I'll start this review off the way I've started all my other recent book reviews, by saying that this book is starting off with all 5 stars stuck firmly in place and that I'm hopeful that they will all still be there by the time I finish reading.

Let's get going ;-)

Right from the first page of the first chapter, I'm hooked. This already squeals "gimme the full 5 stars!" at me. If the rest of the book is like the first page and there is no trademark infringement (my usual reason for knocking a star off an otherwise 5 star book) it'll be a five star book in my eyes. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

Oh dear, the first star is looking wobbly 'cos of the authors use of a TV series and two characters within it. Apparently the programme isn't airing any more, so the star is hanging on for dear life, but it's not as solid as it was at the start of this review unfortunately.

What an awesome first chapter! I'll have to remember "Pumpernickle" for use with my friends too lol

OMGosh! I'm up to chapter 5 already! Those 4 chapters were incredible... what and awesome debut by this author!

The brand names are popping up occasionally for things that are still current, so the fifth star is finally wobbling off at the end of chapter 8 - my sense of fair play has finally won again.

Wow. The end of chapter 10 was intense... I'm liking this book more and more as I turn each page!

These jokes are so painful they are right up my street lol It's good to see my humour in a book for a change... makes me feel more complete and understood at last! My hubby groaned at the pirate joke but that's just our different senses of humour clashing heads again is all lol

OMG! I'm seeing me (via my star sign) written in this book too... I thought it was just my disability that made me so reliant on my calendar, but seemingly not! I wonder what I'll learn or even chuckle at next?!

Time to hit the hay for the night now, but this is a great book so far and I've got up to chapter 16 which seems to be a good place to stop and I'll start again in the morning.

Mornin', afternoon and approaching evening... this book has totally dragged me in yet again! This is the first time I've stopped reading all day other than to have my lunch and it's luring me back in even now. This is a must-read for everyone!

And again... I'm very nearly at the end of the book and haven't written anything for 2 hours lol If you want to read a good LGBTQIAF that is spot on pretty much throughout, then you need to read this book!

Wow.

What an intense chapter.

There were hints throughtout the book but didn't expect it to happen like that!

I'm in tears now.

It takes a truly incredible book to do that. My vision and glasses went so blurry with tears at one point that I had to sob my heart out without them on and the tears are still streaming down my cheeks and plopping onto my thighs.

Just finished the book and it was truly incredible. I wasn't expecting the epilogue, but it is beautifully written and the perfect ending to the book.

Thank you to NetGalley, Lily London and the publisher for sending me an advanced copy of this in exchange for an honest review.

This book focuses on Georgia and how she struggles to accept and understand her sexuality. It’s told in a funny, but raw and honest way and I loved it. Would definitely recommend

Thank you to the publisher for my earc of this book!
I LOVE the premise of this book. I like the characters and though the story was written well, but at times it felt a little slow/lagged and it pulled me out of the story. A little awkward in places but enjoyable!

I loved the beginning, I loved the end, I wasn’t absolutely sure about the middle. Gina/George gets herself into a right pickle in trying to be all things to everyone and at times I wanted to pick her up and shake her. To be fair she was being pulled in all directions by those around her - an eclectic and diverse cast of characters - so it wasn’t surprising she got into a bit of mess being so uncertain herself about where she wanted to go and who she wanted to be. But with the help of Mum (never underestimate the power of Mum) things seemed to sort themselves out in the end. It made me laugh, surprised me with some of the observations which were right on the mark, and I shed a few tears. I did enjoy her piano lessons and the end of year concert! A good fun read, intelligent and well written. I am probably not the target audience for a queer rom-com but I really enjoyed it and look forward to more from this author.

Lily Lindon tells the story of Georgina, who, at 26, is struggling with her identity, questioning her sexuality, who she is, and what she wants from life. To help rediscover herself, she embarks on a double lifestyle, experiencing the best of both worlds.

This is a refreshing, relatable and modern read, amusing yet moving, comical despite tackling a serious theme with unique and unforgettable characters. It is gratifying to see the LGBTQIA community written into reading material and that the main character is older than expected when confronting her inner dilemmas.

The writing style makes this enjoyable and light-hearted, ideal for a Sunday or summer read. I am intrigued to read more by this author. Although this is not available until June 2022, it should unquestionably be pre-ordered. A highly recommended read!

A fresh, timely and genuinely laugh-out-loud romantic comedy about a sensible young woman in a long-term relationship who realises she's bisexual. This book is brilliant, really well written, good story which kept me interested from the beginning. Great characters which are also believable.

Georgina is a sensible 26-year-old with a routine: 1) schedule dates with long-term boyfriend, 2) teach piano to inept children, and 3) repeat until dead. Perfect.
But when one night she deviates from her usual timetable and sees the indie lesbian pop band Phase, Georgina realises: 1) she longs to play her own music again, 2) she wants to be just like them, and 3) their drummer is really hot...
Scared of losing her happy straight life, but feeling a new sense of belonging in the gay scene, she does what any rational person would do: she splits herself in two. She'll be Gina by day, George by night. It's going to take painstaking scheduling, a versatile wardrobe, and an ambiguous haircut, but maybe Georgina really can have both?
After reading some reviews saying it was a fun and light reading, I decided to read it too. I found the book quite long and didn’t enjoy it until I was about at 93% of the book. I found that I didn’t connect with the characters.
I’d give a 3/5.
Maybe it wasn’t the right book for me.

I would like to thank the author, the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this book in exchange of an honest review.

This book gave me such a hangover, I loved it. I laughed, I cried, I laughed some more - absolutely brilliant. It handles the identity crisis of realising you’re bi and navigating that space between not quite belonging in one community and not quite in another. As a bi woman myself, married to a man, it was such an enigmatic and refreshing read. I wish I could have read it years ago. The book touched on some really sensitive issues - especially bi-erasure and how important and damaging that is. I will recommend this to all my queer friends, queer allies and I wholeheartedly recommend it to parents of children in the queer community as it’s such an insightful book into coming out and understanding who you are and learning to understand your own queerness. It’s brilliant and a truly important read.

This story follows Georgina, a twentyy-odd-year-old girl who begins to realise that her life may not actually be what it's meant to be.. Her calendar is perfectly synced with her boyfriends, with date nights, nights outs, walks, and even sex planned to a tee. One night, Georgina heads to 'The Familiar' with her bestfriend Sophie, and is introduced to a lesbian pop band, Phase.

What a premise. What a book. What a character.

I went into this book thinking it was a full on rom-com, which in some terms. it is. But, I feel as though the main plot of this book was a full on 'discovering and accepting yourself' trope? There were some scenes that had me giggling to my iPad screen and there were some scenes (the last part of the book) where I wanted to bawl my eyes out. The letter Georgina found from her Dad had my heart breaking and when she came out to her Mum?!?!? Help.

Georgina's character development is phenomenal. I didn't feel myself caring an awful lot about the romance aspect of the book, I just wanted to be fully immersed in Georgina's journey. The way Georgina provides representation for the bi community, especially those who are still exploring their sexuality in their twenties and/or are in a heterosexual relationship.

Lastly, the way the author explored open relationships was so well carried out. It didn't just explore either the positive or negative aspects to the set up, but explored BOTH sides and the implications that can come along with participating in one yourself.

Not being funny but this is a DEBUT NOVEL? HOW?!?!?!? If these are the standards of this authors debut then what the heck am I going to experience next!!!!!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Head of Zeus for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Double Booked is a really funny and heartwarming story. I loved the premise and found the book easy to follow and well-written. I'd recommend to friends.

Double Booked follows Georgina as she is realising that she may not necessarily be happy with the life that she has planned out, and she may also be questioning her sexuality. She accounts for every single hour of her day using her calendar that is synced perfectly with her boyfriends, making sure that they both have evenings and date nights planned out, whilst making sure that their *Sunday Fundays* (my words not the books or authors) always go ahead. She is unhappy in her job and her boyfriend’s band no longer need her and are about to take off, so after a deviation from their normal scheduled routine, she heads to “The Familiar” with her best friend Sophie, and sees the indie lesbian pop band Phase, Georgina realises: 1) she longs to play her own music again, 2) she wants to be just like them, and 3) their drummer is really hot...

“I don’t know who I am at the moment. And whoever it is, I don’t think I like that person very much”

This book really packs a punch, there are a number of scenes in this book that are absolutely hilarious, as well as the last 10% of the book having me pretty much ugly cry. G’s letter from her dad and her conversation with her mum absolutely broke me! The character development is phenomenal (I have a breakdown further in the review) and the book is just an easy, delightful read, that also highlights and challenges negative opinions of those within the bisexual and sapphic community.

The blurb does pass the book as a romantic comedy, which in some degrees it is, there are both comedic moments and romance, however for me the main plot of this book feels more like a discovering yourself trope. Which I am completely here for, as some of the romance in the book was heavily weighed in jealousy and I was more interested in the MC’s life and her journey, and learning how to mix both sides of her personality and in a sense become “whole”, and I feel that has been achieved perfectly, especially as G began to realise she didn’t need anyone else to make her interesting or to give her purpose, she could do that all on her own, and it really added to her empowerment.

There are certain scenes that are a little uncomfortable to read (because you know how real they are) such as Georgina’s tube scene in which you could really feel her unease through the pages, and you just wanted to be there with her to protect her. Plus, there is also the inclusion of an open relationship and the implications that can arise from those (often they are displayed as no strings happy fun) so to see those included and discussed in the book really feels like a taboo subject is being broken.

The author has done such a fantastic job with this book, and with the MC, Georgina Green makes me feel so represented it is unreal I have never read a book that has resonated with me so much and made me feel seen, and this book helped me answer a lot of questions I had and even opened up a conversation between me and my husband. I really love the fact that the MC is 26, as majority of the time these kind of books are written about teenagers trying to find themselves, so to find a novel with an older character felt so much more realistic and representable, because I highly doubt that everyone knows exactly who they are at 18!

Overall, this book is absolutely everything and I am so grateful to have read it, it is one that I will champion forever, and it will stick with me for a long time. I will mention though that there is biphobia in this book that may be triggering for some.


Characters

Georgina (aka George, Gina, Gee, GeeGee, G)
Georgina is such a beautifully written character, and a very interesting character who seems to have two completely separate personalities (George & Gina) depending on who she is around, and I feel that both sides of her personality really helped develop her as a character, and this book felt more like a journey of self-discovery and exploration for Georgina, so to see her tackle every obstacle and come out on top (eventually) was lovely, she is probably one of my favourite MC’s every (and honestly its nothing to do with the amazing name choice)

Sophie
I adored Sophie throughout majority of the book, there was the particular argument between her and George that really upset me, and made me question Sophie’s motives, as it felt so out of character for her, so to see where that went for her character was intriguing. Soph was another character that had massive development, and I really felt for her and found myself becoming attached to her as well, I loved how supportive and encouraging she was of G throughout majority of the book, and I adored the little “Pumplenickel” that her and G had, I would love a best friend like her!

“Phase” & Cara
The members of Phase were all interesting in their own rights, and also added to Georgina’s character development, as it as intriguing to see the way that she interacted with them all differently, to sum them all up, I don’t think well of Kit, if anything she’s a bit of an ass (but I did like the fact that the author tried to give her a redemption story towards the end) Isobel is a lovely character who just lets her insecurities get in the way, and I didn’t particular like her when she started attacking G. Rudy was probably the peacemaker character, she didn’t really fight with anyone, and always found herself inserting herself into the middle of arguments to try and calm things down, I quite liked her, and feel like she could have had more of a role. Plus, Cara was adorable, although her jealousy was really noticeable throughout the entire book, the banter and jokes that her and G had, were really cheesy but adorable!

Doug
Georgina’s partner of seven years, Doug was such an adorable character, you could honestly feel how much she means to him, especially with the way that he tried to help her through her grief, he comes across as really supporting and caring, and unfortunately G doesn’t always treat him right, and takes out her own commitment issues on him, which felt a little unfair, but Doug really helped build the story, and added to G’s character development.

Double Booked was a fun and funny read. It follows the story of Georgina/George who experiences some hilariously awkward moments as she discovers who she really is.

I would like to thank the author, the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this book. This is not a genre I have read much but I really enjoyed it, the characters were great and there were lots of laugh out loud moments, I would recommend this book.

Double Booked is a novel about a twentysomething woman working out her sexuality and finding who she wants to be, as she's drawn between two parts of her life. Georgina is 26, with a long-term boyfriend, a job teaching music to children, and a carefully planned calendar. After her best friend Sophie drags her to a gay bar, she watches a lesbian pop group and realises that she needs to get back into performing, and that she's quite into their drummer. When a spot opens up in the band, she works out she can live a double life, thanks to her careful schedule: sensible Gina sometimes, and keyboardist-in-a-band George at others. However, even with wardrobe swapping and a versatile new haircut, it might be too much to try and live out the parts of her life separately.

Despite the blurb describing this as a romcom, it's heavier on the comedy and the finding yourself plotline, as the protagonist comes to terms with being bisexual and tries to compartmentalise her life to have to change too much. Romance is obviously part of this, both in terms of her long time boyfriend Doug and possible new love interests, but a lot more of it is about Georgina dealing with her musical and romantic future, working out her own style rather than diving head first into what she thinks are the queer tropes she needs to follow, and realising she doesn't have to live in a rigidly structured life since her dad died. There's fallouts, romantic drama, and misunderstandings, but also she finds her feet and works out that parts of her life can come together, even if they must also change.

It was nice to have the 'discovering yourself' plotline for someone older than you might get in a young adult novel, especially in terms of trying to navigate coming out as bi when you're a woman in a long term relationship with a man, and to see the fact that Georgina didn't have all the answers, but instead had to spend the book trying to work out what was best for her. There's some good comedy around the fact she initially throws herself into stereotypes, being worried about liking the right music or dressing right, but the book didn't feel a need to try and explain these too much. I did feel like she needed to meet some LGBTQ people who loved dogs, seeing as the book offered a lot of cat-loving queer people with the joke that only Georgina seemed to think both were good, and I was expecting it to end with her finding other people who liked dogs (and the cover is kinda suggesting that dogs are for her old life/straight people). The book also explores open relationships a bit, especially people perhaps opening up relationships not always for the right reasons.

Double Booked is a light read, a comedy about someone in their twenties coming out and navigating their sexuality and their sense of self, and has a satisfying ending suggesting that Georgina is working out what's next. I was very glad that the protagonist's love of Friends at the start of the book wasn't really a recurring thing, though, as I think that could've got a bit grating. I could imagine a sequel which perhaps leans more into the romcom territory and/or focuses on one of the other characters (Rudy felt like a great side character who didn't get much of a role). If you're looking for something deep or more incisive, this maybe isn't the right book, but it's easy to engage with and fun to read.

A quick, easy, cute and funny read that I read in one sitting. this book genuinely made me laugh out loud several times, it is well written with an endearing and funny storyline and characters that I loved. A great read.