As Elissa's boyfriend Tom, goes off travelling and leaves her behind struggling in a low paid job in a London office, she takes a chance on a free rent live in carer job with elderly gutsy Annie who takes a liking to her.



However, Annie's family is a mystery as Elissa discovers more about then as their friendship warms up and she sets about helping reunite her with her son and his family whilst juggling her works new Lovr dating app launch despite her fails of dates she by chance keeps meeting a guy who she finds easy on the eye after going out running.



I loved the sense of community in the book as Elissa helps the elderly get online despite the circumstances! It was a relatable read as the elderly community in their areas are usually friendly with a strong sense of community and being a carer is also relatable and much better to me than working for Lovr when Elissa didn't love her job! It was a fab debut and would love to see how thing work out for Elissa in the future...



Many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!

I absolutely loved this book and cam identify with wanting to fit in with other people in all facets of your life. This was the authentic good feeling read that was definitely needed and there are plenty of laugh out loud moments, as well as some cringe-worthy mistakes by the main characters. I think I will be buying a hardcover of this when it becomes available, I liked it that much. This was funny from start to finish even if you don't like the main character right away, she definitely grows on you.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Available: 5/14/20

This is a lovely lighthearted book especially in this current climate.
Elissa lives in a house share with her boyfriend and two others. Her boyfriend doesn’t seem committed. Then she’s given an ultimatum by the landlords daughter to move as as the room she shares isn’t big enough.
Following a smear on her birthday (bringing on plenty of vagina jokes) she discovers a leaflet in the doctors surgery. It’s looking for people to house share with the elderly. To help with day to day stuff. Cook the odd meal and offer companionship.
Being in an unpaid job in social media with an awful boss and an even worse looking bank account she contacts Elder care.
Here she is matched with Annie a good old Yorkshire lass. Homelessness is prevented by elissa becoming Annie’s live in companion.
This is a book of love and friendship. Lighthearted and funny and about finding yourself

If you want a book to escape and have a laugh with, this is the book for you. The story is about Elissa and her life, she is fed up with her boyfriend, I really felt for her and can she why she was fed up with him. She finds herself homeless but decides to do something about it and her idea is pure genius. Wait till you meet her new residents. I  found some parts of the book quite funny and amusing, so much so I was upset when the book finished. I will be looking out for more of Abigail's books. I would definitely recommend this book.

Elissa is a twenty-something with an unpaid job for a horrible boss in social media and a sort of relationship which isn't much more than a flat share. She sees an advert for live-in companions for elderly folk who need company and decides to apply.

The Lonely Fajita is enjoyable for a while. It is well written and funny and Elissa's character is well drawn. It seems though that the writer has more knowledge of twenty somethings and social media than of older people. Annie, the one in need of company, is a strange and unlikely person and the more the book goes on the less likely it feels. All story development just seems to stop, and even a comeuppance for awful Mitchell is disappointing.
With thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK

This is a fun light-hearted read - which I’m sure is what most of us are picking up at the moment. I predict this doing well as a fun summery read. I liked it, I enjoyed the characters but I never felt fully invested. I would recommend and read more from the author but this isn’t a stand out novel for me.

I rarely opt for this kind of book, but was so glad I did this time.

Light, funny, and laugh out loud at points, this is a great tonic of a read.

Elissa is currently an intern working for peanuts at a dating app company - as the company looks like folding, all the employees are given the chance to suggest a rebranding, and Elissa's suggestion soon gets going. Elissa's own love-life falls apart at the beginning of the story, and in order to be able to afford a place to live, she finds herself as live in companion to an old lady, Annie. I loved these two characters, and their relationship - such fizz and bounce off one another.

A brilliant read, look out for Abigail Mann again.

THE LONELY FAJITA was just the real world (pre-pandemic) lighter read that I was seeking and it had a narrative banter-style that I really appreciated. Elissa, the protagonist was a bit of a disaster, navigating life without a real rudder and struggling to find her way.

It took things in her life going south to give Elissa the kick she needed to take her life by the scruff of it’s neck and make things happen. However, Elissa’s idea of taking control, was not mine. The best thing to come out of this storyline was the Elder Care element and I loved Annie; especially Elissa and Annie together. They were gold on the page.

This was a gentle, meandering story with many funny moments and great dialogue. However, whilst Elissa was amusing and likeable, I didn’t fully connect with her as a character. I wanted to get deeper into her psyche, I wanted to know why she was so inactive and lacking in confidence but I came away not knowing this, just thinking she was nice but superficial.

THE LONELY FAJITA is perfect for a light afternoon or weekend read and I’m sure many will laugh at moments in this book, just like I did.

Thank you to One More Chapter for the early review copy.

This was a heartwarming book then made me feel very content. It was a book for me that have hope that even when the odds are stacked against you great things are round the corner. I found all the characters interesting and actually wish we could have got to know them more espically Annie and Suki! The reason this book is a 3 and not a 4 is that at times i wish it had slowed down and shown us more of the relationship between Annie and Elissa. But a lovely read which I would defiantly pass on.
Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read an ARC of this book in return for an honest review

It’s Elissa’s birthday, but her boyfriend doesn’t seem to care much – and she’s accidentally scheduled herself a cervical smear instead of birthday drinks.

Then there’s her borderline-psychotic boss, the fact she’s not making but losing money at her internship, and her sinking feeling she might not really be in love.

At least you can’t be lonely if you’re not alone. Right?

But Elissa’s just-good-enough existence is about to change, with single life, redundancy and homelessness all on the horizon. Signing up to live with an elderly person in return for free bed and board suddenly looks like her best option.

Elissa has no idea that Annie will turn out to be a woman of secrets and swearwords, and that living with her is about to shake up everything Elissa thought her twenties should be… .

I loved this book and the main character Elissa.... who's life seems to be on a definite downturn at the beginning of the book. The characters are colourful and quirky... Elissa ends up being a live in companion for Annie - another brilliant character.....and the benefits are mutually positive. A really heart warming story that's full of humour...moving between Elissa's work and personal life...and the lives of her friends.
Highly recommend

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read this book.
This fast paced read will have you both cringing and smiling about the characters, and situations Elissa finds herself in. True, some of it is self inflicted, however with the help of Annie, she manages to set herself on the right path. There were a lot of side characters that were introduced but somehow the author manages to keep the story set at a tempo where you are able to follow it easily.
I'm probably a softie when it comes to the elderly, as my Gran is as wild as they come, but I really enjoyed the 'Village' and all who lived there.

Thank you to Netgalley, One More Chapter/Harper Collins UK, and Abigail Mann for a gifted advanced e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this book! I did not know anything about it, but kept swing it all over Bookstagram so I had to try it! I AM SO GLAD I DID!!! There is nothing I love more than a British finding your way in an unconventional manner type of story!

Elissa finds herself alone in her birthday and has recently been told she has to find a new place to live, which is just great when her “job” doesn’t pay - it covers minor expenses only. During her search for a new place, she finds an ad for a live-in home care program. Not only is Elissa moving in with a senior, but her relationship is over, she has pressure to come up with a great project idea for work, and she is feeling lost.

I love Elissa. She is my favourite kind of character: doesn’t always see changes that are happening around them, all areas of life are a challenge, and tend toward the dramatic. I do feel bad for her and all she goes through, and I found her trials and tribulations to be believable and not over the top. I also love the senior that Elissa lives with (I will keep this spoiler free.)

The writing was great and I felt the story really flowed quite well. I could hush and hush (but have a hard time keeping it spoiler free), so READ THIS BOOK!!!!

What a delightful read! An unexpected story with heart, hope, and humour. I would love to have an ElderCare Companion like Annie.

Great quick and sweet read. I highly recommend it. The subtitle “suddenly single...and not quite ready to mingle” definitely does not do this story any justice. It is so much more than a typical love story. It shows us how Elissa learns to love herself, life, and everything around her.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

When I saw this book on Netgalley, I was drawn in by the title, it intrigued me.
Elissa has a problem with self confidence, she is in a dead end job that pays next to nothing. She relies on her boyfriend to provide her with a roof over her head, until he announces that he is leaving to travel.
Facing homelessness, she sees an advert for being a live in carer and decides to apply for the job. She is paired up with Annie, who helps her build up her confidence.
I loved the character of Annie, but I found it a little more difficult to relate to Elissa, and the bad decisions that she had to be rescued from. At the same age as Elissa I was far more independent, so this might be why I couldn't relate to her as much.
Overall this was an easy and lighthearted read. It is enjoyable and a quick read for when you need to escape for a while.
Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for my ARC.

The Lonely Fajita by Abigail Mann

This book is about a woman called Elissa who is best described as a total disaster. She is useless at her job as an intern in a media relations firm, has a useless, going-nowhere, relationship, is a messy greedy flatmate who is about to be turned out of her flat, wears dirty clothes, gets drunk, vomits and the rest. You wouldn't want to know her!

She is saved by becoming a kind of live-in companion to a wise old lady called Annie and a series of fortuitous circumstances which, of course, end up with a new job and a rich man with piercing eyes and a chiselled chin inviting her out for a drink.

It's hard to know what to say about a story like this in the 21st-century. I suppose you're meant to think, as a reader, well I'm a bit like Elissa. My nails are always scuffed, I nick my flatmates food and don't put cling film on my leftovers. I can't do my job and I make no effort to do it any better and I have a social life which is constantly compromised and second-rate. Well, if that's you, you shouldn't really be reading this book. You should get out and do something about it!

And that's my gripe. Elissa has to be 'rescued' constantly. Annie, the old Cockney saint with a heart of gold, performs this role but it requires a good bit of suspension of disbelief to think that Elissa would ever have got this job with her even if that kind of job existed. Suki, Elissa's wild lesbian friend, seems to be operating this kind of haphazard life with more success and Maggie, a teacher, is a sort of fund of sensible advice. However, despite their efforts Elissa continues to mess up, arriving ate and ill-prepared for meetings at work, forgetting to make promised meals for Annie and so on.

Well, now I've got that off my chest it's fair to say that the book rolls along with lots of London geography and a view of how hard it is to cope as a young woman without a well paid job in the big city. I think readers can empathise with that. It's also another book where an older woman saves the day and that might appeal to the mature reader! And, successful women might enjoy reading about social casualties!

It'll probably make a great film but it wasn't for me.

This book was so much fun to read. Mann tells a story of love, friendship and life's ups and downs with so much heart. The book is sweet and funny, and the writing is fresh. I recommend!

"There’s nothing sadder than constructing a fajita on your own.”

I can't think of a statement that feels more true than that. Nobody wants to be a lonely fajita, but we should all read The Lonely Fajita. Ok, I'll stop saying fajita now (you should know I'm the asshole that purposely pronounces it FAH-GITA!).

The fajita in question (last time, I sort-of promise) is Elissa. She's stuck in a dead-end internship, lives in a flat with 4 other people who can't get over a stolen tea bag or two, and to top it off, her boyfriend has decided to take an adult gap year and leaves her in the dust. And he was the one paying for the flat...

On the eve of her homelessness, she sees an ad to become a live-in companion in an elderly community. Not ideal, but it's a free place to live. And she's always loved spending time with her Nanny.

Enter her new companion, Annie. She's rejected 23 previous companions, but for some reason, she gives Elissa a chance. Together these two disparate characters find their common ground and also find themselves along the way.

This book is reminiscent of Queenie or Evvie Drake Starts Over. Elissa is at rock bottom, but along the way, she sort of accidentally finds her way back up. The humor woven through the story was delightful - whether through Elissa's self-deprecating jokes or the bonkers situations she often found herself in - it shined on every page. I'm usually bummed when romance isn't the main focus or at least a strong throughline in a story, but Elissa and all the lively secondary characters made the lack of romance a refreshing change.

Do yourself a favor during the horrible-ness that is social distancing and read The Lonely Fajita. Then call your friends on video chat and construct those fajitas together!

I absolutely loved this book, it's heart-warming, joyful and funny.
Elissa is a total sweetheart and Annie is my idea of a perfect flatmate. I'd definitely be going in for that scheme if I could.
Honestly this is pure joy in a book, it will make you smile, chuckle and feel better about the world. Perfect escapism during isolation. Thank you

Elissa's barely paid internship is hanging in the balance while her boyfriend takes off without her. She is left with little choice but to join a volunteer project that pairs helpers with elderly people who need assistance. She moves in with Annie, and they make a great pair, helping in each other in unexpected ways. It was a good book, nothing too spectacular but enjoyable and lighthearted. Solid 3 stars.