bit of trouble keeping each character straight in my mind, but that might have been more to do with me rather than with the writing or the plot.

An interesting ending...

Four friends lives catch up with them when they have a near death experience.....a feel good emotional book which had me smiling (and crying throughout ) good read!

I originally found this book quite hard to get into, but something kept me interested. I kept going and found myself really invested in the book and am so glad I stuck with it.

I have been reading Lucy Diamond for a few years and her books have always been books I remember, however this particular little beauty will stay with me for a while. Based around 4 friends Laura, India, Jo and Eve all of which we see their stories. It's an innocent introduction where the 4 friends meet for lunch. You get a decent background on each woman and where they are in their lives. However, they then witness a shocking accident which will affect all of the women differently.

There wasn't on standout character fr me, I loved them all. Each woman had their own set of problems and issues they were working through and the whole book just had that edge of realism which made you want the best for all the women involved. Although I didn't have a favourite the storyline featuring Eve was done so well and I am sure make many women realise that you cannot bury your head in the sand. Usually I would break down storylines a little more but with this book I really don't feel the need.

There are no patronisingly young and skinny women that are NOTHING like people I would know as a late 30's woman. The characters were so real they could be my own friends. I was thoroughly absorbed with this from start to finish and absolutely loved every page. One of the best Lucy Diamond books I have read, and certainly one I would highly recommend!

I needed a light feel good novel to keep me distracted for a hospital procedure and on a beautiful day delivered. Why three stars? Well it was just a little predictable for my taste. Perhaps fewer characters would have allowed more depth, I'm not sure. I did enjoy the book, perhaps if Goodreads allowed I'd give it 3.5.

Lucy Diamond delivers another heart warming page turner with her usual flair and ability to captivate her readers from the beginning.
Four female friends share their lives with us, their personal struggles, family problems, divorce, illness, children, past history, careers and their happiness. What's not to love ?
Its the type of story you don't want to end. A lovely relaxing book that charms and warms the heart of the reader.

I've listened to the last couple of Lucy Diamond releases as audio books and I think they work really well when told to you. Because she writes such uplifting stories about very real character, you really do feel like you're being read to as a real treat.

This book was excellent, I loved the characters, the structure and the setting. I also love the fact that the characters had their own story lines at the same time as having a joint storyline, I think this is possibly my favourite structure of a book. The fact that this book is multiple narrative does make it slightly less suited to audio because it makes it eve so slightly harder to follow for some people. I really enjoyed the fact that these characters are so different though so I found the structure easy to follow and was always able to work out whose story line we were following.

Another thing I really liked about these characters is the fact that they have got their happy ending, they have all been or are married and this book follows them to find out what happens after the happily ever after. It is always refreshing to read a book from this genre that tackles that question. I think the fact that these women are all a little older and have all lived a life means that we get a slightly different perspective on the issues that they are facing than if they were in their twenties.

I found these characters very easy to like and could easily and quickly sympathise and empathise with them. The things that they face and that Lucy Diamond puts them through are really quite tough and each of them are facing different dilemmas about how to handle what they are facing, This book is definitely not a light and fluffy read, these women go through a lot, together and separately. But on the whole it is still really uplifting and left me with a smile on my face, continuing to think about my four new friends.

I really loved the structure, the characters and the plot of this book and I really think you would too. Whether you have read Lucy Diamond before or not, I think that you will definitely enjoy her latest offering.

Four friends with different issues going on in their lives. This book shows how precious good friends are.
A heart warming read

Having an unexpected weekend off and needing something quite different from the book I had just finished, Hydra, I chose this as my next read. I was excited about the release of this book, being aware before Christmas that it would be out in January and I wasn’t disappointed.

The story starts off perfectly normally with 4 friends meeting up for a birthday celebration but then, while they are there, they witness a van crash that barely misses them. The suddenness of the crash and the outcome of it highlights different aspects of the friends lives that they are unhappy with, avoiding or hiding. This story is about them dealing with these issues, how they deal with them and what the outcome of that is.

Life can change in an instant. I know this as I have experienced it myself so I understand completely how it makes you reconsider your own life and any aspects of it that you aren’t 100% happy with. Despite having 4 main characters, all of whom are different and lead different lives, I felt that the shock and personal consequences of such a dramatic incident were handled well. The incident and it’s consequences were never downplayed or dismissed and it was clear that it affected each person differently, as it would were it real.

I really enjoyed watching the characters change and grow through the story and I would have rated it higher than I have but for the fact that I did find it a little confusing sometimes as to who was who when the story changed character. In addition to the 4 main characters there were family members, work colleagues and other friends or people mentioned and I think that perhaps there were just a few too many for the story.

While there is an ending for the story it is done in a way that fits with real life, there is an end point but you can see that the characters lives will continue although we will not be reading about them anymore. It’s like the reader is dropped into their lives for a period of time to see how they cope in the aftermath of the van crash and is then plucked out when they no longer need to see, like Mary Poppins or Nanny McPhee leaving when they are no longer needed.

Despite the changes, some very significant, happening in their lives I loved that the little every day things such as dishwashers and ironing were not forgotten about. While this is a story of change it doesn’t forget that while some things change other things like ironing clothes will always remain a necessary part of life. I also enjoyed reading about a group of people of similar ages to me whose lives are all different and not perfect. It made a nice change to the projected images of the perfect life or weekend that are see in social media and in magazines.

All in all this is an excellent book from an excellent author. If you’re a fan of Lucy Diamond then you will enjoy this and if you’ve not read her books before then this is definitely a good place to start. Be warned though, you will need tissues to hand particularly in the second half of the book.

I have read all Lucy Diamond’s books and thoroughly enjoyed them all. On a Beautiful Day is no exception. Page after page we are engossed in the ups and downs of the lives of Jo, Laura, India and Eve which unravel after witnessing an accident in Manchester.
There are different issues to overcome and at the heart of it friendship and support of the four women.
An excellent book.

I love Lucy Diamonds books and couldn't wait to read this one and she didn't let me down at all this has to be her best by far I was hooked from the first page and so highly recommend anyone to read it as just an excellent book to curl up and enjoy and certainly makes you think and how life can change right in front of your eyes. It's emotional at times as they go through their difficulties and shows pure friendship and how they can pull together to support each other. Certainly makes you think and is a simply Devine read with wonderful characters and amazing story lines.
Four friends are having lunch for a birthday and before their eyes they witness a horrible accident just metres away from them and it makes them act all differently from then on. First you have jo who her husband left and has just started a new relationship and wants to share it with them all does it work out for her but does it have difficulties to especially with his daughter. Then you have aeve who wants to share with them but can't that she has a lump and is worried then she has a shock accident and surprisingly shares it with him and she feels out of control can she share with her family before it's to late. Then there is Laura who her biological clock is ticking and she's lost many babies can her husband support her or is it to much for him. Last you have India and she is drawn to one of the victims from the freak accident and she then has to face secrets that she's had hidden for years.
Can all four friends sort their issues out and move forward or not you will have to read to find out and highly recommend you read it quickly has you hooked straight away.

A beautiful story of how a tragic accident can change the lives of four friends. During a birthday lunch four best friends witnesses a van close to where they are having lunch crash into a group of people, this changes so much for each of them because each friends looks at their lives. Very well written, each chapter covering the lives of each of the friends worked perfectly and the ending was lovely. I was looking for something other than a thriller to read and this was perfect.

Lucy Diamond is a fabulous author; her books always lure me in from the first few pages and they don’t disappoint. She writes beautifully, and “On a Beautiful Day” has a really interesting storyline with fabulous characters.

Four friends meet for lunch on a beautiful day, each of them with a different secret. Then they witness a horrifying accident just a few metres away and, although they all survive unscathed, it changes their whole outlook on life.

I absolutely loved this book and didn’t want it to end!

Thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for an ARC in return for a fair and honest review.

Another fantastic book by Lucy Diamond, I love the style of her writing and how her books always leave you with a nice warm fuzzy feeling without being the same every time.

This book is based around family and friends, which is something we can all be guilty of taking for granted. During this story you share in new relationships developing, old ones ending and how the strength of family and friends can help you through so much. A truly lovely book with a lovely group of 4 key characters that you can visualise throughout the book and feel the happiness and anguish alongside them.

Highly recommended and very enjoyable to read as I just kept wanting to turn the pages.

I have read a lot of Lucy diamond books and find her books always deliver. This one shows us the bond of friendship through typical problems such as marital woes. It made me look at my life and my friends as it was so relateable. Great job and I look forward to the next one.

A lovely read about friendship through thick and thin. Jo, Eve, Laura and India are each having testing times with illness, marital troubles, and changing circumstances before they can move on they have to admit some hard truths but through all this friends are there. This is particularly poignant to me as being a similar age and having friends who have gone through similar things I feel our bond has got stronger. Great read

This is not the first Lucy Diamond book I have read, and whilst I enjoyed it, it is not my favourite book of hers. There was something a bit predictable about it - it lacked a little something. That said, it is a good story and I did enjoy finding out what happened to each of the four female protagonists. I think my favourite character was Jo. All four women were relatable though, and what was a little different was the fact they witnessed an accident (I thought it was going to be turn out to be an act of terrorism at first). It gave them all a wake-up call. I think the author should have ended the story a little earlier, as I didn't think adding what was going to happen to certain characters x years down the line added to the story, but that's just my opinion. I would recommend it - it is an enjoyable read - just a little "samey" in parts.

With thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

On a Beautiful Day by Lucy Diamond is certainly a beautifully written book that will leave you a wreck one minute and have you laughing the next. You can't but fail to become deeply involved in the lives of the four main female protagonists, India, Laura, Eve and Jo. I'll admit I haven't read a huge amount from Lucy Diamond. possibly two books maybe three at the most, but it was both the cover and blurb that made me want to read this book and boy am I glad I did. By no means in anyway is this your usual run of the mill women's fiction book filled with clichés and storylines we have all read umpteen times before. No here there are solid, realistic, true to life stories that evoke in the reader a myriad of emotions. The author could have simply gone down the route of giving her characters an easy time but she chose not to and she made them face plenty of challenges, which at any given time someone reading this book could be facing, even though they may have been reluctant to do so. There was one character in particular facing one of the most terrible upheavals and periods of stress in one's life and when it first begin to appear I thought no. No this is too close to the bone for me and I'm not sure I want to keep reading for fear of the way it would affect me. Yet it's credit to the author that I kept going as the topic was written about with such sensitivity, tact and understanding and the full emotion and impact of what was going on came right through. I relished every bit of this story as through such brilliant writing I became deeply involved in the lives of four incredible women.

The catalyst behind the change and transformation that each of the four women undergo throughout the course of the story is a crash. They are having lunch celebrating India's birthday when a van comes along the street careering out of control narrowly missing their table and crashing into a local flower shop. Each women reacts differently but it's not the immediate effects and shock that change the women's lives more so how they deal with their life thereafter that very narrow escape. Everything could have been so different if the van had hit them. In fact it will be different for them all but will it be for better or for worse? In turn the crash makes each women revaluate their lives, to think about life and death and what's important. As we accompany each woman on their own journey the bonds of friendship shine through and make the reader appreciate every moment in their life. To enjoy the good times and work through the bad. Most of important of all is to have a support system there to back you up when things get tough or when it feels like there is an insurmountable mountain to climb. Evie, India, Jo and Laura all have their internal struggles to deal with in the aftermath of such a traumatic event but at the same time they are there for each other no matter how big or small the problem may be. But can everyone share the load or do some prefer shouldering the burden alone as they don't like causing hassle or stress in other people's lives?

There wasn't one character I didn't enjoy reading about in this book. They were all unique and individual with separate, well thought out storylines but when all four needed to be together the scenes worked well. India runs mother and baby music classes. This is not what she had aspired to when she was younger and dreamed of music college and success in her chosen profession. She is married with three children and although happy enough with her lot, the crash and the ensuing near miss has made her stop and question all aspects of her life. She wants to feel more secure and more content with her lot rather than thinking of what ifs all the time. A chance encounter with someone from the past pushes these thoughts even further to the forefront of her mind and to be honest what is revealed is quite surprising and I would never have thought it of the character based on what I had read up until that point. India came across to me as a bit ditzy, muddling along through life hoping for more but never having enough get up and go to go off and achieve it. So when her story is revealed I was quite shocked and it made an awful lot of sense considering some of her unusual actions through the book which I had viewed as wrong to be doing and just being too personal where she wasn't needed.

Jo and Laura are sisters. Jo is just getting over her divorce and acclimatising to living on her own. Some may say it's too soon to even consider dating again but Jo has other ideas as if she doesn't make a move she thinks she will be destined for spinsterhood for ever more. She feels it's the right time to get out there and find someone new who will make her feel happy and complete once again. The events surrounding the crash make her even more determined to do so. Meeting Rick at a local garage, a spark ensues and before she knows it she is living in his flat, no part in thanks to the fault of her own landlord. I thought Jo was so desperate to feel loved and wanted that she rushed into things with Rick and if someone said this she would give them the brush off. But in fairness to her, her determination in dealing with Rick's obnoxious teenager daughter Maisie was to be admired. She never gave up even in the face of extreme rudeness and sharp put downs. Rick seemed to have his head in the clouds and couldn't see what was going on before his eyes. He needed a big wake up call. But again as with India the author played a blinder when it came to Jo's story and the reasons behind certain things. Time and time again throughout the book she had me fooled and I love being surprised when the truth eventually emerges.

Laura wants nothing more than to have a baby with her husband Matt. They have tried and tried without success but Laura doesn't want to give up. She is bored and unfulfilled with her job and the fact the company are launching a baby care beauty range seems to rub things in her face even more. Things come to a dramatic climax and Laura feels as if her world is just crumbling around her. What ensued I felt was very selfish and it felt as if a character saw a get out and run clause and just grabbed it with open arms without fighting the battle in way way. I did enjoy Laura's storyline but in my mind it was perhaps the weakest of the four as I felt Laura didn't get as much time in the story as the other three but that's just my own opinion. I was pleased with her eventual outcome and I am glad things didn't become too clichéd.

My favourite character of all was Eve and perhaps this was because I saw traits of myself in her. Eve works as an accountant and always puts 100% into everything she does. But Eve is constantly putting on a front and none more so than what is going on beneath the surface, what she refuses to reveal to anyone. I totally understood why she did this and I think I would have been the same simply from pure fear, anger and foreboding. Eve prides herself of being in control of everything. She is seen by India, Jo and Laura as being perfect. She refuses to show her vulnerability or any chinks in her armour. So what happens when that control is taken out of her own hands? How will she deal with everything? Pretending the problem isn't there won't make it go away or solve anything? Will she confined in the friends who love and support her? Or will she keep things bottled up for as long as possible?

Eve is well used to keeping her cool and her emotions under cover but now maybe it is the time to unwrap the layers and face things head on? I wondered whether Eve had the strength to do this and the support came from the most unlikeliest of sources. I was slightly worried about this aspect of the storyline that Eve would do something rash and something which seemed all too obvious would ensue. Thankfully the author didn't go down that road. I felt for Eve so much and was rooting for a positive outcome. I wanted for things to turn out OK and not for a battle to ensue and the author could have made things all lovely and rosy in the garden and chosen the easy option but it would have been a let down. Despite some difficult parts of Eve's story to read about, Eve gave me hope, courage and confidence and in a way she found these traits too to help her.

From the outset the key message of On a Beautiful Day is one of redemption, of second chances, of appreciating every minute that is given to us. Don't take things for granted and live life to the fullest at every given opportunity are important things to take on board and they are wonderfully conveyed throughout the book. Jo, Laura, Eve and India all have their issues but at all times when the going gets rough they are there for each other. If the near miss of the crash had not occurred they would still be stuck dealing with the same things and meandering their way through life not 100% happy. What I had expected to be an average, pleasant enough read turned out to be a compelling, emotional page turner which has made me want to go back and read everything by Lucy Diamond that I haven't read yet. She is one talented lady who has written a story that deserves to be consumed in one go. A brilliant book simply not to be missed.

I’ve read and loved all of Lucy Diamond’s novels, and her latest, On A Beautiful Day, doesn’t disappoint.

On A Beautiful Day centres around a group of four inseparable friends – India, Jo, Laura, and Eve – and the fallout from the day when they narrowly miss being in a life-threatening car crash while out for a birthday celebration in Manchester.

Like all of Lucy Diamond’s novels, it’s relatable, full of surprises, and keeps you turning the pages (I read it in just 24 hours). Will Laura ever become a mother? Is Jo’s new romance all it seems? Can Eve face giving up control? And just what secrets is India hiding?

On A Beautiful Day is a warm, funny book that covers friendship, family, and how our choices – or luck, and lack of it – shape who we are.

This was a really compelling read about four friends and their lives. It didn't take long for me to get my head around their four lives either as it was set out really well.

The four friends, India, Laura, Jo and Eve (Laura & Jo are sisters) meet up at the beginning of the book for lunch for India's birthday. But whilst sitting outside the restaurant in the sun a van goes out of control in front of them and narrowly misses them all, ploughing into a flower shop opposite instead and hitting a few people.

Each of the four friends have different issues going on in their lives (divorce/meeting a new guy/children/careers/possible breast cancer/long hidden secrets/infertility) and the near miss affects each one of them differently, making them take stock of their lives, and affecting everyone around them.

The crash was really a catalyst to change things in their lives, some changes long overdue and some a bit of a shock. I loved the way the book ended too, a year after the crash when the girls met up again for India's birthday lunch. Nearly all the loose ends are tied up and we get a brief glimpse into the future. Really, really clever and satisfying end, loved the way this was done, it finished the book off just perfectly. Wonderful book, highly recommended.