What a fun read! I flew through this book, it was exactly what I needed. Fun, silly, special and really highlighting some relevant dilemmas women face day-to-day. What makes you the perfect woman? Are you what men want? Are you a 'keeper'?

I might be biased because I completely relate to the main character and her struggle with a toxic relationship. Her journey to finding fulfillment outside of a partner is an important message for any young woman right now.

With a group of fun and outspoken female characters, this book was about friendship, self-love and learning how to stand up for yourself! Would definitely recommend for someone who acknowledges how important these issues are but also looking for something fun and lighthearted.

Thank you #Netgalley and Zaffre books UK for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

A very light-hearted and humorous read, covering many of the issues of today, especially the rise of reality tv and the power of social media. An original and thought-provoking storyline leads to some wise and witty comments, whilst the book is gripping and engaging. Highly recommended for a little light reading, but from a feminist and original perspective.

A lighthearted and fast-paced read, that also manages to explore feminism, friendship and self discovery. The reality show concept is really clever and relatable to anyone who grew up watching Big Brother. The Shelf will definitely appeal to readers who are fans of Beth O'Leary's The Flatshare.

I'll be perfectly honest, when I first started reading The Shelf, I was convinced I would hate it and would have to stop reading. Amy frustrated me pretty instantly and I was practically screaming at her to kick Jamie to the curb as he was so repulsive. I also found the concept of the TV Show 'The Shelf' to have so many ethical issues that I couldn't see working in real life. But then I remembered some of the TV shows we currently have in the UK and admittedly I'm probably wrong on that front.

As soon as Amy entered The Shelf, I really warmed to her. I enjoyed watching her slowly unravel the effect Jamie had had on her and come to terms with what she really wanted from her life. The rest of the housemates were also really strong and easy to distinguish between because of their varying characteristics, something I was initially concerned about. I liked finding out more about their different lives and experiences and thought this was done really well. There were obviously a couple of villains in the story and I found myself finding disliking the therapist as he himself held some really outdated views which I struggled to believe someone like him would admit to.

The tv show is quite blatantly a mash-up of the likes of Love Island and Big Brother but it doesn't hide from this fact either. Overall it's a really entertaining ready which I flew through and really enjoyed. Sure, there's an element of cheesiness to the whole thing but it highlights some really important themes and messages which sometimes we could all do with a reminder of from time to time.

Dream Holiday, Appalling Reality.....
Dream holiday becomes holiday hell for Amy when she finds herself on an appalling reality television show. Witty, amusing, satirical, thought provoking and entertaining in equal measure.

My review has featured as part of my What I Read in July video https://youtu.be/ylUnrAUV1qA


It has also featured in a Book Haul video https://youtu.be/qfHiiOeGHwQ

Well written and amusing. A nice easy read on a hot summers day. Relatable and relevant in today’s world of reality tv shows. Very much based on a Big Brother style programme.

I enjoyed this book, it was a quick and easy read with a few good "YESSSS, GO ON MATE" moments. But overall I just couldn't understand why any of the women stayed on the show and why the only one actively sabotaging all the tasks was Jackie. I wanted them to band together and start completely rejecting the premise.

That said, genuinely, a great beach read you don't need to think about too much.

Amy is 32, watching 'everyone' in her life get married and have babies- or so Instagram leads her to believe. She's been in a dull relationship for 2 years and when her boyfriend claims to be whisking her away on a surprise holiday, she is sure he will pop the question. Unfortunately, and unexpectedly, he dumps her on a T.V show-in both forms of the word "dump"! Thus begins her time on the reality show "The Shelf" to teach women how to be a "keeper" in the nation's eyes as well as for future partners.
•
Once you get beyond the seething anger of why a wonderfully diverse, intelligent group of women would agree to take part in this misogynistic, belittling debacle ( which ia seemingly set up and lead by narrow-minded men) you can appreciate it for what it stands for. A fantastic, satirical interpretation on: 
》gender stereotypes and an outdated view on women's "wifey" roles
》the impact of social media on mental health, relationships, life "milestones" and the keeping up with the Jones' mentality
》general healthy and unhealthy relationships, the unattainable expectations or pressure we put upon ourselves and or partner to make things work 
and last but not least 
》reality TV, the way people react within those circumstances, their emotional and mental wellbeing as well as outsider influences, especially keyboard warriors.
 
On top of that it is SO funny, laugh out loud, snort snigger kind of funny. I loved every character and found myself rooting for these women (even Flick!) They stood up for themselves, supported and lifted each other and basically are a voice for feminism! It was brilliant and I couldn't recommend it enough. Just bear in mind, it will aggravate you (hopefully) and the sheer disgraceful, distasteful, chauvinism that is demonstrated may get you ready to launch it out of the window in a blind rage. BUT I urge you stay C.A.L.M (that will make sense when you read it) and remind yourself it is intentionally engaging our inner chimps.

If you want one feel good book of the year, it's going to be The Shelf! I felt that the beginning was very slow paced but actually it was in keeping with the way the main characters life was feeling to her. All the women in the "game show" were relatable and I could definitely pick out a few of my friends as some of these girls. Helly Acton is one I will definitely look forward to more now, especially as a good summer read.

I had mixed feelings about this book. When I first started reading I was horrified by the sexist language and had to wonder if it was satire? the sarcasm was off at times so I did find it confusing.

The reality tv element was interesting. As a fan of love island myself it did make me wonder whether the entertainment was worth the cruel way the contestants are treated.

Overall I enjoyed it but did find myself raging at times.

This book was so much better than I anticipated. I requested to read this book as I was so intrigued by seeing other peoples raving reviews about it but it is not my normal sort of read. Stupidly, I went in with low expectations. But I really did love this book! It was absolutely brilliant. I had an instant hate for Jamie which made me root for Amy from the very beginning. I like that the author gives us a good background to their relationship before Amy is taken on the shelf, it made me so much more invested in Amys character. Ugh, talking about Jamie just makes me so angry. Getting into 'the shelf' element of the book, I loved it. I hated the producers dont get me wrong but it just made me love the contestants even more. I loved each and every one of them for their personalities and I love that they were all so different that they became very memorable for me and didn't just roll into one character. I really felt like I was watching love island/big brother which is a guilty pleasure of mine. I just really enjoyed all of the emotions in this book, and the depiction of strong women overcoming the stigmas attached to them in their everyday life. Feminism at its finest. The Shelf was such an easy and enjoyable read, one which I devoured within one sitting; I just could not put it down.

I would honestly recommend this book and I cannot wait to read more by this author.

Amy is dumped publicly by her boyfriend of 2 years when he enters her into a reality TV show, "The Shelf". A really good read with a totally different theme, showing the relationship between the contestants and the way they coped with living in the public eye after public humiliation.

hings than being ‘left on the shelf’?Firstly a big thank you to the publishers for my copy on netgalley .Wow what a debut! I absolutely loved this book and everything it represents. Its funny,genuine,real,warm and completely empowering.Its a fantastic concept and i cant wait to read more from helly.Reading this as a single woman it ticked so many boxes , its about finding yourself in the places you least expect. A tale of friendship,love, and self discovery. Published 18th june and cant recommend enough .

Having watched quite a bit of reality TV I was interested to see how it would work in book form and I can honestly say that I loved it. It was a really fun read and there were some great characters. I would definitely recommend. Looking forward to reading more from this author. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

This made me laugh out loud, yet was also very moving. Great subject for a reality show. The characters had depth and surprised me on occasions. If you're lucky enough to be going on holiday, would make a fab holiday read.

I seem to have a habit for picking up light-hearted women’s fiction recently and it really is proving to be the perfect antidote to the state of the world. The Shelf is a fierce, funny, feminist debut novel that you need in your life.

32-year-old Amy feels like she’s falling behind in life but she’s pretty sure her boyfriend of two years, Jamie is about to pop the question on a luxury holiday. So imagine her surprise when she finds herself on brand new, reality TV show for single women, The Shelf. Over the next month, she and five other women must complete tasks to ‘improve themselves’ and be crowned The Keeper. Will Amy’s time on the show show her that there are worse things in life than being single?

There are signs from the very start that Amy isn’t truly happy in her relationship with Jamie and that she is perhaps playing a part that she feels she should be playing. Although my heart broke for her, a little bit of me was quite pleased that Amy was getting the opportunity to explore her options outside of life with Jamie. The book deals with society’s expectations for women’s lives and how these limited expectations are ingrained in the minds of heterosexual women. It’s not a new observation by any means, but the way it’s tackled in The Shelf is very original and relatable.

The Shelf itself is an incredibly sexist, patronising and exploitative concept but the women at its heart take it upon themselves to turn the darkness of the show on its head. By the end of the book, Amy has had deep conversations with all of her fellow contestants and we really get to know and love each of them. All of their stories ring true and these women came alive before my eyes. If you’re a single woman over 30, you will find yourself in one of these characters.

Amy represents many millennial women who are lucky enough to have a range of life choices. There is definitely such a thing as too much choice and it can leave some people paralysed as to where their life should go. It also represents the pressures that women feel to have it all -a career, a family and a fulfilling personal life or to simply be happy with their lot. The fact that women who do manage to balance all of these things are celebrated or seen as aspirational means that those who are struggling to achieve everything (which is most of us) feel like failures.

Amy’s internal monologue is so similar to my own and therefore it must also resonate with many other women. Her strength gradually develops throughout the novel and it’s so heartwarming to watch. We all need to pay closer attention to our inner voices because they speak the truth much more often than we’d perhaps like to admit. Only we know what will truly make us happy so we must put more trust in ourselves.

The Shelf is a refreshing celebration of female friendship and self-love that brutally takes down our obsession with romantic relationships and settling for less than we deserve. The ending made me smile so much and filled me with a wonderful sense of calm. Helly Acton is a very exciting new voice in the genre that speaks directly to a whole generation of women.

If there is a book that should end up being turned into a movie then this book should be. We’ve all watched some form of reality TV shows like Big Brother. You may or may not like them, but I think this book beats them hands down! I found this book to be so funny with a few cringe worthy moments. I just couldn’t put it down. As I couldn’t wait to see what tasks the girls would be put through next and how they’d all reacted to each task, the first task they were given had some very funny parts to it. I ended up reading late into the night and gave myself a fright when I dropped my kindle on myself as I’d fallen asleep.

How would you feel if your boyfriend dumped you on National TV? Especially when you though you were going on holiday together, hoping this would be when he would pop the question. Well Amy Wright found out exactly what it was like to be dumped on National TV on a new reality TV show called “The Shelf”. Where six women would compete to be crowned “The Keeper”. Amy was the first contestant on this new reality show. Then five other women who were also dumped joined her, and they are:

- Amy Wright, Age: 32, Profession: Copywriter, Status: Long term relationship, Description: Desperate
- Jackie Adu, Age: 38, Profession: Solicitor, Status: Married, no kids, Description: Selfish
- Gemma Burns, Age: 30, Profession: Personal Trainer, Status: Long term relationship, Description: Distant
- Kathy Hegarty, Age: 52, Profession: None, Status: Married, two adult kids, Description: Bitter
- Hattie Jackson, Age: 33, Profession: Chef, Status: Long term relationship, Description: Boring
- Lauren Hawk, Age: 36, Profession: DJ, Status: Short term relationship, Description: Easy

Each week the contestants have task to complete along with mandatory therapy sessions that are also shown on the show. Depending how they do and along with the publics votes someone will be voted off each week. Also letting the girls know how popular or how well they are doing there is a leader board, along with a live media stream of the publics unfiltered tweets for them all to see.

A week in the show throws them all a curveball by bringing in another contestant, except this contestant isn’t like the rest of the girls. Felicity Brimble, Flick for short. She is still in a relationship, she hasn’t been dumped. She actually applied to be on the show herself as she wants to see if she can improve herself even though she’s already like a perfect 1950’s house wife. How will they all get on with the new arrival, will it be handbags at dawn?

I can’t tell you anymore about the story line as I really don’t want to spoil this book, as it’s so funny. If you like reality TV shows like Big Brother then you must read this book!

Absolute perfection....I could not put it down and definitely did not want to be disturbed, I read it in one go and then wished that I had practiced a bit of delayed gratification. This is funny and feminist, there are a lot of us funny feminists but not that many books....for the sake of the next generation of women we need more and more in this sub genre of chick lit. Thank you for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'm not a fan of reality TV, but for some reason the blurb for this book appealed to me so I gave it a go. Great choice, it turns out. Its was a welcome breath of fresh air after reading too much US romance. Amy and the whole cast of characters were brilliant and realistic, and the setting gave a wonderful opportunity to bring together characters that wouldn't normally exist in the same story.

Somehow The Shelf manages to be intelligent, thought-provoking and extremely entertaining. It brings up self-image, feminism, social media and a lot of other contemporary subjects, but while it makes you think, it also makes you laugh. Really looking forward to reading more from this talented author.