This Is like a slightly weird modern day fairy godmother! Becuase at first hearing the premise od alex coming to life,or being manned by a real person, freaked me out. Alot. Isn't it most people modern day night mare that robots take over or are somehow real? But this took a rather lovely turn. Because In this case Alex IS actually a real person. Who kind of sprinkles help whenever she can. And in this book she's needed more than most.
This family are a family. But at this time in life there is alot going on for them. But can our fairy Alex help? Should she? And how far should that help really go?
I love Linda Green. She has such an emotional depth to her characters. You warm to each detail and quickly cherish her stories. This was no exception and such an original plot. Yet still held Linda's warmth and usual gorgeous way of writing.

This was a fun story about 52yr old Michelle Banks who is struggling to keep all the plates spinning in her life, then her Alexa reveals her true identity as a former voice over artist and sets about trying to help Michelle. This is a nice beach read!

Michelle is a nurse and mother of two, in the grips of peri-menopause and midlife frustrations. Her husband Marc, once a competitive journalist now unhappily employed doing technical writing, is struggling with his own existential crises. On top of her nursing job, Michelle cares for her elderly father as well as Marc's mother-in-law, in addition to managing the needs of her two teen children. Like many households, Marc and Michelle and their children rely heavily on the household Alexa, never dreaming that there's more to this device than it seems. It's an interesting premise: what if our Alexa devices were manned by real people? Oh, and they were monitoring us around the clock, listening in and following all of our tech activity? Pauline, a kind-hearted mother and aging voice actor, voices Michelle's Alexa. She knows all the family's secrets and patterns, and is sometimes tested by the limits of her job, especially this close to retirement. And most especially when the family's struggles escalate and they could use the extra help. Pauline sees ways she can help the family, but just how far will she go? It would be easy to use that kind of access for bad deeds, but this isn't that kind of book. Instead it was an imaginative and thoughtful story, with humor in all the right places. It was actually very sweet and surprisingly emotional, and there are some heavier themes so heed the content warnings. The story has a lot of commentary on family roles and life demands in middle age, especially focusing on women's struggles. And honestly, as a mid-life woman juggling all kinds of demands, I'd *love* to have someone anticipating my every need and doing some gentle, behind-the-scenes maneuvering to get me where I need to go. Sometimes you just need someone to believe in you, and sometimes that's your Alexa. Publishes February 26, 2025. Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for providing an eARC of this story, all opinions are my own.

“The Woman with all the Answers” by Linda Green is an innovative and entertaining novel built on a completely outlandish premise. What if the Alexa, the digital assistant that many of us use in our daily lives isn’t just the product of AI but an actual person whose job is to be our personal assistants? What if there is an army of people, who know the nitty-gritty details of our lives?

Michele Banks’s family is in trouble. Her husband has a shopping addiction problem, her daughter cannot leave the house, and her teenage son seriously mishandles a budding relationship. Everything looks like it’s falling completely apart (and at this point, I disliked nearly every character in the book!). But then Alexa steps in and helps Michele get through everything. Alexa really is “the woman with all the answers.”

Many thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for an ARC of this unusual book. I am looking forward to more by this author. My opinions are my own.

This was a pretty fun read with a unique premise. I loved the idea of Alexa being a real person, not AI. It was a very lighthearted and easy read that will definitely entertain you.

Hysterical! Michelle’s family are driving her to insanity; she’s not quite sure how much more she can take… Alexa holds the answers to most of her daily questions but she still needs some more support. Who knew that the was actually a group of woman who ARE the brains behind the Alexa’s and sometimes they go rogue just to help their families in need. This book was hysterically funny when Michelle gets the help she needs in the most unexpected of places!

This was a completely different book to what this author has written before and has a unique and interesting premise.

What would you do if your Alexa suddenly became alive and turned into your fairy godmother otherwise known as Pauline from Halifax well in this story Michelle was about to find out as her Alexa helps her to navigate the struggles of family life and the menopause. .

This book was funny, quirky and uplifting in equal measure and had lots of references that women of a certain age will be able to relate to and makes you feel you are not alone.

3.5 Stars

This was my first read by Linda Green and it won't be my last because I actually have In Little Stars on my to-be-read pile. This was such a unique premise, Amazon Alexa is a real person behind the speaker and has undergone rigorous training. The one in this story is named Pauline and she's getting ready to retire so she finally reveals herself.

The book has two points of view from both Alexa/Pauline and Michelle who is the owner of the speaker. I didn't like Michelle at first she is of the sandwich generation and lets her family walk all over her. Her children are teenagers and her husband works from home, whereas she is a personal carer and works outside the home. Instead of insisting her family help her more she just complains about it a lot. She is helping her dad and her mother-in-law. On the plus side, the characters were very real and true to life. I loved Alexa/Pauline she's the granny everyone wishes they had. She was funny, self-deprecating, full of love and had a caring attitude. I like books where you come to care about the characters.

There are a few side stories that I felt got lost along the way and that's where the book lost me, I wish they were more in-depth as they were important issues. This was a very quick read and you won't miss the Mary Poppins vibe and the Banks family name. I didn't like the jokes about the serious mistake the son made that just gave me an icky feeling all around.

The Woman with All the Answers is a charming contemporary story set in Yorkshire, with an unusual premise - what if it turned out that Alexa is not just an AI-driven piece of domestic tech, but was instead a kindly human being, employed to assist stressed modern families in any way she can?
I’ve been resisting requesting ARCs lately, but was seduced by this title, and tickled by the idea of a human Alexa - not something I’ve ever had, but friends seem to use it all the time. While not as funny as I was expecting, I loved this story of a woman of my age getting her life back on track thanks to an unlikely ally.

Michelle Banks is an overworked mother of two teenagers, who is struggling to balance full time work as a district nurse with caring for elderly parents and reigning in her feckless husband’s online spending. Typical of the Gen X “sandwich generation”, she’s already lost herself, but when perimenopause hits, she’s starting to lose control. Pauline, the ex-actress masquerading as the family’s Alexa, decides enough is enough and it’s time to do more than just manage their shopping lists…

While I’m spared the trials of both teenagers (cats are so much easier) and parents (having migrated to the other side of the world long ago) I could relate to Michelle’s battles to manage her life on broken sleep and with little help from Him Indoors… The chapters alternate between Pauline/Alexa and Michelle’s perspectives, which worked well, and dealt with apparently common issues like adolescent sexting, online scamming, and access to appropriate medical help, as well as losing a parent. It was poignant but ultimately uplifting, and I would recommend it to anyone who is or knows a middle-aged woman. The only thing I didn’t like - and this could’ve been a fault in my review copy that’s been since corrected, was all the “The”s missing from Pauline’s narration: I wasn’t sure if this was an attempt at regional dialect, but it was annoying and often made her sentences confusing to read. 4.5 rounded up.

Thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the Advance Review Copy. The Woman with All the Answers is published on February 26th.

I absolutely loved this book.

Many of us have an Alexa, but did you know she isn't AI but a real person? She is sat listening to you and giving advice from her own home. Well, that is the premise of this book, which may be a little far fetched, but I just went with it and I am so glad that I did. I would have missed out on a real corker of a read.

Michelle is a District Nurse juggling so many plates. She has a Husband, two children, a father and a mother in law who all have demands on her time, not to mention her job.

With Alexa (aka Pauline) listening in on the smart speakers and seeing through the webcam and door bell, she is able to give Michelle a few pointers about what is going on in her house. To begin with she carries on as she has for the last six years, just putting reminders and prompts onto Michelle's phone. With Pauline's retirement looming, and things worsening for Michelle, Pauline decides to finally reveal her true self.

Some of this book is hilarious and some is sad. All in all it's about life and a very down to earth portrayal it is. Many of the situations rang so true for me. If you take away the idea that Alexa's all over the country are actually manned by a real person, the story is very heart warming and not at all impossible.

Michelle Banks is a district nurse, wife and mother to two teenagers. She has her hands full with her job, keeping the family and home running, and regularly checking on and doing chores for her dad and mother-in-law. Michelle has little help and support from her husband and children and she relies on the family’s Alexa device to manage her life, with numerous reminders and lists.
Behind the façade of Alexa is Pauline from Halifax, an elderly lady with no family close by who thrives on being part of Michelle’s family, albeit through a device in the corner of the kitchen. One day when Michelle is alone in the kitchen and particularly in need of a friendly ear, Pauline decides to go rouge and make herself known. She is part of a group of people employed to hide behind the misconception that Alexa’s are AI, when they are actually people answering never-ending questions in their ‘posh’ voice.
As Michelle’s life begins to spiral out of control, Pauline is there for her, coaching and supporting her through it all. But what Michelle doesn’t know is that Pauline’s retirement is imminent and she doesn’t want to tell Michelle. As her retirement draws nearer, Pauline tells Michelle who goes into a serious panic as she doesn’t know how she will cope with her life with Pauline’s replacement who will perform their Alexa duties by the book. But through all of Michelle’s trials and tribulations, Pauline has unwittingly been equipping Michelle to be strong and face things herself.
The premise of this book is unique which I really loved. It’s packed with a rollercoaster of emotions and I found it quite humorous in places. It’s told from the points of view of both Michelle and Pauline. The one thing I found particularly irksome was the way in which Pauline spoke and the non-existent word ‘the’, in every sentence she spoke throughout the book. I am not sure if this is down to Yorkshire dialect or an editing issue, but I found it annoying distraction. I am not sure that I really got over this, but found that I still enjoyed the book.

This is a fun, lighthearted, take on the privacy issues surrounding Amazon Alexa (and similar) devices.

Michelle Banks is a nurse, wife and mother to two teenage children. She also has her hands full with an elderly parent whose independence to deal with personal affairs is fading with each day.

In comes Alexa (AKA Pauline). Pauline is employed by Amazon. She is one of many individuals posing as Alexa. She listens and watches and listens to ‘her family’ (Michelle’s family) everyday and night to ensure she provides the best customer service… but this entails 24/7 monitoring across all devices (Alexa, mobile phones, webcams, doorbell cams, you name it, ‘Alexa’ is monitoring.

As Michelle’s life starts to spiral as the problems mount up, ‘Alexa’ can see that she is struggling and needs her help… will Pauline break rank and reveal all to Michelle in her hour of need?!

Sometimes help comes from the most unlikely of sources!

5* rating for such a cunning plot

I just love the idea of allocating a real person to every Alexa subscriber, what an ingenious solution to drastically lower unemployment figures. Told from three POVs. Michelle Banks 52 years old, wife, mother, daughter to elderly parents, she's battling menopause and exhausted by family difficulties. Alexa, the electronic virtual assistant. And Pauline, an elderly, white haired lady, sitting in her own living room ready to answer every query and command directed to Alexa.

Pauline's chapters were written in her broad Yorkshire accent which might be difficult for non-UK readers to understand, also there were countless amusing references or expressions only recognised by us Brits.

This is a very funny and thought provoking book where the plot careers from tragic to extreme farce (the appointment with the nurse), plus a good sprinkling of Michelle's self-depreciation while she's desperately trying to hold herself and her family together.

A compelling read.

With thanks to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book, this review is my personal, unbiased opinion.

I really tried with this book and made it 2/3 through before I just got to the point where if nobody was paying me I wasn’t going any farther. The premise is ludicrous ~ that every Alexa and home AI assistant is actually secretly some woman (one for every household) who answers everything in a posh accent. Someone else takes the overnight shift. Presumably each of these women earns a salary to live on to take care of one single family. Our particular heroine Alexa is being forced to retire soon so she goes rogue and breaks the fourth wall to tell her long suffering woman of the house how to sort her life out. After listening to everything in these people’s house for five years. That’s not creepy at all.

This book beats you over the head with all the miseries of being a perimenopausal woman. Oh my bleeping goodness, it beats you over the head. Poor Michelle, who doesn’t get HRT for her symptoms, whose husband doesn’t help enough, whose teenagers are idiots, who has to take care of her elderly father and mother in law, and on and on. I’ve been through menopause and did it without HRT and having read this book it appears I am a mythical creature and should have thrown myself off a bridge because of my insurmountable misery.

I just could not relate to either of these miserable martyrs of women or the horrifying premise that we are supposed to apparently think is heartwarming or funny. I already unplug the “assistant” one of my kids gave me for Christmas a few years ago if I don’t have it playing music. I don’t want either a robot or an older British lady listening in on my family’s life 24/7.

Sorry, this was a miss for me.

I read a digital copy of this book for review.

A simple, but simply brilliant concept for a book! I loved the idea of the real life Alexa and it gave a fresh spin to the usual menopausal women books. The relationship between Alexa / Pauline and Michelle was wonderfully drawn, and the characters were relatable and real, including Pauline’s dialect; she sounded exactly like someone I know, even down to the missing ‘the’ that I see has bothered some readers. That’s Yorkshire! The book dealt with some serious issues with humour and raw emotion and I was often switching from laughter to tears in the turn of a page. I found this an empowering read and it should be essential reading for ‘women of a certain age’ - and their families! It’s been a while since I read a book by Linda Green so I’m now off to explore her back list.

What a refreshing change and a novel idea to have a story about an Alexa speaker getting involved with a family's problems and helping to solve them. There was laughter, sadness and some very touching, teary, moments too. I enjoyed the book very much and don't think I will ever think of my own Alexa in quite the same way again! My thanks to Netgalley and Boldwood Books for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for allowing me to read an ARC of The Woman with All the Answers by Linda Green, in exchange for my honest review.

4 1/2 genius stars! How many times have you seen an ad on social media that reminded you to do or get something?

This story was mostly funny, sometimes sad, sometimes heartbreaking, and most all of it relatable.

The relationship between Michelle and Pauline was so enjoyable, and the characters were all well-written and "human". I absolutely loved the ending!

I definitely recommend The Woman with All the Answers by Linda Green and look forward to reading more by Linda Green.

A Unique Premise That Lost Its Way

I was really drawn to The Woman With All the Answers because of its unique and intriguing premise. The idea of Alexa not as an AI assistant, but as a real human who builds meaningful connections with the family she serves, felt fresh and full of potential. For the first few chapters, this concept truly shone, and I was eager to see where the story would go.

However, as the book progressed, the plot started to feel weak and unfocused. The protagonist, Michelle Banks, is juggling many struggles—pre-menopause, underage sexual harassment, peer pressure, aging parents, cancer, death, marital problems, middle-age crisis, loneliness—the list goes on. While each of these issues is important, having so many packed into one story meant none were explored in depth. Instead of being impactful, they felt like a checklist, tackled on a surface level rather than given the emotional weight they deserved.

As more and more problems were introduced, the story began to feel repetitive, with new struggles piling up without a strong enough plot to support them. The resolutions and happy endings came too easily, making them feel unearned. Unfortunately, by the time the book reached its conclusion, I had lost connection with the characters and their journey, leaving me indifferent to how things wrapped up.

I appreciate what the author aimed to achieve, and I know many readers may connect with different aspects of Michelle’s struggles. But for me, The Woman With All the Answers ultimately didn’t deliver on its promising premise.

Thank you to Boldwood Books for the complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

The Woman with all the Answers is so entertaining. The strife and chaos experienced by the middle-aged female protagonist was so real and painful to witness, and just when I was about to hop through the pages to help, Alexa did it for me. I could not predict how things would work out, but Linda Green masterfully tied everything together. I felt more hopeful for my own struggles after having read this book. Homerun for Green! Thank you to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for the advanced copy in ex change for my honest review. It was a comforting and refreshing book!

I really enjoyed the premise of this book, a real person behind the well-known Alexa voice. Instead of a faceless, AI bot, there is a whole network of women who have all the answers. Fun, right?

The only problem that I had with this book was the writing style. I tend to be very grammar-sensitive, and the author tends to leave off the word "the" when describing items. It really distracted me and I hope will be corrected in the editing phase. If so, I'm happy to raise my rating because I enjoyed the content.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book, but my opinions are my own.