Welcome to Your Life is my first time reading a novel from journalist and blogger Bethany Rutter.

A lot of her content both online and in her books has a focus on body politics, plus size fashion, and living in a fat body.
I heard great things about her latest novel so I was delighted to get an ARC of the audiobook.

Serena has just jilted her boyfriend of 10 years on their wedding day. Everyone is shocked by this as he’s deemed “out of her league”, but Serena knows she’s not meant to be with him and so sets out on a voyage of self discovery, finding some body confidence, and eh, dating 52 men over 52 weeks. What could possibly go wrong?!

Things I loved about this book; a plus size protagonist with storylines that reflect the reality of that; fat phobia etc., great friendships, terrible dates described in a humorous way (always fun), the CLOTHES!! (Serena makes her own, thanks to the fashion industry rarely providing up-to-date styles for women her size), and what an ode to London it was. I particularly enjoyed how each season was described.

In general, I also just liked that this was a warm and funny story that was easy to read and got me out of a book rut. Always grateful for that!

Things I didn’t love; pretty obvious safety concerns that almost all women have when dating strangers, didn’t seem to be mentioned that much in the book, which seemed like an oversight.
The ending also felt a bit too neat for me, and I wasn’t sure I felt as happy for the main character and the choice she made as the author wanted me to be.

All of that said, I think this will be a perfect holiday read, or a great book to get you out of a reading rut!

My first but not my last book from Bethany Rutter.


With thanks to @netgalley and @harpercollinsuk for the opportunity to read #WelcomeToYourLife.

A story of self-invention, body confidence and fateful romance. When Serena leaves her fiancé at the altar and breaks off their 10-year relationship, she abandons her life with him and moves into a flat in London with her best friend. She sets herself a goal of getting herself “out there” by going on a date with a new guy every week. Serena is subjected to the men on Tinder and similar dating apps, until a fateful meet cute at a wedding. While Serena is making a new life for herself in London, working in an agency as a copywriter, she befriends her colleague Nicole, who seems to have her life together, who’s confident and everything Serena aspires to be.

I find this kind of trope really interesting, as there is a lot to be said for the poor timing, rock bottom and rebuilding yourself from the ground up. Serena had body confidence issues, as a larger woman, and she started out with the mentality that no one besides her ex-fiancé would love her. That was part of the reason she gravitated to her colleague Nicole so much, who was also a larger woman, but she wore bold clothing, was very confident in herself, and went on dates constantly.

I think this was a really honest and frank look into how making a decision like calling off an engagement can really throw off where you thought your life was going off track. But I respected Serena’s dedication to trying new things, without whinging and too many complaints about the difficulty, and how she threw herself into her new life in London, new adventures and work on herself. I think it was an important story to tell, with really well-demonstrated lessons on female friendships, self-confidence and the value of yourself as a person without a partner. I also loved the audiobook of this, I got through it really quickly and it was such an enjoyable and easy read!

A light hearted, quick, upbeat read. I listened in a few days while going about other tasks - it was easy to follow along as I didn't need go focus too much.

There's some great body positive messaging along with themes of strong female friendships and finding your true self.

I was somewhat disappointed that we didn't get all 52 dates as the blurb suggested (not a spoiler by the way) and it became a slightly different story to the one I was expecting. However, maybe 52 would have been repetitive after a while.

I found some of it a little bit cheesy (how quickly Serena manages to land on her feet with a job, flat and new bestie in London) in how she gets to "live her best life" and I know her weight was a key issue for her, but I don't think the reader needed to be reminded as much about her insecurities; particularly when she was supposedly more confident and didn't care so much.

My second Bethany Rutter read and I will happily read more by this author.

I really enjoyed the plus size representation and the positivity of this book. It’s a “woman goes on a journey of self discovery” book, more so than the dating and romance book it’s advertised as. To be honest, I wasn’t a fan of the love interest, I didn’t feel any chemistry and I’d have enjoyed the book just as much if we’d not seen him again.
The audiobook was a good listen and I listened to it over two days.

Wow well wasn’t this book fun! I love a good rom-com and this was a delightful balance of warm humour, laugh out loud funny and swoony romance. Definitely one I’d recommend

Serena has just left her fiancee at the altar.
While others may think she has just screwed up the best thing in her life, she knows there must be more out there and she's going to find it.

This was full of strong female characters, the main character Serena, her best friend Lola and even her work colleague Nicole.

The narrative follows the main character Serena, in first-person point of view as she builds a new life for herself, through relationships (family, friends and romantic), starting a new job and moving to London. These are all really big changes for an individual character within a short time, however, I feel Rutter does this well; balancing each situation throughout.

This novel is also one that shows growth with the character, how she develops confidence, surrounds herself with the right people and also embraces her body as a plus-size female.

As this was an audiobook, I slightly struggled with the narrator's different voices, to separate the characters, however, this did not take away from the narrative and was one that I enjoyed.

Listened to the audiobook.
I received a free Advanced Reading Copy via NetGalley in exchange for a complete and honest review. The narration has good pace and flow,and the narrators voices seemed right for the characters they were portraying. I listened to this as an audio book and felt the narrators really helped bring the story to life. A really wonderful story.

I loved that this book had strong girl power vibes throughout the whole book, plus size representation and focuses a lot on friendship over relationships. I devoured it in a day, I found it so easy to read, and the characters were very likeable.

An uplifting, fun and a little bit naughty read about a plus size woman that realises her size does not need to hold her back and she finally starts living her life with confidence.

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this audiobook, the narrator does a great job and the story struck a few cords with me.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for letting me review this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Narrator 5 stars
Loved this narrator!

Story 4 stars
This story was refreshing and EXACTLY what I needed to get me out of my reading slump. I felt like I was listening to a friend tell me how they have been since I last saw them.

Serena Mills is on the way to her wedding when she suddenly realises she can't go through with it and asks the taxi driver to drop her at the Harvester. It's there, eating a large ice cream sundae and drinking a glass of wine, that she meets her fiance and tells him it's over. Serena has not been single since meeting her ex in university, so as she moves to London to live with her friend Lola, she must navigate this big city and the dating scene. She sets herself a challenge, one date a week for a year. Can she find love or has she just made the biggest mistake of her life?

As much as the romance does play a big part of this book, it is also a coming of age story, Serena is almost 30 yet hasn't found her groove in life. Part of this is to do with her weight, which is a big part of the story, fatphobia and how it can impact your life. As someone who is plus sized, it is refreshing to have a character who I can relate to but I did feel at times it was relied on a bit too much. It could also be triggering for some people but I do think the fact it is written from an own voices experience does help add authenticity to that element of the story and we do see Serena work through some of her own internal biases and make progress. We also see Serena grow in her friendships as well, especially with her workmate Nicole (even if she does say 'my dude' too many times!)

Romance wise, there is an overall romance plot which was a bit frustrating at times but I feel like the story had to play out that way to allow Serena herself to grow and find confidence and independence. The romance wasn't why I wanted to read the book, it was more to see Serena grow and change.

There are a few elements which could be removed and I think the story wouldn't suffer (Nicole's harassment storyline, Lola suddenly moving away)

Overall it was a fun read, I really enjoyed the narrator, I felt like she got the tone spot on for the story. I would be interested in a sequel to this, as I enjoyed the characters in the book, maybe focusing on one of the friends as the main character instead could be fun

Welcome to Your Life by Bethany Rutter is an nice, easy and enjoyable listen.
The story is very relatable to many people today and the plus size representation was brilliant.
The ending was kinda predictable but it didn’t spoil the book at all.
The narrator was superb at bringing the whole thing to life.

WELCOME TO YOUR LIFE by BETHANY RUTTER.

This is such a fun read. It champions the fuller figure woman and making a freah start in life.
Warm, feel good and pee your pants funny.
A wonderful read that will whisk you away to a happy place.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Out now in all formats.

With grateful thanks to #Netgalley and #HarperCollinsUkAudio for an audio arc of this fabulous book.

Welcome to Your Life begins with Serena Mills, a plus size woman, on her wedding day who has decided she does not want to marry her fiancé even though believes she will never find anyone as handsome or as good as him again and that she was lucky he loved her.

From that point we follow Serena as she navigates life as a single woman, living in the big city and learns to love and accept herself for who she is. The positive fat rep in this (as well as queer rep) is great to see and I would highly recommend this book for anyone who needs a little reminder that everyone is worthy, regardless of what your body happens to look like.

Devoured this this audio book in 2 days! '

Welcome to your life' is
unputdownable, funny & engaging from the get go after Serena does a shock 'bride' jilting on her wedding day.

Serena decides she needs to experience a new life after not settling for her expected, predictable, path of marrying her 'so so' long term partner.

Fate lands her a new city pad, new job & a new life of dating challenges & exciting new life experiences.

The 'plus size status' of the main character Serena does seem to be the main focus of this story & it is obviously great that this is a topic & the 'big is also beautiful' angle has been achieved perfectly.

Serenas journey & acceptance of herself with her body confidence is very refreshing & definitely an angle the author has nailed!

There are so many actual laugh out loud moments & sexual experiences too. One particular reference (with a rather sexy, well endowed date) switching her minset from worrying about her weight, she just 'jumps on board' , seriously so funny & will stay with me forever!

Serena is also a talented, creative, seamstress & she loves making her own clothes. The author has cleverly incorporated this hobby with the lack of plus size fashion within the clothing industry. With the great sewing bee on uk tvs & recyclable, sustainable, fashion definitely on the rise, she has successfully addressed another very current topic!

The one downside of this novel is the ending. I really felt it was too abrupt & not what I felt was right for Serena at all. Such a disappointing conclusion after a great story.

Despite the ending I would definitely recommend this book for an easy, fun read. The cover is inviting, & the narration was great too. Albeit sometimes it felt the digital playback was a little robotic at times. (Not the narrators fault I believe).

Thank you Harper Collins & NetGalley for the privilege of this advance copy.

Loved this audiobook. Listened to it in a few days and I want to listen to it again!

The story was fabulous, actually believable of how dating is in the current times.

The narrator nailed it!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this arc.

If you loved Dolly Alderton’s ‘Ghosts’ but wished it was from a fat person perspective, this is the book for you!

I really liked how there was plus size representation from more than one character, and focused on being comfortable in your own skin, rather than working on making yourself smaller.

For every person who has no idea what they’re doing in their life - this book might just give you that sliver of hope you’re looking for.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins for providing me with the AudioBook ARC.

I decided to leave my usual genre of choice to give this book a listen and I'm so pleased that I did.

Welcome To Your Life tells the story of Serena, who jilts her husband on their wedding day and moves to London to begin her next chapter.

This book is super easy to listen to with only a few main characters. It made me laugh out loud in places and want to cry in others.

Serena is a plus sized lady who was incredibly relatable and I found it it refreshing to read a book with a non-typical main character.

Overall, I enjoyed lots about this story, particularly the giggles and thought provoking moments that it gave me.

My thanks to NetGalley and the Publishers for sending me this ARC in return for an honest review.

Read electronic copy of the book, and read along with the audio book too.
This book was fun, and nice. Nothing too full-on. Very cosy, and very quaint.

It was enjoyable to listen to, and the narrator was great. She felt really relatable, and had a good humour that was helpful with the style of book.

Bethany Rutter's writing was really easy going - easy to read. But I just found the plot to be a little dull. I wish more happened. However, I really did like the central character of Serena - I definitely could compare her to a modern day Bridget jones. She felt like that type of person, and definitely felt very real.

Overall a nice book - would make a good beach read i reckon!

I wasn’t sure what to expect with this book. It started with a jilting on a day of a wedding and moves swiftly on to a women getting her life (and confidence) back.
It deals with quite a few tricky issues such as body image, sexual harassment and being single. It’s quite liberating in many ways, but also a little frustrating that these things are still issues. Society needs to get a grip and let people live and let live.
Overall it was an entertaining book, there were just a few little frustrations (like everyone seems to say ‘it’s a lot!’ When describing tricky things.) I did, however, read it in one go, as it was an easy read and very life affirming. It’s ok to be who you want to be.