My Virtual Life

The bonds of family the ties the tensions so well written so involving.A well written saga that drew me right in,#netgalley #blodhoundbooks

My Virtual Life is a book i could relate to. As someone who had a difficult relationship with my mother, I felt like I could easily relate. It was emotional & thought provoking to read their different perspectives; a great read!

I received My Virtual Life as an ARC from NetGalley. Tara is a freshman in high school and chronicles her life in a blog. This book was written in the style of a modern day Bridget Jones' Diary. It was a quick read and I found it entertaining. Tara's blog focuses on dealing with her single mom and feeling like an outsider at school.

An interesting book regarding mothers and daughters. I did read the book in one sitting. Thank you to netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for the honest review.

Amazing book. Loved it from beginning to end.
Well written which kept me captivated throughout.
I will definitely be reading other books by this author

I have to admit at first this book infuriated me. Not so much the book as Stella. I have a bit of a hard time with selfish, disinterested, absent mothers. However, this book had a wonderful and realistic story of a 14-year-old girl not only finding her way and her family, but Stella also cane around to finding what her daughter had really needed from her all along—her mother. This story was a nice Sunday read and I’d definitely recommend it.

When I first cracked open My Virtual Life by Sharon Dempsey, I wasn’t quite sure what I was getting myself into. Little did I realize that I would come to really love Stella and Tara’s story. The story is filled with raw emotions, growing up, living with a mother going through her own “teenage” years and a fourteen year old daughter who seems to be the grounded one out of the two.

Stella is a fashion writer for a teen magazine and works long hours, often leaving her daughter, Tara at home with Au Pair. Stella doesn't completely understand her daughter and it seems as if her career takes front and center stage. Stella is trendy and keeps up with all the new fashion whereas Tara is the complete opposite.

I really tried to like Stella in the beginning, but she often did not come across as the motherly type. Of course, she loves her daughter, Tara, but I don’t think she completely understands her and often times tries to change her. Stella is a writer for a teen magazine after all and what would people think of her parenting when her daughter Tara is happy enough to wear clothes from two seasons ago. Stella seems to want to change Tara and often tries to do motherly things like take Tara shopping for new clothes much to tara’s dismay.

Tara seems more like the adult and she often wonders what it would be like if she had a “normal” mother. One who cooks and cleans and is home more often than not. Tara often daydreams about mothers on TV wishing her mom could be the same. Needing an outlet to express her thoughts, Tara turns to blogging as she can sort of hide herself behind her words as she does not feel comfortable broadcasting herself via vlogging. Tara is sort of a loner with barely any friends except for Matt. When Tara blogs, it is an outlet for her to express her feelings about her life, friends and mother. When her blog finally gets noticed by a competing teen magazine, Tara needs to decide if she wants her blog to go viral especially since its in complete contrast to what her mother does for a living.

I have nothing but good things to say about My Virtual Life. The story is beautifully written and shows the dynamics of a mother/daughter relationship through its ups and downs. I felt myself really connecting with the story and hoping Stella and Tara could ever find an even ground where they can finally accept each other for who they both were. I really feel like both Stella and Tara really grow as individuals as well as a mother and daughter team. There are a few side plots that really enhance the story. My heart completely melted watching Tara interact with shelter pets as shelters are near and dear to my own heart and I often volunteer at a shelter helping cats become more social. I am a huge animal advocate and I am so glad it was portrayed with such honesty in this story.

My Virtual Life is a charming and touching story told with a sharp insight into the inner workings of a single mom trying to raise her teen daughter the best way she knows how. The story is heartfelt and lends a touch of realism between its pages. This book could not have been any more perfect. If you are a fan of beautifully drawn stories then you definitely need to pick this one up.

Yes, I do sometimes take a break from dark, twisted psychological type books, and when I do, it’s delightfully refreshing to discover a book like Sharon Dempsey’s My Virtual Life! I can quite easily picture my own teenage daughter watching a film version of this while comparing with her BFF’s who has the most embarrassing mother (I don’t even want to hazard a guess as to how I’d fare in that comparison!)

Single mom Stella isn’t sure what she’s done to incur the wrath of the fashion Gods, but how on earth has she landed up with such a socially inept, un-fashion conscious daughter. Meanwhile, her 14-year-old daughter Tara spends her time being horrified by her mother, blogging about what she eats and basically describing her lonely life hiding out from the ‘popular girls’ while her best friend Matt is all googly eyed about the leader of the pack of ‘popular girls’! While Matt tells Tara how lucky she is to have such a cool mom who’s barely ever home, all Tara wants is a motherly mom like Matt’s who asks how her day was while cooking a lovely casserole for dinner!

But instead, she has … Stella, who’s the fashion editor of a teen magazine, and who models herself as an honorary teen in order to fit into her career role. She’s hilarious, outrageous, cringe-worthy, often ridiculous and definitely not mom material. But it is what it is, and one must make the most of one’s situation so they muddle along with Stella commuting between glamorous work life in Dublin, and home life in Belfast, and she comforts herself in the knowledge that she’s doing her best (as are we all) by her daughter by leaving her in the care of the ‘Wildling au pair’, and putting ‘Skype daughter’ on her daily ‘To Do’ list!

As we all know though, life does have a way of catching up with us. Stella is NOT a teenager – a bit of a vacuous adult, maybe, but no longer the carefree youngster she attempts to portray. Tara, however, IS a teen – and a very bright one at that. She’s often the responsible adult in the room, when only the two of them are around! And it’s because of Tara that Stella realises that she needs to face up to her responsibilities and give her daughter the answers to the many questions she knew were eventually going to come knocking on her door. Your past can’t be ignored forever. No matter how much you want it to stay buried, when your child’s future is at stake you go and get that shovel and you start digging things up!

This isn’t the ‘chick-lit’ (how I hate that term!) you might think it is when you first pick it up. It’s not a frothy, inane read either. It goes a lot deeper than that. It’s about relationships, family bonds, friendships, knowing who you are, finding yourself and your place in the crowd, once you discover exactly who your crowd are.

I loved this book. Dempsey’s characterisation is spot-on and she really delves into the heart of each and every one of her characters – even the peripheral ones. I think this was also one of the reasons why I found myself visualising the book on screen as I went along – it really came to life for me. This gets a resounding, 4.5 glittery, extra sparkly stars from me. It’s a perfect book club choice, and a great holiday read too – what am I saying?? Just read the book!! And while it’s classified as contemporary women’s fiction, if you’re lucky enough to have a teen that reads, then I’d go so far as to recommend this for them too (but what do I know? I’m just a mom … to a teen!)

This book is brilliant! It made me laugh out loud. I loved it. An easy, light-hearted, hilarious read. I loved both Tara and Stella, mother and daughter and they couldn’t be more different… Or are they? Thos story starts to turn part way through and I was backing Tara the whole time. In parts I did think Stella wasn’t a great mother… But she just showed her love in different ways with the best intentions.

This book is perfect for young adult, chick-lit lovers. It highlights how we currently live as most of us these days do have the whole Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. That’s your online life. It’s not a long story but one I throughally enjoyed.

I loved how a food diary was included, blog posts and lists. Makes the story different, fresher. A well deserved five stars. Highly recommend. Cheered me right up.

A uniquely told, on point story about the complexities of the mother daughter relationship👩‍👧

This was a charming and real look into the thoughts of a daughter and mother navigating their way through the teenage years... it was told in diary for so we really got an intimate look into both Stella and Tara’s inner thoughts and emotions.... this was a lovely coming of age story that I think leans a little more towards young adult then women’s fiction...

Tara is a 14-year-old who doesn’t quite fit in, she has a best friend Matt but he is her one and only true friend.... Stella is a single mother who wants nothing but the best for her daughter Tara, although her methods are sometimes a little questionable... Tara feels a disconnect from her mom who is gone half the week, she starts a blog to vent mostly about her mom... her mom is a fashion editor at a teen magazine so when Tara is approached by the rival magazine to publish her blog there is a conflict of interest... we also see Tara navigating her way through the teenage social scene and Stella navigate her way through the dating scene.... some secrets are revealed and the mother daughter bond is tested, but ultimately love prevails!

Tara was a darling character that you just wanted to reach through the pages and give a big hug to... Stella was a little hard to warm up to, at first she appeared very selfish, but as the book progresses you see her true heart... I really thought about what my daughter would say about me if she were venting on a blog when she was a teenager, yikes! The mother daughter relationship is complex and my daughter and I had our fair share of moments... this book was a lot of fun and it put a huge smile on my face.... The ending was perfect and I loved all the little twist and reveals along the way... Tara was a character who definitely deserved a happy ending!

Absolutely recommend if you enjoy a well told coming of age story about mothers and daughters that leans towards YA...

*** A big thank you too Bombshell Books for my copy of this book ***

4☆ A Wonderfully Heart Warming, Coming of Age Story.

My Virtual Life is a wonderfully heart warming coming of age story.
It's a story of a Mother and Daughter relationship, as they work through their ups and downs.

Single Mum Stella is not at all a mumsy mum, she loves fashion, and works as a fashion writer for a teen magazine Heart.

Tara is Stella's teenage daughter and nothing like her outgoing Mum.
Tara isn't into her fashion, She is quieter and more reserved.
But Tara is craving one thing.... her Mum to be more like a Mum.

Stella isn't around much and when she is she tries to change and mould Tara into her.
I think she means well, she wants Tara to be more like 'other' teenage girls her age. But that's not what Tara is about. She's unique and special in her own way.

Tara finds herself alone alot, so when she discovered the concept of Blogging as a way to release her thoughts and feelings about her life, mum, school etc.. she excels and soon captures the attention of a new upcoming teen magazine Kiss.
But not just any teen mag, a rival to her Mums mag.
They love Tara's Blog, and want her to publish it and write for them.

What starts out as harmless Blogging as a way to express, has the potential to hurt.
But what will Tara decide to do?
Will she say Yes in a hope to get her Mum to understand her?...... Or......
Will she say no to protect her Mothers feelings and job?

Stella isn't particularly likeable, she comes across as a little self centered. Her behaviour at times is more of a teenager than her actual daughter.
But she does redeem herself thankfully.
Tara is a very grounded young lady. She is strong, independent and her writing entries flowed. I warmed to her straight away. I just wanted to give her a cuddle, especially when she was being bullied.

There a few little twists which I enjoyed discovering, as they gelled the story
The Characters were well thought out and realistic.

My Virtual Life is a compelling coming of age story, filled with drama, teen angst, secrets, a Mother and Daughter relationship, friendship and new beginnings.
It was a Heart Warming, quick and pleasant read, I loved the writing style, it was engaging and entertaining, a real joy to read!

I would recommend reading this fab Book if you enjoy Family Saga, Drama, YA and coming of age stories.

Thank you to Emma at Bombshell Books for this copy which I reviewed honestly and voluntarily.