What a read. Definitely spoilers with this review. More of a 2.5 star.

This one started off…. Interesting. Almost weird? The way Bonnie’s “crush” was introduced almost made me uncomfortable. It read like a grown woman crushing on a teen. I felt like I was about to dive into a book about grooming. Not what I was expecting.

That being said, I trekked on. While the beginning truly felt like just a wrong first impression, I think the book’s blurb was misleading altogether. There was little focus on the dream man to lover trope. It was more of a random celebrity becomes crazed obsessed stalker feeling.

The main focus of the book was her dating life and then you threw in the crazy ex husband. It briefly touched on domestic abuse, though not physical abuse. That was a wild curveball and almost felt out of place. I’ll always advocate for awareness, but it just fell flat in delivery.

Overall, it was a cute story. A lot of misses with this one and definitely had so much potential. I’m not sure where the title came from but that was what appealed to me first, then the blurb. As I mentioned about the blurb, the title was also misleading.

Thanks so much Saga Egmont Audio and NetGalley for the advanced audiobook.

I honestly wanted to enjoy this book and I’m sorry to be a Negative Nelly, but this one just didn’t work for me.

By the end of the first chapter I felt irritated by the main character and her daughter.
Bonnie’s mum did provide some light relief and I did enjoy her character.

The storyline made me cringe. A middle aged mother lusting after and writing letters to a member of her teenage daughters favourite boy band really wasn’t up my street.
Other parts of the story were more enjoyable.

Tilly Tennant is a great writer, but this isn’t her best work.

At best I will say this was an easy read, with some enjoyable parts of the story.
I sincerely hope others will enjoy this more than I did.
⭐️⭐️⭐️

With thanks to Netgalley and Saga Egmont Audio for a copy of this title.

I really tried to enjoy this one, but it just wasn’t it for me. I did not like it at all. I am sorry to give this negative feedback, but I have nothing else to add. I was bored to the point where I simply could not force myself to carry on any further. I am sure it has its right readers and I hope the author would surprise me with more interesting books. Best of luck!

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I wish things were different.

Thank you netgalley for providing me with a free copy of The time of my life in exchange for a honest review


This book was not exactly bad but it was extremely underwelming to the point where finishing it felt like a chore.


The characters are really poorly written. Besides the MCs partner and father of her child missing we get no background info whatsoever about her goals or backstory. She is legit a 35 year old woman with a job she dislikes (in which a lot of the action in the book takes place at) and we do not know why.
All the important characters seem to lack personality since all they have in common is either being in love or related to Bunni and none of them have a consistent character development especially Bunnies daughter.


The romance was also extremely easy to predict considering that the choice was blatantly obvious and I felt nothing for any of the love interests.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to listen to this audio book in return for an honest review.
Synopsis
he’s given up on love. But one little letter might change everything…

Single mum Bonnie is a born romantic. But she’s been seriously let down by love. Her good-for-nothing husband walked out on her and daughter Paige two years ago, and hasn’t been heard from since.

Between trying to make ends meet, managing teenage mood swings and the serious lack of eligible bachelors in her small town, Bonnie has all but given up on finding her happily ever after.

Although if real-life romance is in short supply, it doesn’t mean Bonnie can’t indulge in a harmless imaginary one. She’s started writing to her totally unattainable dream man, baring her soul before screwing up the pages and tossing them straight in the trash…

But when fate intervenes and Bonnie actually meets the man she never thought she could have, events take an interesting turn. Envelopes addressed to her start mysteriously arriving on her doorstep. Although Bonnie never sent him any of the letters she wrote, he has now begun writing to her.

Is Bonnie about to discover that dreams really do come true?

A fabulously funny and warm romantic comedy that fans of Josie Silver, Holly Martin and Lindsey Kelk will absolutely love!

Previously published as Hopelessly Devoted to Holden Finn.

This was a cute little romcom, while not normally my first choice, I really enjoyed it. Bonnie was sweet kind caring and a protective mother to Paige (if you have a teen, you’ll see the author has nailed the character perfectly) having both been abandoned by henri, two years on bonnie has the yearning to feel love again and has a really sweet crush on Holden, the lead in a band that her daughter loves. I loved being in on the secret letters written to Holden. But when a crush becomes reality things change a lot. Max is the sort of sideline love interest that Is the real deal and I rooted for him throughout. The relationships and friendships in this book are really well written and beautifully narrated. No complaints here. A lovely all rounder.

I really wanted to enjoy this book but it sadly wasn't for me. It won't put me off trying more from this author but this one wasn't the right story for me

Not quite for me... the characters were inconsistent and unrelatable. I think the author writes well but the characterization did not work for me

Bonnie ‘s husband walked out on her and her daughter Paige. After two years she is not sure where he is. She is a romantic but refuses the advances of Max, the delivery guy, at the grocery store. Paige misses her father and is hard to deal with. I really liked this book. Paige was the typical teenager, and it was fun to see the glimpses of mother-daughter bonding. Paige and Bonnie have a crush on a rock star and the times they spent together with Holden offered a lot of laughs. I admired Bonnie’s realistic nature when she finally believes love does exist. I appreciate receiving a copy of the book from netGalley in return for an honest review.

I love Tilly Tennant books and although this was fun and a quick, easy read it’s not one of my favourites. There’s a lot going on in this book at at times it’s easy to get it mixed up.

Bonnie's man ran off leaving her with her teenage daughter, Paige. Bonnie has all kinds of problems with men. Max is interested in her but she doesn't want him. She still wants Henry, who ran off. Then there is Holden, who's lifestyle just isn't a fit for her. To add into the mix, her mom has met someone and is leaving the country. Bonnie just doesn't know what to do.
Opinion
I listened to the audiobook and the narrator was fabulous. The British accent gave me a thrill (as I'm an American and don't get to hear that accent often.)
The story was great but a bit far fetched for me. Three men chasing after a single mom? I don't see that happening very often. Overall, the book was enjoyable and gave a few laughs.
Many thanks to Net Galley and Saga Egmont Audio for providing me with an ARC of this audiobook.

Bonnie is a 30 something single mom who has a 15 year old daughter and a massive crush on a boy band member. Which in itself is quite weird and sad to say much of this story was. When Bonnie’s daughter wins a radio contest to go to the bands local concert and backstage passes, Bonnie thinks that this is her chance to meet him. When she does finally meet him, things don’t go as expected and the result is that he becomes obsessed with her (what?!?)
As Bonnie tries to settle back into real life, the local delivery man reveals that he has feelings for her and her ex partner (and her daughters father) comes back into the picture so she finds herself trying to sort feelings for 3 different men. Her daughter was an awful human being and I loved Bonnie’s mom because she tried to keep her granddaughter in check. As she works out her feelings for all of them, everyone around her has an opinion on what she should do.
That being said, it’s worth the read as it’s a light and easy go and the narrator was quite good.
Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for this audiobook arc in exchange for my review.

In a Nutshell: I did NOT have “the time of my life” reading this. But to those who like their romcoms to be on the sillier side of fluff, this will be a good choice.

Story Synopsis:
Bonnie, thirty-five year old single mum to fifteen year old Paige. Her long-time partner (and Paige’s dad) walked out on them two years back and she’s been struggling to make ends meet. This doesn’t stop her from dreaming about a hot boy-band singer. When she actually gets the chance to meet her crush, she is on cloud nine. Will things work out as per her dreams? There are many more aspects to the plot but this is where it all begins.
The story comes to us in the first person pov of Bonnie.


Where the book worked for me:
👌 The cover is gorgeous.
👌 The narrator of the audiobook is outstanding. Ooh, and the audiobook is just 8.5 hours long – Phew!
👌 Three characters are loveable – Max, Linda, and Jeannie. (Also, the only three characters in the book with a modicum of common sense.)


Where the book didn’t work for me:
😒 There are two kinds of romcoms – one where the proceedings are sweet and you love what’s happening though you know what’s going to happen. The second is where the plot is thoroughly illogical and there are ridiculous ideas and farfetched twists that don’t make sense to anyone with a bit of brainpower. This book is in the second category.
😒 There are two kinds of romcom leads – one who is a loveable girl making the best of her mind and heart either to get a partner or to progress in life. The second is a gorgeous female who does nothing with her brain, takes the silliest of decisions and yet moans about her situation when things go from bad to worse. Bonnie is mostly in the second category.
😒 When I requested this book, I thought it would be a story of a celebrity crush coming true. The blub looked so appealing in this regard! What I didn’t know is that the said celebrity was just 23 years old. I have no issues with older woman – younger man romances, but it should be written believably. In this story, the whole attraction comes off as fake and abrupt and silly. Why would a young successful popstar suddenly and inexplicably lust after a single mom 12 years his senior, no matter how gorgeous she is?
😒 There are three guys in the story – the celebrity, the ex-partner, and the delivery man at the greengrocer’s where Bonnie works. With three potential lover boys, there should have been at least a little confusion about who would win Bonnie’s heart finally. But no, the champion is as clear as day.
😒 There is a great amount of stress on appearance. Bonnie is so gorgeous that everyone can’t help being attracted to her. All the characters are not just described in detail based on the looks but their appeal is supposed to be more because of their physical qualities. There is also some body-shaming. (“People with bottoms as big as Manchester” supposedly because they eat multiple times a day - really? *eye roll*)
😒 The character sketching is so poor other than the looks element. For instance, the whole book goes by without us even knowing why Bonnie is working at the greengrocer’s as an assistant at age 35.
😒 Paige’s character is the worst written. She is supposed to be fifteen but there’s no consistency in her portrayal. Sometimes, she acts as a teen (not in a good way) and at other times, she is shown to be almost childlike. Her sketching is so inconsistent that even by the end of the book, I didn’t know what she was really like though she has such a major role in the story.
😒 Almost every single decision taken by Bonnie made me wanna whack her head with a frying pan à la Tangled’s Rapunzel.
😒 There are some twists in the story. Not one of them made sense. I can’t reveal much without going into spoilers but I was rolling my eyes at almost every scene from 40% onwards.


The book will be good for fluffy-chicklit lovers. People like me should learn a lesson and stay away because even when reading this genre, we use our heads more than our hearts. To be honest, my heart didn't like it too. There were no "awwww" moments, something that is a must for every chicklit if I have to enjoy it.

Recommended for those who know how to turn off their left-side of their brains and enjoy a "light" book "lightly".

1.5 stars. (1 star for the narrator, 0.5 stars for the three characters I liked. Rounding up out of loyalty to Saga Egmont Audio – their narrators are always excellent!)

Just so you know, the book was originally titled “Hopelessly Devoted to Holden Finn”. Good the name was changed because Holden Finn isn’t the be-all and end-all of the story.

My thanks to Saga Egmont Audio and NetGalley for the ALC of “The Time of My Life”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the audiobook. So sorry this worked out badly.

I want to first thank the publishers and Netgally for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC for an honest review.

Before I give my review I want to make it clear that my issues with this book are in no way the books fault.

When I requested to read/listen to the audiobook, I had not realized that this was set in England. While that is typically not a problem for me, I found that I struggled with this book. I unfortunately found the dialect very hard to understand, and the narrators accent was sometimes a little hard to understand.

The only issue that I really had with the actual content of the book, was that I did find it a little weird that the main character was crushing so hard on a boyband member that we nearly 12 years younger then her. I have no issue with age gap relationships but that are not something that I can personally relate to so that really didn't help the book for me.

I understand why she was crush on him, and the character development that it lead to but overall the book fell a little flat for me considering the difficulty I had listening to it.

I would still recommend this book to others because I think for the right person this is a good book, it just wasn't for me.

Mum Bonnie has a crush on Holden Finn, boyband rock star. When her 15 year old daughter wins a chance to meet the band it doesn't go as Bonnie always imagined it would go. Busy with work life and looking after Paige makes her blind to see Max, who really likes her.

First off, I did not like the mum-crush part. Holden is 12 years her junior and that whole part came across as major school girl vibes.

Secondly, I really like this story, apart from that bit. Max's character was strong and he obviously had deep feelings for Bonnie. Paige was a little self centered, but probably typical for a teenager. The writing was really good and the ending very entertaining. Overall, a really fun quick read.

Thank you Netgalley and Saga Egmont Audio for this ARC.

The Time of My Life is a fun and quirky story about a single mom of one teenager daughter who has gone through A LOT with her daughters father and is consequently pretty shy to trust again and her journey to finding love. I really enjoyed this story! From her crumpled up letters in the bin written to a pop star to her meddling best work buddy, to her angsty teenage daughter, this story pulled me in and made me care about the characters from the start.

I connected with Bonnie particularly, being a single mom with trust issues, and also really felt for her daughter and how she was coping with the abandonment by her father. There are a lot of real life issues in this book and the characters dealt with them realistically and well. There were some issues, I felt like the plot line with the pop star was a bit far fetched, but they do stuff like that in romance novels sometimes. The twist at the end I sort of saw coming, and sort of didn’t, which I enjoyed.

Having read this as an audiobook, I want to comment on the narrator, who I grew to really like. At the very beginning I was worried this would not be the case, but after a few pages they seemed to get into the swing of the book and having finished it, I would not want a different narrator, they brought the right feeling and tone to the vast majority of the novel.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and it was a nice, comfy, fun read!

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing me with an advance review copy of the audiobook for free in exchange for my honest review.

Note to Macmillan Audio: Towards the end of section 17 there was a repeated bit on the recording, where the narrator began a sentence then began it again.

Also, I did post a review to Amazon as well and it is in their approval queue.

I couldn't get into this book at all. I listened to the first 20% of it but I just found it really hard to connect to the characters or feel gripped by the story so unfortunately I had to stop listening as it just wasn't for me.

This is an enjoyable romantic story about a lovely lass called Bonnie, who has a 15 year old daughter called Paige. Paige's Dad has left them and now Bonnie finds herself torn between two men called Holden Finn and Max. Who will she end up with? Bonnie has to keep Paige happy, but she also has to do what she feels is best for her.

I liked this book, and the audiobook narrator was perfect for it. It has been a nice book for me to read while I am out walking, and it would make a good summer read, or indeed a book to read at any time of the year.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book.

This is a cute, quick romance book. Loved Bonnie and all the stuff she's going through. She's such a strong woman for being a single Mom and pushing through. The letters showing up were so cute and literally fate happening. I loved how this book played out. It was so sweet and cute. Quick short listen, which was a refreshing romance book after reading alot of sci-fi and thriller books. The narrator had such a great accent and was fun switching tones between characters. Made it so easy to follow along and enjoy even more!

This audiobook was given to me by NetGalley and the publishers to read and review. All statements above are my own my opinion after fully listening to this audiobook.

Narrator 5 stars

Story 4 stars

While I really enjoyed this story and the developing relationship between Bonnie and Max, I didn't understand the Holden story line. Personally to me that whole story line didn't make sense nor did it gel well with Bonnie's character and personality.

First try hearing of this author and definitely want to read more so went on a kindle shopping spree.

The Time of my Life by Tilly Tennant

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to NetGalley and Saga Egmont Audio and I am leaving this review voluntarily

Single mum Bonnie is a born romantic. But she’s been seriously let down by love. Her good-for-nothing husband walked out on her and daughter Paige two years ago, and hasn’t been heard from since.

Between trying to make ends meet, managing teenage mood swings and the serious lack of eligible bachelors in her small town, Bonnie has all but given up on finding her happily ever after.

Although if real-life romance is in short supply, it doesn’t mean Bonnie can’t indulge in a harmless imaginary one. She’s started writing to her totally unattainable dream man, baring her soul before screwing up the pages and tossing them straight in the trash…

This book has previously been published as Hopelessly Devoted to Holden Finn - I was surprised that I haven't read this book before as I have been trying to read more books by Tilly. I thought this was an enjoyable, feel-good read. I surprised myself with how fast I got through this book as it was so easy to lose track of time. A must read for fans of Tilly Tennant!

Rating 4/5