Didn’t love the writing style, unfortunately - didn’t seem to flow very well and couldn’t really warm to Dee.

Thank you to NetGalley for letting me review this book.

I have enjoyed previous books by Emma Hughes in the past but I'm afraid that I have to confess this one wasn't really for me. It had some heavy topics, handled really well but I do enjoy books that are more light hearted. Well written and I will look out for more of her books.

I’m not a fan of overly cliched romance novels. I don’t particularly have a favourite romance trope or meet-cute but I can appreciate a book that sprinkles in a bit of romance with a well developed plot and fleshed out characters.

It’s Complicated centres itself around Dee, our leading lady, who has just found out that if she wants to have children, she needs to get a move on. Due to her current single status, she decides the best course of action is to co-parent with someone who she is in a platonic relationship with.

This one hit all the spots for me. It was charming, witty and while it definitely did have some romance in it, it felt more like a book about 3 women in their thirties, navigating life and all its curveballs. And as a woman in her thirties, I loved it. The friendships felt very real, their issues felt very real and the dialogue felt…you guessed it…very real.

Read if you:
· Love friendships
· Being cooked for
· Philadelphia cheese and carbonara. Together.
· Don’t mind not eating pancakes

I liked Emma Hughes's first book, No Such Thing As Perfect, but I wasn't the biggest fan of her new one, It's Complicated: commercial fiction where the romance is a bit underbaked is just never going to be my preference, and none of the characters or relationships made up for this, in my opinion. If this is your thing, though, I think you would like this one!

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

An enjoyably different read. A little slow in places, but a good read overall. Recommended.

It's complicated is one of those books that really takes you by surprise. I started it expecting it to be a light hearted easily forgettable read. How wrong was I. This story deals with some tough issues like fertility and expectations of women. I really really enjoyed this book and highly recommend.

this was a 3 star read up until the 70% mark, the ending really made the difference for me!

this story follows dee who has been told she has failing ovaries and will need to start a family quickly if she wants one.

the story centres around dee, her friends, her family, her relationships, and her work life. it is definitely more women’s fiction than romance so i think it should be marketed that way.

i loved the development of dee and andy, and their decision towards the end of the book. the friendships were so wonderful to read about and so was the relationship between dee and her mum and stepmum.

the story shows a clear development of character in dee and i really enjoyed reading it!

Not just a romantic comedy but serious in parts. Lots of issues which people go through everyday touched on. Heartwarming and funny and had me smiling at the end

I have to confess that It’s Complicated is not entirely the book I expected - whilst there is an element of romantic comedy that I really enjoyed, this was to me more a book about three friends trying to navigate life in their thirties, dealing with life’s ups and downs and as a result was a book that was better for it, tackling some serious issues but in a way that never felt heavy handed.

The strength of the book lies in the characters, all very human and who you can’t fail to warm to. I loved Dee and related to her struggles to come to terms with elements of her past and figure out what she really wanted from life. Her relationship with her two best friends Minnie and Roo was heartwarming and with each of them dealing with very different issues around their fertility the book is a reminder that there is no one size fits all approach to life or to parenthood.

It’s the little details that made me smile, from an eclectic supporting cast of characters to a cat with a huge personality of its own - and I may just need to try Philadelphia carbonara! With an ending that feels positive but not too neatly tied up, it’s a book that made me smile but felt very real at the same time - a thoroughly enjoyable read.

Och, I just loved this. I had a huge smile on my face when I finished reading it. I deliberately don’t like to read blurbs past the first sentence and I don’t even like to pay much attention to book covers so that I have no idea what’s happening or going to happen (haha) so I truly had no idea where this was going at the start with the whole Nat relationship. I recognised and hated that crippling feeling of uneasiness of moulding yourself to someone else, playing it so so cool so as to not rock the boat, that poor Dee was dealing with at the start. Just yuck, and my heart broke for her a bit. It’s exhausting and I just wanted amazing things for her from the start.

I LOVED the family and friends element to this story, and the humour they brought. However, they also explored so many important and heavy issues - it was interesting the way that Dee and her two best friends represented different stages and thoughts on motherhood.

I laughed a lot reading his but it was also a poignant portrayal of deep issues. A perfect balance of romance, humour, drama and family issues.

What to expect:

- mostly closed door romance
- humour
- found family
- fertility issues

An enjoyable book covering a difficult topic of fertility over 35 however this book was still rom com in parts.

Well written, I liked the main character Dee. The fertility issues were covered well.

I enjoyed it

It did take a little while for me to get into this book but at around page 50 onward I couldn’t put it down. Absolutely loved the character development. Andy and Dee’s platonic arrangement. The trials and tribulations of work, and friendship with Minnie & Roo. As a 34 year old myself I could put myself in Dee’s shoes and how I would feel in such situations.

I really enjoyed reading this book, but the ending! That just left me needing more!

It’s complicated…

Dee is getting older, and she is still waiting to become a proper grown up. She stays at her colleague’s flat while he visits his girlfriend, she is a copywriter with very little work to do and even less chance of career progression, she is (possibly) dating a handsome actor - but she isn’t 100% sure that’s what you’d call it and she definitely wouldn’t mention that to him. But Dee is plodding along none the less, until she finds out that her fertility is in question and suddenly Dee wants nothing more than to get her life sorted. So Dee sets about becoming a grown up, whilst looking after her two best friends - Roo - the sensible, organised anaesthetist with a plan for everything, and Minnie - the somewhat haphazard and eclectic friend who just seems to breeze through life.
This is without worrying about her Mum Alice & step Mum Ines.
Then Dee meets Andy, and together they try and make a plan to solve all of their problems.
I’ve been in a book rut lately and this really, really helped. Excellent characters, a great storyline and laughs and tears throughout.

I was looking forward to reading this however it fell a bit flat for me overall and I found my self skimming through the last half of the book.

It was good to have a book written about fertility issues in females 35 plus and realistically how hard it is to get pregnant! I liked Dee, but it’s was a little far fetched that she would consider having such intimate conversations with someone she’s just met.

Lots of characters & strongly female led which again was refreshing.

This is a story about relationships - of all different types. Dee's poor history of romantic relationships, stemming from the fact she doesn't value herself and fits herself into other people's expectations of her; her relationship with her mother through the ups and downs of mental illness; the positive, supportive relationship she has built with her stepmother, Ines; the lack of relationship with her absent father; and surrounding all, the love of her close friends. Into this mix comes a new relationship - a platonic parenting possibility.Yes, it's as complicated as it sounds. At times sad, at times funny, I really enjoyed this read. #netgalley #itscomplicated

Dee is thirty five and she has no control over her own life, her mum has a mental illness, her childhood 'sweetheart' saunters in and out of her life, her two best friends always think that they know what is best for her, she has a job where she is occasionally payed in Burritos, she is about to become homeless, and she has just been told that she is going through early menopause...and then she meets Andy...A proper laugh out loud tale about relationships and friendship and taking control

I really enjoyed this book. The issue of diminishing fertility is obviously a very important one which was nicely highlighted in the book. The characters were very likeable and the story moved along at a good pace. Excellent read.

This is a good book to read, it could even be a true story of life but ofcourse it isn't. This is a funny romcom in some ways, and the characters are very believable. Well worth a read 4 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley and publisher for this ARC

Whilst giving romcom its still giving friendship, empowering women, secrets and infertility. Dee’s life isn’t perfect which makes it more relatable. Loved the characters and loved the plot. Overall great read.

Emma Hughes has written an endearing story with wonderful, diverse characters.
Dee Jenson was a thirty five years old with a dead end job that paid peanuts, living in a rented flat belonging to a friend, with a boyfriend that she had known from school, a boyfriend who was an aspiring actor, a boyfriend who didn't like commitment, a dizzy mother with personality problems and a wonderful step mother who kept both her and her mother grounded.
Dee didn't have much going for her but what she did have were two brilliant, loyal, best friends, Roo and Minnie, who would always be there for her, who would always have her back and it was to these friends that Dee turned when she got the devastating news that her body clock was ticking much faster than it should and life with children, which she had always assume would happen, was quickly slipping away, she had choices to make but she had to make them quickly.
Co parenting with no strings attached seemed like the best option in her circumstances and when chef Andy came into the picture he seemed like a prime candidate....... but was he ?
Emma Hughes has broached a number of very emotive issues in this book with great sensitivity, as well as Dee's problems Roo and Minnie were also facing their own very different but equally distressing issues.
This is a really well written book that I really enjoyed although I would have liked to have seen more into Dee and Andy's relationship,we only seemed to get a glimpse before the end of the story.
I received a free copy of this book and my review is voluntary.