Gorgeous, funny and relatable contemporary London - based romance.

With her parents living in Stoke, before Rachel graduated from York University she had no intention of moving to London, but on her graduation day all her plans were turned upside down.

Ten years later, she's sharing a flat with her wonderful best friend, but uninspired by her less than glamorous job in advertising, she comes up with a set of New Year's resolutions to get her life on track, not realising that a few curve balls are coming her way.

I love a book with a resolutions/goals related hook and this one hit the mark. Even better that it had romance!

I must firstly apologise for the amount of time it has taken me to provide a review of this book, my health was rather bad for quite some time, something that had me in hospital on numerous occasions and simply didnt leave me with the time I once had to do what I love most.

Unfortunately that does mean I have missed the archive date for many of these books, so It would feel unjust throwing any review together without being able to pay attention to each novel properly.

However, I am now back to reading as before and look forward to sharing my honest reviews as always going forward. I thank you f0r the patience and understanding throughout x

With a touch of Bridget Jones, this charming and witty novel is truly a delight! Rachel is such a relatable and well fleshed out character and I'm honestly jealous of her friend group. As a self professed angliophile, the vivid descriptions of London, old Town pubs, bars, and city streets were a pleasant addition. While the plot may be simple, the writing is definitely not!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

I received an advanced copy for free and am leaving this review voluntarily. Thank you to NetGalley, Embla Books, and Laura Starkey. ❤️

What a cute little story! Every month, the evolution of the resolutions would make me giggle as they changed to make fit the mood for the month. Also, sad that a potato isn't of of my five a day too!

I loved the dynamic between Rachel and Anna, Tom and Will. They seem like a lovely close-knit bunch of friends; the kind everyone aspires to find in life.

The character development of Rachel was a pleasure to see... she had to deal with some difficult decisions but handled them with poise.

A very enjoyable read!

A brilliantly engaging and witty read that focuses on the struggles of womanhood. With glimpses of Bridget Jones (who I absolutely adore) and relatable themes, this is a breath of fresh air. Loved it!

Such good fun!!

This book is so fun, it's witty and relatable with wonderful characters. it has a pretty simple if pretty overused plot for this genre, yet it feels new and refreshing I really enjoyed it and would definitely read more from this author.

A charming feel-good story full of laughter and heart!

I thoroughly enjoyed Rachel Ryan's Resolutions. The characters are relatable and the vivid description of London streets, old man pubs and trendy bars made me yearn for the bustle of the city. it's been so long since I went out in London this book was like going home!

The story is utterly charming - a fun and unapologetic romance novel where just desserts are served all round. Thoroughly recommend!

This is probably the most realistic contemporary romance I have ever read. I loved Rachel as a main character. She was so relatable and there were so many situations she found herself in that I could totally see playing out in real life. There was a LOT going on in this book, but I felt that it was handled so well. I really appreciated some of the conversations that were had throughout this book and how the author depicted a healthy relationship. I was rooting for all of these characters and by the end my heart was just melting. I can't say enough good things about this one!

Rachel Ryan’s Resolutions
By Laura Starkey

An enjoyable British rom-com, classic reunited/friends to lovers trope done well, I listened to the audiobook which was narrated wonderfully by Elizabeth Grace. I feel that in places it was a little slow and drawn out but overall I enjoyed the story. The similarities to Bridget Jones’ Diary, the film, are clear and at times felt a little cheesy - particularly Jack’s similarity to Hugh Grant’s Daniel Cleaver although Rachel, Anna, Greg and Tom are all great characters. A perfect rom com to listen to/read if you want something light.

This reminded me of Briget Jones's Diary. I enjoyed the friends to lovers romance. It felt believable and the love interest really did come off as quite the catch. I think I fell in love with him a bit, too. I give it 3.75 stars.

This was marketed as a new Bridget Jones style heroine, and I would agree with this. Rachel is hilarious, and I really loved following her mishaps and misadventures in love and life. She did at times need a little more fleshing out, however.

I do think the first five or so chapters needed an extra look over. Some of the writing was a little clunky and didn't particularly flow well.

I really enjoyed this. I read it when going through a reading rut and it really helped to get me back into reading. Loved the character development and London setting.

I have just finished this easy to read, enjoyable romcom. Perfect for a wet Sunday with endless cups of tea. I really enjoyed the story of Rachel and her friends.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I was initially drawn in by the title of the book and was hoping for a full year in the life of Rachel Ryan living out her resolutions. However, it was kind of disappointing in August- let's see Rachel live out the whole year!

I really liked the storyline and related to some of Rachel's dilemmas. She could be a hot mess, but she made me laugh (like the time She quoted Taylor Swift to Jack after the speakeasy evening. What a true poet! ha!). However, at times, the dialogue felt a bit disjointed, which interrupted the flow of the story.

I was rooting for Tom from the beginning, but I felt like Jack was featured more than Tom. Give me more Tom, especially in his dishy running kit!

I really wanted to love this book and for some reason I just couldn't get into it. I don't know if it was the writing style or that I just couldn't get on with the main characters. I have a feeling this was mainly just a me problem as a lot of people have loved this book.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a perfect book for me to read right now, a charming romcom that didn’t demand analysis.
It was the perfect escape, lovely and fun. It was my first book by this author and I will definitely be on the look out for more!! Great timing for making 2022 resolutions!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I really enjoyed reading this, fun and quirky rom-com to balance out some thrillers I have been reading.

We follow Rachels journey through her ups and down s and struggles but what I liked was she was held accountable for her mistakes to whether she expected it or not.

It flowed really well and was well written and an enjoyable read.

Rachel Ryan’s Resolutions is one of those stories that simply resonates with its readers. How many of us have made similar resolutions, only to abandon them within a few days (or even hours)? Rachel tries – not always very hard, especially when it comes to exercising (and who can blame her?) – to stick to them, and as the story progresses the list expands slightly to take into account the difficulties she has in sticking to some of them. I loved this one!

Took me a little while to get into this one for some reason. Maybe it was because I had trouble relating to the main character and generally not caring for any characters in the book. A definite light, rom-com read that unfortunately just wasn't for me.