Okay Days is a beautiful romance story told from two perspectives: Sam and Lucas. I loved how the author spent time building up the characters and all their intricacies of their relationship. I thought the characters were cute and relatable with their flaws and the narrator fit perfectly. I think this will be a perfect read for anyone who enjoys Sally Rooney's books especially Normal People.

I’ll start by saying I loved the narrators. Both brought so much to the characters, their voices expressive and emotive throughout.

I do have to say I don’t think this book was for me. Maybe it’s my age or even my own life experiences. It just didn’t sit with me or make me relate to it like I wanted to.

I struggled with Luc’s character a bit flat. At the beginning I found it cute the way him moulded himself to fit the people he was with and situations he was in. By the end I was a little infuriated by it and just wanted him to be himself.

I enjoyed Sam’s character, I found her slightly more relatable. And I do appreciate the fact that by the end she’s realised she may have to grow up and the party does have to stop.

I’m not sure, I wanted to love it. Maybe I was in the wrong frame of mind reading it? I think I’ll revisit this one at a later date.

Reminded me of an older version of Normal People.. the back-and-forth between the two characters, their feelings, and their perspectives of the same situation, the questionable blossoming relationship which is developing between them.
I enjoyed this book, as I became entwined in the connection between Sam + Luc. I wanted to know where it was going to go, where they were going to go and how they would manage the problems they face.
I found it refreshing that the male character had layers to his personality, and wanted to deal with and communicate problems. There's nothing worse than pages and pages of them not saying what they really feel.
Also as a person able to bear children and of an age where friends currently are duplicating, this book tackles some interesting questions and scenarios.

This book offers a compelling modern love story that delves deep into the intricacies of a relationship. The characters are interesting, and their interactions feel authentic thanks to the realistic dialogue. The writing is of high quality, and both narrators effectively bring the story to life. Overall, it's an enjoyable read that successfully captures the complexities of love and relationships.

This wasn't a book for me, I'm afraid. Possibly because of my age or possibly because of life experience - mine not the characters. Either way I found the whole book pretty pointless.

The narration was the best thing about it to be honest. David Wayman as Luc and Kaisa Hammarlund as Sam had good clear voices and their performances were thoroughly believable.

Okay Days is about the relationship between Lucas and Sam, both post grad students attempting to negotiate life.

Luc appeared to me to not so much have body dysmorphia (as is suggested in the blurb) but rather a lack of personality which he moulded to each person he was with. So with Sam he tried to be relaxed, with his friends he became nerdy and when the new sporty girlfriend comes along he starts training for a marathon. So he's easily led which may or may not have something to do with losing his mother at a very young age.

Sam, on the other hand, appears to be more together - good job, prepared to travel, good friends and family connections. What Sam doesn't want to do is grow up. Unfortunately she's about to find out that being a selfish brat is only something you can get away with for so long. By the time the story ends she's almost pulled it together but if you haven't worked out by the time you're 30 that you cannot party all night and work all day then you're liable to come to a sticky end.

I think the end disappointed me the most though. Without spoiling it - for me the solution to the couple's earlier dilemma was only going to be a stop gap rather than the rosy re-set we're sold. Truth is though that I couldn't really have cared less by that stage. I was just glad it was over.

This will probably appeal to twenty or thirty somethings who recognise themselves in the characters or possibly have encountered similar problems with jobs, somewhere to live, becoming independent etc.

1 star for me because I finished it. Second star because it annoyed me but didn't give me a headache and 3rd star purely for the narration.

A lovely and romantic story. Thought getting both sides of the story from Sam and Lucas's perspectives really helped build each character and understand the intricacies of their relationship. Believable and flawed yet likeable characters, and well narrated. Perfect for fans of Normal People.

Okay Days is an okay book that I'm finding very hard to get into. I've made 30% progress and yet I'm not interested in the events or anything that's happening between the MCs.
Thanks for the opportunity to read the book but I'm gonna have to DNF this one.

This book was gorgeous! Really recommend for fans of Dolly Alderton & Sally Rooney. The characters were so believable. I was absolutely hooked

Another BRILLIANT debut from an exciting new voice in fiction, this one totally lives up to that gorgeous cover!

This is a fresh and modern romance, which feels really original and doesn’t necessarily fit your usual romance tropes. It shows all the realities and hardships of keeping a relationship going when you’re two very different people from different backgrounds and one person has to move for the other. It’s mostly set in London, one of my favourite cities, and it felt like a character in itself which I loved. But Sam and Lucas were also both great flawed and fully dimensional characters, and I was totally invested in them.

I can see why this novel is getting the Sally Rooney comparisons - it’s sharp, unfiltered and streamlined, with a feeling of no sentences or paragraphs being used just for the sake of it. It lets you get right to the heart of the love story, and tackles some very relevant and emotional topics whilst also bringing laughter and lightness. Highly recommend grabbing a copy 👏

This is something of a work of literary fiction and did I not know better I’d swear to you that Sally Rooney had penned this under an alias as some kind of proof of talent. I sincerely hope that’s taken as the compliment that it’s intended to be, because I simply cannot believe that this is a debut. It’s stunningly written. We know these characters already, they’re in our circle somewhere past or present.

I’m reticent to give any spoilers but if you’re a Rooney fan in any way this is a must have for your tbr. I’d go as far as to say it somewhat surpasses conversations with friends but reminded me of it. I loved and loathed Sam. I wanted to give Lucas a bloody good shake yet I loved and pitied him in equal measure, but such is life, such is love and such are people. Look out for this on July 29th. #Jorecommends

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder and Stoughton audio for the opportunity to listen to this audio book in return for an honest review.

A cozy and easy read on a weekday. The story is about a 28 year-old Swedish lady called Sam who works in a top marketing firm as a placement in London. During her stay, she met a Londoner called Luc. They both immediately attracted to each other, but they both knew the relationship was just temporary. In a relationship with the expiry date, they treasured every second together.

Okay Days is Jenny's debut novel. Her refreshing writing style surprises me. The way she interprets and draws readers to few interesting topics in the book, including long-distance relationship and living oversea. The voices behind such as how Sam's parents view this when she said she was going to move to London because of the newly met boyfriend so on. Everything so true and easy to relate in real life.

If you like to read a modern fiction with ups and downs of a relationship which eventually will make you smile, Okay Days will be the one to add to your TBR list.

Many thanks to Netgalley, Hodder & Stoughton and Jenny Mustard for this copy!

Format: Audiobook (8h24m)
Pub date: June 29, 2023

Literary romance is hard to find and this delivered a contemporary modern love story.

I enjoyed the two POVs, the modern feel, the side characters that felt like real people.

I didn't enjoy the miscommunication trope that was a little present.

Hate to compare everything to Rooney, but if you liked Rooney, you'll like this.

A love letter to summer in the city. To the minutiae of human life and intimacy. To romanticising. To loving someone even when you probably shouldn’t. To possibility. To growing up.

Beautifully written, unbelievably well observed - there’s one line about the hollow lung sound when two men hug and pat each other on the back that absolutely flawed me and I can’t even properly explain why, heartbreaking, clever and familiar.

I was enthralled by this story and couldn’t look away from Sam and Lucas. I went on a journey with them, and fell in love with them both flaws and all for the most part.

It’s slow, it’s tender, it’s sharp, its messy and it’s kind.

Jenny outdid herself with this debut!

‘This not a love story. This is a will they won’t they? Should they shouldn’t they?’ ~ Jenny.

I couldn’t agree more.

For audio listeners the narration in this is also brilliant really allowing you to visualise both of these characters and their circle of friends.

I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Sam and Luc are spending the summer together before Sam returns to Sweden. Both know their romance isn’t going to last, and that’s ok. Isn’t it?

Fans of Sally Rooney will really enjoy this, I think. It’s pithy and sombre and explores the uniqueness of human connection. We see their in jokes, their flaws, their development.

I think this gets better the further through the book you get. There are moments that should probably be more closely addressed that aren’t, but that’s probably more realistic than everything being neatly wrapped and concluded.

It feels quite real in its exploration of intense relationships.

I received both the ebook and the audiobook and co-read to review both. The audiobook was well recorded, voiced and paced.

Sam is spending her summer working in London for a marketing agency before she returns back to Stockholm. There's only a few short, sweet months left before she leaves the city - and Lucas behind.

She and Lucas weren't meant to be anything when they reconnected this summer, but their passionate relationship is a perfect, beautiful distraction from the fact their lives are going nowhere. For now, life is spectacular and exciting - a haze of romance, sex and wine. But the summer is almost over and Sam is leaving, and that means they're both going back to a life that is grey and boring.

Unless they're ready to do something about it, and find something between the good and bad. Something that means something, even on the okay days.

"'So either catastrophe or quite sublime. Or both.' I fully fill my lungs.
'I mean, it's a risk.', he says. 'But consider the alterative.'
'Which is?'
'Bland. Tolerable.'"

A blinding testament to the fact that we as people are ever-changing and ever-growing, this story follows two people as their relationship is built and dismantled. They learn about each other, and themselves in tandem, as they navigate this confusing modern world and deal with reproductive issues, body image, sexuality, societal pressures, heartbreak and the simple fact that life is hard sometimes.

The narration switches between Sam and Luc, counting down the days of summer and I loved them as narrators. Sam was deeply relatable, witty, and flawed - always running from her problems and not sure how to face them head on. And as for Luc, I loved the poetic, beautiful way he saw the world despite all the difficulties he'd faced in his life. Both of them were suffering with serious Imposter Syndrome, not sure how they ended up where they are in life and with no idea how to move forward. They were magnetic and dazzling, refreshingly honest at times about both their desires and their dysfunctionality.

The setting is stifling - a sweaty, sticky summer in a burning and bustling city that's made even more intense by the passionate, exciting newness of everything in Sam's life. Together we look back at the early days years ago where they met in University, seeing a version of themselves that wasn't quite so bitter and tired yet and flowing easily from moment to moment. It wasn't exactly a linear story, instead it felt like snapshots of two lives over years and countries, dropping in and out at moments that changed their trajectories.

Honestly there were certain parts about the end of this story that left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth, some of the decisions they made felt like they went beyond compromise into behaviours that were unhealthy and unsustainable - all of the amazing self-discovery and learning seemed to fall to the wayside in those last few pages which left me feeling just a bit disappointed. The actually storytelling from the narrator was great, very clear and understandable but also still using emotion in their voice and setting a really good pace.

Sharp, sweet and steamy - this is a beautiful story about finding and losing ourselves.

This must be my most pleasant surprise of the year! While not being a Sally Rooney (&co) girlie, I've always wanted to understand the bond between a reader and their emotional support disaster millenial novel; I've never quite managed to connect with such a book the way their most enthusiastic audiences seem to be able to, no matter how much I wanted to. Be it the writing, the specific lens through which Mustard approaches these themes of alienation, messy connections, displacement and other-ness, or something more difficult to grasp, some sort of emotional connection to these specific character types and their specific world-views, this novel just ~clicked for me. The audio narration also helped our protagonists come to life for me, so the overall experience has been stunning.