I really, really, really, wanted to like this book. I love Dawn O'Porter and her Column is the first thing I read in Glamour magazine every month. When I saw she was publishing a novel championing feminism I was really excited, and when I saw it on Netgalley I jumped at the chance.


I wasn't wholly disappointed don't get me wrong. It wasn't the worst book I've ever read, there was just too much going on.


The novel is split between 3 characters;

Tara is a documentary producer and a single mother of a 6 year old daughter, after a hot date in a bar she does something which is going to change her life forever.


Camilla (Cam) was one of the first people to treat her blog as a business. She's living the high life in her million pound Victorian flat with her 28 year old lover (Cam is 36) and her ability to write great feminist posts. Right now that involves becoming 'the face of childless women'.


Stella is having problems getting her life together, her mother and her twin sister died within a year of each other and now she's had some devastating news of her own. News that's made her just a little bit crazy.

The novel covers A LOT of issues. I kind of get why, I see why Dawn an avid feminist herself would want to write about absolutely everything. I know what that's like because when I start talking feminism I want to blurt it all out too. But that's unfortunately how this novel feels. Like Dawn is trying to cram every single feminist issue into one 400 page book.


Just a smidgen of what is covered in this book:

Women with younger lovers
Women having casual sex
Women not telling men their pregnant
Women mastrubating
Sexism in the workplace
Feminism in different age groups
Cancer
Crazy people who want babies so bad they create nefarious plans
The solidarity of female friendships
These subjects all matter don't get me wrong. They're all important subjects, they all need addressing but the flood of them all at once made this book boring, tedious and forced at times.


I felt like feminism was being rammed down my throat and that's coming from me as a feminist. This book felt like that angry bra burner who physically attacks men in the street. Not to ever tell an author how to write their book but this would have worked better as 3 serials. It doesn't work as a novel. It's just too far fetched.

Well of course I'm reviewing Dawn's latest book!
If you've seen past posts on here, you'll have seen my review of Dawn's previous book, Goose.

Tara works for a production company ran by a secretly gay boss, Adam and has a six year old daughter, Annie. When she goes on a date with Jamie, Stella's boss they hit it off and on her way home the texts get steamier between the two and so she accidentally ends up being filmed in public, indecently.

Stella's identical twin, Alice has died of ovarian cancer, her best friend has just announced that she's pregnant and Stella wishes she was pregnant and not newly dumped. She still wears her sister's clothes and even takes on her persona online on Tinder to find a man to have a one night stand with to get her wish of a baby before she has her mastectomy as her mum had breast cancer and carried the BRCA gene.

Cam writes a blog, an extremely popular one that can pay for her to live single in London. She has a younger lover by eight years she writes about as well as the fact she doesn't want children.

As all the drama ensues through out the book, Cam writes to stick up for Tara in all her media and going viral frenzy. Stella, who reads Cam's blog can't possibly understand how she can't not want children as it's her dream. We follow all their stories as they collide and there's hilarious moments ahead for sure! Also look out for the police officers names, truly made me laugh!

The book sheds light on dealing with various issues and the dangers of a videos going viral but finding friends in unexpected places. But seriously, it challenges the stereotypical gender role of a woman, to prove as the title suggests, we don't all have to be made to breed, we have our own opinions on life and women can be happy alone, married, have children or have none at all.
Another great book from Dawn, many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review the book for them!