I enjoyed this quiet ya read. It is a must read. It deals with issues that teens face in a a manner that all readers can relate to.

This book moved way way too slow. Sometimes I like slow paced books but I honestly wasn’t a massive fan of it. I did like the way the characters were built though, they felt three dimensional.

I adored this book and just an easy read. I couldn’t put it down and was really submerged into the story and the character!

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher. This in no way impacted on my view.

Lily is expecting her summer to be perfect, but when her boyfriend dumps her after prom, and she's left alone with her inattentive mother, she needs to find something to do. When it's revealed that the town gala needs some more volunteers, and there's no one under the age of 50 on the committee, Lily joins up, along with best friend, Gemma, and Gemma's neighbour, Tom. Lily wants to change it up, adding a regatta for the youngsters, a raft building competition, and making the parade much more inclusive, rather than there only being a Gala Queen. Tom has never really spoken to Lily, and except for her being Gemma's best friend, thought her to be a busybody, and annoying. He's dealing with his sister's diagnosed illness, and would rather spend his summer before sixth form relaxing and going out on the river. Lily won't expect no for an answer though, and it soon becomes obvious that there's an attraction between the two. Will their close proximity lead to romance, or is that too much to ask?

I can't even remember where I first saw this book, but decided to request a copy on NG when it became available. I've hardly ever read any YA books set in Scotland, and loved the setting for this book. Lily and Tom were alright main characters, both with their own flaws and difficulties, but real and exactly what I'd expect for two 16 years olds. The plot line of the town gala and it's many additions - courtesy of Lily's input - was definitely enjoyable, and I loved how it showed a different side of Lily to us. Because of the way her family were, she was basically left to her own devices at all times, and what others might see as her interfering was a coping mechanism for her to keep herself busy. Her mam is depressed, and I understand the way she was, but I sort of hated the way Lily's whole family left her. She's only 16, and is the only one who doesn't know about her mam's mental health history, but is expected to keep her safe while her dad and siblings are living away. Tom, too, has difficulties, as he tends to be ignored a lot in favour of his sister, who they think has Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, but it's never been fully diagnosed. Sarah wants to do as much as she can, but her parents really coddle her, and I wish they were a little more understanding of a 15 year old who wants to do things, even if it makes her tired.

The relationships in the both, both romantic and platonic, were wonderful. I liked Tom and Lily together, and seeing their ups and downs as they navigated their relationship was perfect! Gemma was a fantastic friend to them both, and I'm definitely intrigued about her, as she seems like she may have anxiety, or something, and I can't wait to read her book, Gemma's Not Sure.

This was definitely a story of two parts - in so far as elements of the plot and choices the author made really worked for me. But there were also elements that I just couldn't enjoy as much and some of these overshadowed as they grated on my somewhat.

I will start with a few of the criticisms I had before focusing and ending on a more upbeat note, because I do believe that this is a book worth reading, and I hope that the series goes from strength to strength. The constant use of full names in speech - it is something so small, but also happened a lot in this story. There are some people in my life that I do always think of by their full name (probably when I know multiple people with the same first name). But I almost never refer to them by their full name verbally and out loud when speaking to them. For that reason both Lily and Tom doing this throughout the entire story irrationally bothered me and pulled my focus to exactly that rather than perhaps what what actually happening.

Also there were a few points where I struggled to believe Lily was actually still only at school, because of the feats she managed to accomplish with no (or limited) adult involvement. I appreciate that teenagers can achieve a huge amount, but usually this starts with something small that then grows with resources and support.

Onto the positives about this book, for which there were a number. The setting, I really enjoyed the sense and feeling of this small town, the relationships of the characters felt believable given the setting, and I will always appreciate UK YA not all being set in London. The location became its own character which I think is important for this type of story.

Character growth, both Tom and Lily were flawed (as were the supporting cast), and I think with any book about teenagers it is great to see them develop as they grow, but also to see teenagers making those around them grow with the times. It also meant the book was able to tackle a number of difficult topics such as mental health and addiction which were unexpected but welcome themes when I was reading this story.

the things i liked about this book:
-the setting in general
-the conversation about mental health that needs to be talked about. 
-the character growth


it was a fun, quick read. enjoyable, but not quite outstanding. a bit predictable, but fun however.

This book was good, it won't be a favourite on my list as I feel like I'm growing out of YA books in a way. But this book was well written and easy to read, it had main characters I felt I could connect too. Even Lily. And the romance aspect was well done. It didn't feel overly forced and I found it nice that even the characters were kind of hesitant about it at first. This book challenges the lack of acknowledgment for queer identities in small villages in the UK and I think that was one of the most important factors of the book. It looks at the pressures of living with a mentally ill parent and a physically ill sibling and the frustrations that can come along side all of that. Overall, this was a nice, light hearted read that allowed me to break up some heavier stuff that I'm reading right now

This book was just ok for me. It was a quick read but it was a bit to young for me, would be great for 12-14 maybe.  Not really my cup of tea!

The description of Lily's Just Fine sounds great. But the storyline and characters left me wanting more. I ended up not finishing it.

Firstly I would like to thank Netgalley for giving me an ARC of this book, in exchange for an Honest Review. 

This book is a cute YA romance, told from 2 different perspectives, that is perfect for a Summer read. It includes important topics such as relationships, depression and inclusion and discuses these quite well. 

Lily for me was a hard main character to like, the reason for this is she is one of those people that thinks she is better than everyone else, quite judgemental and couldn’t see that other people have there own thing to deal with, not just her. But even then she is still very self centred, and not the best friend or even girlfriend.

The other characters weren't very well developed even though a few of them were mentioned quite a lot throughout  the story and because of this it didn’t feel very well rounded. 

Also the way the dialogue was didn’t help set the scene. I am from Scotland and throwing in Aye every now and again doesn't make it Scottish….  This book could have been set in like Devon or Cornwall and it would have had the same affect. Another point that made the dialogue awkward was  no one says "et al" out loud  especially not one that is a teenager, lets be honest until I was in University  didn’t even know what that meant. 

Overall this was a cute fluffy romance that would be good as a throwaway summer read.

Actual rating: 3.75/5
In this first book, we follow two characters: Lili and Tom. Lili decides to organise an event in her town to occupy her summer. She is followed by her friend Gemma and Tom.
I really like the setting of a small town as well as the friendships between all the characters. The book also treats some important topics like depression or sickness.
However, I wasn't very attached to the characters apart from Sarah. 
Last but not least, I enjoyed the sweetness of the ending and I find the cover just stunning!
This book is perfect if you want a cute and fun contemporary / romance for the summer!

Lily and Tom are absolutely perfect for each other. He calms her down while she makes him step out of his comfort zone. I absolutely loved them separately but also as a couple. It felt real and genuine.

This book was also hilarious with a great crew of side characters. I can't wait to read the second book in this series to see what Gemma is up to. Gill Stewart is an author I will 100% be keeping my eyes on!

Although this book has it's heartbreaking parts, it's such a feel good book and I connected with Lilly. I felt like I was going through all of the emotions with her. Amazing book, would highly recommend to all my friends, and anyone!!!

Thought this was a great young adult read with good characters even though I didn’t necessarily like the main character. The storyline was predictable but cute and I would read book 2

3⭐

I really tried to enjoy this book but I just couldn't love it. It was okay, but that's the best I can say about it.

I found the characters to be quite annoying to be honest. I also don't feel like the romance worked between the main couple, they just fought and deeply hated certain traits about the other and it just felt like them being together was so forced. I also found it extremely unfair of Lily's family to leave her a lot of the time to look after her mom and then not respect that she's having to deal with it alone while they barely visit and do their own thing. I just found it really difficultly to like the characters, other than Sarah.

The author does however address some issues such as depression, anxiety, need for control, illness and diversity.

A sweet and emotionally moving novel, which has really well developed and likeable characters that make you root for and believe in them. It's a really nice read.

DNF at 21%. The writing is good, however the plot is slow and it's just not for me. I put one star just for the netgalley requirements, I don't rate anything I haven't finished.

This book was pretty meh for me. 
I was hoping for a little but more. But it was not terrible ....................   ..........

This book is very much in the genre I love to dive into the rain is pouring outside. It was such a gorgeous romance novel (which I adored) but it also tackled some pretty challenging themes.

Lily was such a fun character to read! You could feel how strong-willed and determined she was to have the best summer ever. The fact that she was focused the town event with her friends and fighting to have her voice heard. She was a teeny bit overpowering at times but I felt almost realistic to be annoyed. We’ve all had a friend like Lily!

I felt so sorry for Tom. As someone who has cared for a family member in the past, I know what it’s like to put everything on hold. Your entire world revolves around them and that seems to be the case with Tom and his sister. My heart went out to him! I think any reader who has a family life like this will find no trouble in relating to what happens to Tom.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will be reading it all over again after finishing this review! Thank you for allowing me to review this!

I love finding books where a character, or like here, the book itself, has my name on it.
It was what first attracted me to it, and the resume seemed interesting. But this Lily is my total opposite, picking and inserting herself in every activity she can, which makes her a bit annoying- she's the girl I used to be friends with but always needed a breather after a few hours with her.
The representation of mental health issues is an important conversation to have in books and I loved that LJF talked about them and the fight for inclusivity, and it brought more development to Lily, making her redeemable instead of just annoying, 
It may seem like your typical romantic read, but Lily's Just Fine brings important topics to the table, talking about the importance of mental health and how it affects us, if you give Lily a discount in the beginning.