It's quintessentially British and the humour is spot on. The characters are strong and follow the story nicely. When I read the title I didn't know what to expect but it was a good fun surprise.

This book is really a "how to do"online dating book. Frankie ditches her dying marriage just before christmas, she doesn't love him, he is dating a neighbour behind her back and had remortgaged their house in a dodgy scheme leaving them both with nothing after the sale of the house. Fortunately Frankie has inherited some money from a relative and 2uses this as start up capital for her own business, running a quilting shop in the old town of Lincoln.
This book follows her journey through dating apps and friendly advice as she starts to build up her business, her self respect after being in a relationship with a dominant man and exploring different sex and dating options.
Perhaps a little too long in places, a little repetative and very keen on the F*** word, the book mostly kept my interest. I liked the character development, the advice from Frankies best friend Bel (and the quilting club) . Was not convinced by Gita & Zuzana's stories . I also liked that Frankie develops more self assertion as the book goes on.
Amusing on the whole and a good documentation of a middle aged women re-entering the dating market.
Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC

Frankie has left her husband of 20 years. Not a decision she’s taken lightly but she’s had enough of his lies and financial misdemeanours … her bestie (and new mum) Bel persuaded her to sign up to some dating apps to get herself back out there…

The first encounter of online dating and Plenty Of Fish is hilarious. I’ve never personally used this way of meeting me, so it’s an entertaining education!! If what Frankie experiences is close to what really goes on, I don’t think I’d take any of the men on the dating apps seriously!

I love Frankie’s friendship with Bel. They just bounce off each other but they listen and counsel on each other’s problems and predicaments. To be fair, some of Frankie’s actions are led by Bel’s sometimes stoned, sometimes super tired advice!

Divorced (Not Dead) is a fun read, it had me chuckling most of the way through. Obviously there were some sobering moments to add that bit of balance to the light hearted narrative. Ford took me on a journey of rediscovering life and its ups and downs as a singleton. Brilliant book!

Newly single Frankie finds herself on the dating scene again. Many a false start along the way. Will she get the man of her dreams or find herself single?
Lots of laughs throughout . Perfect easy read.

An enchanting journey through vividly imagined worlds and compelling characters. This fiction gem weaves a tapestry of emotions, adventure, and unexpected twists that kept me eagerly turning the pages. The author's masterful storytelling evokes a powerful connection, making this book an absolute delight to read. Highly recommended for anyone seeking a captivating escape into a richly crafted story!

Thank you to Netgalley, the publishers and of course the author for gifting me this advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I found this book really funny and definitely descriptive - the author did not hold back on character opinions when it came to Frankies ex husband haha. Definitely shows the funny side and the horrors of dating in the current times especially when having to venture out after many years.
Good for people who want an older MFC and someone that doesn't mind a bit of foul language!

Honestly… I was glad when it was over.

The plot started well but from midway it just fell apart. The narrative became repetitive and I couldn’t stand main character Frankie. There was such an arrogance about her that just irritated me.

I didn’t like the cheating, the swearing was unnecessary (f**k was written 199 times) and the weed smoking was a bit weird.

It was dubbed as a hilarious debut - I don’t agree. It tried too hard and fell flat.

"Divorced Not Dead" by Harper Ford is a witty and entertaining rom-com. Ford's storytelling is humorous and engaging, with relatable characters navigating the ups and downs of post-divorce life.

Not bad but not a book I would recommend. Found it hard to warm to Frankie and the up down relationship between her and Stef got tiring after a while.

2.5 rounded up to 3.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC, this is my unpaid, unbiased review

A great read following Frankie Brumby as she ditches her horrible controlling husband and re-discovers herself at 50, in the world of dating apps and a whole new world of dating rules and language!

Frankie is a great character, funny and sweary and loyal to her friends, trying to get to grips with online dating with some expected hilarious results! I like that the author has taken the time to tackle the not-so-good bits too though and we see Frankie struggling at times with the dating world.

It is great to have a story based on someone over 40 finding themselves single again and figuring out what they want and how to find it, with all the bumps and twists along the way. Life and love never runs completely smoothly and it is great to have an entertaining character who experiences all of that in a realistic way.

I enjoyed learning a bit about quilting and thought the hotbed of quilters characters were well-drawn and a great addition to the story, helping support Frankie on her journey but also challenging her at times and helping her see and understand different perspectives from her own.

Everyone should have a Frankie in their life! An enjoyable read, great for taking on holiday.

I wanted to like it but didn’t find it as funny as I expected. It felt more like a guide to all the many and varied dating apps rather than a novel at times. How lucky , though a little unbelievable, that the members of Frankie’s small quilting group managed to cover such a wide range of sexual preferences ! I can see from reviews that lots of people found it hilarious but just not one for me.

The idea of dating in today’s society is absolutely terrifying but this book is not only hilarious it’s quite heart warming too. It’s no my normal genre but thought I would give it a go and it was so worth it.

I’m a big Rom-com fan and this ticked all the boxes. Loved it. It’s hilarious, it’s scarily truthful in places, you’ll love this book from the very beginning to end. Would love this on audiobook!

Frankie is just out of a very toxic marriage and with the help of her friend Bel she launches herself into the dating app game. She then has to navigate ghosting, one night stands, lies, catfishing etc as she meets various candidates. This is all whilst building her quilting business.
The were plenty of laugh out loud moments in this book, Frankie didn't always take herself seriously and could be quite sarcastic as a character. There is plenty to unpack in this book, from 'slut shaming' to cheating, it wasn't always easy to read.
I struggled to get behind the romance element in this one and there were parts when Frankie was messaging with random men that I skimmed over, but overall I liked the message, the strong female characters and the friendships between them.

🎧📚 AUDIOBOOK REVIEW 🎧📚

DIVORCED (NOT DEAD) by
📝 #HarperFord @harperfordauthor
🗣️ @avonbooksuk

#DropTheSynop 👇

Meet Frankie: fifty, divorced and getting back on the horse.

After leaving Twatface – her husband of twenty years – she's starting again from scratch. And when her son also flees the nest for university, Frankie decides it’s time to throw herself back into the dating game with a vengeance.

On best friend Bel's recommendation, Frankie signs up to two dating apps: one for love, another for casual hook-ups (because why the f--k not?!).

However, as she navigates this new frontier of catfishing, kittenfishing, ghosts, GILFs and everything in between, she realises the whole dating thing has changed quite a bit – and it really is a bloody jungle out there...

Will Frankie find love on the apps? Or the perfect shag?

Or – if there’s any justice in the world – both?

🎧📚🎧📚🎧📚🎧📚🎧📚🎧📚

I really loved this one 😍😍😍

I'm familiar with the author but in historical fiction genre, so when I heard she'd reached over to the Rom-Com side I couldn't get to it fast enough.

Frankie, Fabulous Frankie, I think everyone should have one she was 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 good. After twenty years with the same 'Twatface' aka her husband very aptly renamed, it was time to unleash the beast, as it were. And unleash she did. We went with her on disastrous dates, felt her pain when the ones that weren't terrible turned out to be Twatface's further down the line, the hilarious replies to catfishers, the use of the C - word now and again then moving on to the 'will they - won't they?' sitch' with Stef, some guy she took a shine to the night he tipped up at her Quilting class and subsequently became a prominent feature.

The quilting class, now I mention it, was quite cute too, lots of different personalities floating about here made for all the more lol's in the book.

I hear there's a follow up coming? I sooo hope this is true!

Oh and actress Lesley Sharp narrating = 👌👌👌👌👌

An absolute definite Must Read!

- Leanne 😁

Divorced (not Dead) by Harper Ford already came with a catchy title that had me intrigued. One read through of the blurb convinced me that this was a book not to be missed. With a high bar set, I am pleased to tell you, Ford’s creative writing did not disappoint.

Frankie Brumby finds her life tipped upside down and absolutely pooped on when she decides enough is enough and calls time on her marriage. Taking a leap of face, she buys a niche shop and moves into a pokey little flat, blowing all her savings. Egged on by her best friend and son, Frankie decides to learn how to date again, some twenty years after settling down with her husband. Times have changed and navigating the new world of dating apps and a string of men proves to be an illuminating experience for both Frankie and I.

It was a joy watching Frankie’s character grow from a naive woman full of regret, to a confident woman with newfound friends, a business, and an opportunity to discover what love really is and how it should feel when you meet someone deserving of your time, even if they are not the ‘one’. Her character was well written, as were all the characters in the book, both primary and supporting, which is a rare experience in fiction. Everyone had their own distinct voice that I’m certain would be identifiable even without setting who was speaking at the time.

Watching unsuccessful dates unfold was both comical and heartbreaking at the same time because it was hard not to root for such a lovable, transparent person. It was also interesting reading about different labels relating to gender and sexuality, which gave the book a modern tone. This was essential given it is said post covid.

Several subplots competed for attention including seeing other characters and their love lives and a mother dealing with postpartum depression. Each was entwined within the main story beautifully and helped the momentum of the book. It also served as a vehicle to lead characters into conversations that might not have been had.

All in all, the book was fresh, novel and had a large dose of fun, frolics and escapades that kept the page turning. It contains a lot of swearing, too much to keep track of, and for this reason, the book is suitable for adults only. Women, in general, would love this book. There are several strong, independent female characters that don’t submit because that’s what society expects of them, and so they are seen as positive role models. The only sore point was the errors, which I hope will be ironed out by the next print run. There were several instances, particularly toward the end of the book, where there was no space between a period and the start of the next sentence, and an instance where a sentence failed to make sense because it was missing a word. Mark my words, this is an author to watch out for in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon Books and Harper Ford for allowing me to read an ARC of this book.

Synopsis

Frankie is divorcing her twatface husband of 20 years and starting over. Her son is also off to university which leaves her with an empty nest. Her best friend introduces her to the world of online dating. As she works her way around casual hook-ups to make up the time is she missing out on true love with Stef, a handsome Slovakian man who has joined her quilting club at his mother's behest.

The reader is taken along for the ride as Frankie navigates her way through the catfishes, negging and ghosting. Who knew online dating can be such a minefield?! I thoroughly enjoyed the authors take on the perils of online dating as the majority of relationships nowadays are built this way. The only thing that I didn't really get on board with was Frankie's relationship with Stef. I just felt that it was just a bit rushed and there was not much time given in the book to building the connection between the two.

Overall I would recommend if you want to read a light hearted novel that will quite literally have you laughing out loud.

Decorum (and maybe copyright law) prevents me from reprinting the opening line of Divorced, Not Dead. But after I nearly spit my coffee across the Avenue U Dunkin Donuts, I decided it’s the “Call me Ishmael” of dirty rom-coms. It’s a nearly perfect foreshadowing of what’s to come, even if I was mildly grossed out with her suggestion of uses for a medium-sized cactus plant.

Frances “Frankie” Brumby has finally crawled her way out of a loveless marriage at age 50. Thanks to a small inheritance, she’s started over with a sewing shop and a little flat in her hometown of Lincolnshire, England. After a weed-smoking shed session with her best friend, Bel, she embarks on a journey into the world of online dating. Along the way she tries to make her shop a profitable place, starting with a Monday Night quilting circle. Among the “hotbed of quilters” is Stef, a handsome designer who’s escorting his mom into the group. The sparks are undeniable, even as Frankie sows her oats and Stef readiness himself for an arranged marriage in Slovakia.

Frankie makes for a very relatable protagonist. She earns her underdog credentials by describing her twenty-year slog with her son’s father, which includes total bankruptcy. The first-person narrative is about as down-to-earth as it gets, with syntax and grammar unmistakably the voice of this everywoman. Of course, Frankie’s language is peppered with more F-bombs than Joe Pesci in Goodfellas. So if you’re not ready for the supposed contrast of humble quilters putting a platoon of Marines to shame, maybe walk away slowly.

Starting a business at any age is daunting, and the anxiety Frankie feels is communicated very clearly. So is her foray into the online dating world: I felt I was with her as she dipped her toe in the icky pool of Match.com and sites like them. This element in particular gets the most attention and most detail: each site, each date, each casual sex escapade gives us a nearly manual-like instruction on what a new dater would experience. Ford absolutely knows how to “show, don’t tell” for the things she wants us to see.

The early reviews aren’t wrong: there are a few LOL moments, beyond my spit-take at the onset. Frankie might be an everywoman, but she has a PhD in snark (there are so few of us). Her take on the bad dates and absurdities is rakish, clever, and unique. Perhaps she uses “I’d rather” so often that I used my Kindle to count the instances, but the humor made this forgivable. Also, I swore I saw a nice little transformation, whereby Frankie became a different person by the end. More confident and appreciative, and an emerging middle-class heroine.

At times I felt it was hard to concentrate on one storyline at a time. Ford shows us early on that the most important part of the story is Frankie’s search for love. But she’s also developing a shop, moving on from her husband, looking out for her son and best friend, and maybe falling for Stef. Those themes tend to get overshadowed by a laundry list of dating adventures, which get to be a bit much toward the end. The success of the quilting group seems a bit rushed.

Also, despite the language, spice lovers will be a little disappointed. Frankie takes her dates by the hand, leads them to the bedroom…then shuts the door. She doesn’t kiss and tell, I suppose: no description of the action whatsoever. When I compare this to other books in this genre I’ve read, even ones without the preponderance of F-bombs, this was a surprise.

Finally, I’m curious to know what the average reader thinks of Stef. I’ve got my reasons, but my like-o-meter tipped toward “Nah,” especially toward the end. I get that there’s supposed to be some tension, but I think he stepped over the line more than once. Would I have expected Frankie to tolerate some of his ideas? Hmm…

Ford does what the book jacket says: puts us in the shoes of a likeable protagonist in a familiar but very personal situation. She makes us laugh, cry, and curse like a sailor on every page. Divorced, Not Dead is worth a try for anyone with a constitution strong enough to enter the creepy world of middle-age online dating.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Publishing for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

This took me a bit to get into, but when I did.. I was fucking hooked. I was constantly laughing my ass off and in absolute hysterics.
Aside from being hilarious, I noticed I got pissed off a fair amount for Frankie haha. Safe to say, she grew on me.
Overall just a super funny, relatable romcom.

An amusing story even though some of it went over my head at times, I still enjoyed it very much. Hilarious. My thanks to netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.