When Life Gives You Lemons by Fiona Gibson was a fab read. A great easy to read book that had me laughing out loud. A thoroughly enjoyable book that lifted my spirits in these difficult times.

I love Fiona Gibson's novels, they have the trials of motherhood and the joys of getting older totally nailed. Her heroines are very relatable and their stories are written with such wry observations and humour I defy you not to feel better after reading one. Definitely one to add to your TBR pile.

I really enjoyed this book. Very light hearted and yet deep. If you love rom cons, this one is for you.

Loved to see the character growth too. Kudos to the author

I loved the brutal honesty of menopause and a midlife crisis!

Viv is suffering severe night sweats and married to Andy, an unsympathetic doctor, whose response to his own mid life crisis was to have an affair with a younger more attractive colleague!
Viv, newly single struggles to adapt to single parenthood, work and keeping sane!
Moving and inspiringly novel.

I loved this book. Never read any Fiona Gibson before but have bought two others on the back of this.

What woman of a certain age doesn’t have problems with errant facial hair. I laughed until I cried.

A brilliant piece of writing that was hugely enjoyable to read.

5 stars highly recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for an advance readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

When Life Gives You Lemons was a nice, light-hearted, easy read following middle-age mum Viv, who finds out her husband has been having an affair and finds herself newly single and has a whole new outlook on life, she has her struggles but makes new friends and relationships along the way to finding herself a new life venture.

I really enjoyed reading this book, it was just a calming read and I got through it really quickly, I'd love to check out more of Fiona Gibson's books.

You all know of me and my love love relationship with Fiona Gibson’s reads right now, I don’t think I’ve ever not loved a book of hers, finding them all very true to everyday life while being bright, vivid, heartwarming and laugh out loud hilarious, while secretly hoping that some day someone will think that about my books too (yes, her and Sophie Kinsella are my two ‘they inspire me and someday hopefully I can come anywhere near them in terms of my books’ people).

But, I digress (pauses to ponder if I’ve ever not digressed with a Fiona Gibson review). So! I read this as part of The Hungry Readers Games 2020 challenge, popping it straight off Netgalley as a contender, whilst excitedly hopping from foot to foot. This is the story of Viv, who is being put through the grinder as she goes through the menopause, struggling with the fact that her husband isn’t really seeing her or there for her. He is for someone else and we soon realise he’s having an affair with a very Instagram friendly, perfect on all counts (in Viv’s eyes) doctor.

The huge thing in this book was the side characters and I love that as we found out about Viv’s life, we also came to meet her friends, who she didn’t realise were all warriors as she had first thought. The comedy was epic (look out for some eggs that are used to exact some brilliant revenge, yes, I’m petty, what can I say, and then lead us to other eggs that were used for different heart wrenching reasons, yes, this does sound weird but you have to read the book, okay?!)

Mom lit with a sparkle and packing a punch, this was a read I galloped through even though it was 400 pages. The beauty is in the everyday and it was definitely the escapism I needed.

Thanks so much to Avon and Netgalley for the book in return for an honest review.

Rating: 5/5

Middleaged Viv is going through menopause, and tending to the whims of her 7-year-old and the demands of her boss. And to top it all, she finds out that her husband is having an affair with a much younger woman!!

The book tells the story of Viv who deals with all the sour lemons thrown at her. Viv does not wallow in self pity. She is strong and very relatable. The story is humorous with some romance and drama thrown in. It's a lighthearted, fast read, with a wonderful set of characters. I give this book 4 5 stars. Definitely looking forward to reading more books by this author. Thanks to Netgalley and Avon Books for providing me with an ARC of this book.

Thank you to Netgalley for a pre publication copy. In return for an honest review! #whenlifegivesyoulemons #netgalley

Viv is a menopausal fifty..... Something mum of two. She's in a stop gap job (been there five years!) and lives life with her eyes closed. Viv suddenly finds her marriage is breaking down. Will she be able to survive solo? Can she learn to wake up and smell the roses?

The front cover/title drew me in. Anything with "G&T" in the title is a winner. Of course Lemons brings a summery vibe.

Once opening the book it is a page turner. You are always being given secrets and cliff hangers for you to be a detective with whilst wanting to read on to find the answers. Any spare time i had i felt myself wanting to pick this book up.

This is a fabulously holistic book. This book makes you cry, laugh out loud (many times) and give empathy to all the characters. Who each have their own story. This book is a great read all year round and you never feel that you are missing anything from the story line allowing you to follow it through until the end with confidence.

Although their are some emotional subjects included in this book such as parents death, secrets, affairs, postnatal depression amongst other things. I do not feel this takes away from the joyous and honest feel of the book and I feel actually gives each character a third dimension to get your teeth into.

Throughout this book you are being given life lessons, special intricate messages and codes of how to decipher the difficulties in life. This is done in a fun and humorous way which means you are getting so much life advise from this book without knowing it.

All of the characters are loveable even Andy! They have their foibles and fu loving side which makes you feel like you are part of their tight knit and special community. As well as making the characters all relatable.

I have lived in Scotland for 3 years, previously, therefore really appreciated the true Scottish style and setting within the book.

I would love a sequel to this finding out how Viv and Nick continue to move forward.

This is a new author to me and before finishing the book I have downloaded a new Fiona Gibson one.

I really wanted to enjoy this book as I am a fan of Fiona Gibson ordinarily. Unfortunately, this book just felt flat. I didn't feel any connection with the characters or with the storyline.

If you like an easy read with a funny commentary on life this is for you. I'm sorry I didn't enjoy it as much as I wanted to and although it flowed quite well there wasn't really much going on for me to have any interest.

This is a funny, uplifting book which focuses on the rebuilding of life after life knocks you down. This was a well written book with some great characters, great to while away a few hours ! I would recommend this book to anyone
Thank you to Netgalley, Avon and Fiona Gibson for letting me read this book in exchange for an honest review

While this book doesn't have the most unique point of view or storyline, it was very well written and lighthearted. I love a good book about starting over and making the most of out what is handed to you.
Personally, I found it hard to relate to the characters since I haven't been in similar situations, but it was still enjoyable to read and I felt for Viv.

I worried, for a bit, before reading this. I wasn't sure a book with a menopausal character in her 50s would be for me. I was, luckily, mistaken. This book is fantastically funny, Viv is a wonderful character so warmly written, and I am excited to see more from Fiona Gibson in the future.

This is about Viv a fifty something woman who is going through the menopause and then her husband leaves her for a younger woman.
She tells us how she’s getting through her days and what led up to the breakdown of her marriage.
She has got friends who help her through this
This is a great read and is probably quite relatable to some people.
Thanks NetGalley

‘When Life Gives You Lemons’ is the latest book by Fiona Gibson.

Between tending to the whims of her seven-year-old and the demands of her boss, Viv barely gets a moment to herself. It’s not quite the life she wanted, but she hasn’t run screaming for the hills yet. But then Viv’s husband Andy makes his mid-life crisis her problem. He’s having an affair with his (infuriatingly age-appropriate) colleague, a woman who – unlike Viv – doesn’t put on weight when she so much as glances at a cream cake. Viv suddenly finds herself single, with zero desire to mingle. Should she be mourning the end of life as she knows it, or could this be the perfect chance to put herself first?

Fiona Gibson is back with a warm-hearted story that will certainly warm the cockles of your heart during this dark and scary time.

Just when Viv is about to get her life back on track after forgiving her husband for his affair, he ups and leaves and Viv is wondering what to do next.

A single parent going through the menopause, the last thing she wants is to meet someone else even though her friends are determined that she should mingle. With a new position in work and becoming a voice for the older generation, Viv finds herself on a new path in life.

If you’re looking for the perfect distraction from all the bad news and drama in the world, I would whole heartedly recommend this story. Written with warmth, wit and cheer, this coming of age story follows the narrative of one woman as she adjusts to her new life. Packed with eccentric and interesting characters, hilarious scenarios and witty one liners, this story is an upbeat and relatable book and perfect for all lovers of romantic comedies.

You can buy ‘When Life Gives You Lemons’ from Amazon and is available to buy from good bookshops

An uplifting, easy read centering on a a menopausal 50 something about to be divorcee. Far from my usual crime thrillers the one-liners had me hooked and i was genuinely laughing out loud. some of the over the top comedy lightens what is actually quite a bleak tale and the supporting characters add a colorful dynamic to a beautiful prose. I found myself empathizing with Viv and just wanting her to embrace life while shouting at her stupid husband "why are you being so stupid!"
Highly recommend this wonderful novel by Fiona Gibson - I will certainly be reading her back catalogue as its marvelous to discover a new author.

This was such a cute book! I really enjoyed the storyline it was new and different. I love that the characters are older. When life gives you lemons is a refreshing read.

The basic idea of the book of a woman, whose husband leaves her for another woman after about 20 years of marriage and how she rediscovers herself and learns to appreciate herself better after all these years. However, the pace of the book is really slow. I would have given up on it but I wanted to finish it just because DNF-ing another book for this year would have given me anxiety.

It picks up pace only in the last quarter and by then I was already bored. The things I did like in the story was female empowerment, how when she is separated from her husband she realizes that how much he was pulling her down, how his image of her or his choice of words made her think bad of herself. Once he left, it took time but at the end it was like a fog had been lifted and she found her passionate self again. The women in this book are uplifting each other, instead of pulling each other down and that was refreshing to read.

I really enjoyed Viv and her daughter. I thought the writing was spectacular. This book made me laugh often and made me feel a wide range of emotions. But this book didn't do anything for me. I didn't see a plot other than "I'm in my 50s and my marriage is falling apart." I guess I just wanted more of this book. I do think it is better suited for other people, but this one was not for me.