This was a brilliant read. As soon as I started reading this book I just knew I was going to love it. Highly recommended

Oh my goodness, I had to stop reading this on the commute to work. People were staring at me as I couldn't help laughing out loud at another funny and relatable book but Nick Spalding. Hilarious.

Funny and relatable as always, great characters, good story and lots of fun to read. Would recommend

A light hearted funny read that made me laugh out loud in places. I love Nick Spalding and this book certainly didn't disappoint.

Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.

After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley.

I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
Natalie.

Kate and Scott don't realise their marriage is based on drinking until their daughter Holly films them extremely drunk. Once they decide to go sober things start to fall about. The book while funny has a serious element to it, when the video goes viral everyone has an opinion and they have to find a way through that, with lots of soul searching and falling off the wagon and embarrassing moments they start to find out who they both are. A really entertaining read.

This was my first Nick Spalding book and what a really enjoyable read! It was funny, engaging and heartwarming in equal amounts. I definitely recommend it, particularly if you're looking for a lighthearted read that still has plenty of substance. I shall certainly be reading more of Nick Spalding's back catalogue. Fast and funny, I had an absolute blast reading "Dry Hard" and laughed out loud more than I can remember doing for quite a while. You must get yourself a copy of this book as I'm sure you’ll enjoy it.

I received a complimentary digital copy of this novel, at my own request, from Lake Union Publishing via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

As you would expect with a Nick Spalding book this is really funny. In fact I don't think there is a chapter that doesn't involve an embarrassing incident, drunken shenanigans, the sublime or ridiculous, leading to everything from giggles to full on belly laughs.

I mean you wouldn't think one couples attempt to give up alcohol for a year would be so funny but it is. Yet within the humour there are clearly important modern social issues touched up.

There is a lot about the whole YouTube "fame" culture, and features assorted YouTuber, there is a young adult who just wants her parents to drink less and as a result videos them over Christmas and ends up with a viral video from which everything spirals.

Yet even before Christmas, we meet both Kate and Scott in individual chapters, where they both have a rather ridiculous drunken mishap. One involving a tractor and a wedding and the other involving fireworks and a gin distillery!

Then Holly's chapters felt like they were written from an omniscient point of view, but also fly on the wall documentary tone. It felt like the voice was all knowing but at the same time, it really was highlighting very key issues that could resonate with readers.

This is actually a very clever novel, I thoroughly enjoyed whizzing through the pages and really didn't want it to end. Dry Hard had quite a different feel to it than other books I've read, and I think it would translate perfectly into a sitcom, with each chapter being a different episode.

Thank you to Lake Union Publishing and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

I was expecting this roaring comedic book. I may have laughed twice in the beginning but other than that it was not funny. I didn't enjoy it at all. I guess that I didn't care for the story or how it was layer out. I guess this author is just not for me

Thanks netgalley for this ARC.

Another cracking comedy from Nick Spalding. He’s achieved the perfect balance of comedy timing with some serious topics throughout this book. Some of the plots are a little far fetched but funny nonetheless. An easy read with a touching ending.

Unfortunately I have to rate this book compared to Spaulding’s other novels which I enjoyed. I wanted to like it but just didn’t care about any of the characters and had a ‘so what?’ feeling throughout each chapter.
I definitely like this author, but feel like this one was a swing and a miss...

Dry Hard left me in a bit of a conundrum. I knew going in this was a book that wouldn’t be for everyone since it was about a married couple who were functioning alcoholics so I was really expecting some dark humor. What I wasn’t expecting was the first 25% to be full of over-the-top slapstick comedy such as . . . .

Deciding it would be a good idea to DRIVE A TRACTOR (while having zero experience as a farmer) through a wedding reception;

Deciding it would be a good idea to OPERATE A PROFESSIONAL FIREWORKS DISPLAY (while not even being a closet pyromaniac let alone a licensed professional);

Pretending to boff the Christmas tree and then adorning the lingerie purchased for the Mrs. in an attempt to prove it wouldn’t make her look like a prostitute as she suggested.

^^^The last one served as the catalyst (via a viral video) that made the duo decide to try and give up drinking for a year.

It’s also where the book took a strange turn that had me saying: Didn’t see that one coming! You see, the underlying tone of this book most certainly is one that attempts to inform the masses that social media (You Tube and its vloggers in particular) may be what eventually leads us to complete devolution.

I think I need to give this author’s other book a shot to see what I really think about his stuff because this one was a mixed bag for me. Good news is it costs zero dollars on Kindle Unlimited so if you have that you won't be out anything by picking it up.

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, NetGalley!

If you enjoyed previous titles from Nick Spalding, this one will not disappoint. It tackles the subject of excessive drinking and the consequences. It's incredibly funny at times and incredibly thought provoking in others. Anyone who has ever had one too many will relate to the events covered in the book. It's told from three different angles, Mum, Dad and teenage daughter, and the stories converge quite nicely. It's a roller coaster of events and emotions which leaves you wondering how this story will end right up to the final chapter.

I really enjoyed this book, like many of Nicks other books - he hits the perfect comedy timing for his characters.

I was reading this on the train and I belly laughed at the “nose picking” so much that someone came over and asked me what i was reading. I had no hesitation in recommending this book!

I enjoyed this book. At the beginning, I wasn't quite sure about the characters. They were ridiculous, but not in a cute and fun way - they were just plain train wrecks where you couldn't look away but you kept cringing. Which, I would assume was the authors intention (good job there!). Then, with the characters development, I sort of started enjoying them and their growth. I did, however, really enjoy how the book came together in the end and it made me want to cheer for the characters. I liked how the story was told, except for the chapters when it was the narrators turn - I felt it was very disjointed and weird. Overall though, I did enjoy it as a mostly easy read, although I had to keep putting it down when it got a bit too silly. But I would definitely give it a 4/5!

Another cracking read from Nick Spalding. Laugh out loud funny, a great pick me up on a lazy weekend. I look forward to future work by Nick as his books never fail to disappoint.

When Kate and Scott Temple are involved in sticky situations at work involving a tractor and some errant fireworks it becomes apparent that they both have a bit of a problem. A wine bottle shaped problem.
Their teenage daughter, Holly, is thoroughly sick of her parents behaviour after they've had a few - and she decides to film their drunken antics (women's underwear may be involved. Oh, and a Christmas tree...) She then does what any normal seventeen year old girl would do and posts the footage onto YouTube. However, what Holly wasn't counting on was her video being spotted by YouTube sensation PinkyPud. After he shares the video it goes viral before you can say 'drink problem' and Kate and Scott become a laughing stock.
However, it's not all bad - Kate & Scott's antics becoming an overnight sensation prompt them to finally do something about their drinking. And not only that, but with Holly's help they decide they are going to document their mission to become teetotal for a year online - and so begins #DryHard.
Kate and Scott know that giving up drinking isn't going to be easy, but it soon becomes apparent that whilst staying sober the pair have got a whole other load of problems to contend with, perhaps most importantly the sudden disintegration of their marriage without the crutch of alcohol...

Nick Spalding is one of those rare male writers who absolutely nails comedy from both women's and men's perspective in a genre that is highly populated by female authors. This makes him very special indeed and I absolutely love his books (and the good news is he has written loads! Be sure to check them all out in your next book-buying spree...)

I found myself becoming immersed in Kate and Scott's lives pretty quickly. The opening chapter detailing Kate's escapades is comedy gold (it's the tractor bit I referred to earlier) and Scott's predicament involving bright orange gin doesn't end any better. You can see what is about to happen but you still sit there with your hands covering your eyes, inwardly groaning 'DON'T DO ITTTTTT.'
I really felt for Holly when it became apparent that this behaviour was quickly becoming the norm with her parents. Let's be honest - parents can be embarrassing enough at the best of times, but when they are completely blotto and your dad is trying on your mum's underwear before face-planting into the sofa - definitely not good.
I was glad that she decided to upload the footage of Kate & Scott onto YouTube, but even she had no idea that it was going to take off in the way that it did. This then opened up a really interesting aspect of the story, as it began to touch upon the world of YouTube. As a YouTube viewer I found this side of things fascinating to read about as we began to meet other YouTube stars who were jumping on the bandwagon and muscling in on #DryHard. I pretty much hated them all; especially 'PinkyPud' who was infuriating (but his restaurant Control, Alt, Del-Eat is probably the coolest named restaurant ever. Not that I'd want to eat there...Ick) Dry Hard really does explore the impact that social media and YouTube has on our world at the moment and I really enjoyed how this was such a big part of the story. I also liked how some of the people online really got behind Kate and Scott and supported them in their journey. There were, of course, the usual handful of faceless trolls, but it was nice to read about people being kind on the internet, as that is something which often seems a bit of a rarity these days.

One of the things I love most about Nick's writing is how he can take a very serious subject and put a humourous spin on things. Yes, alcohol addiction is a serious and scary subject, but Nick adds just the right amount of comedy to make these subjects seem slightly less scary, but they also remain very real.
I adored Scott and Kate and I was rooting for them all the way. They were both extremely charismatic and relatable characters who many people will be able to identify with. (I didn't think I could love Kate any more than when she had a breakdown over a cucumber...)
Holly was a wonderful character too; I loved how she supported her parents and towards the end of the book we get to see the lengths that Kate and Scott will go to for their daughter, which was both touching and in true Nick Spalding style - really funny at the same time.

The format in which the book was written was also really effective as each chapter is told in first person by one of the three main characters. This enables you to really get to know them all on just that little bit more of a personal level and helps you to really empathise with their situation, whether that's the struggles that the 'Temple Twosome' (aka Scott and Kate) are going through, or the feelings that Holly is experiencing on the other side.

If you're doing Dry January then this book should be required reading, but Dry Hard is wonderful enough to brighten up anyone's dreary January, regardless of whether processco is on the menu or not.

Full of belly laughs and with a gripping storyline at its heart, I'd highly recommend this thought-provoking, engrossing novel about the choices that we make and ultimately, the importance of family.

<i>Dry Hard</i> is a hysterically funny novel that chronicles one couple as they move through the stages of addiction recovery. From their manic highs in the throes of drunken oblivion to their lows of hitting rock bottom, author Nick Spalding infuses enough humor to make the journey one in which the reader fully engages, cheering for the characters to make it to full sobriety.

Spalding’s genius here is in his ability to make us laugh, even whilst we simultaneously wince. Kate and Scott Temple, both in their forties, are given voice in alternating chapters, the first several of which detail their drunken behaviors in separate high profile, awkward situations. The farcical nature of their retelling of events will cause even the most cynical of readers to truly laugh out loud, but not without an underlying feeling of unease and perhaps even a bit of guilt over finding the couple’s alcohol-induced actions amusing. This tightrope is walked throughout—we snort at their slapstick antics then silently follow Kate and Scott as they explore the depth of their self-deception and fight to recover.

The other character here that plays heavily into the plot is the couple’s sixteen year old daughter Holly. While her parents’ chapters are told as if Kate and Scott are speaking directly to the reader, Holly’s actions are retold through a narrator who addresses us as if we are sitting next to him. This was an interesting choice on the part of the author, and one that results in seeing Kate and Scott as unreliable storytellers, often drowned in their own indulgences. The recounting of events through an omniscient narration, however, is felt to paint a more authoritative picture, as we find ourselves audience to Holly’s internal teenage angst, revealed without a filter.

<i>Dry Hard</i> also takes a comical swipe at the iconography of British contemporary culture. YouTube is featured as both a vehicle of destruction and of redemption, and Spalding takes shark-jaw-sized bites out of Krav Maga, Piers Morgan and even Boris Johnson. <i>Jools Holland’s Annual Hootenanny</i> is also skewered in one of the funniest paragraphs in the book:

<i>The Temples are watching</i> Jools Holland’s Hootenanny.

<i>Nobody in their right mind watches</i> Jools Holland’s Hootenanny. <i>It’s one of the rules of New Year. The BBC broadcast it—as is their right—and the entire population of Great Britain completely ignores it, as is theirs.

Only those suffering severe infirmity, or suicidal loneliness, have ever sat through </i>Jools Holland’s Hootenanny. <i>To do so under any other circumstances would just be plain wrong.</i>

In the end, <i>Dry Hard</i> does devolve into a bit of banality, but the trip there makes this novel deserving of a read and worthy of high praise. Well written, with a focused plot, no extraneous filler and loads of laughs, <i>Dry Hard</i> may be destined to take its place among the funniest books written this year. Spalding will most certainly widen his fan base with this release—and rightfully so. The book definitely made a fan of this reviewer.

Thanks to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I like reading this author's books. They are always very easy to read if sometimes a teeny bit crude.
This story was a little sad, Scott and Kate drink too much and their daughter Holly is fed up, so they end up trying to gice up drink live on line. Things don't go swimmingly, though.

This was just what I needed after a overload of thrillers and historical fiction. I devoured this light and hilariously funny book. Far fetched but a few home truths being a similar age to the main characters with teenagers and a love of wine myself! Wonderful characters that are so well described you can visualise them so well. A laugh out loud book with stunning commentary.