A brilliant read for of you who couldn’t get enough of PS I love you by Cecelia Ahern!! I laughed, cried, even held my breath in anticipation!! Kept me up reading through the night as I wanted to find out what happened to Evan and Violet. Trust me, this is a worth read, you won’t be disappointed!! 5 star, highly recommend. Another author for me to add to my list to look out for!

Very similar in concept to PS I Love You, I did enjoy this easy reading book. Even if it is about the death of a loved one, it was a good story. Evan is struggling to come to terms with Claire's loss and deal with his five year old daughter, Violet. He doesn't feel he knows what to do a lot of the time (or feels he's getting it all wrong), but that is where the book of letters that Claire wrote for him comes in. She provides words of wisdom and advice for him when he needs it most and helps him through this most awful of situations.

Well written and thought provoking, Evan eventually starts to find a way through with the help of his family and friends. This actually turned into quite a feel good book, even though the subject matter might not make you think that at first. I really liked the ending - I felt like you could see it coming but that didn't make it any less enjoyable.

I would recommend this story and thank Net Galley & the publishers for allowing me to read it in exchange for an honest review, which is what I have given,

The Single Dad’s Handbook is a moving, emotional and uplifting story of dealing with and moving on from loss.

Evan’s wife died from cancer two years ago and he is trying to juggle life without her whilst looking after their now five year old daughter, Violet. He is trying to keep on top of everything to be Super Dad to his little girl except things aren’t working out how he hoped. In a bid to get their lives back on track Evan turns to Claire for help, from the book of letters that she left to help navigate Evan through life without her.

I can’t imagine how heartbreaking it must be to be in Evan’s position, and as we see him struggling what I want to do is wrap an arm around him and tell him it’ll be ok. What I enjoyed in this book is seeing how Evan deals with facing the struggles that are presenting themselves, whilst using Claire’s letters to help in move forward to start living life again, making it better for both him and Violet.

One of the things I loved about this story is that despite their circumstances there are elements of humour in there, most of the lighter moments come from Violet’s innocence as a child but amongst the darkness that is surrounding them it shines.

I really enjoyed this book by Lynsey James. It is the first of hers that I have read but I look forward to reading more based on this one.

This book broke me and fixed all the broken pieces all over again. 🥺 Usually, I read books which deal with emotional topics in breaks, but I couldn't keep this one down at all. The Single Dad's Handbook was addictive, poignant and beautiful from the beginning to end.

There's life after death too - and this book gave meaning to this statement in the best way possible. Evan getting the support he needs to raise Violet after Claire's death through Claire's letter was so thoughtfully plotted by the author. I felt all sorts of emotions while reading the book. Can't recommend it enough!

5/5 🌟 (Read : All the stars in the universe) Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to review this gem of a novel.

Thanks to netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Evan’s wife Claire died from cancer 2 years ago and he still can’t come to terms with it and get on with his life as he has to look after their five year old daughter Violet. He can’t seem to do anything right and struggles to be the super dad he thinks he should be. When he finds a book of letters that Claire wrote before she died he starts to read them and finally the fog starts to clear and he makes headway in dealing with his grief. Whilst doing this he realises he is actually falling in love with his best friend Hannah but does she feel the same.

A book full of love, grief, friendships and relationships. Made me cry in some parts.

The single dads handbook
By: Lynsey James

📚💕⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💕📚

Truly endearing read

In my first book from this author I’m truly caught off guard by the story she tell. Page after page you get taken on a journey of grief, love, guidance, hope and dreams that will be after life. This book will give some readers painful memories and give most the most amazing sorrow filled moments of hope and love.

Authors Blurb: ‘I laughed, I cried, and I swooned a bit too (both over Evan and the beautiful Edinburgh setting). Gorgeous.’ Lia Louis
It’s been two years since cancer stole Evan Harper’s wife, Claire, from their lives. Although Evan’s doing everything he can to be Super Dad for his five year old, Violet, he can’t seem to get anything right. So he turns to the one person who gives the best advice – Claire herself.
Before she died she wrote him a book of letters to see him through the ups and downs of raising their daughter and her words soon help him see that there is life after loss – and maybe even a second shot at love – when you find the courage to start living again…

It'll break your heart, you'll want to scream with frustration and it'll let you discover that love just might conquer all.

Thanks Netgally for letting me read and review.📚💕

The Single Dad's Handbook by Lynsey James
Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Publisher: One More Chapter & Harper Collins UK
Pub day: April 2nd, 2021

A Book of Letters. A million precious memories. A new forever starts right here!!

Wow!!! Just wow. This is a beautifully written story of tremendous love between a father and a daughter. Claire has lost her life to cancer and before her death she has penned letters for Evan her husband and Violet their daughter for every special and important event of their lives. I am not going to lie, I got very emotional and could not stop tearing up at many parts of the book. I have recently lost my dad and I felt the story so close to home as I could so much feel the emotion and pain of loosing someone who you so dearly love!

Hannah is the best friend of Evan and Claire, who is dealing with Claire's loss by traveling to far off places. Hannah is back after 2 years and promises Evan that she will help him and Violet. Hannah is helping Evanbto start over by setting him up with dates fror this dating site called Tinder! Read the book to see if Hannah is successful in finding Evan a partner or will the growing closeness between Hannah and Evan turn into something else?

This was my first Lynsey James book, and I enjoyed the writer’s storytelling, the author described the characters so beautifully that I felt as if I was a part of the story. At times it was too cliche for me, but nothing to take away the fun of light hearted, emotional tale of parenting, friendship and true love!!

Go add this book fo your pre-order list, you'll enjoy the book and would fall in love with the characters!!!

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins, UK for the gifted galley in exchange of my honest review!

I often times request to read an advanced reader copy of a book on the cover alone, and The Single Dad’s Handbook was one of them. How precious is this one? I remember being a little girl standing on my daddy’s feet while dancing around the house and it brings a smile to my face, just like this cover did.

I was prepared for an upbeat, fun, and easy read and was completely thrown after reading the first few sentences. I very quickly realized that this did not fit that category. My mood switched so quickly and dramatically - I needed to brace myself for a completely different kind of read than I was expecting.

Don’t get me wrong, it was such an absolutely wonderful book and I loved it, but it was not light, nor comical.

This book will pull at your emotions, it will make you cry. It will make you feel so many emotions. Don’t let this scare you, though, you really should read it. You need to read it. You know you want to.

As soon as Evan mentioned letters, I knew what they would be, yet I still felt incredibly emotional anyway. Though the title of the book should have given it away, I was pleasantly surprised and enticed to hear that it wouldn’t be a collection of letters alone, but is an actual book! I love it, what a great idea! Is it strange (and morose?) that I tucked that away as something to remember one day if I need to? My husband and I are working on our own wills right now and this book led us to discuss a few topics we hadn’t thought of. I should write a letter that states my personal wishes and put it in our safe should it ever be needed.

A few quotes that I saved, and that nearly left me sobbing loudly...

“I love you so much and the idea of leaving you breaks my heart. Take all the help you can get from those around you. We’re lucky enough to have an amazing team of people in our lives and I know they’ll all want to pitch in.”

“I look at the Post-its that tell me what each letter is about, and tears prick the back of my eyes. Claire’s written a letter for every scenario she would miss. She’s covered everything from puberty and dating advice to Violet’s wedding and beyond.”

This was such a heartbreaking yet beautiful book and I loved it.

Publication Date: April 2, 2021

This book made me laugh and cry and I adored it!

Evan has lost his wife Claire to cancer two years ago. Lost in his grief he has lost his passion for his job, ghost tours around Edinburgh, and the bond he had with his daughter Violet but he’s trying to get his life back on an even keel. He turns to a collection of letters that Claire wrote for every occasion that he would encounter in his, and Violet’s life, without her to help him navigate through his grief.

It’s reminiscent of PS. I love you, so if you liked that you will love this.

Evan’s character is lovely and you really empathise with him, he has a good bunch of friends that are likeable and relatable.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins for the ARC

Even though it has been two years since Evan Harper lost his wife Claire to cancer, he still feels adrift. Their five-year-old daughter Violet is starting school and he is completely unprepared for all that entails. It seems like no matter what he does, he can't do anything right anymore. So he finally gathers the courage to seek the answers from the one who would know how to handle everything perfectly - Claire. Before she died, she wrote a series of letters for him to open when he came to some of the very roadbloacks (and milestones) he was facing. Using those to guide him, Evan is able to become the dad Violet needs and finally move on with his life.
This was really good. It made me laugh and cry, but mostly laugh.....poor Evan, and Violet was such a pistol. It is worth reading for the tinder dates alone....some of those made me laugh until I cried. This is a great book that I think pretty much anyone who enjoys fiction would enjoy.

The Single dad’s Handbook by Lynsey James is a beautiful, emotional story between Evan Harper and his daughter Violet and the united grief they still share from the loss of Claire,his wife and Violet’s mother. It has been two years since her death from Cancer.
On Violet first day at school, Evan is rushing Violet to get ready but when she comes out with Claire’s red high heel shoes that Evan still cannot part with. She wants to go to school with them, but Evan says no. With the shoes Evan discovers a notebook full of post it notes and letters from Claire that she has written to help him get on with not only his life back on track but also Violet’s. He first finds it hard to cope on his own until old best friend Hannah arrives back from her travels. He is angry at first, as she left him after Claire died. He needed a friend, but she wasn’t there. But soon the friendship redevelops.
I enjoyed this book about new beginnings after the loss of someone you love. With laugh out loud moments and parts that make you cry and uplifting ones. This had a great storyline ,brilliant characters especially Violet and the letters pulled at my heartstrings. I am not going to lie I did have a few tears in my eye after reading some of Claire’s letters. A big tear rolling 5 stars from me.

Thank you to One More Chapter, Netgalley, and Lynsey James for a gifted copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I saw this book for quite some time before finally requesting it and I am SO GLAD I DID! I loved it so much! Characters are a top category for me when discussing how I feel about a story. This story had great characters and the emotion they feel throughout is apparent and comes through so easily. There is such heart here and the grief is both heartbreaking and beautiful. I thoroughly enjoyed following along on Evans journey to mourn, grieve, and move past the loss of his wife.

While the idea of letters from a deceased spouse is not a new concept, the way in which the author uses it here is unique and creative. It is also not something that Evan keeps to himself, which sets it apart from stories of a similar nature.

While this story is definitely sad, it is a story of hope. I highly recommend it and look forward to reading it again in the future!!

Thank you Harper Collins UK for the gifted ecopy.

Ethan is still reeling from the death of his wife Claire two years ago. He is struggling with raising his daughter Violet on his own, and combatting his own grief. He finds a binder full of letters that his wife left him, and he uses those to try to get his life back in order and move on.

This book was just okay for me. It's a quick read, quite emotional at times, but also predictable. I really would have liked more of Ethan and Hannah together. I know the point of the book is his journey to figure things out, but there was just something missing for me.

A book that's full of heart. It deals with serious issues like grief, loss and guilt but still manage a to be laugh out loud funny in parts. I couldn't help but to fall back n love with everybody, Evan, Violet, Claire and Hannah. Claire's letters made me both laugh (referring to the tumours as Phil and Grant made me laugh every time) and cry. I just wanted to hug Evan throughout the whole book. It's a beautifully written, touching story that would make a wonderful movie.

Awwwwww, what an absolute joy this book was to read and review. Gorgeously crafted, warm and wise, I loved everything about it, and became fully invested in Evan and Violet's story.

Claire died at 30 from cancer (Phil and Grant). She leaves behind a book filled with letters of love, advice and memories to help husband Evan navigate his way through his grief and to help him raise their daughter Violet as a single father. She encourages Evan to write back to her and these letters are a beautiful insight into grief and healing. Claire wants Evan to create a beautiful life for Violet, and she encourages him to find humour and magic in all the tiny moments. And also she wants him to find love again.

This seems unlikely after some disastrous Tinder dates, but sometimes love happens when you're least expecting it.

This really was a testament to love, to family, and to friendship. Deeply moving, truly romantic, never cheesy - I adored it.

Evan Harper is a single Dad following the death of his beloved wife Claire from cancer.

He is struggling to bring up five year old daughter, Violet whilst still grieving for Claire.

It becomes time for him to start reading through the handbook of information that Claire left before she passed away. Slowly, Claire's words guide him through his grief. With the support of his Mum, his friends, work colleague and best friend Hannah, Evan's journey through grief is explored.

A thoroughly enjoyable read. Sad at times but a nice read to discover how Evan deals with the loss of his one true love.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read, in exchange for an honest review.

I have mixed feelings about this book. It was well written but, it was so sad at times and at other times it made me smile. Maybe it was the wrong choice for times like these but I did struggle at times and found myself putting it down just to take a breather from it. Years ago I read “P S I Love You” which in some ways was similar to this book then we weren’t in the middle of a pandemic. In different times I may have found this book easier and able to enjoy it more. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

I devoured "The Single Dad's Handbook" in a day and was completely engrossed from the beginning. Lynsey James has conjured a story that is in turns laugh out loud funny and deeply moving. Her characters dance from each page. I loved the Edinburgh setting and Evan's ghost tours. On several occasions, I found I had tears in my eyes without warning. In other places, I full on bawled my eyes out. If the point of writing is to move the reader, to evoke a range of emotions, then Lynsey James has well and truly nailed her craft. Despite the subject matter, "The Single Dad's Handbook" isn't a sad read - it's an uplifting one, bursting with wisdom and humour. I loved it!

I wanted to love this book, but honestly, I think I'm just not the right audience and that is no fault of the author. The book deals with really heavy themes and perhaps I will pick this book up again and try another time. After losing his wife to cancer, Evan's life feels a little out of control. He is still in grief, trying to raise his daughter, and now he's dealing with the return of his best friend who seemingly abandoned him when his wife died. I think others will enjoy this story of growth, love, and family.

3/5 Stars

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for providing me with an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Sweet, funny story of Evan, a newly widowed single father to a 5 year old daughter. Who better to guide him through the adjustments than his deceased wife! I really enjoyed this light hearted story. Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy.