I loved One Day in December, but this was something else. Heart-breakingly captivating yet gorgeously uplifting, The Two Lives of Lydia Bird broke my heart and put it back together again. An utterly rich and romantic book about love, death and learning to live again. If there's one book you read in 2020 please let it be this one.

There's a lot of talk about The Difficult Second Novel spoken in bookish circles and after One Day in December I wondered if Josie Silver would be able to equal such a great story.
Fear not dear reader she has equalled it and then some.
Lydia Bird has been friends with Freddie since schooldays, along with her bestie, Jonah. When Freddie and her become a couple Jonah is always there for them both.
It's Jonah that Freddie is going to pick up on the fateful day when he's killed in a car crash.
Devastated, Lydia retreats into a world of sorrow and unable to sleep she's prescribed some medication that allows her to once again be able to be with Freddie.
I absolutely loved the premise of this book, grief, the aftermath of death and learning to live again.
I could hardly read the last few pages for tears which I see as a sign of a tale well told.

Breathtaking, heart wrenching and somewhat mystifying this book is good for the soul. It gives a glimpse into life after loss but with an extraordinary element thrown in for good measure.

The sad topic of grief but perfectly written. Not just sadness though, lots of hope too.
Lydia and her family, Freddie and Jonah were the main feature, but a fabulous supporting cast of people working at the town hall among others.
I really liked the concept of the two lives.
It pulled this way and that with my heart. I loved it
Thanks to Penguin and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an early copy in which I give my honest opinion.

Josie Silver is back and I'm so glad! I loved this. Super easy to read, and I loved the characters. Silver's writing is a comfort, even though this book is on such a sad topic - grief. She expressed grief beautifully and truthfully. Sometimes I struggled to keep up with the sub-plot of reality and the 'pills' sections, but the tone and style made for easy reading overall.

This is not my usual type of read but I have to say I really enjoyed it. It’s different in that the protagonist lives in two different time lines but extremely cliched in many ways. A nice easy relaxing read. Perfect for a lazy holiday

Tissues... do not read this book without tissues. Such a gorgeous, heart warming, at times brutal and heartbreaking book. Definitely one of my favourites for a while. Lydia, Freddie, Jonah and all the other characters were just lovely. I liked them all. Thank you for the advanced copy, I will be recommending to everyone!

Unfortunately, I got 20% of the way through this book and have given up. Although, I like the idea of the story, I don't think it was moving along quickly enough and I was losing interest.

This gets five stars even though it's a DNF because Josie Silver is just such an amazing writer.

It's just too sad for me to get into. I'm sure it'll eventually become heart warming but I empathise too much with the recently bereaved to be able to get into it because she's too well drawn.

Hopefully I'll be able to come back to it when I'm in the mood to be sad.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC without obligation.

Thanks Netgalley and the publisher. Really lovely written book and so sad but it is also a book about hope. Recommend.

Not my usual genre but absolutely loved this! The style and structure of the book was top quality and the quirky, poignant storyline so enjoyable. An absolute delight start to finish!

Loved! I don't know if it was when I began the book but it had me hooked and emotionally invested immediately! There were tears! I loved her growth, her strength and how she dealt with tough situations.

I LOVED this book and I loved Lydia! This was such a great premise and a wonderful story of love lost and found, Strong recommend, thanks NetGalley!

A beautifully written story about love, loss and learning to live again.

On her 27th Birthday, Lydia tragically loses the love of her life Freddie. The story is told with Lydia as narrator and allows us to follow her journey as she deals with her bereavement.
Grieving for the only man she’s ever loved, she struggles to cope with day to day life aswell as dealing with nights of Insomnia. Then something magical happens and allows Lydia the chance to see what could have been....

The story details Lydia’s grief so well; it will pull at your heartstrings and have you reaching for the tissue box! I loved the relationship between Lydia, her mum and her sister Elle. The solidarity between them really shines through and shows the importance of a supportive family, especially when life throws you a curveball.
I was so emotionally invested in this story and there’s so much more I want to say but I don’t want to give any spoilers away. I have found a quote that sums it up perfectly though...

‘All the art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on’ - Havelock Ellis

If you loved Josie’s first book One Day in December, then you’ll love this just as much. Thank you to Net Galley, Penguin Books and Josie Silver for my ARC.

With thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the arc, which I have just finished reading.
I read and enjoyed Josie Silver’s debut book One Day in December and enjoyed it enormously and expected her next book to be an easy read. The Two Lives Of Lydia Bird is not an easy read , it is a very painful, personal journey of grief when the love of your live dies before your wedding. I kept stopping and starting this book, very uncertain if I wanted to read any more of it and not totally convinced of the storyline. However I perceived and finally got what the author was trying to say. It is a very interesting and clever insight to how someone can deal with grief.
Recommended.

What a fantastic read! I absolutely adored One Day in December and so was not sure if Josie’s second book would live up to my expectations, but The Two Lives of Lydia Bird definitely did not disappoint. I was gripped from the very beginning with the prologue and really felt Lydia’s grief as though it were my own. This meant I really wanted to see the book through to the end to see what would come up for Lydia next. This is a must-read for everyone - and if you haven’t already, pick up One Day in December whilst you’re there!

The two lives are the one with Freddie, the love of Lyd's life, and the one without, but not as you'd expect. The first pub scene is a gem! A must read!

I love this book!

It is a book about love, loss, family, coming to terms with grief and friendships.

It is a beautifully written book with great characters who you really care about.

Highly recommended!!!

Congratulations, Josie Silver! Your follow up to the mega-hit 'One Day in December' is for me, even better; I wouldn't change a thing and that is very unusual.

The story is beautifully unfurled with enough to keep you guessing and wondering quite what is going on in Lydia's life and how it will all come to a head. Josie's style is so easily readable and the emotional rollercoaster she takes you on is neither overly saccharine nor unbelievably dramatic - I like that she just lets the characters be and go at their own pace (sometimes 'oh so frustratingly' for the reader) and work it out, like in life.

It also begs the question, do we subconsciously know more than we admit about our 'other halves' but just don't want to confront it or even acknowledge it.

The storyline was excellently edited too. Just the right length and degree of struggle, grief, disbelief and sheer wanting things to be different.

Bring on the next one!

I absolutely adored this book and I am so grateful to have had the chance to read it through NetGalley.
This is a book I believe everyone can relate to in some way; it beautifully touches on love, loss, pain, strength and all of the emotions we as humans have to go through at some point in our lives all whilst trying to maintain life as we know it as it keeps going around us.
I won’t include any spoilers in this review, as I think anyone who reads this book needs to take the emotional journey with Lydia Bird page by page and experience it all personally for themselves.
All I can say is I thoroughly recommend this book to anyone who loves to be swept away in fiction but by an author who does an exceptional job of also ‘keeping it real’.
Beautiful book that I am sad to have finished - the characters really do become a part of your life!