Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced copy.

This was a great book. I loved the storyline and it really hit close to home for me. I definitely connected with the characters on a deeper level. Well written and beautiful.

This was a book that hit home on many levels. The rat race to be perfect is real. I appreciated that this highlighted what the exterior world may judge as a failure. Family and fulfillment are the root to happiness, not some tik tok version of reality.

I liked the humour in this book and her life imploding. An amusing read. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book.

Emily Brown is a mother in a difficult position who DEFINITELY needs a change of pace. She continually finds herself in unfortunate situations; the true epitome of "when it rains, it pours." Finding herself a whole new life is exactly what she needed, even if the road to get there was a rather bumpy one, fraught with hard decisions she doesn't always get right the first time.

This book reminded me of both the book "Really Good, Actually" by Monica Heisey and early 2000's coming-of-age-style movies, just with a main character whose coming-of-age comes a bit later in life. The small-town charm is always a winner in any sorry, and I enjoyed the environmental activism theme that snuck it's way into this novel.

Reinventing Emily Brown by Jodi Gibson is a heart-warming and humorous story of resilience, second chances, and the complexities of family dynamics. Emily Brown, facing financial struggles, homelessness, and a failing marriage, returns to her childhood home in Curlew Bay with her teenage daughter in tow. Determined to reinvent herself and prove she's not a failure, Emily embarks on a journey filled with unexpected challenges and hilarious misadventures.

Gibson skilfully weaves together a cast of flawed and endearing characters, including Emily's rebellious daughter, her peculiar mother, and her seemingly perfect sister. As Emily navigates her fresh start, secrets from the past resurface, including her childhood sweetheart, Simon, who becomes an integral part of her life once again.

Reinventing Emily Brown is a delightful and engaging read that combines heartfelt moments with laugh-out-loud humour. Gibson's writing is warm and witty, capturing the essence of small-town life and the intricacies of family relationships. Readers will find themselves rooting for Emily as she confronts her past and embraces the challenges of her reinvention.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review - all opinions are my own.

Reinventing Emily Brown is an enjoyable story that I think most women in their 30s+ will really relate to. It explores themes of family, second chances, and reinventing yourself after many years of living a life that simply doesn't seem authentic any more.

I enjoyed reading about Emily's journey, as she settled back into her home town. Some of the scenes were really funny, too. (The scene with Fred! Oh my gosh.)

There are some stylistic choices in the book that puzzled me. For instance, the POV switches back and forth between Emily & her mother. However, Emily's chapters are using first person and her mother's chapters are using third person. This makes sense in abstract. After all, it's Emily's story. However, it felt a little jarring as a reader to switch back and forth between the two, and that confusion made it hard to fully immerse myself again.

My other main constructive feedback is that I wouldn't necessarily categorize this as a romance. I think I expected more romantic scenes going in, but as a reader, I'd say to expect mostly a reflective exploration of Emily navigating big changes in her life - with a handful of romantic scenes thrown in. Her relationship with the main love interest is not what I'd necessarily refer to as the main focus of the book.

Overall I really enjoyed this book. Its not a typical story and it starts out with an interesting tone as well as introductions to Emily and all of the characters. I will say that I wish the switches between the characters are a little more noticeable but its not something that ruined the book. I would have loved to learn a little more about Lucy like we got to learn with their mum and her conflict in the story.
The plot, characters, and the rising conflict were all well-maintained and the only thing I would say is maybe instead so many of ‘’ with the conversation finding a different way to enhance that a character was speaking as sometimes the text got slightly confusing to read.