I generally dislike that "Sliding Doors" concept, where the reader is given insight as to how the character's life would be changed had they made or not made a certain decision. That said, in the case of The Two Lives of Lydia Bird, it worked. I came in to this thinking it would be a light read (and clearly I didnt look too closely at the synopsis!), but it had a lot more left than I was expecting. We find out what track a character's life would take if her fiance hadn't tragically died. Themes of grief and coping and finding the strength to move on in the face of the unthinkable. I think this was well done, but it was much heavier than I wanted for the time so I struggled to get through. I think this was more of a 'not for me at the time' review, and I'll definitely check out the author again.

This one fell flat for me. I just couldn’t get into it. There’s nothing fundamentally wrong with it, it just wasn’t for me.

The Two Lives of Lydia Bird posed the most realistic sliding doors opportunity given before: what if you could live out your alternate reality every time you went to sleep? The results? A book with a slow build, but an ultimately fulfilling conclusion. Silver takes the time in her book to craft a plot that allows each of her characters to grow and develop both in the dream one and the real world. While I could appreciate the slow climb, I could see how some readers may get frustrated however, and see the lack of action on the Lydia Bird's (the main character) part as a fault in the story telling. If one sticks with it though, they'll see the payoff in the end.

THE TWO LIVES OF LYDIA BIRD is another irresistible love story from author Josie Silver. This romance is an emotional rollercoaster. The heart of this story is about Lydia working her way through her grief and learning how to live in the present. Tissues will be needed.

This book is well written, well developed, and I think an all around solid read, especially for those who like a bit of a sad love story. There is just something about Silver's story telling that doesn't sit well with me, and I think after trying two books by her and not loving either of them, I need to say my official goodbye to this author. The premise of this one sounded SO interesting to me, which is why I wanted to try it. So i'm a little bummed!

But seriously, so many people have loved this book and this author! So do not let me deter you. Again, if you like whimsical, sad love stories, with an easy to read writing style, try this one out! So many people adore her books.

The Two Lives of Lydia Bird gave me all the feels!
When I read the last sentence of this book, I squealed. I’ll admit it. A weird high-pitched sound just forced itself through my upper body and came out my mouth. If you are a fan of a good emotional story, The Two Lives of Lydia Bird by Josie Silver will inevitably cause some similar excitement for you.

Lydia and Freddie live a fairytale love story, but then Freddie dies
Lydia and Freddie have been each other’s person for their whole adult lives. They are high school sweethearts that stood the test of time. More than 10 years after their first summer together, they are planning their wedding and their future. But on Lydia’s 28th birthday, Freddie dies in a car accident, and Lydia’s world collapses.

In an attempt to manage her distress, Lydia agrees to take prescription medication to help her sleep. But instead of restful sleep, the medication transports her to a world where Freddie didn’t die. In this parallel life, every day continued as it should’ve had it not been for that tragic accident. This life is not perfect, but it has Freddie. Which life will Lydia choose? When Lydia has to put everything on a scale, can she handle the consequences?

Lydia’s journey is messy and beautiful
We get to accompany Lydia on her almost two-year roam through grief and her careful approach to healing. It’s quite an emotional journey. Not just for Lydia, but also for us. Josie Silver’s words are magical, relatable, and breathtaking. I’m left in awe after reading Josie describe so precisely some of life’s most complicated emotions. Grief is like “turning off the sun.” The struggle to move on is a “parched pile of leaves” that as it scatters on the breeze, it also scatters pieces of oneself away. An attempt at romance can be a parachute jump with a soft landing…

The Two Lives of Lydia Bird is more than just a story about overcoming grief. It’s a love story, a heartbreak story, a story of redemption, and a story of friendship.

NOTE: I received a free advanced readers copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Lydia Bird is distraught when her fiancé dies in a car accident. And shocked when the sleeping pills her doctor prescribes takes her into a world where her fiancé is still alive and their wedding planning is in full swing. Divided into Awake and Asleep chapters, the book follows Lydia as she grieves in one world and visits with her fiancé in the other. I've read several books and seen a few movies with similar ideas of existing in two different lives (Sliding Doors comes to mind) and I think this book handled it pretty well in that Lydia realizes she's in a dream world from the start, and it never is a question as to which is her real life. At first I thought Lydia's relationship with Freddie her fiancé was presented as a little too perfect but as time goes on we begin to see some fault lines which makes the relationship a little more realistic and believable. Covering almost two years, we get to see Lydia grieve, evolve and grow. And though it covers some heavy topics, it still feel light enough for summer reading.

I absolutely loved Josie Silver's first book, One Day in December, but this one was not for me. Her writing is still lovely, but the premise just did not particularly work this time. I had a hard time relating to the main character and the transitions between the two story lines felt a bit jarring. I will absolutely look out for her next release, but this one was a miss for me.

The Two Lives of Lydia Bird, by Josie Silver, is beautiful and emotional. What a magical transformation Lydia goes through as she wades through horrific grief. So poignant, so lyrical, so thought-provoking, and the ending was perfect.

Living two lives seems to be a trendy topic in literature for 2020 with titles such as The Two Lives of Lydia Bird, In Five Years by Rebecca Serle, and The Book of Two Ways by Jodi Picoult. While I loved One Day in December by Josie Silver and was excited about the release of The Two Lives of Lydia Bird, when I started reading, I felt the dreaming concept was risky. Maybe it‘s just me, but there’s nothing worse than when a movie or book ends with “and it was all a dream”, and that’s how this novel basically begins.

Much like One Day in December though, this novel is all charm. Silver is a master of relationship building as well as setting the scene. I felt heart-wrenching sadness for Lydia and Jonah. I couldn’t tear myself away for the first few chapters, because I cared so much for them right off the bat. However, while this was a heartbreakingly excellent portrayal of grief, it didn’t make up for the eventual lack of storytelling. While the reader may inherently know that something has to give—that Lydia has obstacles to overcome—it was mostly just Lydia’s day-to-day coping for the first half of the book along with some random, loose threads thrown in, like the cat she adopts that doesn’t stay with her. Side note: I did genuinely appreciate David and his defiance of typical toxic masculinity traits.

My initial concerns about the dreaming concept were confirmed as this turned out to be the largest hole in the story for me. I’ll say, it was certainly an interesting choice to incorporate a sort of magical realism without magic. However, in magical worlds there are rules, laws, and reasons that stabilize them. Since Lydia’s unique experience was defined by her dreams, all rules were able to be defied inexplicably, which left me feeling a little bit cheated as a reader. Without giving too much of the story away, when something negative would happen in the “Asleep” world but not the “Awake” world, the logic behind it was “just because” the two worlds are subtly different. These subtleties left Lydia feeling unsettled, instead of further explaining how or why Lydia’s fiancé’s accident would inhibit that course of action. While I didn’t expect a full-fledged explanation into the mechanics of Lydia’s dream world, these issues could have been ironed out with some simple if-this-then-that/butterfly effect scenarios regarding Freddie staying alive, replacing other filler/fluff content like the aforementioned cat adoption situation amongst other oddities.

Ultimately, The Two Lives of Lydia Bird was a charming, heartwarming read through a lens of loss, grief, and healing. The story comes with an intriguing premise that unfortunately drags in execution. If you’re a fan of Josie Silver or enjoy emotional romance novels, give this one a try, but sadly, this wasn’t for me. Outside of the plot, itself, Silver’s writing continues to be a comfort and joy, and I look forward to her future works!

Everyone, I think, has been touched by the loss of a loved one. Whether you are the type of person who handles it "well" and holds their feelings inside, pretending you are moving on and "over it;" or whether you are the person everyone is worried about snapping because the grief is all-consuming in your life. Either way we all have to face it eventually, and "get through it," as they say.
In this case, it's an all-consuming grief for Lydia Bird, who looses her fiance in a tragic motor vehicle accident on the day they are celebrating her birthday , just months before their wedding is to take place. Freddie is not just a guy she has been with for a couple years. Lydia has known Freddie, and he has had her heart, since they were 14 years old. The loss completely destroys her life, as she knows it, and crushes her soul.
She decides, after a little push from her mother and sister Elle, to try sleeping pills to at least help her get some rest at night, and that begins her balancing act between a world where she visits with the love of her life, and her waking world where he is gone.
I have never read a book like this, and I really enjoyed it. It was definitely a different kind of plot then I am used to, but it is a book that I would recommend to others. I see why it got the attention it did!

I just finished The Two Lives of Lydia Bird and I can feel a bit of a book hangover coming on. Lydia Bird suffers a great tragedy, immediately losing her fiance at the start of the book. A doctor prescribes her sleeping pills to help manage. Each time she takes one before bed, she visits her fiance while asleep, in a world where she hasn't lost him.

I admit it took me a little longer than I would have liked to get into this one but once I hit about 40% or so, I was hooked! The second half of the book moved more quickly and to be honest, I preferred reading about Lydia's "awake" life rather than her "asleep" one with her fiance. I loved Lydia's close relationship with her mother and sister, it reminded me of my own. Josie Silver wrote a beautiful story about friendship, family, devastating loss, love, and new beginnings.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the early digital copy, and thank you to Goodreads for the finished giveaway copy!

At first I thought this book was going to bore me to death. I had no interest in reading a 300-page novel about a woman grieving her fiancé. That’s the entire book, so proceed with caution if you’re interested in reading.
However, I enjoyed this quite a bit. You get to see Lydia go through this tragedy that changes her life quite abruptly. You also get to see her open up and love again. There is growth, and if that’s what you want to read about, then pick it up.
I would also like to appreciate Jonah, Freddie’s best friend. He also went through some growth in this. He stuck by Lydia the whole time. I’m also glad he went for his dreams.
No, this isn’t a five-star read for me, but it’s raw and adorable. I would recommend this, but I don’t think it’ll be for everyone.

This was the book my brand new book club read for May - even though we had to meet via Zoom! The overall consensus was that it was sad, but we loved reading about Lydia’s story. I loved the parallel lives concept! I felt for Lydia - I definitely would have wanted to be “asleep” to see the other version of my life. Lydia changed so much throughout the book - and I loved that this story highlighted that. I also appreciated that she grieved for a long time - grief is so personal and unpredictable. I highly recommend this for book clubs! There is so much to unpack, and the conversation was delightful!
Thanks to @netgalley for my ARC!

What would your life look like if only they didn't leave you? I had great hope for this title, but was left a little disappointed. I knew what was going to happen in the end almost immediately and was left a little bored and anxious to wrap it up. Silver wonderfully captured her main character's thoughts and changing feelings through relationships with the other characters, her physical space and actions, but would then spoil it by telling you, in no uncertain terms, exactly what that scene just meant in Lydia`s transformation. Even with these issues, it`s a quick, easy read, almost comforting in its predictability.

Lydia Bird's life changes in an instant once day. Eagerly waiting her fiance to come pick her up for her birthday dinner, she is instead met with a police cruiser letting her know there's been an accident and that it doesn't look like he's going to make it.

What follows is a book about loss and grief and finding a new normal in a normal that never should have happened. Lydia gets a small reprieve though, from a bottle of little pink pills. When she takes these she is transported to an alternate dream where Freddie is still alive, they're still getting married, and life hasn't changed. Lydia struggles between the worlds as she wants to still have Freddie, but her mum, sister, and friends are all still waiting for her.

Lydia makes a few rash decisions and doesn't always say the right thing, but slowly learns to accept her new normal and begin to heal. While I personally wasn't a fan of the ending, I think the author did a very good job of working through the grief and the what ifs of a world that changes in an instant. There were many heartbreaking moments, and I was able to really connect with Lydia and what she was going through. I get the author's decision to give her a second chance at a happy ending, I just don't agree with their choice on how they did it. Overall a book worth reading.

"Living one life is less stressful than living two."

My goodness... One small decision has monumental consequences. Lydia's fiance dies unexpectedly and seemingly without reason. Lydia can't sleep and is overwhelmed with grief. Her heartache is palpable and, for large portions of the book, so was mine. Her mother insists on requesting a prescription to help her sleep. Once Lydia does, her life splits between hours of awake and those when she's asleep, where Freddie is vibrantly alive and she gets to live the life she expected.

There is so much about this book to love. It's more than her love story with Freddie. Lydia copes with love and loss through her relationships with Freddie, her sister, mother, and friends. While the grief is understandably heavy, there is light and empowerment through her road to a new life.

Josie is fantastic at drawing out sympathy and empathy. She did an amazing job weaving in fantasy with realism and the supporting cast is so great. I loved so much about this book and I know this is one that will stick with me.

Thank you, Random House and NetGalley for the advanced copy! All thoughts in this review are my own.

Lydia and her fiancee have been best friends since they were kids. It was inevitable that they would fall in love, get married, and live happily ever after. But when Freddie is killed in a car accident, Lydia is lost, unable to function, unable to sleep. Her doctor prescribes a sleeping pill. Like magic, the sleeping pills bring Freddie back to her. While sleeping, she's living her life with Freddie as if nothing happened. She finds herself living for the nighttime when she can be with Freddie again. Did she find a loophole to a parallel world, or is it her mind showing her what she wants to see?
This book was heartwrenching and sad, but I was glad that Lydia was able to move on from her grief, and become stronger because of it.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. The views and opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This book was so heavy, but it was an incredible portrait of grief. It lost me for a bit in the middle because it was hard to read at times, but the ending was done so well. I actually liked this one better than Josie Silver's first book.

The Two Lives of Lydia Bird was one of my most anticipated reads of 2020. As soon as I finished devouring One Day in December, I frantically searched Goodreads to see when Josie Silver would be releasing a new book. And then, that magical day happened. The Two Lives of Lydia Bird was announced. The noise of my squeal could only be heard by my dogs (and yes, I am still apologizing to them to this day). Take away: I was really, really excited for this book.

Lydia and Freddie met in school and have been inseparable ever since. It only comes naturally that their friendship would progress into something more, a love that defines a lifetime. The evening of Lydia’s twenty-eighth birthday, Freddie and the couple’s friend Jonah are in a car accident where Freddie dies, leaving Lydia and her small corner of the world devastated. When Lydia is given the ability to visit Freddie in the dream world, she sees her chance for closure. Yet, the more she visits, the more she becomes torn between two worlds. Will Lydia let Freddie go in order to find love in the real world?

Oh guys….Can I please have some tissues? Why do I need them, you might ask? Was this book a tear-jerker? More like, it pains me to say how much I was disappointed by this book. I cannot contain my feelings, so fair warning going forward, this may contain some spoilers. First of all, I felt like nothing happened in this book. There were bits in the middle where I skimmed. Please don’t tell! However, that is not the biggest issue we had here. This book handles the tricky subject of grief. Now, I understand that everyone grieves differently, but I really do not feel that drug addiction should be glorified like it was in this book. Oh, look at this pretty pink pill AND you can be with your dead ex-fiancé again! What?! If we had to have the sleeping pills as a part of the book, I wish it would have been a brief segment in the beginning, rather than taking up so much of the book. I really wanted to see how Lydia actually coped with Freddie’s death, rather than spending half the book in denial. I also really needed to see more of the relationship with Lydia and Jonah. I couldn’t really believe they were as close as we were told they were. And, we have finally reached it folks. The end of the review. My biggest gripe. Can I get a drum roll please? I really did not like how this book felt like it was written to play on emotions. We had two events back to back and I felt like it was a way to exploit the reader.
Whew! I can breathe again! Please, do yourself a favor and pick up One Day in December. Then you can have some perspective of why The Two Lives of Lydia Bird was such a disappointment for me.