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However, I had a feeling that the story, all the feelings and emotions are a bit over the top. It was a bit overdone and the characters' behaviour was too extreme, to over the top. Belinda Lenis mum is having a hard time dealing with the death of her daughter. She is in touch with a clairvoyant who she believes she is convening with Leni through. She is also thinking of selling the family home and setting up a b&b with her new boyfriend.
Given the subject matter of The Best Days of Our Lives, the new book by Lucy Diamond, you’d be forgiven for thinking this story would be all doom and gloom and extremely difficult to read. Especially as we all know dealing with the aftermath of losing a loved one can be a challenge and have such a long and devastating impact. But thankfully this story wasn’t all misery, anguish and sadness as it could have easily descended into this vein. Instead, the author provides the reader with a snapshot into the year of a family following the loss of their sister Leni and in doing so provides moments of hope and courage to all who read the book. I appreciated the honesty throughout and although the characters are each fractured and torn apart by their loss they have to learn to come to terms with the fate that has befallen them. Through many experiences and an extensive journey they learn lots about themselves and several secrets are also revealed too. Belinda, their mother is obsessed with her clairvoyant friend, wanting answers from the other side. Given the nature of this book it may be triggering for some, there is loss of a sibling and the loss of an adult child. There are also issues relating to infertility and complications in pregnancy. Whilst these are very heavy issues Diamond handles them with the upmost care and respect.
Summary
Alice, her sister and best friend, riddled with guilt over their silence following an earlier argument, tries to piece together the last days of Leni’s life, while baby brother Will is living fast and lose in Thailand trying to forget the part he played in their sister’s death. Meanwhile, mum Belinda falls into an unhealthy relationship with a clairvoyant as her ex, Tony, struggles with becoming a father again after a trio of failed marriages. You’d think that would make for a miserable or maudlin story, but not a bit of it! There’s humour, love, excitement and joy in The Best Days of Our Lives too so that, while the reader needs a tissue or two along the way, the overall sensation is of a fabulous, uplifting, and life affirming experience. Thanks to NetGalley and Quercus for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.
Tender, bittersweet and funny, Lucy Diamond is brilliant about love in all its guises’ Veronica Henry I love books by Lucy Diamond and this one was just as good as the others I’ve read, with lots of characters to keep you interested. But I found this one to be just ok, I didn’t love it and I didn’t dislike it so I guess I’m somewhere in between.There are touches of mystery and romance woven into the story too so that it really is a mesmerising read. It keeps the reader guessing every bit as much as Alice as she tries to piece together Leni’s last few weeks.
The Best Days of Our Lives by Lucy Diamond a beautifully written book from start to finish but you may need some tissues handy.The story is essentially about the grief her family feels when Leni dies following a bicycle accident. Lucy Diamond explores how guilt, despair, loneliness, isolation, anger and vulnerability reverberate through those left behind. Humour, love, excitement and joy
Where Lucy Diamond does excel is in her character creation. Main or supporting, old or young, female or male…they’re all so well written. And the extended family as a whole. It’s a great exploration of a dysfunctional family without straying into the pantomime. Leni and her sister Alice were best friends as well as siblings. But did they know each other as well as Alice thought? In the hope of coming to terms with her grief, she tries to piece together Leni's last weeks - but her discoveries only lead to more questions. And that's before the surprise reappearance of someone from the past. Life is certainly getting very complicated...Thirty-something sisters Leni and Alice became inseparable following the divorce of their parents, Belinda and Tony, with younger brother Will always trying to keep up. Everyone is keeping secrets and the thing about secrets is that they will all be revealed in the end. The different imprints that the central incident has on all the main protagonists is thoroughly explored and differs widely but comes across as very real, giving the readers something that they can relate to, as I doubt they're will be a Lucy Diamond reader who won't have found themselves in this situation regardless of the part they played. The turmoil amid the changing of relationships was astutely unravelled and the somewhat predictable conclusion that you may expect from a 'family re-united' narrative actually ends up as something a lot more thought through, uplifting & satisfying. Set over the course of one life-changing year, The Best Days of Our Lives is a warm, big-hearted and poignant story, full of hope, heartache and love.
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