This book was easy to follow thanks to its simple writing style, however I found that the plot and characters lacked depth.

I follow PTWM on Insta and this book felt very closely related to her own life.
The characters felt a bit one dimensional and that made it a drag to read at times even though the story itself was interesting.
Overall a good effort for her first foray into fiction, I’d be interested to see where she goes next from here.

I have followed Rachael's blog for a number of years and I love her content.

Jo is a mother to her own children as well as her stepchildren. She is a wife to Jamie and they have just moved to Cornwall for a fresh start. Jo experiences lots of twists and turns in her home life as well as discovering one of her close friends is suffering from Domestic Violence. Jo wants to help but with so much going on, how can she help her friend without putting her in danger?

I enjoyed the story of this book and how each twist unfolded.
It is written in a form of a diary which gives it a autobiographical feel. However it is hard to follow as I feel there is a lot of missing dialogue between the characters.

The story is interesting and keeps the reader engaged. I'm sure a lot of women will relate to Jo or her friend. I would definitely recommend for a easy holiday read.

I didn’t find this a very well-written book, it was predictable and its characters were two dimensional, at best.

As a long time follower of Part Time Working Mummy I couldn't wait to read Rachaele's latest release and I wasnt disappointed.

For those who also follow the author it does feel autobiographical but is told in such a fresh and real way. As someone who has a 'patchwork' family it just resonated so deeply with me.

I haven't read such a heartwarming, heartwrenching book in a long time. Full of laughter, tears, happiness and surprises I read this in one sitting.

I really enjoyed the diary formatting of this read, I liked the 'rambling' parts! Anyone who has a similar family dynamic will understand those rambling thoughts, the cussing of the exes and the fragility of trying to keep everything and everyone together.

Covering a whole host of topics that sadly are more prevalent than many don't realise .. domestic abuse, loneliness, grief and fragile relationships.

I thoroughly enjoyed this read.

Thanks to netgalley and Penguin Random House UK for the ARC

This was a tough read in parts, dealing with some difficult topics, but always done so well and gently. Nothing preachy or patronising. It made me tear up a good few times and I absolutely loved every (even the difficult parts) second of it.

Poor Jo! I felt all over the place and stressed just reading it. For the poor character to have this as her story is something else. So well written and believable, self doubting and realistic. Reacting just how anyone in the real world would deal with these situations. I couldn’t stop reading.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book. I have followed Rachaele's blog for a number of years and read the books linked to the blog but this was her first fictional book and I have to say, I really did enjoy it.
I found it humourous and serious in the parts that either was needed. It was a great story of family life and te ups and downs surrounding that.
Coping with children as a single partent, becoming a step parent, i thought these things were covered pasionatly.

The story was fun, easy to follow and believeable. It could be almost any family out there.

#warning This book does cover domestic violence, again this was done in a very sensitive way and highlites how we don't always see what goes on behind closed doors.

A great read an I would certainly read more from this author.

A really good read! This book was a real page turner, and covered many issues including domestic abuse, grief & loss and family relationships. Well written, I hope there will be a sequel?!
Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.

After just binge reading the last 40% of this amazing book, I now feel a bit lost! This book follows the life of Jo and the ups and downs of her life. Some characters you want to scream at and others you want to crawl in to the book to hug and have a cup of tea and a slice of cake with (or a glass of gin!!) This book will make you laugh and cry! I really hope there will be a sequel. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this amazing book.

Thanks to netgalley for the copy of this book.

This book was okay, I enjoyed hearing about the day to day in this book of the main character, family and friends, however like another reviewer has pointed out I also would have liked those characters to be fleshed out a bit more.

Unfortunately I found the main character's narrative a bit tedious. It was quite defensive about a lot of things, and how other people's pain and suffering affected her, or how they had it easier compared to herself in her life. Like another review has pointed out, it might be due to the diary type format that just didn't work either for myself, although I have enjoyed other books in a diary format before - I just didn't always feel myself rooting for the main character when I thought she wasn't being fair towards other people which is a shame.

If you love Rachaele's instagram you're going to love this book.

It was exactly like reading about her own patchwork family with a healthy dose of imagination thrown in.

I loved how kind hearted Jo was, and how realistic their family life was. The diary format really suited Rachaele's writing style and helped the story move at a fast pace.

Most importantly, the story carries a powerful, important message about domestic violence, in a really accessible way. The book has a very warm tone and the non-judgemental treatment of the character experiencing domestic violence will be of great comfort to many women.

This book tells the story of a patchwork family, the complications, the joys, the highs and the lows of separation, divorce and remarriage and 2 families becoming blended.
Told in the 1st person it’s a little like a diary entry detailing the day to day happenings, issues and good things
Although this is Rachaele’s 2nd book this is her debut fiction. I feel she has drawn a lot on her own personal life experiences and those of people around her. I enjoyed this and look forward to reading more from her in the future

Jo has the perfect life - nice house, loving husband, 2 kids and pregnant. Then it all falls apart when her husband leaves her for another woman. The story tells her tale of rebuilding, finding love again and navigating the ups and downs of a blended family, with 5 kids (and a puppy!), making new friends, and getting back to her true self and happiness.

A good story and plot that feels autobiographical from this author yet to someone not aware of her first book or background it would be an entertaining read. It's heartwarming and uplifting

My wife loved this book and she went out and brought a copy.

Slightly different take on her life as this book is fiction. My wife has followed ptwm from the beginning

This is Rachaele’s first fiction book and it doesn’t disappoint.
A real rollercoaster of emotions while reading the ups and occasional downs of Jo, Jamie and their children.
This is not your typically written novel and more that you are being told a story face to face in the way it is written.
One downfall was I feel like some of the characters could have been developed more, especially with the storyline of Jo friend Lou and her boys other than that a good first fiction novel.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review.

What a great read this book was! After meeting a man and falling for his charms 19 year old Jo finds herself pregnant, she gives up on her dream to become a nurse and concentrates on becoming a wife and mother! 3 kids and 10 years later isolated and alone she finds out her husband has cheated on her and leaves. Overtime she learns to trust again and finds herself in love, starting a new life on the south coast. She finds new friends a part time job and her self esteem and confidence back. The story tells of the new friends she meets and the lives that they live. With friends.and family.sticking by each other in the good times and the bad!

This was a powerful story about complications when it comes to dealing the break up of a marriage, difficult with exes, blended families and making new friends, but unfortunately the way it was written gave it the feel of an amateur book, perhaps a debut novel. The book reads as if it is one long diary entry or email to a friend about the happenings of each day in life of Jo. It is told first person with chapters with titles and within each chapter the days of the week. Perhaps because of how it was written it lacks some depth. I don’t feel we get to know the characters well enough and I miss stuff apparently normally take for granted, small details that give the reader the feeling that they are really there rather than just being told about events that happened.

Although I didn’t love how it was written, which wasn’t purely down to the diary style as I have read diary style books before that I loved, the story was still powerful and I felt for the characters and was affected by what Jo and especially her new friend Lou were going through to the extent my eyes became a little foggy.

Story in short:
After a broken marriage and a new relationship Jo and Jaime end up moving to Cornwall with their five kids from their previous marriages. In addition to blending their families and dealing with complicated exes they decide to get a puppy and Jo finds a part time job meaning her plate is more than full and she struggles dealing with everything. Jo’s new life also brings in new friends and makes her life so much livelier, but some of them also seem to be dealing with their own problems including domestic abuse and this also ends up causing Jo quite so stress.

I would like to thank the author, the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read this story in exchange for an honest review.

This was a compelling and thoroughly enjoyable read from start to finish with a great storyline. It made me both laugh and shed a tear.

Trigger: domestic violence, absentee parent, mental issue, mental and physical abuse.
I don't know how to talk about this books without saying i FREAKING LOVE THIS book! The plot is quit different than i read, this book helped me to see many things. I am a person who takes books seriously and thinks "books show a perspective for every situation, and even though life does not book, you get to see a lot of ways to handle life."
A woman who had it all or she thought had it all until she found that her husband was cheating on her. And slowly she realized he was actually the biggest tool she could imagine. Doubting herself she tried to save her marriage, well-sacrificing her self-respect. But that tool dared to walk away while she was pregnant.
So slowly she started over. Building herself piece by piece. One step at a time and that was the best thing about the book. She started her life with another person who seemed to be too unreal, as he didn't fuss over her flaws, didn't dig on her mistake.
Slowly, she understood, that was the way it was supposed to be. She had the most 3amazing child and not to mention her partner had 2. As they all started to live together it was chaos, but it was good chaos..
The author seemed to have it all together and I loved the way she controlled every emotion in the book.