A truly funny, laugh out loud read. Easy read. Throughly enjoyable read.
Thank you to both NetGalley and Harper Collins for my eARC in exchange for my honest review

I am a big fan of this book series. It took me a while to get into this one as it took me a while to get my head around the children being teenagers and Ellen being separated (that’s not a spoiler - it happens in the first chapter). However, once I got into the groove of the story, I enjoyed it immensely and I laughed out loud lots of times. It reminds me a bit of reading Bridget Jones for the first time. I hope there’s more to come in this series.

A funny laugh out loud look into being a mother of teenagers.
Easy to read, difficult to put down.
Lighthearted a great holiday read

Hilarious and loving another fab outlook into modern life. A little predictable but still fun to read

From the author of Why Mummy Drinks and Why Mummy Swears is this heart-warming and hilarious tale of family life post divorce. Ellen is navigating single life post divorce whilst figuring out how to co-parent her two teenagers. She’s moved into a cottage that doesn’t quite live up to expectations, bought some chatty chickens who completely hate her, and adopted a rescue puppy who turns out to be the largest, ugliest dog in the universe to go alongside Judgy dog – who lives up to his name! Whilst being massively funny, Why Mummy Doesn’t Give a ****! does also cover some serious issues in a sensitive and entirely relatable way, like dating again when you’re older and filled with self doubt, like loving your children even when they’re being complete dicks, like picking yourself up and carrying on even when life throws you a curve-ball. There’s a lot here that parents and women from all walks of life will identify with!

There is some background if you’ve read the previous books and I’d recommend reading them in order if you can, but it’s not at all essential and you can take this as a standalone book.

This is a laugh out loud winner that manages to be serious and poignant when needed. Four stars from me.

There are so many moments in this book that had me literally howling with laughter. I could see so much of our lives in this book and in my opinion this series just keeps getting better and better. Bravo!

A must read for parents out there trying to simply survive.

Gill Sims books just keep getting better and better. This is, by far, the funniest book I have read in a long long time. A must read for all.

Loved it-very true to life and hilariously written. I love all the characters I almost feel as if I know them all personally. Recommended. I am looking forward to the next book if there is one.

I laughed so loudly at places in this book that I had some very funny looks!
If you are a mum,a single parent with a number of pets and teenage children you will love this book because it is like someone has written a diary of our lives
Even if you not alone it will still appeal as ten naggers are just sent to test us mothers to the limit
I absolutely loved every month in this book I laughed and laughed and it made me feel slightly more normal
Thanks Gill Sims for making me loud out loud without caring what other people think

There are so many of this type of book around at the present time, but this series remains dominant. As soon as you start reading, it grabs you and you’re laughing out loud, or digging into the depths of family memories when a similar incident happened to you, or someone you know.

This time Ellen’s marriage is beyond help, and she faces life as a single mum. There are compensations, getting to buy the ‘house of your dreams’, well very nearly, but Peter and Jane are teenagers now and dealing with their attitude, eating habits and apathy, alone, on a daily basis, means that if Ellen had a swear box it would be overflowing with cash.

The honesty, and talent for encapsulating the humour of parenting teenagers, an ex-husband, and learning how to date again, make this a lovely book to escape with. You can read a chapter or two, and then come back, and it’s easy to get into, but it is addictive reading, and why not laughter is good for you.

The relationships are so believable, the conversations with ‘Mother’, hilarious and oddly poignant, the best friend who so supportive but facing challenges she never thought she would, and the ex-husband who undermines at every opportunity and wonders why things have turned out the way they have???

There is so much to enjoy in this, humour, often satirical and self-deprecating, poignant moments of guilt, that every mother experiences, as they struggle to find themselves in their ‘mummy’ role and a keen observant exploration of parenting that most will relate to.

I received a copy of this book from Harper Collins Non-Fiction via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

e not quite #nailingit and struggling to feel #soblessed.

I would happily follow Ellen’s adventures right through to the challenges of great-grandmotherhood and the horrors of the cliques in the Nursing Home canteen! 😉





‘It’s one little field mouse,’ said Peter, who had pulled the sofa out and was looking at the mouse. ‘It’s sweet, Mum. Can I keep it?’
‘No! You can’t keep the bloody mouse. Anyway, it probably has a family waiting for it to come home.’
‘You didn’t care about that when you were shouting about traps,’ said Peter reproachfully, as he picked it up and took it outside.
I went to find Judgy, and found him sitting in Peter’s bed, as all the other bedroom doors were closed.
‘You know, Mum, a psychologist would probably have a field day with the way your dog thinks he’s a person and your children end up doing the dog’s job,’ said Peter.
‘Shhh,’ I said. ‘Don’t let Judgy hear you saying he only thinks he’s a person. He will be upset.’
Oh God. I’m sure Felicity Kendal never had these problems. But then again, she never actually went Proper Country, did she? She just stayed in Surbiton and annoyed Margot.

– Gill Sims, Why Mummy Doesn’t Give A ****

Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog

As always, hilariously laugh out loud funny.
I will never tire of the way Gill Sims sums up parenthood

Like the other two books by the author, this was absolutely hilarious. I’m sure I am awful person for laughing so much at a mother who drinks, swears profusely and proclaims to not give a toss but never mind, laughing is good for the soul or something like that. I don’t have kids and never will but I still felt I could relate to what happens in the book. I’d be the kind of mother who drinks, swears and gets so stressed I’d want to tear someone’s hair out. This is light-hearted and struck me as completely believable. What I like is the way the kids, Jane and Peter, now teenagers have developed from the last two books into teenage horrors. This is a quick, fun, easy read.

Gill Sims does it again. Another light-hearted and honest, very funny insight into parenting in today's society. There's a few things I wasn't expecting and I love the humanity in the characters. The exploration of what it means to be a parent and a wife and deal with everything that life throws at you. I love to go back to the very first book and re-read it sometimes just to remind myself that we are all winging it and we are all doing okay. I really like to break up the genre of books I read and this is perfect for holiday reading. I would say, as a warning, not the best idea to listen to as an audiobook (or any of Gills books, given the bastarding cussing that goes on) make sure you have earphones and aren't round little ears.

Brilliant. Every mother can identify with Ellen dealing with 2 teenage children, a broken marriage, 2 dogs and 3 hens. I laughed 'til I cried in many chapters. A really good book to cheer you up when feeling low.

I loved this series so far, and this book didn’t disappoint. It is written in such a way that you can hear her voice and understand her emotions as they are exposed. And Simon having an affair was just the icing on the cake Ellen didn’t need.
And then there is the issue about the lasagne. The lasagne that Simon loves. That Ellen has struggled to make even though it is complicated (the béchamel sauce, the mince sauce, the layers, the cheese) and that Simon thinks is easy to make.
And finally all the various bad, and good things that happened over the year, between the not so chatty chickens and the wolf puppy and Ellen’s marriage problems. All of which are etailed and explained in a somewhat ‘foul’-mouthed way with great humour and insight.
Whilst I hope, that not many of us have had years Like Ellen’s, most of us have had some parts of it - including the lasagne!
And I've always wanted chickens..

Nowhere as good as previously.


A further instalment of Ellen, Simon, and the (at least for me), the totally insufferable Peter & Jane.

This is the third literary outing of this family from Gill Sims, and while there was some humorous aspects now and again, I really did not enjoy this very much at all..

Let’s start with the atrocious children - while I accept that not being a parent, will cloud my judgment somewhat – seriously, how does she not manage to kill off these two absolute wastes of humanity.

As for Simon the husband, it just didn’t seem believable, that their marriage would have lasted as long as it did.

Sadly I could not really warm to any of the characters - and found quite a bit of it, somewhat depressing.


My thanks to Netgalley for a review copy of this book. All opinions are my own and not biased in anyway

I loved this book, this is definitely her best yet! There was many giggle/snort moments as expected, but I never expected to cry as much as I did. This has a much more serious feel to it than the last few books, but this not a bad thing. It really got under my skin and I couldn't stop reading, although I am frankly terrified of what I have to look forward to with the teenage years! Definitely one to read.

I'm so happy to say that Ellen is back, with another year full of trials, tribulations, surprises and troubles. Jane is now fifteen years old, spending her days of her cell phone, going to parties, living and breathing make - up and feeling embarrassed by her mother. Peter is thirteen and he spends his days playing video games and eating all the food he can find in the fridge. Simon... well, Simon is actually not there. Ellen and Simon are divorced now. Ellen and the children have moved to the cottage of her dreams (almost. Except for the damp, the single bathroom and no roses by the door). So it's not wonder that mummy not only drinks too much, swears too much but also doesn't give a ****, right?

Oh holy moly, how to write a review for this book to do it a justice? Impossible task, I'd say.

The third (and I pray to God, not the last one!) part of the series by Gill Sims deals with the stress of coping with teenage children. I know, we all think that first it's infancy, then the terrible two, then pre - adolescence etc that is the worst what can happen, so let's agree on the fact that all of those phases are simply stressful. Putting it mildly. I may be not in Ellen's shoes yet but I can't sleep and need a whisky only when I think about my daughter reaching puberty, thinking I have all this to come. So it really rang a bell, this book. And was a kind of warning.

This is a raw and brutally honest picture of being a parent. Sweary and normal. Realistic, even if the situations are a bit exaggerated (or not?). The author doesn't beat around the bush and she deserves a standing ovation for this - telling how it is, not afraid to use crude language and a lot of drinking but this is what I have expected and wanted from this book. She also intermingles the hilarity and humour with some brief moments of seriousness, adding depth to the light tone.

I am still in love with Ellen and I want to have her confidence. She is full of flaws (who isn't) and swears a lot (who doesn't) and has a great way around her children, handling them in open way. And the children's antics are hilarious, their attitudes are so real. And they have their moments. And Ellen deals with them. But they really feel grown up, the children, and I like that the author keeps on top of it and let her characters grow up and mature. I love Ellen's sense of humour, her attitude, the way she sees and describes things and that she's not afraid to tell how it is. I, on the other hand, should probably get a special prize for all the things I didn't say and that should be said. Ellen is so relatable with the way she is, with her worries, hopes and desperation. The author has done an excellent job in bringing her characters' personalities to the pages, and I think they all are going to appeal to all kinds of the audience.

It was easy, quick and funny read that made me feel normal. There were moments that I rolled my eyes and nodded at things that could so happen to me. I would probably go that far and say that it is the best yet - it made me laugh out loud and cry in the next moment. Gill Sims is not only a champion of writing humorous, hilarious scenes, but she also deals with the sad and poignant ones in a gentle, understanding way, and the book does feel a little more serious and mature in tone, even though, of course, the hysterical finny is still there. It's a book that I really needed in my life now, and I can't recommend it highly enough!

I cant express how much I love these books! so funny and such great reads! Cannot recommend these enough