*** 4 Stars ***

Without risking giving too much away about this, I knew what was coming from the beginning of this as a girl I went to high school with, a very similar story occurred. I'm very conflicted and am still processing this tragic but beautiful story. When I thought about the girl in high school, the real life version of this I know, maybe I was falsely judging something I didn't understand. After reading this, my opinions have changed and I just get it.
This was a slow burn for me, lots of character development and by the end I loved Lydia Bird, I wanted good things for her, I wanted a happy ending. I'd say the first 50-75% of this, I would have rated a 3/5, but it grew on me and really enjoyed this book the deeper I got.

Special Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for allowing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have mixed feelings about this book. The pace was very slow and there wasn’t really a lot that made me feel connected to Lydia it feel like I had to get back to this story to finish it. However, I have not experienced this kind of grief so I think that is something to be considered. While the story is not boring, it also is one I think that people can enjoy and immerse themselves into it more if they have had a similar experience.
The book was well written and the characters were interesting however. I just did not make any real connection to the book.

This is a sweet book, although not as emotional as I was expecting or hoping it would be. There are some excellent points made throughout about grieving and the fact that "it takes as long as it takes" and we shouldn't try to put a timeline on our own or others' grief.
No real surprises, but nothing that made me not like the book either. It's just a comforting tale that kept me interested and will please readers of women's fiction.

Okay, so this book took me a few tries to get into it. I first picked it up and only got a couple chapters in, the I picked it up again and a few more chapters got read. This kept happening all the way through half of the book. It wasn’t u til the second half that I really started to get into it. This was emotional and I liked the story overall but the first part of the story, I just couldn’t connect to it. I had the same experience with this book as I did with Josies last book One Day In December. Overall, I enjoyed the second half of this book but just wish the first half had more. 3/5 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,

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 was uncertain about this novel at first, with its implausible ‘Awake’, ‘Asleep’ structure: double worlds or alternative universes or whatever you want to call it. However, I was inexorably drawn in and, after a few chapters, I fell in love with the writing, the story, the characters.

A young woman faces the sudden loss of her boyfriend/future husband and struggles to cope with her grief. Lydia has family support from her mother and sister but, naturally, she feels completely alone in her experience of losing the love of her life.

When her mother insists that the doctor prescribe something to help Lydia sleep, after almost two months of insomnia and brief naps on the sofa, her sister gently guides her to the bed she hasn’t slept in since the accident that killed Freddie and hands her a little pink pill. That night, Lydia discovers she can visit another world in her dreams where her love is very much alive.

Alternating between Awake and Asleep, it’s quite the journey for both Lydia and the reader as she comes to terms with her loss and her pain over the next couple of years. Added to this is her estrangement from her and Freddie’s best friend who had been in the car with him but survived the accident.

I liked how the emotions and struggles were not sugar-coated. They were very deep and raw and we get to see Lydia’s growth within herself throughout, although it is not a quick or smooth or easy process, just like real life. Unlike real life, in some cases, there is a beautiful resolution of forgiveness and love at the end. Very satisfying after going through so many struggles along with the protagonist. I highly recommend this well-written, enjoyable novel.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House – Ballantine and the author for providing me with a free eARC of this book.

*Somewhere between 2 and 3 stars.

I honestly feel kind of bad rating this so low, but I can’t truthfully give it more. I LOVED One Day in December by this author, so so much. I burned through it, loved the love story.

The opposite happened with this book. I found myself skimming and dragging my feet to finish it. It just didn’t reel me in at all.

I should have known I wouldn’t love it when I saw the premise. The thing is, I hate when any type of fiction spends time on dreams. They’re not real, they have no consequence on the actual plot — I just think they’re a waste of time. A good portion of this book was our main character dreaming about a rather unremarkable life with her fiancé, who is dead. And I just didn’t care that much about that dream world.

I struggled to connect with her dream life with her fiancé, Freddie, because while she’s known him for 8 years, we as readers barely got to know him. He died right at the very beginning. It’s just hard to mourn characters you never got to know first, in my opinion, and a lot of this book was the protagonist, Lydia Bird, mourning Freddie, who we didn’t know. I couldn’t get attached.

***SPOILERS FOR THE ROMANCE START HERE***

My other issue is that I feel the synopsis was a bit misleading. There wasn’t really any romantic development in this book, despite it kind of being marketed as her finding love again and someone asking her to stay in the land of reality and not dreams. That just...wasn’t what happened. The new relationship felt VERY tacked on at the end. There wasn’t much development or build-up at all, not much angst or pining or anything. And Jonah — the “friend” in the synopsis advertised as wanting her to stay in her life of reality — hardly made any kind of pushes to show that he wanted that. They honestly didn’t interact that often, and he didn’t even KNOW about her dream world.

I don’t think I’d be so disappointed if I hadn’t felt misled by the way this book was advertised. I was expecting a melancholy slow burn romance, and that just wasn’t what it was. I struggled to finish this book, and didn’t really enjoy it or feel any sense of satisfaction at the end. I wasn’t invested enough to, and I’m so sad I felt this way. This was a very anticipated release for me this year and it just didn’t deliver.

Thanks to NetGalley for giving me a digital ARC of this book. This review is my honest opinion in exchange for the copy. (Sorry it’s out so late. Like I said, I had a hard time finishing it)

This book was more serious than I anticipated, so I ended up deciding to DNF at 15%. I did enjoy the writing, but didn’t feel like the story was really going anywhere. The pacing was slow & didn’t really draw me in.

While I liked the idea for this book, I didn’t really enjoy the story. Because we had no idea who Lydia was or what her relationship was with Freddie (he dies immediately) it was hard to feel an emotional connection to her sorrow. However, as the book moved on, I started to like her and felt that her story of learning to live again after a loss felt very real. But then I thought the story took a really fast and strange left turn out of nowhere, and I ended up not like Lydia. And I guessed the ending at the very beginning of the book. I just didn’t emotionally connect with this story.

Ugh. I don’t even know where to start with this review. I enjoyed the writing and the side characters but I had some issues with Lydia and how she basically abused sleeping pills to keep visiting her dead fiancé and it’s never addressed. She also didn’t really consider how her actions impacted those around her and really only cared when it affected her.

I knew the ending before I finished the first chapter because it’s how every book like this ends.

That said, this was a bittersweet book with a hopeful (predictable) ending.

You and me, we’re all the time, and we’re always, and we’re everywhere. If I live a million lifetimes, I’ll find you in all of them, Freddie Hunter.”

“The thing about losing the love of your life is that you get to make up what would have happened afterward. You’re entitled to dream that all of your tomorrows would have been perfect, because you loved him so much....”

The author of One Day in December has again offered us a powerful love story anchored by what-ifs. Lydia Bird believes she will always be with Freddie Hunter until a car accident on her 28th birthday changes everything. When given the opportunity to once again have her old life with Freddie, Lydia must choose between that chance or the the tentative steps she has made toward accepting her new reality and new relationships. The Two Lives of Lydia Bird is the emotional journey of beautiful characters through love, grief, and recovery. A lovely book devoured in one sitting.

I received a copy of this book via Netgalley.

I knew The Two Lives of Lydia Bird was going to be an emotional read for me after reading the synopsis. This definitely held true. We follow Lydia through the process of heartbreak and grief after the tragic loss of her fiancé, Freddie. She is rightly having a hard time coping and moving on with life through her grief. Her mother urges her to go to the doctor to get sleep pills. Lydia finally agrees and little did she know the pink pills would transport her to a world where she and Freddie to be together again. The problem is that she is living two separate lives and there is someone in her awake life, her real life, that wants her to stay.

This was a brilliant idea for a novel and was well executed by Josie Silver. I was so emotionally invested in Lydia and could feel her grief. The loss of Freddie was so devastating and ultimately changed who Lydia was as a person, she was a hardened version of herself as she learns to live and move on with her grief.

The relationships in the book were wonderful as well. Lydia's relationship with her sister and her mother were fabulous and you can feel the closeness of "The Bird Girls". The relationship between Jonah (Freddie and Lydia's childhood friend/Freddie's best friend) and Lydia was unique and familiar. Even the relationships with coworkers and her brother in law were so well-written.

Overall, The Two Lives of Lydia Bird was an incredible and emotional read that kept me engaged throughout its entirety. I was so happy with the ending and Lydia's development throughout the 18 months after Freddie's death. Josie Silver did a phenomenal job navigating this difficult troupe.

If you have ever wondered about "the road not take" - and let's be honest, we all have at one time or another - this book will suck you in. Josie Silver gives us a view of what Lydia Bird's life would be like based on the choices she has made. So engrossing that I read it in one day.

When her fiancé Freddie dies on her birthday, Lydia Bird's world collapses: the childhood sweethearts had bought a house and were planning a life. Now Lydia's not eating, bathing, or sleeping, so when her mom gets her a prescription for insomnia, Lydia's all in. With the pretty pink pills, Lydia's not only catching z's, but sleeping opens an invisible door to a world where Freddie is still alive. But the real world calls and grief is an odd thing, which world will she choose?

I absolutely loved this book! I was a bit worried because her first book was so great, usually the second is a let down, but this was fabulous from the first chapter! I have been raving about it all over social media and recommending it.
Josie Silver has such a way with words and truly brings the characters on the page to life in your mind's eye.
I read this book over a 36 hour period, it was hard to put down!
I look forward to many more wonderful stories from this author. Highly recommend this one!!! 5 stars

What a fun and sweet book to get rid of all the stress and anxiety going on today. I got to teleport with Lydia night after night. Loved being entertained with such a hopeful story. Loved it!

I really wanted to love this book but didn't. I was disappointed because I really enjoyed Josie Silver's "One Day in December." The switch between different time periods (before and after a tragedy) was disconcerting sometimes, and it was sad to read about "what might have been".

3 1/2 stars rounded to 4.

Thanks to Random House Publishing - Ballantine and Netgalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a tearjerker. Be prepared with a full tissue box at your side. It is about grief and how it envelopes a life. Lydia is so distraught she cannot sleep. Her mother talks the doctor into giving Lydia a prescription for sleeping pills. Lydia takes the pink pill and finds herself asleep and waking in another dimension where Freddie is still alive and they are living their life together. But when she awakes from the sleep she is thrust back into the grief filled life without Freddie. This back and forth plays out over the next year. Lydia makes some independent strides and finds a way to live again. What didn't ring true was Lydia's job. She was away for months at a time and they still kept her on. Don't we all want jobs like that.
I recommend this book only to those who won't be pulled under by the sadness, it is a sad but eventually uplifting read.

Josie Silver is quickly becoming an auto-buy author for me. Her books invoke emotions like no other. I loved this book and it made me feel pretty much every emotion on the spectrum. It was super well written and I could not put it down!

The Two Lives of Lydia Bird was lyrical, intense and beautiful. Faced with terrible tragedy when her fiancée and boyfriend of more than 10 years dies in a car accident, Lydia finds herself trapped between a heart breaking reality and a world of dreams. While Lydia sleeps, Freddie lives. Their lives continue to play out in her dreams, but when Lydia awakes, Freddie is gone and life goes on. While awake, Lydia learns to find joy in her growing family, she navigates a friendship with Freddie’s best friend, Jonah and even explores her career. It is a powerful journey for readers to be on, as they experience Lydia’s true heartbreak, her need and desire to be with Freddie again and yet, have to say goodbye to salvage what the true-future might hold. Readers who enjoyed One Day in December will not be disappointed in Josie Silver’s new novel. The Two Lives of Lydia Bird earned five stars from me and I cannot wait for friends to read and discuss!

A sincere thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.