With thanks to Netgalley and Penguin for this ARC in exchange for an open and honest review.

Lydia Bird was due to meet her fiance Freddie Hunter for dinner to celebrate `27th birthday. However she was shocked when the police arrived to tell her Freddie had died in a car crash, his best friend Jonah who was also in the car had survived.

After the crash Lydia could barely look at Jonah and retreated into herself. When her GP prescribed Lydia with sleeping pills for her insomnia, Lydia realised she could travel to another world where Freddie had not died.

During these visits Lydia was able to see herself marry Freddie and go on their honeymoon. During her waking hours Lydia slowly tried to manage without Freddie with the help of sister Ellie and their mum.

This book was emotional and extremely well written. However I found the first half of the book very depressing. I was reluctant to carry on and I didn't read for three days which is unlike me.

I enjoyed the second half of the book after Ellie`s baby was born which was more uplifting. I liked Ellie and I wanted her to find a new life without Freddie, I also liked her supportive sister Ellie and Jonah.

I award this book 3 stars. Although the book was not my cup it was well written with a protagonist you want to be happy.

After reading ´One Day in December´, I was very excited to receive an advanced copy of - ´The Two Lives of Lydia Bird´. Lydia is a young woman who is on the cusp of living a perfect life. She has a wonderful job, beautiful house and is about to be married to the love of her life. Suddenly everything changes when her beloved fiancé dies in a car accident. Lydia is thrown into depression but slowly begins to rebuild her life when she is given the opportunity to turn back time.

This was a magical and romantic book which I enjoyed reading from beginning to end. I found there were some similarities to the plot from One Day in December, however I found the way Lydia processed her grief to be believable and at times inspiring. I look forward to seeing what Josie Silver will write next!

I was excited to read this when I heard about it. Now having read it I can see why some love it but I can also see a problematic side.
There's the good side. Lydia over time learning to get through the grief. Becoming stronger. Being able to take the step to move on with her life. Knowing it's ok to date again. I loved that side of the book. It felt raw and real.
However the other side I disliked the use of drugs. I understand why it's being used. But something just didn't feel right to me. It's hard to really explain. I can see why Lydia despite knowing it's wrong to keep using them, Especially multiple a day at times, kept using them. But the way she just stopped and it never mentioned again. I feel like that part could have been done a little differently.
I also didn't like how Freddie character was at the end. It felt a cheap way of getting Lydia to want to leave him behind. She could have come to this point without making his character change the way it did.
Overall I did enjoy it. Not as much as I thought I would going in. But I would recommend. Depsite struggling at times to want to pick it up. I feel like others will love this.

This book will stay with me forever. It had me crying, smiling, chuckling and gave me goose bumps and I couldn't want for a better book to have read!
Can't recommend this enough! I love Lydia, Freddie and Jonah and what they become throughout the book.

Loved, loved, loved this! Such a beautiful journey into the various nuances of grieving for the loss of your loved one. Lydia’s story is just heartbreaking after losing the love of her in a crash and through some miracle she’s able to see what her life would have been like if Freddie hadn’t died. But Freddie’s death didn’t just affect Lydia, it also affected the others in her life, and in both ‘realities’ (or universes as Lydia calls them) you get to see just how different all their lives are.

Is it too early to call a book of the year?!

I loved One Day in December so I was intrigued to see what Silver had come up with next. She absolutely blew me away with this novel a poignant read of love and loss.

This novel had everything it touched my heart, made me absolutely ball my eyes out and above all, it gave me hope. I felt like "There is more than one happy ending for everyone." 💖

It is pitch-perfect! And has instantly joined the ranks of Me Before You and PS I Love You in my to keep and treasure forever reads. Don't miss it, but do grab some tissues before curling up with it.

Thanks to Penguin Books UK & Netgalley for sending me this in exchange for an open and honest review.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I liked "One Day in December" and I liked this poignant and engrossing story.
I felt for Lydia and I think the author did an excellent job at describing her sense of loss and the changes in her life.
I appreciated the storytelling, the well thought cast of characters and the plot that flow.
A good read, recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Josie Silver doesn't just like to tug on your heartstrings, she likes to swing on them! It's like listening to a long series of melancholic chords played on some mediaeval church organ and just when you think you can't keep it in any longer another darker sweeping chord comes in underneath. Then, just before you start to sob uncontrollably there's a neat diverging arpeggio and so it goes on.

After the love of her life, Freddie Hunter, dies in a car crash the grieving Lydia Bird discovers that she lives in two universes and, in one of them, Freddie is alive and kicking. A pink sleeping pill is a gateway to this alternative life and, of course, it is highly inviting although it comes with all sorts of consequences.

The other duality in her life is Freddie's best friend and her oldest friend, Jonah Jones. Jonah was in the car with Freddie and grieving in his own way just as Lydia is. Lydia's relationship with Jonah is an unfolding theme of the novel with its own ups and downs. Then, there is her sister and her mother to deal with and all of their issues and problems as well as Lydia's job at the town hall.

Josie Silver does some clever things with this alternative reality because not all is good here and, gradually, the Lydia in the alternative world is not quite the same woman so, even as the wedding approaches, you can sense that things are not quite right. Weddings, hen parties and her sister's pregnancy provide a key mix for heart string tugging with all their emotional ups and downs.

It takes a while but you can probably make a good guess as to where Lydia ends up but how she gets there involves a wider picture and more uncertainties. It all ends well, except of course for Freddie!

Along the way, you have to be in awe of how Josie Silver pumps this organ, carrying the reader along with her through every crisis and scenes which are so emotionally invested they can't fail to move even the hardened reader. She also writes very well with an easy style which suits Lydia's narration. If this is chick-lit, and I don't mean that term unkindly, Josie Silver knows her market exactly but she is also producing a classy version. Read it before they make the film and you won't be disappointed!

I loved this! It's very easy to read. We meet Lydia at a defining moment in her life - when her fiance Freddie Hunter dies in a car accident. His best friend Jonah Jones survives. Lydia, Freddie and Jonah have been friends since school., with Jonah always Freddie's wing man. the accident affects Lydia and Jonah's easy friendship and she completely detaches from life. Her support network of mum and sister are great and see her though. Lydia finds release in sleeping tablets which seem to take her into a parallel universe where Freddie is still alive and they are planning their wedding. Will she succumb to this world or can she drag herself back to the painful reality of life. Following Lydia's journey and equally Jonah's, is poignant, sad, funny and real. #netgalley #thetwolivesoflydiabird

Reading this story felt very realistic. I've never been in a position where I've lost a partner but I have lost my gran who I was closer to than my mother; I felt that every time I slept, she was there guiding me. This tale is one of love, loss and realizing live comes in all shapes and sizes and in the most unexpected places.

I read, enjoyed, and loved Josie Silver's debut novel 'One Day in December' and eagerly awaited the next book. This is it and it was worth waiting for!

As followers of my blog may know I don't read the synopsis before the book and I am glad I didn't with this one. I was shocked by the opening chapters and the tears were flowing for characters that I didn't even know and had not bonded with - that's what this author does with her words - be warned! Although Freddie dies at the start of the book we get to know him through the story and he is another lovely character from the mind of the lovely Josie Silver. I felt completely drawn in and could't put the book down. It was a book that I wanted to devour all at once, yet also didn't want it to end. The writing is awesome - it is a gripping story which keeps you turning page after page. I highly recommend this book.

My sincere thanks to NETGALLEY and PENGUIN (UK) for the opportunity to read and review ‘THE TWO LIVES OF LYDIA BIRD’ by JOSIE SILVER ahead of publication day. All opinions are my own and not biased in anyway. All my reviews can be found on my blog momobookdiary

This is the story of Lydia who is engaged to be married to Freddie who is her childhood sweetheart. On Lydia’s 28th birthday Freddie is killed in a car accident. Lydia is consumed by grief and really is not coping very well. Something happens and Lydia is able to live her everyday life in the here and now but also enter a different dimension where Freddie is still alive and they are continuing their life together.

I loved the premise of this book. I am always attracted to stories where a character leads two different lives at the same time. Unfortunately for me I guessed the ending not very far into the book so I was just waiting. The story also really dragged in places. There were also bits that I really loved. I felt that the author dealt fantastically with the subject of grief. I will definitely give this author another try.

Having adored One Day in December by Josie Silver, I was thrilled when I was approved for an advance copy of this. I had high expectations and they were met and exceeded - this is just lovely. Romantic, emotional, and beautifully written, Josie Silver has now established herself on my autobuy list and I can't wait to see what she writes next..

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for allowing me to read this in exchanged for an honest review.

I found this to be a thoroughly enjoyable read and although it was sad in parts you kept hoping that a certain two characters would get together in the end, even if it took time, which was totally understandable.
Lydia and Freddie had been together forever, along with Jonah, who was Lydia's best friend until Freddie came along, then they were a trio as they got older, with Jonah being best friends with Freddie more.

Then the awful accident happens and Freddie dies, and all their lives are thrown into chaos.  But Lydia is given tablets to  help her sleep by a doctor, but when she takes them they send her into a different reality where Freddie is alive and their lives are still on track.  At first these help, but what life does Lydia really want, as different events happen in each 'life'.

Even though Lydia initally is in two different universes when she is awake or sleeping, the story flows easily and whilst there is obviously a slightly magical air to the story it doesn't take over the whole book and it just works really well, making you want to read just one more page to find out what happens in the end.

I really liked the way all the characters kept trying to help Lydia move through her grief yet continued living their own lives, and the way the story developed over time was just perfect, nothing rushed, everything took time, yet still reached a perfect ending.  This is the second Josie Silver book I've read and both have been 5 star reads for me, so I'm really looking forward to her next book now.  Really enjoyable read, with a HEA, highly recommended.

A beautiful, funny, heart wrenching book.

I loved it, the characters are so real, the emotions are so raw and the ending is perfect. It feels like I have been on a roller coaster with Lydia and I am both pleased and sad that it is over!

A wonderful book

After losing her fiance in a car accident, Lydia is a shadow of her former self, trying to get back to going to work, sort out her lifelong friendship with Jonah (who was with Freddie when he died) and lead some kind of life.
With the help of her prescribed sleeping pills, she soon realises that she can also continue her old life with Freddie and starts balancing herself between the two worlds.
She knows that she needs to cut back on her pills and limit her time with Freddie to help the grieving process, especially when the lives of others close to her are suffering in her sleep world and it all stops being such a dream.
But has she got what it takes to change the ending?

Such a devastating but beautiful story of loss, heartbreak,friendship and love.
I adored this book and devoured it with my emotions going up and down with every chapter.
If you have this sitting on my tbr - bump it up!

3.5 STARS. Lydia and Freddie have been together for what feels like forever. However, on Lydia's 28th birthday (and just over a year before their wedding), Freddie is tragically killed in a car accident. Lydia's world is flipped upside down and she is completely overcome by the grief. She simply doesn't understand how she can go on without Freddie. And then she finds a way to be with him, even though he's gone. Lydia learns to navigate two worlds - one with Freddie in it and one without - but is that sustainable?

I absolutely adored One Day in December, so was very much looking forward to The Two Lives of Lydia Bird. As someone who is grieving from the recent loss of a family member, I wanted to see how Josie Silver explored the concept of grief and whether Lydia would start to move on.

I really struggled through the first half of this book. It felt a lot like the same thing over and over again. However, once I hit 50%, I couldn't put it down. There were some absolutely brilliant (and comprehendible) excerpts on grief and I enjoyed watching Lydia grow as a character. But, at the same time, it was a bit predictable.

Yet again another stunner from Josie Silver. I adored this book so much, it has a great plot with well thought out characters. Can’t wait for book 3

Lydia finds herself living a life she never thought she would live - a life without Freddie.
As she tried to come to terms with his death, in her dreams she lives the life that she should have been living. She sees the different person that she would have become.
As her two lives run in parallel I was hooked to see how it would all turn out.
Recommend this book!

A beautifully written tale of love and loss and a woman's coping mechanism.

Lydia's partner, Freddie, tragically dies in a car crash while his best friend escapes with little more than a few scratches.

This book tells of how the love of family and friends helps to see Lydia through her darkest hours - but is that enough?

Lydia is given some extra help that initially seems even better. But is it worth the price?

Loved this cleverly written book. Definitely one to read and recommend to others.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Books UK.