This was a cleverly told story, but I had a hard time getting wrapped up in it. I can see how others might love it, but I never got there with this one. I didn’t feel a close connection with the characters and I was turned off by some of the foul language and sexual situations.

Again, others will feel differently, I’m sure. I think the author is a very talented writer. Even though I didn’t love this particular story, I’ll definitely look for future releases from her.

Well, I wasn't sure what to think when I started this book - it's all gone a bit wrong for the main character! Personally, I loved this book, it was fast paced, funny, a little romance and a lot of intrigue. Recommended for those looking for a fun semi sci-fi/body horror/mystery novel and I look forward to picking up what Lynda writes next.

Beyond Kidding
Book Review | 📚📚📚1/2 3.5/5
Lynda Clark | Fairlight Books

This book, about a dad and his strange/estranged/stranger son, might all be based on a lie. The wild journey is what makes the twisted tale so much fun to read.

Publisher’s blurb for Beyond Kidding can be found here: https://www.fairlightbooks.co.uk/beyond-kidding/

Why I was interested in this book:
I enjoy quirky tales that contain red herrings, misguided steps, and lots of literary confusion. This sounded like a book I would enjoy.

My assessment:
Beyond Kidding is Lynda Clark’s first novel. It was a light-hearted and quick-page-turning story that kept my attention through the last past. While I had some difficulty following in some parts, it was well written and allowed for good empathy for each of the characters. The main story (a boy and his son) and the sub-stories (work, relationships, friendships and how they all intersect) were well developed. I do wish some of the relationships with women in his life were tighter – so many directions they could have gone, and probably should have gone, but did not fully materialize.

Overall, I enjoyed the book. There were tensions between characters that left me wanting more and that could have really led the reader down some intense rabbit holes within the story.

Stories of the human condition:
Because I don’t include spoilers, I won’t share too much detail, other than to say that the book really focused on two people: a father and a son. Whether trauma, divine intervention, deception, conspiracy or some other condition was used as a primary catalyst for the main character, there was tension and struggle – internal and external.

Ultimately, I liked the book, but feel like there were sub-plots and character relationships and personalities that could have been more strongly developed to make an even stronger and unified story.

Full disclosure: I received an advance copy of this book through NetGalley(dot)com in exchange for an honest review. I would not have selected this book had I not been interested in it based on the description.

Read more of my reviews at https://tugglegrassblues.wordpress.com/.

TAGS:
#BeyondKidding #review-book #book review #FairlightBooks #LyndaCarter #TuggleGrassBlues #Tuggle Grass Reviews #TuggleGrassReviews #NetGalley

Beyond Kidding is a uniquely comic story of Rob who to get a ‘normal’ job after working in his best friend’s sex shop, creates a son he never has who is then abducted as part of an ever-continuing lie. The problem gets worse when his made-up son is then found by the police.

Without revealing too much I can not recommend this book enough. I fully enjoyed the build-up to Rob’s spiraling lie and the effects it has on the people around him, especially his new workplace who take the search for his son as an opportunity to advertise the company.

I initially found the flashbacks in the first half of the book a little distracting but Lynda Clark becomes more confident with this type of storytelling as the book progresses, making it a more enjoyable read.

This is recommended for the story, the path the book leads us along and the genuinely funny joke about how to cope with a female customer returning a used sex toy for a refund.

Not my usual read, but was intrigued by the cover and description. Such a weird story but I actually quite enjoyed it. A young man decides he needs a fresh start in a new job and so the kids begin to wrack up until he's made up a son and a kidnapping. From there on it gets weird. I'm not totally sold on the ending though if I'm honest but I enjoyed reading this mostly.

Thank you to NetGalley and Fairlight Books for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, I did not like this book much. Though the premise seemed interesting, the actual book dragged quite a bit, I did not care for any of the characters or for the writing and I didn't find the ending satisfying at all.

There was a lot of unnecessary swearing and nothing kept me hooked, though there is a mystery. I only finished the book because it was very short.

This is a hilarious sci-fi romp. A little bonkers at times perhaps but highly entertaining with an very engaging story and wonderful characters. Huge fun with great sequel potential.

As much as I enjoy feckless heroes, I've never encountered one as spectacularly feckless as protagonist Rob Buckland. What kind of fool "invents" a son to get a better job? And then supplants that lie by announcing the boy has been kidnapped, and reporting it to the police? Well, this protagonist. From that out of the gate, how could I not race through the novel holding my breath?


Laden with humour and expressed in alternating third-person and first-person narrative, BEYOND KIDDING is both hilarious and heartwarming.

Unique, bizarre, hilarious, poignant and a surprisingly good read! This one stands on its own within a genre that could be more than sci-fi. Everything comes together to become this quite wonderful story.

At first, I wasn't sure where this book was going but the first part was written intriguingly enough to keep me reading, and I was glad I did! The story moved along pacily and was nicely embedded in the single bloke model, but subveretd this well, and contained a real twist in the narrative that blinsided me and ensured I read through to the end to find out what happened.Bittersweet and well worth buying.

Beyond Kidding by Lynda Clark is the weirdest, craziest book I’ve read this year or maybe ever.

Robert Buckland works in a sex shop with his best friend, Bummer. After years of working there he realizes he has to move on, find a new job so he applies to an office job. But something seizes him and he says he has a son. His name is Brodie. Rob imagines a whole life for them. But when his boss wants to meet with Brodie, Rob says he can’t because Brodie is missing. Rob agrees to do public appeals and everything to keep up with his lie. And then the unthinkable happens. He gets a call that his son was found. But Brodie doesn’t exist.

How could I not want to read this book? I had to know what will happen, how Brodie came to be real.

The characters felt so real even in a situation that was everything but realistic. The ending was kind of unsatisfying so I hope there will be a sequel or something because I want to know what happens next.

Highly recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy.

A very entertaining story with some humor. Told with a nice style and with surprises along the way, this is a good read with an interesting premise. Recommended.

I really appreciate the advanced copy for review!!

This is one of those books that hooks you in at the start and doesn't let go. It's very well written, easy to read and keeps you guessing.

It starts near the middle of the story and uses a series of clever flashbacks to tell the story of how we got to that point and then develops the story further.

The lead character, Rob Buckland has, in many ways, a repugnant personality yet provides plenty of laugh out loud moments, usually at completely inappropriate times. What starts as one lie gets completely out of hand yet he manages to maintain the facade getting deeper and deeper and more repugnant - and more funny - in the process.

There are times you question the reliability of his accounts, wondering if there is some fantasy or prank going on but you do see him maturing and changing through the story.

Having a friend called Bummer who owns a sex shop called the Empornium where Rob used to work provides many hilarious moments and the story develops the theme of friendship and the interactions between characters says a lot about our behaviours and relationships.

I really like how the story is serious yet retains a lot of humour, warmth and sci fi / fantasy themes without becoming implausable or ridiculous. I also didn't see the plot twist coming.

This was too mad for me,and that is saying something.It was bonkers.I did enjoy it in parts, but overall it was too much for I am afraid.Thanks for the ARC

Rather slow, to be honest. A man fakes a kidnapping of a child he never had to avoid some other trouble, and then the child shows up. The story begins at the police station with the protagonist meeting his "son", who matches the fake photo and fake description in every way. Sounds like a good premise for soft science fiction but it didn't work for me.

Wow!
Where do I begin!?
How do I describe this book without putting you off? Sex, swearing, dysfunctional relationships and a completely ridiculous storyline but it just works perfectly!
100% this won’t be for everybody but I am bowled over and loved every chapter - even that ending which I cannot discuss and haven’t yet dealt with in my head 🙈
Rob works in a sex shop with his best friend bummer. Yes you heard that correct, bummer. - Rob decides that he wants more from his life and takes up a job in an office where, to make himself sound interesting he invents himself a son. (As you do!) Things spiral out of control and just when things can’t get any worse his son is found and returned to him. Yup, again you heard correctly. His invented son is returned to him looking exactly as the photoshopped pictures.
I’ll freely admit that the first couple of chapters were touch and go whether I should continue but I’m so very glad I did. Once I got into the writing style I was hooked. Funny, engaging and that bloody ending!


An impossible story told in such a way that I believed every second! One of my favourite books of the year 🥰
*goes to see if Lynda Clark has written anything else*