This is a solid read about a woman who’s essentially experiencing a midlife crisis in both wild and silly ways. I loved reading about Viv finding her voice and herself among the whirlwind of twists that life threw her and I absolutely adored her quirky neighbor. This book was good, but I think I struggled to relate to any of the characters, so it was just a personal preference issue with connecting. It’s written very well and everything else is great. 😊

I think When Life Gives You Lemons was a super fun, quirky read! Viv's husband is cheating on her, and this story is about how she finds out, recovers, and the rediscovers herself and her life. I think it's probably more fun for people who are closer in age/life experience to the main character than I was, but it's definitely still enjoyable for all. The main character's resilience and spunk made this entertaining, and the whole book had a hopeful feel, which I really enjoyed!

Viv is fifty with a 22 yr old boy and a five year old girl. She is going through the menopause, drowning in sweat every night, putting on weight and feeling a bit yuk about herself. She can't understand why her husband Andy won't give her any advice considering he's a doctor who specializes in hormones, he only complains about her night sweats.
It all becomes clear when she reads a message on his phone, he's having an affair. Andy is a man who doesn't really know what he wants apart from having his cake and eating it too..
Viv is working at a job she is bored with and with no hope of promotion it only adds to her unhappiness.
Thankfully she has good friends and works on a voluntary protect for the museum where one of her friends work. Is this the start of Viv getting her life back?
I have read all of Fiona Gibson's books and enjoyed every one of them. It's lovely to read a book that deal with everyday issues. I've laughed and I've shed a tear while reading them.
Each character in this book merits a book of their own they are all so interesting. I would love to know if Penny and her Girl Friday shops were based on any particular shops in Glasgow in the seventies.

What a treat!

At first I thought this would be another hackneyed husband leaves wife, hard times ensue, wife makes recovery, The End, type of read. Ho hum ...
But No! This was so much more--witty, real, and enormously enjoyable!
Beginning with 'The Before,' where a menopausal Viv bemoaning the little extras this gift adds to life whilst husband Andy is being as helpful as an ostrich with its head in the sand, the scene is set for a whirlwind read. It doesn't take any keen insight to know the story for Viv was sashaying downhill. When she discovers that husband Andy has been having an affair, the downhill turns into a descent of avalanche type proportions.
And so begins Viv's road to recovery. Sure it's an uphill struggle but it's littered with dabs of absolute hilarity, dashes of kindness and occasional doses of drunken reflection.
Things at work (and work is whole other example of Viv's stoicism), seem to have reached a rather lowering plateau. Viv takes on a rather exciting challenge, approaching the local natural history museum with the idea of an exhibition centred around a local fashion icon of the seventies, Viv's older, outrageous friend Penny --The Friday Girl.
Now all Viv has to do is to encourage her friend Penny, who was the brand's owner/designer to give the show the go ahead. Did I mention the help she receives from Penny's son Nick?
A riot of a story, showcasing a woman in her fifties and her community of support, an ordinary mom who eventually fights back and makes lemonade!
Bravo!

An Avon Books ARC via NetGalley

This book was not what I expected. The main character acted as if she was not grown and that irritated me a lot hence I couldn't go through with this book. I had reached about 10% into the book and the dnf'ed it. This book really felt to childish for my liking.

I enjoyed this book immensely. Viv is in her early 50's, going through menopause, raising a 8 year old daughter (also has a 22 year old son), and finds out her husband is cheating on her. She's been married for 25 years (to a doctor no less!) who could care less about her menopause symptoms - no sympathy whatsoever (jerk!). This book follows her story dealing with all of the above, including working full time at a dull, dead end job....but thank goodness she has her friends to get through it all. As a woman in her 40's, I related to Viv and her anguish. It's hard being a mom, wife, holding down a full-time job, and taking care of the family.
I love the way Fiona Gibson writes; her characters are always believable and relateable. This book was funny, poignant, and a joy to read.

Thanks #Netgalley for the ARC.
#whenlifegivesyoulemons

What a lovely book. Viv is a wife going through the menopause with an unsupportive husband. She is trying to juggle home, work and family. Her son has left the nest but they have a 7 year daughter born when Viv was in her forties. With so many plates in the air she feels lost but throws herself into everything. Her job is not what she had hoped to spend her life doing as when younger she worked as a stage manager in a theatre, a job she loved. Her current job is as a PA to a demanding woman. Then the bombshell. She relies on her friends for childcare and chats especially from a lady in her small circle of friends. Penny. Her unsupportive husband leaves home for another woman and then, of course, decides he has made a mistake. The story winds it way through Viv’s complicated life and she finds a project which is both fulfilling and leads her to helping out a museum which is struggling financially. With the help of her friends she gets the project up and running and this also leads to a new chapter in her life without her husband. The story is charming and I love a happy ending

I absolutely adored this book.

Witty and entertaining, it's the perfect feel good read.

I will certainly be reading more books from this author.

Full review to come on my blog in due course.

A fun but yet serious book about what happens when a mid-life crisis hits - often the husband in a marriage, and how the wife deals with it.
Especially difficult when you have a late and unplanned child at Primary School and you are not a young mother ...
And then you have a boss who seems incapable of doing anything at all for herself - she takes the concept of personal assistant just a tad too far... personal can be too personal you know?
Viv is capable of more, and wants to do more but life seems to have been stacked against her - until she finds that her husband leaving her brings out her strong side and she makes that elusive lemonade.
I enjoyed reading this book. Fiona always gives you a good giggle whilst making some serious points about how women are capable of so much more than they appear to others. Required reading for wives who leave far too much to husbands - or alternatively, let husbands do far too much. It's fine to put yourself front and centre from time to time girls...

Big 🌟🌟🌟🌟 for this book!

I have received an ARC copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Going into this book I didn't think it would be easy following a story of Viv, a 52 year old divorcee because there is a gap of 2 full decades between us.
I am really glad I read it though. :)

As predicted it was really difficult getting into the story, finding out about her husband's affair and living as an older single lady. It seemed boring during the first part of the book.

Fortunately, everything changed after that and I was connected with the storyline itself and I found it bizzare. :)

The writing and not awfully long chapter are really a great thing. Writing is simple, yet every sentence follows the previous extraordinarily in regards to the storyline and you can clearly see the path of Vivian and her thought and how she herself is changing.

I loved the fact that the author introduced just as many characters as she needed without throwing the full attention to them and rather making them a great compas, à décision making help for Vivian.

I had a feeling that the author knew, even before starting the novel, how many characters are in the book, their names and their roles in the story. And if she didn't cudos to her!

They are all wonderfully depicted, and described and they all present a very significant determinator in the plot.

The best thing in the book is how well it all is presented in the end, in a beautiful bow full of emotions and lovely, warm ideas.

I always love books that tell us a story about women finding their way in past and present and overcoming the anxiety.

Going through the story you are so engrossed in the happenings and the interaction of the characters that you don't have to think about the end and what will happen when you reach it.

But then when you get there there is a smile on your face, and you are happy for all the bad and good things happening in life and once again the words of my mum come to mind - life stories of the 'ordinary' people are the ones that make the best novels. :)

As a conclusion - this isn't your usual rom-com, coming to some great conclusion book.

It is a book that throrougly explores the ideas of loneliness, of interaction with interesting and less interesting people in our life as well as finding your way in life or coming back to it no matter what age.

It's definitely the warmest book I have read in a longest time. :)

Title : When Life Gives You Lemons
Author : Fiona Gibson
Publication date : 5 March 2020

Blurb :Sometimes life can be bittersweet . . .

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?

When life gives you lemons, lemonade just won’t cut it. Bring on the gin!

A fun and light story. The story starts with a middle aged couple, Andy and Viv. Viv is undergoing through her middle age crisis of menopause. On top of that, her marriage is on the verge of breaking. Then one day, she comes to know about the affair of her husband. She finds herself in great crisis but then she fights and tries regain control over her life.

This story was fun to read. I appreciate the author's way of writing about the critical situation of breaking of a marriage. She has succeeded in writing this part in a lighter way but also showed seriousness of the situation when the story demanded it.

The story was simple but at some of the places, I found it couldn't hold my interest for long. The story lacked that sparking intriguing factor for me but still it was enjoyable. Although I wanted to take a break in between the chapters, still I wanted to know what will happen in Viv's life.

I didn't feel too connected to the characters and it is maybe because I haven't reached that age yet. Still, it was a lovely time reading it.

A fairly predictable and easy read.

Viv is an easy character to get along with and the storyline plods along at a good pace. Didn't keep me up at night needing to find out how it ends.

Perfect for the poolside while you're in holiday.

This was a quick, fun read! This was my first read from Fiona Gibson, and I really enjoyed it. Viv is a newly-single (and menopausal) woman who doesn't let her cheating husband get her down, and she embarks on a path of self-discovery, hot flashes and all!

I found the first half of the book to be a bit slow. I think it picked up toward the second half. It was a cute story about a woman going through many life changes all at once, how she copes and moves on with the help of some good friends. I didn't find myself unable to put it down. While I like the characters, I didn't find the story to be very unique. Overall, I thought it was a good story, it just lacked that spark that makes a story unforgettable.

Warm, funny and a great story about when life doesn't turn our quite how you expected it to yet refusing to let it get you down. I really enjoyed this book, the characters are brilliantly written, likeable and most of all relateable. Everyone needs a Viv in their life.

A fun read about Viv learning to live again after her husband leaves her. It is happy and sad and funny in places.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

I'm always cringing when I go into this type of women's fiction/chick-lit books because the woman is usually a soggy mess who is borderline pathetic and someone I just want to shake and tell 'get it together, woman!' And when there are kids involved, I am even warier because these kids tend to be utter brats who'd get a piece of my mind if they were kids I actually knew.
What a relief that this was NOT the case here! Viv is relatable, a bit over-the-top with the 'my life is over' aspect, but that's forgivable. Izzy, the 7-year-old, is a tad precocious but thankfully quite a cute kid and I found myself wanting to ruffle her hair a few times as I was reading.
The pace, however, was super slow for me, and I found myself skimming pages and sometimes entire chapters just to see something happen. I know it's also not a romance, but the new love interest doesn't poke his nose in until almost halfway into this (long!) book.
It is a good read, a bit boring and trivial at parts, but it is a feel-good one and the voice was absolutely delightful for me

This is a novel that is perfect for all us middle aged menopausal women who will be able to identify with Viv’s character. We all get caught up in the daily humdrum of life, work, childcare, marriage and it’s so easy to lose sight of who we really are. When Viv discovers her husband is having an affair could this be her awakening she needs to kick start her life back into action? Or for the sake of her young daughter Izzy will she be able to forgive and forget in order to save her marriage? Like many women Viv’s age, she feels invisible, under appreciated in a job that whilst she’s good at was only ever meant to be a stop gap. Of course she’s organised, multi tasks and gives one hundred percent in her role as PA but her passion and skills lie in backstage theatre production, a career given up to parent her second child. Sound familiar?
What I like about this novel is it’s relatability to real life with a main character that is instantly recognisable and could either be ourselves or one of our friends. This is a novel about self discovery and second chances, proving that good things can happen despite the catalyst for change being unexpected and unwanted and in this case a huge blow to Viv’s self esteem. I admired Viv for her grin and bear it attitude to her husband’s infidelity, showing strength of spirit and with the help of friends like the glamorous Penny life doesn’t totally fall apart. Izzy is a delightful lovely character and I did find the scenes with the next door neighbours son Ludo funny. Naturally there is a sense of predictability about the storyline with the realisation that Viv has many qualities to equip her to deal with this major life changing event , especially when spear heading a project that reignites her passion for life. Recognising her self worth, her value to others and that somehow these menopausal years doesn’t mean she’s necessarily relegated to the back benches will resonate with many but also gives us the opportunity to laugh at ourselves along with Viv and her friends. This lighthearted novel couldn’t be without some love interest too and peppered with humour throughout, this is an entertaining, easy read that satisfies a need for a happy ending whilst sending a message to us menopausal women that we are most definitely not alone!! There are laugh out loud moments but my only criticism is that it’s a novel that doesn’t really stand out for me amongst the many others in this genre which is the only reason I’m reviewing as a four star read.
‘When life gives you Lemons’ is an great read to relax with for a few hours and forget about the insomnia and the hot flushes and that ever growing mountain of ironing in the corner!!
My thanks to Avon the publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to read in exchange for an honest review.

I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for my advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first Fiona Gibson novel and I found it engaging, poignant, at times funny, at others a bit sad, and on the rare occasion even frustrating. All in all, this means, I enjoyed myself.

We meet Viv, a middle-aged mother, wife, and coworker. She finds herself in a bit of a rut career-wise, but thank goodness, she has everything in place with her little family. Or so she thinks .... until she catches her husband (clearly going through a mid-life crisis, not unlike hers) cheating with a colleague. Viv is now faced with having to re-evaluate everything. She does so with a level of scrutiny and honesty that is commendable. I am neither middle-aged nor a mother but I found myself living Viv's life along with her, thinking through the same dilemmas she did, laughing when she was, and getting sad in parallel to her tears. Fiona Gibson brings to life a set of characters that seem kind of out there and relatable at the same time making for a very entertaining read. Viv's journey itself felt very real; nothing was exaggerated for the sake of fiction and some of her decisions made no sense - just like in real life. She receives advice from friends, which she takes or ignores. She misinterprets situations and acts accordingly. Sh falls and picks herself back up. She trusts someone will catch her; eventually. She takes a good look at herself and how she contributed to the situation. She grows. And to top this off, so do the side characters. They are equally complex even though we don't get to know that much about them.

Gibson found a wonderful balance between the comedic, the witty, and the laugh-out-loud and the serious, the profound, and the need-for-change. Yes, this is chick-lit; but who says that can't be lifer-altering or influential? When Life Gives you Lemons ranges from fluff read to demanding your thoughts and attentions. I, for one, relished that and I will keep Gibson in mind for the future when I am looking for just that kind of mix.

What happens when all those annoying moments and tics you first adored and then endured and finally snapped about becomes someone else’s journey. Andy and Viv have finally settled down to a life if not iddlyic is at least predictable,until it isn’t.Andy leaves for a fellow doctor on staff and Viv must navigate an all too common path, separation. As struggles go hers has a set of characters unique and humorous. A boss who doesn’t appreciate her value,a friend who supports and encourages her strength and a husband who finds the grass not as green as he let himself believe. As Viv realizes this moment in life ,complete with hormonal changes, is just another step in who she always was, a whole woman and a gifted human. Happy reading