Readers will identify with main character Jess – because who can’t help liking the authenticity of a protagonist who just doesn’t quite manage to achieve the dream that so many books will have you believe is the reality we’re meant to be striving for!
Jess is an aspiring (sounds better than struggling) artist. She’s never managed to get over a break-up that happened three years ago and has decided that a fresh start is just what she needs. So she heads off to Australia and a new life – where she’s expecting sunshine and better prospects. Only she arrives to torrential rain and discovers that the accommodations she’s organised has fallen through. Not quite sure what to do at this unexpected turn of events, Jess heads to the nearest shops and who should she bump into but Mr-Ex-from-three-years-ago – Sam – the one she never got over!
Now … at this point, I thought, ‘hang on a sec, isn’t this highly (like extremely highly) unlikely?’ And then … ‘surely she had an inkling, seeing as she never got over him, so obviously was keeping up with his whereabouts, that there was a possible chance that she knew that Sam had moved to Australia?’ But I persevered! I’m pleased that I did.
One thing leads to another (no, not like that!!), and they chat and sort of catch up which then leads to Sam offering Jess a place to stay, which she reluctantly accepts. He happens to leave out the fact that his current girlfriend also lives with him!! Oh. Dear!
Just when Jess thought things couldn’t get any worse! But she picks herself up and realises she needs to make the most of the situation she’s in. She’s not always successful at making the best of things, and I found myself cringing at the knots she tied herself into. But I also smiled in recognition of the attempts Jess made to right the wrongs she absolutely knew she was heading straight into, almost as soon as she careened into them, unable to stop herself!
She’s a good soul though and she so desperately wants to get her life on the right track. With the help of the right friends, and in essence, herself and her inner strength, which she just needed a little help and encouragement in finding, Jess eventually starts to sort her life out and sets herself on the journey she was always meant to be on.
Ultimately, although this book might sound like a light rom-com, it’s all about finding yourself and becoming the person who you’re meant to be: someone who you can be proud of and who can stand on her own two feet.
Another highly recommended 4-star read for these hectic times we currently find ourselves in.
Thank you to Bookouture for inviting me on the blog tour! Take a look at what other bloggers are saying about The Spare Bedroom …
Author Bio:
Elizabeth Neep was born in 1990 in Derbyshire and now lives in London Bridge. After studying Law at the University of Nottingham and the University of New South Wales, she worked in magazine journalism, most noticeably writing for Dazed and Confused and PETRIe. Elizabeth now works as a non-fiction Senior Commissioning Editor and writes and paints in her spare time.
https://www.elizabethneep.com/
https://www.instagram.com/elizabeth_neep/?hl=en
Twitter: @elizabeth_neep
Purchase Links:
Amazon: https://bit.ly/3aErBir
Apple books: https://apple.co/3aIB08X
Kobo: https://bit.ly/2Scsg4j
Google Play: https://bit.ly/2Y7r5qM
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