Sweet without being saccharine, cute without being predictable - this novel about grief and living life, through all its twists and turns, will make you cry, laugh, and think about all the decisions we make - in this world and, perhaps, another. Loved it!

Most of the time, an author's sophomore book is not quite as good as their debut. The Two Lives of Lydia Bird is absolutely the exception to this rule. I went into the book expecting a rom com, similar to Maybe in Another Life, a book by Taylor Jenkins Reid that I love, but got something completely different. It's really a beautiful story about a young woman navigating her way through the unexpected loss of her fiancé. Unable to sleep, she takes a new sleeping pill that allows her to visit a parallel universe where her fiancé is still alive. I truly couldn't put this book down. It was a beautiful story that I wholeheartedly recommend to anyone.

I read this book while keeping my grandson for four days so had to read in bits and pieces, which probably turned out to be a good thing. Why? This book has you laughing and crying with about fifteen other emotions thrown in.

Lydia Bird is a young woman engaged to Freddie and both are good friends with Jonah. She has her family that consists of her mom and best friend-sister, Ellie, and Ellie’s husband David. Lydia’s two lives circle around these people and all the events that go in their lives.

This is a must read for any that lives family and relationship fiction about love and grief and how each person handles it. Bring a box of tissues.
#TheTwoLivesofLydiaBird #josiesilver #nettalley

I want to be friends with every character in this book! Night out at The Prince with Lydia, Freddie, and Jonah? I'm there. Babysitting Charlotte for Elle and David? Sign me up. Hanging with Flo and Mary at the library? They sound like a good time. I felt that the way that the author developed each of her characters ensures that the reader is able to love each of them, even Julia. I was engaged in the lives of every single character and wanted the best for all of them. I loved the strong sister bond between Lydia and Elle, as well as their bond with their Mum. I enjoyed the way that Silver was able to bring Lydia, Freddie, and Jonah's relationship to life (both friendship and romantic) in a way that felt completely authentic.

This is a beautiful story of life's relationships - how they develop and change, and how they change us as people. It took me a bit to get used to how Lydia and Freddie's relationship was presented after his death, but I also understand that the death of your love/fiance is unfathomable and everyone deals with loss in their own way. I enjoyed seeing Lydia's development between her waking and sleeping states and traveling with her as she found her new normal.

The middle of the story slowed a bit as Lydia transitioned through her sleeping and waking lives. However, it did pick up again and I adored the ending!! I thought it was so beautiful and I would love a sequel! I am so invested in the characters, I have to know what happens next!

Lydia and Freddie have been together since they were teenagers. Freddie is killed in a car accident to his way home to celebrate Lydia’s twenty- eighth birthday. The opening had me hooked to see and feel how Lydia dealt with grief. In her dreams Freddie is alive. This is where the book fell apart for me as it went on forever. I became unconnected and my mind started wandering while trying to read the book. I think the premise was interesting but I think the execution of this book would be to make it a short story.
Thank you NetGalley and Ballantine Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

2.5 stars

I loved One Day in December and was looking forward to reading Josie's new book, The Two Lives of Lydia Bird. This book was as emotional and as beautifully written as One Day in December. It reminded me of one of my favorite romantic movies, Sliding Doors. Lydia's life shatters when her fiance, Freddie, dies on her birthday. She struggles with her grief until she accidentally discovers a way to visit a parallel life, where Freddie is alive, and they are still together. Lydia is torn between her life now and what could have been.

I liked this book a lot, but I didn't love it as much as One Day in December. The one thing I didn't love is how much time was spent on "what could have been" life. I was more interested in reading about Lydia's "real" life, where she had to cope with her grief and learn to live without Freddie. I wanted to read more about her relationship with Jonah, to see it grow and develop, especially since it played such a pivotal role in Lydia's story.

I would highly recommend this book to readers who enjoy angsty and emotional love stories and anyone who loved Sliding Doors.

Once again, Josie Silver writes the unique kind of story that is both heartwarming and incredibly gut-wrenching. The seemingly simple journey of one Lydia Bird and the true two lives she lives was at times unfathomable and dare I say, understandable. The unbelievable sense of loss she feels as her dear Freddie is taken from her way too soon sets her on a path that she takes one painstaking step at a time.

Silver uses the clever notion of separating the book into 'awake' and 'asleep' chapters as Lydia lives in a constant state of despair, not knowing how to move on. Her grief can be felt deep within the pages of this book and I often wondered if she could ever be happy again. The 'asleep' portion of this book is where the fantastical side of this story lives and uses the 'what if' kind of notion to give a bit of solace to our struggling heroine.

With the bestie of both Freddie and Lydia in one Jonah Jones left behind more than once, our girl must find a new path in which to survive her new normal. The other Bird women, mom and sister Elle, provide the stability she needs even when she doesn't want it. All Lydia wants is for all of this newfound life of hers to be gone, wanting to exist in her 'asleep' life more often than not .And it remains up to those around her to keep her in the present, even as she fights it tooth and nail.

I will say that Silver guides both us and the fragile Lydia through a reawakening of sorts as she gathers the strength to finally find out who she really is, without her Freddie by her side. It both shocks and soothes her very being and I was proud of her decisions at the books end. My one sticking point is that there were a couple of loose ends that definitely provided more of a dramatic story and ending and the what ifs left me a bit unsettled.

But overall, this writing style from Josie Silver is welcomed and doesn't allow me to turn away even for a minute. A true page-turner from start to finish, The Two Lives of Lydia Bird is thought-provoking and emotional and well worth reading.

4 solid stars!

Last year I read Josie’s other book, One Day in December, and truly fell in love with not only the story, but Josie’s writing style. So when the opportunity to get an advanced copy of The Two Lives of Lydia Bird came up, I snatched at the chance. Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the book in exchange for my honest review.

Lydia Bird has just lost her fiancé, Freddie, in a terrible car accident. Her childhood best friend, Jonah Jones (not Joe Jonas like my brain kept reading), was in the accident and survived. He was Freddie’s best friend and isn’t taking the loss well. Neither is Lydia. Her mom gets her sleeping pills that are still in the trial phase, hoping they will help Lydia sleep so she can move through her grief. What no one knows, is that when Lydia takes these pills, she falls asleep only to be thrown into another universe where she is living a parallel life and Freddie is very much alive.

The story follows Lydia as she journeys through her grief, both in the awake world and the asleep world. It spans almost two years and her path through grief is messy and full of growth. Her supporting family members, coworkers and friends truly make this book enjoyable and help you root for Lydia as she struggles through figuring out what her life can and should look like without Freddie and with the pills.

I definitely recommend this book and feel like it captures the gruesome aftermath of loss as one literally struggles through the day to day that comes with grief. It isn’t bogged down in depression, but overall provides a lot of hope and growth for Lydia and I really enjoyed watching where her life went.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishing house for providing a review copy of this novel. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This fantastic love story happens to be available as a Book of the Month this month! After enjoying her first novel so immensely, I couldn’t wait to see what romance Silver cooked up for us next.

Longtime readers know that I’m a big fan of two things- time travel and anything with a Sliding Doors theme. This novel falls into the Sliding Doors camp beautifully and is perfect for anyone who ever wonders, what if?

The story opens with a tragic accident that takes the life of Lydia’s future husband and soulmate.

Emotionally devastated, Lydia’s doctor prescribes sleeping pills to help her through this difficult time.

What Lydia discovers though is that Freddie’s life continues on in her dreams. In this sleeping world, she is still preparing for her wedding and savoring every continued moment with Freddie. It is everything she could ever hope for.

Lydia’s life begins to fracture into two quickly- her awake life and her sleeping life.

It is in the fissures of these cracks that Silver builds such a beautiful love story.

After all, we do have the ability to immortalize people and erase faults when they pass away.

As Lydia heals, her time in her sleeping life really begins to separate and Lydia discovers that her waking life might be just as beautiful.

I really enjoyed this one and it ended up being a perfect Valentine’s Day read this year.

I stayed up until 1 AM finishing this book, and I have no regrets (except being tired for work the next morning). Lydia Bird is a new widow at age 28, after her husband Freddie died in a car accident that also injured their best friend Jonah. A doctor prescribes an experimental new sleeping pill to help her get some rest, and when Lydia takes the first one, she wakes up in her dream to find that her husband is still alive and their lives have gone on as if he'd never left. So begins a strange double life, as Lydia spends her waking hours in the real world--with her family and her job--and her sleeping time with her husband in a parallel existence. Eventually, though, she'll have to choose between the temptations of the dream world and the people who need her.

Truly a wonderful novel--heartbreaking, wry, and thought-provoking. This is a love story, but not the one you're expecting, as Lydia has to decide what she really wants. There is one section of the book that felt unnecessary and overly long, but otherwise it's a well-plotted, well-told story.

Lydia and Freddie are former high school sweethearts who grew up together and are now engaged to be married. But on Lydia’s 28th birthday, Freddie is killed in a freak car accident. Suddenly, everything she had always dreamed of and planned for her life was over, in an instant. She is, understandably, devastated. Then, one night, Lydia takes a much-needed sleeping pill and wakes up…with Freddie. Lydia quickly learns that she has somehow entered an alternate version of her life, one where Freddie didn’t die. Before long, Lydia learns how to travel between the two worlds: her life where she has lost her longtime love and the life where she is back with Freddie and soon to be married to him. I was a huge fan of Silver’s first book, One Day in December, so this was a highly anticipated read for me. And I really enjoyed it! That said, it was a slow start for me. But once I hit the 40 percent mark or so, I was thoroughly invested. I thought how Silver handled the two worlds was clever and fascinating. It seems obvious which world Lydia would be happiest in, of course, but there are plenty of surprises and unexpected turns to be found here. I was truly rooting for Lydia, and I really loved how the story ended. (Note: I can also imagine the book could be an immense comfort to anyone who has lost a loved one. It’s a very interesting way to look at grief—one I can’t remember really ever seeing before.)

This was one of my most highly anticipated reads of 2020. It was such a cute story about grief, love, and hope. {I am truly grateful to Netgalley and Random House for the gifted copy in exchange for my honest review}

After the loss of her fiancee, Freddie, Lydia begins to live two separate lives. One is her current reality in dealing with Freddie’s death and the other is an alternate reality where Freddie is still alive. At first, Lydia visits the alternate reality as a way to escape the hurt and grief of her daily life until Lydia finds a way to have hope for her future.

I know, stinking adorable right? This was such a sweet story even though it was mostly about dealing with grief over a lost love and you can’t help but feel all of the raw emotions alongside Lydia. Most of the story was just okay for me, but the ending was amazing! I look forward to reading the author’s other book, One Day in December!

If you are looking for a sweet romance with a lot of depth and emotion, I definitely recommend this one!

I really LOVED One Day In December. This writers really knows how to grab me. I enjoyed this whole book. I cried and laughed. This is a book I will think about for years to come.

3.5 stars

Lydia thought she and Freddie would be together forever. Happily, ever after was her goal. But life had other plans. On her twenty-eighth birthday, Freddie died in a car accident. Initially, she shuts down and doesn't want to move on, doesn't want to go out. Her sister and Mother try everything. Finally, Lydia agrees to get some sleep in her room and NOT the couch. This is where things get interesting. In her dreams, Freddie is alive, and they continue living their lives together.

Soon, Lydia begins to go out into the world, but she also can't wait to get back and go to sleep. Finally, with the help of Jonah, her sister, and Mother, Lydia begins to live again. How can she move on? What will life be like without Freddie? Will she ever be able to live again?

I loved [book: One Day in December|38255337] and couldn't wait to get my hands on this book. This one lacked the magic and pull of that book, but I still found this one to be enjoyable. Mainly because I could relate to Lydia in this book. In my 20's I was engaged, and my fiancé died in a car accident, so this one hit close to home with me. Lydia's grief resonated with me and I could relate to her grieving process. I thought Josie Silver did a great job with this.

I will say that this one got a little slow in the middle and I struggled to maintain attention. I would have liked it to move a little bit faster at this point. The highlights for me were how grief as handled and the "dream world" that Lydia lived in with Freddie. I also loved the relationship between Lydia, her mother, and sister.

This book deals with loss, grief, moving on, starting over, family and love.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

Lydia Bird and her family waits for her fiancé, Freddie Hunter, at the restaurant to celebrate her twenty-eighth birthday, but he never arrives. On the way, he had a car accident that kills him.

For ten years, Lydia and Freddie had been together, an ideal pair, and Lydia is undone by his death, falling into a depression that keeps her homebound and unable to sleep. Finally, her doctor gives her pills to help her situation, and once she could sleep, Lydia enters an alternative world where Freddie is alive.

Slowly, Lydia returns to work and resumes her social activities, but she keeps up her nighttime visits to Freddie, telling no one about her second life. However, as time passes, the stress of living in two worlds begins to drain her, and she wonders if she fits in either.

The Two Lives of Lydia Bird represents grief and the healing process well, and I enjoyed seeing how Lydia grew over the course of the book and the empowering message it conveyed. I wasn’t as happy with the resolution—some aspects were unexplained, and some were very predictable and did not go the direction I had hoped. Additionally, Lydia had an incredible support system, including a job that allowed her a lengthy paid leave, and while all of that was wonderful to observe, it also seemed unrealistic.

Readers who are looking for a light-hearted romance will probably want to select a different book, but those who are interested in a powerful story about healing from grief should consider The Two Lives of Lydia Bird.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for providing an advance reading copy in exchange for an honest review.

Adored this book, in parts very heart warming and heart breaking. Really absorbed in the story, loved the characters and can’t wait to read more by this author.

Oofta, what a book. There's something magical about the way Josie Silver writes. Her words weave their way into my soul and the characters and their stories tend to stay there, and I think about them often. I still find myself reflecting on her first novel, One Day in December, but now those characters have company in Lydia Bird, Freddie Hunter and Jonah Jones.

This story follows the main character Lydia Bird as she grieves the loss of her fiance Freddie, who died in a tragic car accident. Also in the car was his best friend Jonah, who walked away with just a few scratches. Lydia is devastated, and the novel picks up a few months after the accident.

I honestly was crying almost every other chapter. This is a heavy book that deals a lot with grief, with guilt and how to figure out how to live without someone you love. Lydia can't sleep and eventually uses sleeping pills to help her get some sleep at night. In her dreams, it's like Freddie had never died and they live their lives like normal. Now Lydia manages to push through her waking hours so she can get back to her dreams where the love of her life is back.

She is also trying to find a way to get her life back, getting back to work, going out with friends, dating, and it's hard. She also tries to work on her relationship with Jonah, one of her oldest friends, who was in the car with Freddie when he died. Does she blame him? Does she wish it was him instead of Freddie? These are all questions Lydia has to grapple with and it's hard to be in her head when she's dealing with these thoughts.

Overall this book did an amazing job at ripping my heart into pieces as Lydia grieves a life lost too soon, and pieced it back together as she manages to work through her loss and find a way to live her life again. I continue to be amazed at the stories and characters Josie Silver creates and I can't wait to see what she comes up with next. I'm sure it'll break my heart, and I am okay with that.

I do have a few things that I wasn't a fan of, mostly the fact it felt a bit long. There's a part toward the end that I kind of skimmed because I wasn't super interested in it and it felt like the decisions Lydia made were not in character, but the ending really pulled it through. Like all contemporaries, I do wish I had about another three chapters, but that's because I love these characters so much and I want to know what happens after.

Welllllll get your tissues ready.

Lydia, sweet, sweet Lydia. Engaged to Freddy, the love of her life, Lydia waits on her birthday and answers the door to find out that Freddy has died. Consumed by her grief, Lydia hides away, unable to move forward.

By a miracle - a little pharmaceutical miracle, Lydia is able to hop back into a life with Freddie. Moving back and forth - through her sleeping life and her awake life, Lydia has to choose which life is HER life.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

3.5 stars

Ugh this book! the Butterfly Effect meets The Notebook. Its so sappy but it got me. Lydia was a great character - Totally relatable and likable.

I wish that there was a magic pill that would allow you to see how things would turn out in an alternate universe. That would make life choices so much simpler. I don’t know how Lydia did it, or if it was even real, but she was lucky!

I totally enjoyed spending time with Lydia and The Birds. If you are in the mood for some heartbreak and healing, this is a good choice.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for an advance copy of this book.

4.5/5 stars. This book is more about grief and loss than it is romance. Lydia Bird loses the love of her life, her childhood sweetheart, Freddie, in a car accident on her birthday. Her grief is all consuming. She's not sure how to get through day to day life. She's lucky to have a loving mom and sister to help her through her darkest hours. Eventually her mom gets Lydia to take sleeping pills prescribed to her. This is where Lydia finds a parallel life where Freddie is still alive. She begins living two lives: her awake life where Freddie is gone and her asleep life where Freddie is very much alive and they are planning their wedding and honeymoon as they were before his death. Lydia finds some unsettling things in the asleep life and must decide if she should continue visiting Freddie in her asleep life or live in the present awake life.

It's a beautiful yet emotional journey through a year and a half of Lydia's life. Have tissues nearby when you read this one. All the feels- I laughed and cried. Highly recommend this book!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Random House Ballantine for this eARC.