Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read and review this book. These opinions are completely my own.

I wasn't sure if I would enjoy this novel as. I'm about 20 yrs passed its demographic. I was wrong. The Grown Up to do List reminded me of late 1990s-early 2000s rom-coms. The perfect guilty pleasure for a 40 yr old lady.

4.5 stars rounded up because this surprised me.

Cleo is 25 and is essentially an overgrown teenager, still living at home with her mum doing her washing. A chance meeting with an old high school crush becomes the catalyst for Cleo to grow up in anticipation of his return in three months time.

This was a delightful surprise because I found the first chapter a bit painful and thought it was going to go over-the-top with many cringey moments. Luckily it was not like that at all. I adored Cleo and her journey, from her bullet journal lists to her slowly creating a found family with her colleagues. She starts off as a bit immature, such as her irrational dislike and rudeness with James, her gran's lodger, but luckily her grow. I really loved their slow-burn friendship. With Cleo, James get a chance to be inspired to reclaim a bit of himself after having his first kid at 17 forced him to grow up fast.

This was a gentle, funny and charming story about Cleo coming into her own and realising that what she has is just as valid, and that what she thinks everyone has is an illusion. Cleo was such an endearing character I finished reading this book with a big smile on my face and left wanting more.

Thanks to Hera and NetGalley for the ARC.

Occasionally I leave my usual genre to read something different. This totally ticked all the right boxes. Couldn't put it down

Thanks for the opportunity to review

Well, the feeling of growing up isn't the best, but it can be! A cute romcom about finding a long lost friend, or well, Crush. Definitely worth a read, its quick and easy! <3

Cleo meets an old school crush and realises that she is not living the life she wants or thinks she wants.
She constantly makes to do lists and she finds that her world seems to have shrunk and everyone she was at school with seems to be living a busy fulfilling life.
She is working in a fish and chip shop and she feels there is more to life what happened to her dreams?
But is everyone really living the life they say they are?
Cleo creates a grown up to do list to try and improve her life.
I found Cleo to be likeable and funny.
It is a quick read and I did enjoy it.
Thanks Netgalley and publisher.

⭐️⭐️/5

• ARC REVIEW •

This was a short, quick and decent read overall! There were some parts of this book that made me laugh and felt relatable as a girl in their 20s. This book was cute and light, but really predictable and I just did not relate with Cleo at all. I honestly didn’t even really enjoy her as a main character and that made this book harder to get through and truly love.

Thank you NetGalley, the author and Hera publishing for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

So I ended up not finishing this book, for one particular reason, and that was because I did not relate to this book at all. I am turning 25 this month. I expected this story to be relatable as a 25-year old, but it wasn't. I do believe this could be a fun story to read if you're older and you're "looking back". It could also be relatable if you're 25 and don't have a job you enjoy/you're still living at your parents house/you still have a major crush on someone from college/high school. However, all of these things did not apply to me. I did enjoy the writing style though!

I loved following Cleo's journey and to witness her go through the motions and idea of what adulthood is meant to look like and to see her discover that she can her own goals without these expectations.

I’ve never read anything by this author before but I have to say I really enjoyed this book! I didn’t love Cleo’s character to begin with, I felt she was quite whiny but then again I was probably the same at her age?? I loved her character development and all the side characters too! The only thing I would’ve changed is maybe about how quickly she realised she loved James, I maybe would’ve liked to have seen a bit more build up. A really quick and easy and fun read which I would recommend.

2⭐️ Thank you to NetGalley and Hera for an advanced copy of The Grown-Up To Do List.

Cleo runs into her old high school crush Paul and while they are catching up she realizes that she feels stalled in her life. She wants to impress Paul and catch up to all of her old friends who have done so much more with their lives than she has. She makes a list of things to do to change her life before the next time Paul comes back to town. Slowly she starts making changes to her life but she still feels like she cannot figure out what she wants to do for her career. But is everything she wants right in front of her?

I was not a fan of the main character Cleo, she did not come off as relatable. The book was kind of predictable and fell flat for me.

Cleo is stuck in the past after given up her dream of travel to care for her ill grandpa. She is still in her high school job, loves at home, and relies oj her mom to do her laundry. A chance encounter from her high school crush has her re-evaluate her life and take steps to becoming a grown-up. Does anyone ever feel like they are a grown-up?

This book was slow to start and a bit predictable. But over the course I started rooting for Cleo and hoped she would see that being true to herself was the most grown-up thing of all. Loved the secondary characters of Gran and Claire. Everyone at the chip shop was a laugh. I appreciated that you could really see Cleo grow, even if she couldn't see it. I really loved how multi-faceted James was. But, I could have used a bit more; more of James, more of the end which felt like we smacked into a wall rather than concluded the book.

Argh, I so hated Paul. And the whole reunion with her best high school friends made me mad because they were so thoughtless.
You could really picture this seaside town and what lvijg there would feel like to a teenager and then a young adult. How seeing the town could shift as you age. This book really made me want fish and chips. I'm glad I read it as I never read anything of this author before.
3.75 stars. Thanks to Net Galley and Hera Books for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is a really easy to read book. That you will be able to read so fast. The main character is so relatable. Such a good book, I loved it.

Just finished this book, and it was a mixed bag. Cleo, the main character, is this super relatable 25-year-old who’s still living with her parents and working at a local fish and chip shop in her hometown. Her friends have all moved on to bigger and supposedly better things, and Cleo’s feeling a bit left behind.

When her old childhood crush comes back to town, Cleo decides it’s time to level up and do some “adulting.” She makes a list of things she thinks will make her more grown-up: learning to drive, quitting her job, and moving out from her parents’ house.

The start of the book is really charming, and you can totally see where Cleo’s coming from. But as the story goes on, it feels a bit predictable. The ending wasn’t much of a surprise, and Cleo’s journey, while cute, didn’t quite have the emotional punch I was hoping for.

The side characters, like her gran and the new lodger James, were lovely and added some nice depth. There’s a decent message about doing things for yourself rather than just because it’s what you think you should do. Overall, it’s a sweet read, but it didn’t exactly leave me buzzing.

If you’re into feel-good stories with a touch of self-discovery, you might enjoy it. Just don’t expect any big plot twists!

2.5 stars rounded up!

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to review this title. Cleo is insufferably annoying for the majority of the book. Having seen "friends" move on, get married, have kids, get the new jobs etc... I supported them instead of wallowing in self pity. I'm still unsure if at the end of the book I like her character or not.

The Grown-Up To Do List is perfect for fans of Bridget Jones. A perfect rom-com that is a very slow burn, I would have loved a little more of the history of Cleo and Paul. The characters are very realistic and relatable! Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the free advanced reader's copy. All opinions are my own.

This was a fun, easy read. Very enjoyable and relatable. Following how Cleo’s character developed was lovely to read.
It was a bit predictable and a bit slow paced at times. But it was written so well it didn’t bother me too much.

All in all, a lovely read!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.
4 stars book from me. Loved the plot and the storytelling in The Grown-Up To Do List and relatable, likable characters,. Loved every single second reading it.

The grown up to do list was a quick, fun and very relatable story. However it was quite predictable as well as slow so i admit i felt a bit bored due these two reasons and i kept on waiting for the story to go somewhere. I do like the main characters as well as the little lists the story was filled with. Although i was slightly bored with it i did enjoy it overall and i did find multi scenes quite funny. So all in all it was a fun romcom read!

Thank you Netgalley for sharing a digital copy of this book with me in exchange for an honest review.

This was a good read.
Loved all the characters & is a book that I will recommend to others.
Thanks for the review copy.

It was interesting but it also made me feel the characters was a bit childish, I know she got stuck on her city and decides to make a change but with 25y she could already had a different perspective of live.. Of course this is a book but in general it was fun to see Cleo growing up while she's committed to fulfill her "Grown-up to do list"