This book was heartbreaking, but I enjoyed Lydia’s journey through her grieving process. Losing someone you love is never easy and this story was an interesting take on how to move on.

I really enjoyed the authors first book One Day in December and was very excited to get an eArc -thank you NetGalley and Ballantine. Unfortunately, The Two Lives of Lydia Bird missed the mark for me. This book is centered around grief, not your usual light and fizzy romcom here. Grief isn't necessarily something I avoid in my reading and it was handled fairly well in this book. I had trouble with the pacing; the first half seemed to be drawn out and I almost didn't finish it. There was some hope throughout and the hope of seeing Lydia push through her grief helped me to complete the book. Unfortunately, I thought it ended on a predictable note.

Growing up, it has always been Lydia, Freddie, and Jonah. Since Jonah was in the car with Freddie on the night of the accident, and only received a few stitches, Lydia can’t help but blame him. The best friend, the third wheel, the person that always came along with Freddie. There was no one else to blame but him.

Lydia Byrd is suffering since the death of her fiancé Freddie. Encouraged to seek professional help, Lydia is prescribed sleeping pills, unbeknownst to anyone, this little pill allows her to enter a parallel dreamworld where she meets up with Freddie and can see what could have been.

Living two lives is taking its toll and in a spur of the moment chooses to drop everything and head to the airport. With few options, Croatia it is. Once there, I won’t say that she finds herself, but she does come to terms with the pain of losing her first love, the future without him, and through nightly phone calls to Jonah, she begins to heal and to forgive.

Not usually a fan of the romance genre, I was heartened when it did not bog down into the usual gushing and swooning. You can feel Lydia’s love, and her pain, and her forgiveness, without the usual eye-rolling and wanting to heave the book across the room. By the end, which is suitable for a Hallmark movie, I loved the characters. Josie Silver builds each with just the right amount of attention, without pushing the boundaries, and though the reader can see something coming, and hopes for what is best, the ending is still a giant exhale and smile.

I’m never sure of how alternating time periods will go when dealing with death but Ms. Silver handled it with aplomb and inventively. Lydia and Freddie have been together forever but happily ever after alludes them when Freddie dies. Lydia is besides herself with grief but somehow returns to what her life would have been with Freddie when she goes to sleep. Except it takes a toll on her by living two lives. She has to chose which one she wants to live in to the fullest..

You will root for Lydia to find her way back to her life and to become who she should be.

I picked this up after enjoying Silver's debut "One Day in December". Really liked that one, but for me this was even better. This is not a romance, while there are some threads of romance within the story. This is a story of grief. Of navigating grief. Of finding oneself after something devastating.

Lydia's fiance dies in a car accident and after months of no sleep, her doctor prescribes her pills that will help her to rest. When she takes the pills she begins living a "sleeping" life, one where her fiance didn't die and they are continuing on with life. I really appreciated that instead of just leaning hard into the romance, we really see the impact that living dual lives has on Lydia's life. She's not the same person in either life because of the experiences she has. I really enjoyed watching Lydia find herself and pull herself through her experiences. There was a great quote about grief not necessarily getting over something but about being able to live a life that doesn't feel second-rate just because they came after a tragedy.

Josie Silver is now an auto buy author for me.

A lovely read.The choice you make in life a chance to take another path.Lydias character heR loves the emotions the sadness A book that kept me up late could not put down.#netgalley #randomhouse

While I liked this book overall, I thought it moved a bit slow in the middle. And, I didn't really like that she ended up with Jonah in the end, it's not because I thought it was a betrayal to Freddy, but instead seemed not within character for Lydia.

<I>“The human brain is wired to cope with grief. It knows even as we fall into unfathomably dark places, there will be light again, and if we just keep moving forward in one brave straight line, however slowly, we’ll find our way back again.” </I>

This is not an easy review to write. The first 29% of the book made me want to quit reading -- perhaps because I had just finished reading PS I Love You, and this felt painfully similar. At that point, I actually mentioned to a friend of mine that it was a "three-star-read" at most. By the 50% mark, I started enjoying it. At 60%, I got sucked in. Grief is not an easy thing to deal with, and I'm keen on reading about the different ways people cope with loss. Despite my initial boredom, I grew to love the characters and their storylines. The ending was absolutely epic, and it bumped up my rating to four stars!

The Two Lives of Lydia Bird By Josie Silver

Lydia Bird’s fiancée Freddie, the love of her life, was killed in a car accident on the night of her birthday. Weeks passed and Lydia was still unable to get through her grief. Her mother demands for her doctor to prescribe something. The first time Lydia takes the pill and falls asleep, she wakes up to a life where Freddie is very much alive.

I have never read a more creative style of storytelling about the process of grief so well told through a glimpse of what life might have been and what life could be. I read this in one sitting and you will too. As Lydia’s life takes a turn, you will not be able to stop until you know what happens next, as Lydia navigates life’s crossroads. What you end up is a character that is completely changed and an ending that will surely satisfy.

I cried, laughed and I swooned. The characters were a delight to spend time with even her coworkers at the community center all had amazing personalities that come alive through the pages. Silver truly understands the human psyche that when one becomes broken in sadness, grief and despair, one can also be made whole by opening our hearts to possibilities.

This was a true delight to read and should not be passed up. Highly recommend!

I loved this book. I could not put it down. It was such a fun read and really made you think about the decisions you make in life and how each one can effect you forever. I loved seeing what happened on both sides of her lives.

THE TWO LIVES OF LYDIA BIRD by Josie Silver had moments I loved, but they were few and far between; mostly it was full of good enough moments.

I do believe Ms. Silver handled the subject of grief in a well thought out and respectful manner. Adored the relationship between Lydia, her mother and her sister and how deep the relationship between best friends can be. Lots of positive feedback for the story.

That said, the the book was just OK for me. The romances in the book just did not spark for me perhaps I was too immersed in their grief, perhaps the dream-like state didn't work for me. I'm just not sure where this book fell short for me.

This book has it's appeal and should be read. Would like to give it 3.5 stars as I did finish it and I did enjoy many parts of it.

I really loved Josie Silver's debut novel but this book feels too sad for me. I am going to need to be in the mood to read this book. Thank you for sharing this book with me.

**Thank you to Random House for the free advance reader's copy!**

“The human brain is wired to cope with grief. It knows even as we fall into unfathomably dark places, there will be light again, and if we just keep moving forwards in one brave straight line, however slowly, we’ll find our way back again.” ⁣
⁣
You know that whole “sophomore slump” phenomenon you hear about, after an author wows us with a debut and then publishes their second novel, and we all worry whether it will meet our expectations? Yeah, don’t worry, author Josie Silver has you covered. I loved ONE DAY IN DECEMBER but I may love THE TWO LIVES OF LYDIA BIRD even more...just read it.

If I had to pick one word to describe this book it would be heartbreaking. Yes, this book is sad, how could it not be when it deals with our leading lady -Lydia- losing her partner -Freddie- of over a decade, but in between all those moments of genuine grief we see Lydia experience we also get to see her as she strives to put her life back on track.

Josie Silver did a fantastic job of crafting a story that could leave you in tears while simultaneously putting a big fat smile on your face. She's a master at getting readers to feel for her characters and really immerse themselves in the story.

If you enjoyed her previous novel One Day in December I can guarantee you'll enjoy this book.

I really really enjoyed this book. I hadn't loved Silver's first (One Day in December) as much as everyone else, but when I saw what this one was about I was sold. Books that do interesting things with time are some of my favorite, and this didn't disappoint. While sadder than I anticipated, it was hard to put down and well worth the tears.

3.5 stars rounded up. Lydia’s fiancée dies in the prologue. The book then follows her life as it loves on and her life in her dreams where her fiancée lives on. She does a lot of self discovery in this time. I didn’t love the ending. Overall a kids read.

Other than the time spent on "IFI" history...what could have happened, when her real life presented so much to write about, I enjoyed this romance. I call it "a rainy day book" perfect for curling up with on a rainy day and reading in one sitting.

While this book began a little slow, I loved the way it was written with such strong emotions. I felt connected to the characters immensely. A little too sad for my tastes, but was still a good read.

This book took me a long time to get into. The reader is along the journey of a woman's grieving process after a terrible accident. The story is at times heart warming and devastatingly sad and is all about how life's events change our stories. I'd suggest this book to anyone who wants an introspective and emotionally challenging read. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital ARC.

I’ve always loved the idea of parallel universes, and so I loved the idea of The Two Lives of Lydia Bird. While technically this could be classified as a romance, it is more about a woman who puts her life back together after the death of her fiancee.
I really liked Lydia, and I especially liked seeing her grow and seeing her realize she was growing. I liked the idea that Lydia’s sleep world with her fiancee wasn’t perfect. No life is perfect and while perhaps one bad thing isn’t happening doesn’t mean other bad things won’t.
Was this book a little predictable, yes. But that didn’t bother me. This is a book where the ending doesn’t matter as much as the journey. That isn’t to say I didn’t like the ending, but it wasn’t as important as the rest of the story.
I really enjoyed this book. It was well written and an enjoyable read.