'It's Been a Pleasure, Noni Blake', is a book about finding yourself. After breaking up with her ex-girlfriend, with who she had a long-term relationship, Noni feels stuck. She's tired of her job as a teacher and feels like she needs a break to go travelling in Europe. On this trip she works through her trauma, new sexual partners. and finds out what truly makes her happy. I love how real, raw and funny this book was and was especially satisfied with the ending.

This book talks about a lot of serious topics that i enjoyed seeing represented, including body image/ fatphobia/ miscarriage/ IVF. There is queer rep, with the main character being attracted to multiple genders (no label given), and supporting characters also on the rainbow - however, sexuality isn't a topic.
This is a story about a steamy fling turned romantic relationship, with loads of conversations about what self-love is and how to practice it - if that's your thing, read this book! There's plenty of deep moments (see topics above), accompanied by a bunch of loveable characters and a handful of antagonists. Throughout the book, Noni figures out what her life could be and what life she really wants to live
I really thought this was going to be a 5 star read, but the story was completely different from what I imagined, so while I enjoyed it, I didn't love it.

I was really excited about a travel-around-the-world, figuring-yourself-out, having-fun book. Alas, this was a world tour, the same way most US performers do a "world tour": they do a couple cities in the UK and, if you're lucky, Amsterdam, and that's it. As Europe-exploration was the big pull-in for me, the lack of travel really impacted my enjoyment of it. This is no fault of the book, it just made the book not for me.

1/10 (dnf 26%)

I thought this would be something totally different. Quickly, I realized how freaking wrong I was.

This book definitely wasn’t a feel-good rom-com nor some statement. It just made me feel bad somehow. I didn’t like one single character.

In a nutshell, this is about an insecure overweight (maybe) bi person sleeping around. Different person in EVERY. SINGLE. CHAPTER.* And, also, can’t forget that, random people are hyping her up saying she’s amazing the way she is while she feels disgusted by herself. And, does really EVERYONE just has sex with her. Like, what?? And she’s supposed to “find herself” that way. Nah, this isn’t for me at all.

*It was only guys until now and my lesbian brain might implode lol

ARC received in exchange for an honest review.

4.5/5.0

Thank You To Text Publishing and Netgalley for the digital copy of this book in exchange of a honest review.

It's Been a Pleasure, Noni Blake starts with our MC, Noni, on her own "walk of shame" in the morning after a one night stand with a firefighter for the first time since her nine years relationship ended two years ago. And, for the first time in a long time, Noni feels good, and she's all about chasing that feeling again, trying to find her "what if's" and living her best life. Until it's a disaster, so Noni decides to give up on that. But then, Ruby – the firefighter who had sex with her – dies in a fire, Noni decides to go on a six-month quest through Europe to find happiness again.

Now, that was a wild ride. When I'm reading a book, I like to imagine what's going to happen and sometimes I'm right. I was wrong a lot of times during this book. And honestly I'm so happy I was wrong. From the first line, I was in love with Noni Blake and I just wished happiness to that woman. I loved the bi rep, I loved the friends she had (I mean, Naz and Lindell are just AMAZING) and can we please talk about Beau's family? Ugh, I was so jealous of their family relationship and I would do literally anything to spend a day with that family. But I really loved his relationship with Zep, I mean, it's so hard to find such an awesome parent-child dynamic and the fact that Zep was so incredible since his first appearance. I loved how much Noni grew up on those six months, how she let herself be happy and I just got so carried away with the romance.

I feel like this book is more about Noni's journey as a person than any romance but it was impossible to not fall in love with the whole Beau/Noni dynamic. I mean, they actually used their words (most of the time) !!!!! And oh my God they were just the cutest.

And, getting really emotional, I grew up loving books but I wasn't really aware of the whole book community thing until a year ago. So, the books I used to read were mostly about skinny straight girls, girls I could never relate to. So I just had to compliment the bi and fat rep here. Because I could relate so well to the MC, seeing Noni discovering how to love herself made me feel so good. At last but not least, the way grief was portrayed, it made me feel so many different feelings. I don't even know what to say, just... It hurted and I cried so much. Because it was so real and I couldn't even do anything. Just sit there and cry while reading. I just gonna miss this book and these characters so much. I hope they're all happy wherever they are.

'It's Been A Pleasure Noni Blake' was such a fun and light-hearted book about loving yourself and finding true happiness and pleasure in life.

This book was such a pleasure to read. It was so much fun!! I loved Noni as a main character and I loved seeing her trying to find happiness in her life and going out of her way to be truly happy.

I loved the bi representation in this book. I loved that Noni was not defined by her sexuality and you saw her being with both men and women in the book.

The pacing of the book was a bit slow and I did find myself getting a bit bored in the middle of the book as the story fell a bit flat during the middle, but it did pick up closer to the end of the book.

I loved seeing the growing relationship between Noni and Beau, and you could see so much development in their relationship throughout the book and I just loved seeing them together and they definitely had a lot of chemistry.

I just really liked this book. It was so much fun and if you are looking for something light-hearted and funny, you should definitely pick this one up!!

Thank you to Text Publishing for providing me with an advance copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Although I wasn't perhaps the target audience for this book, I did enjoy it. The story was fun and liberating, the character growth was ever present and the pace was good. It is not often that a book with a middle aged woman does not treat their main character as a tragedy, of course when we meet Noni Blake she's not at the the best place in her life, but there's no pity—except the one she has for herself. When a book is able to present its characters with dignity even at their lowest points you know that the author has truly put themselves in it. That's exactly what I felt with this book. The only thing that I couldn't quite connect with was the sequencing of the story, at times it felt a little disjointed—perhaps too much like real life for my taste. But overall this was a fun read that is sure to be enjoyed by readers in the years to come.

4.5*

Charming, witty, quirky, funny and delightful. This journey of self discovery has the main character, Noni, falling in love with pleasure, life, herself and a man. It's a disservice to call this book a romance novel, because while there is a romantic relationship that develops the story is more about learning the truths about yourself in your thirties.

I struggled with the beginning. Noni is bi-sexual, which is fine, but her sexcapades were off putting. They are meant to be funny. The circumstances she ends up in are unusual and in some cases humorous, but I preferred the book once she actually left Australia and went to London.

Noni was at a crossroads in her life. She and her partner of 9 years had broken up and their house finally sold giving Noni enough money to take a 6 month sabbatical from her teaching job. A woman firefighter from one of Noni's one night stands dies and Noni decides she needs to find the meaning and pleasure in her life. She had become happy being unhappy. She makes plans to meet up with a friend in London and connects with an unrequited "love".

Her adventures take her all over Europe where she meets some wonderful people. She also stumbles into some crazy situations, but saying yes to possibilities changes her life. It's a story we all know and a lesson we've all heard. When you can love yourself, love will find you - and for Noni, it does.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC of this book.

I’m torn between 1 and 2stars. But as I think about the book, unfortunately I’m leaning more towards the 1 star.

Pros: A quick read, short chaptered so while reading it feels like you are making nice reading progress. A few of the side characters were interesting, I enjoyed her friendship with Lindell (although I do feel his advice wasn’t necessarily always good), liked the dynamic between him and his partner Graham, I could appreciate Naz and Tom, but I wish I had connected more to the main character. I could sympathize and understand her worries about her life and not having everything figured out even though she is 36 years old. I thought her realization that she was a bad partner to herself was an important breakthrough for Noni. However...

Cons: the plot? Her using sex to discover herself? Her pleasure quest? I wish it had been deeper than that and also more believable (her own unenthusiastic thoughts about her body versus everyone being miraculously attracted to her?). The sexual encounter with her boss Niko, the chasing after Molly, Beau the Viking, it all just felt tedious but maybe my problem was with the “should’ve-boned” list/pleasure quest itself, as it didn’t click with me, it felt immature and a bit lame, but everyone seemed to love it? And thought it was a great method of self discovery. Sorry, but no. I wish her pleasure quest was more about genuinely connecting with herself and finding herself rather than just instant gratification.

“Nothing about this feels good.” That’s what Noni said after her Niko date and honestly, I felt that way about the majority of her choices and consequentially about the entire book.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

What a pleasure it really was, Noni Blake.

This book is indulgent in the ways we have all dreamed about and allows us to live vicariously following Noni's adventure of self-discovery in the ways we have all dreamed of, and perhaps even pushes us a little closer to being braver and taking that leap. To travel, to say yes more (and NO more), to chase the what ifs and find the closure we may need.

It is refreshing to see plus size representation be so openly discussed, and whilst having open and honest discourse about the struggles of loving your body and the anxieties that come with being plus sized, I'm so glad there is also an equal amount of Noni loving her body too, I often find it hard to read about plus sized main characters because there is constant discourse about weight loss and their hatred of their bodies and that isn't always the truth. The truth is that our relationships with our bodies, fat, skinny, midsized, tall or short, is always a fluctuating, complicated tug of war between love and hate.

This met every expectation of mine of being a classic, fluff read about a woman who sets off on a journey to find herself and her own happiness but it also exceeded my expectations. I cared about Noni and the relationships in her life and I related to her even though I am 22 and she is 36. Whilst this is a fun book, with some very saucy scenes, this book is also important and I think it is going to hit home for a lot of readers. I can't wait to see what the author does next as I loved their writing and their voice. This is definitely a book that is going to stick with me.

I really needed a fun, light read when I picked this up and it was definitely the right choice for the time! It’s Been A Pleasure Noni Blake follows Noni as she reevaluates her life after a breakup. This culminates in her going on a six-month trip to England, Scotland and Amsterdam to find pleasure.

It was amusing to follow Noni on her escapades and her journey of self-growth. The message and the authentic bi-sexual representation also added to the book.

Having said this, the story didn’t resonate with me as much as it seems to have with so many others. Perhaps this is because I’m quite a bit younger than Noni or just because we obviously have very different personalities. I did have fun while reading but I’m not sure that this story will necessarily stick with me.

I also found it slightly preachy in places and felt that Christian inserted some conversations purely to get her point across, rather than because they fit into the story well. I definitely agree with the message so this wasn’t a major issue but it did feel a little on the nose.

If you’re looking for a light, escapist and very sexy read, It’s Been A Pleasure Noni Blake is for you!

This book is generously provided by NetGalley. Thank you!

Oh my…wow!

This book might be my new manifesto for life. It is infrequent that a work of fiction inspires me to really look at the way I live my life. Noni’s journey to find her pleasure absolutely and constantly reminded me to look inward and honestly assess where I am in mine.

I want to be Noni, the pleasure Noni, the one that radiates joy. I want to be Beau, open and honest, who loves with his whole heart. I want to be Lindell, who is there for his best friend, ALWAYS. I want to be Lil, who uplifts people in their journey to learn to love themselves. I want to be Zep! I want to be that communicative and vulnerable at 16.


I loved this book. The people, the places, the journey, and the sex. I loved the good sex, but I also loved the bad sex. Romance novels are infrequently filled with funny, bad, awkward, unsatisfactory sex, that tends to show up in real life. It added so much to see these good sex for the wrong reason and bad sex for the right ones and finding you pleasure.

There is so much in this book, that I am not even sure how to properly start gushing. I need Edinburgh travel stat, I need a chocolate croissant and a new haircut and a really good… I’ll be right back.

As I was saying, this book is a mantra. Find your pleasure, lean into it, shine with it. You don’t have to earn it, it is already yours for the taking.

Now go read this book!

CW: Miscarriage.

You know that experience where it's the middle of the night and you've accidentally started watching decades-old reruns of Sex and the City on E! or some random other channel, and you're suddenly absolutely horrified by how horrendously everyone treats their sexual partners?

That's this book.

There's even a moment late in the novel wherein our protagonist has an actually very cute and poingant conversation with her boyfriend's teenaged son about treating his sexual partners with respect, and I wanted to scream because that's good advice but lady I've known you for three hundred fucking pages and you have literally NEVER done that! No one hates people they choose to sleep with as much as Noni does. They're interchangeable hatable sex toys for almost all of this goddamn book. And, frankly, sometimes it seems like everybody's so drunk that one or both parties in every encounter is only dubiously able to consent. Why in the fuck did I read this.

Admittedly, there are some good and even great parts of this novel. Our protagonist is bisexual, and it's nice that's not something she angsts about even though the book bizzarely does absolute summersaults to avoid using the actual word, like it somehow has cooties. The endgame love interest is a delight, especially once Noni stops treating him like an interchangeable sex toy without a name. That teenaged son is so great he steals every scene he's in. Noni's friends are genuinely funny. It's compellingly written.

But it's 1990's Sex and the City - candy-coated fun with a seedy underbelly. Yes, it's great and feminist to focus on a woman getting pleasure from sex - but not when it's at the expense of treating one's partner like a human being. Like, this story even fridges some random faceless nameless sexual conquest of a woman to kick off Noni's sex quest, because nobody else matters. That callousness is the initial incident and just leads to more and I...just couldn't get past that.

Genre: Womens Fiction | Romance | LGBT+

Released: 21st February 2021



"There are about seven and a half billion people on the planet and I've had sex with eleven of them."



Noni Blake has no idea what's going on. It's been 18 celibate months since her and Joan split up and she can't even remember which days the bins go out without her. But after a very hot encounter with a very hot firefighter and being reminded that her vagina still works, she's ready for her quest. What started out as an innocent conversation with her best friend turns into the Pleasure Quest and suddenly she's off to europe to track down Molly, the one who got away. But while she's busy looking behind, Beau appears right in front of her. Can Noni complete her quest to find out what really makes her happy and move forward, or is she going to keep looking over her shoulder?

It's a Pleasure was a journey of self-discovery like no other - and it was so real at times I honestly thought Christian had been spying on me for a while. Noni Blake is a hot mess who doesn't know who or what she wants in life and has no idea how to find out. She explores life, her sexuality, her happiness and her heart until she can finally figure out exactly who she wants to be.

After being in a nine-year relationship with Joan we watch as she tries to navigate falling in and out of love, and falling in and out of bed. This book was so steamy you might want to take a fan when you read it. There's lots of sex - awkward sex, bad sex, casual sex and mind-blowing sex. I loved the honest sex-positivity throughout this story and the perfect creation of a chaotic bisexual character without any of the stereotypes.

And amongst all the fun and the heartbreak, comes the cringe-inducing moments that make you evaluate your own boyfriends and girlfriends of the past and realise they were definitely not worth looking back for.

The eclectic mix of beautiful humans she meets along the way all have their own amazing stories and I couldn't help but love every single on of them.

Utterly absurd and wonderful, this was a pleasure to read.



RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you to Claire Christian and Text Publishing for a Reviews Copy in return for an honest review.

“This is a moment. A marker. A change. You can do whatever the fuck you want to, my darling. And for the first time in my whole life, that possibility doesn’t petrify me.”

WOW. I was very much unprepared for the journey this book took me on. And as it turned out, it was exactly the type of story I needed to read for where I’m at in life right now.

Noni Blake was an absolutely delightful main character. She’s 36 and fresh out of a near-decade long relationship, and feels she has lost all direction in life. She decides to take an impromptu trip to Europe, with the hopes to rekindle a relationship with one of her big “what if” exes. Fate takes ahold from there!

”We can always do, or be, something entirely different than what we thought we could. We are endless potential. Always.”

Noni was a hilarious narrator, and I enjoyed the many times her self-conscious thoughts contradicted the brave words she forced from her mouth. She may be down on her luck, but she’s smart, purposeful, and confident. And so utter relatable.

Watching her journey to reconnecting with herself was so joyous. We watched her relearn what things she loved, hated, or made her passionate. Noni lost something when her last relationship ended (or perhaps several years before that) and to get to watch her find that again— it was so special.

”As [they] spin me back out a second time, a voice very loudly, and very articulately, speaks inside of me with such distinct clarity that it kind of overwhelms me. This is the kind of voice that knows things. Things you don’t ignore.
This human. Pay attention to this human.”

Admittedly, I had no idea the direction this book was going in for a good half of the novel. Every time I fell a little bit in love with someone new Noni had met, something would happen that felt like I was taking an ice bath. I loved this feeling of being blindsided, because if felt so akin to reality. How things seem perfect until they suddenly weren’t. I ate this part up especially.

Noni and her partner gave me absolute butterflies. Their interactions felt so special, and I loved everything about the openness they had. While I felt their storyline became predictable at a certain point, this didn’t detract from my emotional investment in their happiness.

”I think aging is actually just about getting used to yourself, you know? Getting used to the way you are, the way you work, the way you process things, the weird things that make you unique. I think we spend so much time early on figuring that out. Or fighting against it.”

As someone who is terrified to grow older without having a purpose, without having passion, without having someone, this book was so special. Noni Blake is that blazing, bright star you can follow when you feel lost. Her journey is about pinpointing exactly what you fear most, and then walking in that direction to face it head-on. If she can do it, why can’t you?

Thank you to NetGalley with providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

“You can do whatever the fuck you want to do, my darling”

Wow. Noni Blake, it certainly was a pleasure. I didn’t think I would love this book as much as I did.

Noni is a 36yr old teacher who’s long term relationship broke down two years ago and she’s been in a slump since. She finally gets back out there and sleeps with a woman who dies a few weeks later, which makes her question if she is living life how she really wants.

When the realisation that she’s happy being unhappy hits her, she takes action. She takes a six month break from work, packs up her apartment, and flies to Europe for a “pleasure quest”. Her only goal is to do whatever (and whoever) she wants.

This book took me completely by surprise. It made me question how I’m living and made me feel more seen than a book has in a long time. It was such a joy to read, and I’m so happy with how it turned out.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a copy in exchange for my honest review.

✍️ One Sentence Synopsis: Pleasure is wearing bright lip color just because you want to.

💭 Overall Thoughts: I had no idea how much I would connect with this book and truly be taken through all the feels. Noni and I have very different struggles and hardships but the quest she goes on for self discovery and happiness— that has totally been me for the past year. I loved her for her raw vulnerability, for facing her fears head on with bravery, for throwing what other people think out the window, for putting herself first for a change, for doing things just because they make her happy. It’s what I needed, and a continued reminder of how I need to continue on. There is amazing chemistry here, in-depth character development, and excellent pacing. I will be recommending this one to many, many friends.

What I Liked:
👍 I loved the exploration of vulnerability and pushing oneself in that vulnerable zone toward what you want— but also in assessing whether it really is what you want.
👍 I loved Noni’s character and the journey of self exploration and self growth she goes on through the book.
👍 Beau is giving Braden Mack (my current top book boyfriend) a serious run for his money!
👍 LGBTQIA and body type diversity representation


What I Didn’t Like:
👎 I felt personally attacked by the “Disney women” theory 🤣 (Even though I do agree that old school Disney needed more badass women and that Walt Disney himself had some extremely problematic tendencies)

💞 Read this if you liked: One to Watch, Honey Girl, the Brown Sisters

⚠️ Content Warnings: infant loss, grief, sudden death

She's right, it really was a pleasure.

There's something really, truly feminist about a story about a bisexual woman in her thirties who is kind of a mess. Noni is so deeply flawed and makes some truly bad decisions in this book, but her arc is so honest and real. She sleeps with the wrong people (on page), says the wrong things, and disappoints herself and the people around her as she fights like hell to become the person she wants to be. It is a whole story about Noni finding pleasure and learning that she deserves that pleasure and it was so empowering to read.

The writing is funny and precise and authentic, and every turn of the story feels so intentionally crafted.

I'm not sure that I would strictly call this book a romance novel because it does have such a narrow, single perspective on Noni. However, it does have a deeply satisfying HEA both between Noni and Beau and in Noni's life as a whole. Everything isn't perfect, but she is in such a better place than she was at the beginning of the book. And she's going to be okay.

Thanks to NetGalley and Text Publishing for the ARC.

just finished the ebook of this one and i think it's highly highly overrated. the main character Noni Blake is going on a self discovery to Europe but turns out it was more about the number of people she's had sex with. like, she's having sex in almost every chapter. i felt completely put off by that. her meetings with strangers on her journey were so unbelievable and not at all realistic. this book does have a pretty cover and at times Noni was funny as hell but i felt like i've been reading some *thingy* diary lol. this was just too much

Oh my god!! Can Noni Blake PLEASE not be a fictional character in a book and actually be my bestie?!? This book isn't just a book. Its a manifesto. Its a battle cry. We are women and we deserve to live lives we love. We deserve to feel sexy even if some of our bits jiggle and we deserve to love our jobs and our friends and find pleasure in the simple ordinary everyday. Written with experts characters and including sex scenes that are sometimes awkward but so spot on the reminded you of your own awkward moments, this book had me laughing and crying and nodding my head thinking back to something similar I've experienced through the years.

Noni is a bisexual 36 year old woman who after a breakup and miscarriage spends six months on things that will bring her pleasure. She travels from Australia to England, Scotland, and Amsterdam. In her travels she meets amazing new friends and a sexy Viking. And she finds herself. Trust me you want to go on this journey and you want to meet Noni. And we all owe it to ourselves to go on a pleasure quest. Even if we can't go across the pond or take six months, we can at least start making decisions in our own lives that bring us more pleasure and more joy.

Best book of the year so far. Would leave ten stars if I could but sadly only get five. 5 huge stars.

Thank you to Claire Christian, Net Galley, and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Chubby Aussie bi-con goes on a pleasure quest ~

Both the bi and fat rep was wonderful and felt true to life. I did sometimes find the amount of "your so sexy/such a babe" comments from a lot of the strangers a bit unbelievable... I don't know, I've never attracted the type of people who say that to strangers - beautiful/cute/adorable, yes...but the amount of new friends Noni meets (just her friends or sales people, not people she wants to have sex with) who just call her sexy out of the blue is strange to me.

However, I loved this! What you expect to be the third act conflict happens not even a third way in and I had no idea where it was going until we met another character! There were a few pacing issues, some out of character choices, and the different locations could have been leaned into a bit more - nowhere felt unique or its own place. I love Noni and would read more about her life. I want to be pals with her. It's also nice to read about someone who isn't 16-25 who doesn't know what they want in life.