Somewhere Close to Happy

This book is set in the UK. However, the language is very Americanized these days. But so much swearing by the female characters and coarse sexual terms. Having said that, I gave the book a top rating because the story is very good as are the descriptions of the places and characters. It is a book you will remember. It is a young adult book, but you don’t have to be young to enjoy this story of first love, friendship and the difficulties of broken families. The characters are likable and relatable and you care about them and their problems. There is a mystery going through the story for the main character, Lizzy James. This mystery is totally engaging. You can’t wait to have it solved.

With all the twist and turns of this book, I was hooked from the start. Nobody understood Lizzie like Roman did, even when he was dealing with his own demons. Neither had an easy childhood. Awesome amazing and heart breaking at times. I never expected that ending but it worked perfectly with Lizzie coming out and standing up for herself. Loved the questions and answers at the end too.

Somewhere Close To Happy is both a funny and heartwarming story of first loves and the importance of friendship but also a very moving and wise exploration of mental health, childhood, self discovery and – ultimately – the importance of being brave. Louis’s is a bold, standout voice in the women’s fiction genre and Somewhere Close To Happy deserves to be huge.

This is written in the first person by a 28 year old woman who lives alone, spends her days in a dull office and who is making half-hearted efforts to trace a friend who disappeared many years earlier. Her inability to overcome her anxiety or to stand up to a rude and bossy aunt do not make entertaining reading and her self pity does not translate into compassion for the colleagues she despises. I found nothing remotely amusing in this dreary little saga and the plot moved with such glacial slowness that I lost interest and abandoned it half read.

This isn’t what I expected if I’m honest, but I loved it all the same. A story of Lizzie who at 28 lives like a hermit and doesn’t do much other than go to work and have tea with her dad on a Thursday evening. Deeply traumatised by her friend Roman leaving her all them years ago, she realises her life has being on hold all this time.

I didn’t expect the twist and turns at the end if I’m honest, I didn’t even see it coming.

It was an interesting read and I felt so sorry for both Roman and Lizzie.

Galaxyaudiobook Member Benefit

- Able to comment

- List watched audiobooks

- List favorite audiobooks

- Bookmark will only available for Galaxyaudiobook member