Lisa Doyle's father left her two things: a battered blue armchair, and his talent for making a terrible situation catastrophically worse...
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I am required to make it clear at the beginning of my reviews that I received this book for free from the author. I have not been paid for doing this and all opinions are my own. I am Bookshop.org affiliated, which means I earn a very small amount of money if you buy from there using my direct link. Although I include purchase links to Amazon, I am not affiliated with them. I include them to make it easy for you to navigate to them if you so wish.
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The Blurb
Lisa Doyle is fine. Absolutely fine.
At least, that's the story she's been telling herself.
Her best friend is getting married. Everyone around her seems to have a partner, a plan, and a life that makes sense. Lisa, meanwhile, has four glasses of wine in her, a talent for making bad situations worse, and a growing sense of being left behind.
So she does what any sensible woman in a crisis would do. She announces that she's engaged.
There is only one problem.
Brian does not exist.
Now Lisa needs a fiancé before the wedding, her actor flatmate is far too willing to get involved, and the real Brian, who is very much married and very much her boss, is starting to look at her in ways that suggest this lie may have got seriously out of hand.
Warm, witty, and painfully recognisable, Lisa Doyle is Absolutely Fine is a grown-up romantic comedy about love, pressure, friendship, and the exhausting performance of holding everything together when you're quietly falling apart.
My Review
I enjoyed reading this wonderful romantic comedy very much.
The main character, the titular Lisa Doyle, was wonderful and was easy to relate to. Feeling as though she is the only one not getting married, one drunken evening Lisa posts on her social media that she is engaged to Brian. However, Brian doesn't exist and it is also the name of her boss. What follows is some very funny and poignant narrative which kept my attention throughout the novel.
It was so easy to empathise with Lisa. The reader realises that her actions are the result of loneliness and my heart went out to her. However, she digs herself into a deeper hole when her actor flatmate, Andy, assumes the role of the nonexistent Brian and is introduced to her family and friends; not forgetting on her social media.
The author has created a wonderful cast of characters in this book. The minor characters are just as charming, and I adored Lisa's family and friends.
It is obvious from the beginning that Lisa's lie is going to blow up in her face at some point and, when it does, I loved the way the author allowed those close to her to treat her with kindness, understanding and compassion.
The book had a fun premise which completely delivered. This isn't the first novel that I have read by this author. There is a link to my review of his book, Rainbows and Lollipops, at the bottom of this post.
This was a fabulous book which I highly recommend. Publishing on 18th June, it is worth getting your hands on a copy. It is perfect for readers of Mhairi McFarlane, Beth O'Leary, and Marian Keyes.
Book Details
ISBN: 978 1068394720
Publisher: Spring Street Books
Formats: e-book, audio, hardback and paperback
No. of Pages: 344 (paperback)
Preorder Links
About the Author
Mo has always believed stories can do two things at once: make you laugh and make you feel less alone. That’s what he tries to do on every page that he writes.
He didn’t grow up planning to be a novelist — but he grew up needing books. They were his escape, his company, and his way of making sense of the world. Now, he gets to create those escapes for other people. His novels explore love, loss, friendship, and the messy, hopeful business of being human.
At the heart of it all is a simple promise: even in life’s toughest moments, there’s humour, there’s connection, and there’s always a glimmer of light. That’s the world he writes about, and he's thrilled to be sharing it with others.
You can also find Mo at:
Other Blog Posts Featuring This Author
(ARC and media courtesy of the author)
(all opinions are my own)
(Bookshop.org affiliated)
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