Never Say No

On the Kindle cover page it says that this book is “funny and uplifting”. I am afraid that I didn’t find either of those things to be true.

This was a book about a woman who had been coasting along in her life, she was a primary school teacher, just like her best friend and her boyfriend, but then decided to train to be a lawyer. She lands a traineeship in a prestigious law firm and things pretty quick start to spiral out of control. I think most of us have been where Hailey was, in terms of being tempted by someone she shouldn’t have been. I am sure that if you have lead a bit of a sheltered existence, being in the world of a top legal firm must be a little surreal. That was really well described, actually.

I wasn’t too sure about the dynamic between Sophie and Hailey. I wasn’t feeling the deep bonds of friendship between those two.

Yes, there were definitely shades of The Devil Wears Prada, only at the end, I wasn’t high-fiving the main character in this book. It ended a bit awkwardly, I thought, and there were things left unsaid between the three best friends.

My favourite character was actually Vivian. In the beginning, I didn’t like her at all, but by the end of the book she had revealed herself to be a flawed human like the rest of us and was a bit more humble, which endeared me to her. It shows the skills of the author that she changed my mind about her too!

I wanted to love this book, but it was more of a like, for me.

4 stars from me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture.

I liked Never Say No, but it was listed in the humor and women’s fiction categories, which led me to believe that is was a rom-com. I failed to find the humor in it. Hailey is switching careers from teacher to lawyer, and begins training with her idol, Vivian Jones; she increasingly ignores her best friend and live-in boyfriend. I enjoyed that she was transitioning to a new career and there was a theme of women supporting women, but couldn’t get past the idea that she was always saying no (contrary to the title) to the healthy relationships in her life in favor of duplicity and dysfunction of office politics and hierarchies. Ultimately, if you approach this book as women’s fiction with much heavier undertones, you will have a more realized reading experience, than if you expect it to be a lighter rom-com.

Rating: 3 / 5

Triggers: infidelity

BLOG TOUR REVIEW

Review for ‘Never Say No’ by Elizabeth Neep

Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Bookouture publishers and Bookouture anonymous

Publication date 4th September 2020

This is the first book that I have read by this author. I am looking forward to reading more.

I was originally drawn to this book by its interesting blurb. I also wanted to read something more light hearted than my usual crime genre and this seemed to fit the bill perfectly. I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being Bookouture. I have yet to read a book published by Bookouture that I haven’t enjoyed. Hopefully this won’t be the first… Watch this space! (Written before I started reading the book).

This novel consists of a prologue and 45 chapters which are relatively short in length so ideal to read ‘just one more chapter’ before bed…OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!

This book is written in first person perspective and the protagonist is Hailey. I always enjoy reading books written in first person more as it feels like I’m sitting across the table from them while they are telling their story or in the book next to them.

The way it is written made me feel like I was right next Hailey and going through everything with her.

Based in London. I always seem to connect with books based in the UK more because I live in Wales and sometimes I have visited places mentioned meaning I can picture them much better.

I absolutely adored this book and really enjoyed reading it. The twists and turns, highs and lows, the tears and laughter kept me flying through the pages from beginning to end. I must admit I worked out who Daniel was messaging as soon as he mentioned he had been on a date but that didn’t take any enjoyment from the book.

The characters were all fantastic, strong and very realistic. I enjoyed how the relationships between everyone developed and how there were several strong women in it. Hailey’s character did make me want to shout at her a few times, same with Vanessa and don’t get me started on Liam!!

The book was very well written with excellent descriptions to really ‘put’ me in the middle of the story. I am looking forward to reading more of Elizabeths books especially if this one is anything to go by. A perfect beach read, great for any season and a fantastically easy read.

Overall a perfect unputdownable light hearted book

Genres covered include Romance.

I would recommend this book to fans of romance, light hearted books and anyone looking for a nice easy read.

329 pages.

This book is 1.99 to purchase on kindle via Amazon which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!

Rated 5/5 (I loved it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.

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I just really resonated with this protagonist, living in the city there’s ALWAYS something more and the grass ALWAYS seems greener, so reading all about the ups and downs about Haileys and Vivians choices, the rights and wrongs, just felt very real and thorough and interestingly taught a few life lessons on the way (accidental or not, who knows?!). Different feel to the authors previous book, but brilliantly done again! Would very much recommend.

Could not put this book down. I was totally obsessed with this book beginning to end. The lead character Hailey was someone who really resonated with me as a young professional in london who struggles with work life balance. I loved Elizabeth Neeps The Spare Bedroom and so was so excited for this book and it didnt disappoint! Cant wait for more from this author.

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