Review: As Good As It Gets by Fiona Gibson

As Good As It Gets is the latest novel from author, Fiona Gibson.

I enjoyed Take Mum Out so I was looking forward to reading Fiona’s new novel. The book is told from the point of view of Charlotte Bristow. She is the wife of Will (who has been unemployed for a while and who is not her daughter’s biological father,) and mother to two teenagers, Rosie (who has just been spotted by a modelling agency) and Ollie. She was abandoned by Rosie’s father before she was born and hasn’t heard from him since. Charlotte and Will are in a little bit of a slump at the beginning of the novel.

At Rosie’s first photo shoot, Charlotte is talked into having some photos taken with her daughter for a feature a magazine is running and Charlotte ends up telling a couple of fibs. Before she knows it, her parents have received an e-mail from Frazer – Charlotte’s first love and Rosie’s father . He is wanting to make contact.

First of all, I wanted to say how much I love the cover of this book. So pretty.

I liked the main family. They seemed real and relatable. Charlotte was an interesting character. I found Will a little sulky at the beginning (understandable though considering his job situation,) but he changed gradually throughout the book. There were a few supporting characters but you don’t really get a chance to see them that much as the main focus is on Charlotte, Will and Frazer.

The plot developed well. There were some lovely funny moments and poignant moments too (one between Charlotte and Rosie in particular and the scene with Charlotte in the shed was brilliant.)

There is a lot of build-up to Charlotte meeting Frazer but to me, this was only a portion of the story. It’s a look at a normal, London family struggling to keep up with one another and not all communicating as much as they should be and how this and misunderstandings can cause a lot of trouble within the family dynamic. It’s also looking at not realising what you have until it’s gone.

This book has warm and sad moments but it is full of humour. I enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it if you’re looking for a nice, relaxing read that will make you laugh and smile.

(As Good As It Gets is published by Avon. The Kindle version was released on 29th January 2015 with the paperback due for release on 26th February 2015. Click to view on Amazon. Thank you to Avon for the review copy.)  

by

Novel Kicks

About Novel Kicks/Laura...
Novel Kicks was founded in 2009 and is run by Laura who is currently living in Hampshire, and lives with husband, Chris and her cat, Buddy. She would love to be a writer. She’s trying to write the novel she thinks so much about. She’s loved reading and writing since ‘Creative Writing’ classes in primary school. When not trying to write the novel or writing snippets of stories on anything she can get her hands on, she loves reading, dancing like a loon, and watching Project Runway and Ugly Betty (her two TV guilty pleasures.) She also has an obsession with chocolate and Jammie Dodgers.