Book Review: The Time of My Life by Rosie Mullender

This Friday the 13th has been particularly unlucky.

Jess has been fired from her comfortable job. She’s gone from dating two guys to none. She’s been kicked out of her mediocre flat. And worst of all, she’s really really let down her best friend.

As she drifts off to sleep, she is filled with relief that this terrible day is over. Tomorrow she will try to fix things, tomorrow cannot be any worse than this.

Except it is. Maybe not worse… but exactly the same. When Jess wakes up the next morning, it is Friday the 13th again. And again. And again. And again.

Jess knows how this goes, she’s seen the films, this is her wake up call. But she had no idea she needed a wake up call. How is Jess supposed to work out where she’s gone wrong when, as far as she’s concerned, she’s been having the time of her life?

*****

Friday 13th turns out to be pretty unlucky for Jess. By the end of the day, she finds herself out of a job, a flat and goes from casually dating two guys to none.

Then she finds herself repeating the same day again and again and again.

Jess wants to know why this is happening and how she can return to her carefree life.

I was very much drawn to the premise of this book as it is something I have daydreamed a lot about ever since I saw Groundhog Day. What would I do if I found myself reliving a day of my life over and over, so I was excited to start reading this debut novel from Rosie Mullender.

From the beginning, it’s clear to see that fun-loving Jess is frightened of commitment and responsibility. She actively avoids these two things.

As the story progresses, Jess comes to realise that she can’t run from her life or the guilt that she carries. That, in the end, it will catch up with her and force her to confront it.

Jess went from someone I didn’t much like to a character I was very much rooting and cheering for.

Mel is wonderful and I loved that she was as much a part of the story as Jess.

Tom. Aww, sweet Tom. I wanted to jump into the book, give him a big hug and tell him how lovely he is.

Rosie Mullender’s writing style is brilliant, witty, honest and draws you in so completely that you look up, it’s 3am and you’ve lost track of time.

As you can tell by the title, time is a big theme in this novel as well as friendship and the importance of relationships and the communication within them. Fear can be such a disruptive thing and this book gives the reader the message that facing the fear is far less scary than you think. Plus, the outcome may surprise you.

OK, no more potential spoilers.

his is a book I really hope you add to your TBR pile.

It has humour with many laugh out loud moments, warmth, charm and scenes that are truly life-affirming.

It makes you think about what’s important and how sometimes, looking outside yourself can really change your life.

I ADORED this novel. I am looking forward to seeing what Rosie Mullender does next because I am a fan!

(Thank you to Sphere and Netgalley for the advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review.) 

About Rosie Mullender: 

Aged 14, Rosie Mullender decided that her top five life goals were to work for Cosmopolitan magazine, have her name printed on a film poster, write a novel, buy a dog, and get married.

Although she’s spent the last 30 years working through the list, she’s still not quite there yet. In her 20 years as a journalist, she’s worked on both ‘real-life’ weekly and glossy monthly magazines (including reviewing films at Cosmopolitan), and she currently works as a freelance writer.

Now she’s finally ticked off number three, her next plan is to tackle the last two goals on the list. You can follow her @Mullies on Twitter to find out how it’s going.

The Time of My Life was released by Sphere on 7th July 2022. Click to buy on Amazon and Waterstones. 

by

Laura

I’m Laura. I started Novel Kicks in 2009. I wanted a place to post my writing as well as give other writers like me the opportunity to do the same. There is also a monthly book club, a writing room which features writing prompts, book reviews, competitions, author interviews and guest posts.

I grew up by the sea (my favourite place in the world) and I currently live in Hampshire. I am married to Chris, have a cat named Buddy and I would love to be a writer. I’m trying to write the novel I’ve talked so much about writing if only I could stop pressing delete. I’ve loved writing since creative writing classes in primary school. I have always wanted to see my teacher Miss Sayers again and thank her for the encouragement. When not trying to write the novel or writing snippets of stories on anything I can get my hands on, I love reading, dancing like a loon and singing to myself very badly. My current obsession is Once Upon a Time and I would be happy to live with magic in the enchanted forest surrounded by all those wonderful stories provided that world also included Harry Potter. I love reading chick lit. contemporary fiction and novels with mystery.