About the Book
THE TIMES BESTSELLER
'It is so good! It is so honest about being a woman and all the things that are expected of us ... I enjoyed it very much.' MARIAN KEYES
AS DISCUSSED ON THE SARA COX SHOW AND BBC WOMAN'S HOUR
*****
'Turning thirty is like playing musical chairs. The music stops, and everyone just marries whoever they happen to be sitting on.'
Who the f*ck is Tori Bailey?
There's no doubt that Tori is winning the game of life. She's inspired millions of women to stick two fingers up at convention with her bestselling memoir, and she has the perfect relationship to boot.
But Tori Bailey has been living a lie.
Everyone around her is getting married and having babies, but her long-term boyfriend won't even talk about getting engaged. And when her best friend Dee - her plus one, the only person who understands the madness - falls in love, suddenly Tori's in terrifying danger of being left behind.
When the world tells you to be one thing and turning thirty brings with it a loud ticking clock, it takes courage to walk your own path.
It's time for Tori to practise what she's preached, but the question is: is she brave enough?
*****
The debut adult novel by bestselling author Holly Bourne is a blisteringly funny, honest and moving exploration of love, friendship and navigating the emotional rollercoaster of your thirties.
Everyone is raving about this summer's hottest book:
'Truly a f***ing good novel' EVENING STANDARD
'Relatable for any woman navigating emotional time bombs' RED
'Bourne holds a mirror up to contemporary aspiration, deftly probing the dissonant dualism between the shinier selves projected online and people's offline reality.' SUNDAY TIMES
'Gave me all of the feelings ... this generation's BRIDGET JONES.' CARMEL HARRINGTON
'Funny, sad, honest, insightful, up-to-the-minute. Kept me guessing (and hoping) to the last page' ROISIN MEANEY
'Sure to resonate with anyone navigating the emotional minefield of their thirties' - RED ONLINE
'Smart, witty and perceptive. Razor-sharp on friendship, self-image and self-deception' LUCY DIAMOND
'Sublime, perfectly observed' LAURA JANE WILLIAMS
'Bourne incinerates the lies we're all capable of telling ourselves in this raw and very funny book; it'll resonate with anyone trying to convince themselves that sticking it out is better than being alone.' EMERALD STREET
'Funny, real and heartbreaking. I haven't been this ob
About the Author :
Holly started her writing career as a news journalist, where she was nominated for Best Print Journalist of the Year. She then spent six years working as an editor, a relationship advisor, and general 'agony aunt' for a youth charity - helping young people with their relationships and mental health. Inspired by what she saw, she started writing teen fiction, including the best-selling, award-winning 'Spinster Club' series which helps educate teenagers about feminism. When she turned thirty, Holly wrote her first adult novel, examining the intensified pressures on women once they hit that landmark.
Alongside her writing, Holly has a keen interest in women's rights and is an advocate for reducing the stigma of mental health problems. She's helped create online apps that teach young people about sexual consent and is an ambassador for Women's Aid.
Review :
Truly a f***ing good novel
It is so good! It is so honest about being a woman and all the things that are expected of us ... I enjoyed it very much.
Bourne incinerates the lies we're all capable of telling ourselves in this raw and very funny book; it'll resonate with anyone trying to convince themselves that sticking it out is better than being alone.
The most perceptive book I have ever read about the female interior
Injected with such reality it can't help but be hilarious
Relatable for any woman navigating emotional time bombs
There's a duality in reading things that are super relatable - it feels great to be heard, but also a little exposing. There's a little bit of that in Holly Bourne's latest novel, but nothing will stop you getting to the end...This novel is funny, touching and searingly honest
Funny, real and incredibly relatable
It speaks so many truths about being a woman in your thirties; friendships, love and what a fickle beast social media can be.
Honest and unflinching
Hilarious and painfully true
Identifiable, heart-breaking and wickedly funny. I'd say this is one of my favourite books of the year
I haven't been this obsessed with a book in years. It's painfully funny, real, but also heartbreaking. Get this book now or be the loser who can't join in when everyone else is talking about it.
'A smart, witty and perceptive novel; Bourne is razor-sharp on friendship, self-image and self-deception'
Sure to resonate with anyone navigating the emotional minefield of their thirties
Sublime, perfectly observed
'This novel is sharply observant about the issues in young women's lives today - feminism, relationships, mental health and motherhood - and it is very, very funny.
Authentic, funny and utterly relatable; this book gave me all of the feelings. This generation's Bridget Jones!
Perfectly addresses the storm of emotions you go through as a young woman, growing up in a world where you need to have the best boyfriend, best career and best group of friends (and it's all got to be displayed beautifully across your social media profiles.)
'This is a deeply feminist novel that questions whether the competitive nature of social media is breeding a lifestyle conformism among women that can only limit their freedom and their happiness. It is also, almost line by line, wincingly funny'
Will strike a chord with anyone who worries about their relationship with social media, feels like they're being left behind by their friends or is wrangling with the pressures of being in, or out, of a partnership in their 30s. Buy it for your best mate whose boyfriend isn't good enough for her, your recently dumped sister or just for yourself if you're feeling a little 'what the hell?' about your fourth decade; you'll all take something from it
Tori is surely the Bridget Jones of our times
Brutally honest but charmingly funny
Well-written, genuinely funny and movingly honest. It could be a life-changing read for many.
Holly Bourne nails the pressures that young women face and captures that feeling of teetering on the edge of 30 and still not knowing what you want from life. It's funny and sad in equal measures'
A very funny novel that lives up to its hype
Mordantly funny, flinchingly well-observed... A smart, zeitgeisty, and caustically funny read, it has characters you root for. More than that, however, Bourne holds a mirror up to contemporary aspiration, deftly probing the dissonant dualism between the shinier selves projected online and people's offline reality.
Cheerfully plunders all that can be plundered from a young woman's quest for life in the 'fast line'
Funny, astute, bitingly honest, it's a genuine triumph
Brutally honest, appallingly funny and very moving - so accurate on the female interior, and the loneliness life in the public gaze. I want to read everything Holly Bourne has written now
Funny, sad, honest, insightful, up-to-the-minute. Bourne's pacy narrative kept me guessing (and hoping)to the last page.
