This was a fun, some what incredible read. While I found it mildly entertaining, some of the situations seemed highly improbable. Although, it does bring up the idea of 'do you ever really know someone'?

This book had a really interesting premise and I enjoyed that it was a memoir. It was unbelievable, in a good way! But by the end of the book I felt a little underwhelmed. I think perhaps I was expecting more, especially with all the hype around the book and the topic.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is an interesting memoir with a lot of unexpected details. James's father goes on a complete transformation - from a bargain hunting coin dealer to one of the UK's biggest meth dealers.

However, for a few reasons I can't give it more than two stars: firstly, there is little nuance in the writing about the characters or their relationships. Everything is spelled out literally and there is little description or indirect characterisation. I agree with other reviewers in that the story reads like a stranger is telling you a story in the pub.

In a similar vein, a lot of the language and character portrayal is problematic - the women on James's dating site are portrayed as one-dimensional and easily manipulated, he describes having "epileptic hands" when feeling nervous, at other times describes his "Autistic obsessiveness" and describes Julian Clary as a "mincer". These - amongst others - spoiled the book for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

An odd yet interesting read. Starts off really interesting but sadly it didn’t keep my interest.
The topic is certainly intriguing.
Thank you to both NetGalley and Mirror Group for the eARC in exchange for my honest unbiased review

I was glued to my kindle with this story. A father went from working a regular job to becoming this kind pin in drug dealing.
This book surprised me with all the humor that helps break up such a serious topic. This book also has a ton of heart that had me reaching for my tissues.
I really enjoyed this book and I feel that everyone will get something out of this read!

Thank you to Netgalley and Mirror Books for the ARC.

I'm really not sure how I feel about this book. After hearing a radio interview a while ago with the author i was really excited to get my hands on it, I was so intrigued

But...

Even though the book was well written, heartfelt, shicking, compelling, funny and heartwarming the main emotion I was left with at the end was underwhelmed.

You never quite get a grasp on the characters or the timeline, everything felt extremely rushed. It felt that someone had sat James down with a single piece of paper and a stopwatch and said "give us your life story in 30 minutes"

I'm really glad I got to read it & I have recommended on but with the warning of "dont set high expectations of it, just enjoy it for what it is!"

Sorry just can't keep reading this book. It started out alright but when I got in a few chapters it just stalled and became monotonous.

I laugh and I cried at the tales in this book. The characters came alive from the pages and I could almost feel myself in the story. This is well written and I’d highly recommend.

An absolutely fascinating true story about how a completely ‘normal’ man’s life was transformed when he found out his father had changed career from coin dealer to drug dealer!
Being that James’ father had hitherto led a suburban life, and then starting dealing crystal meth it obviously sparks comparison with the fictional ‘Breaking Bad’. Like that TV series, it is excellently written and both funny and poignant.
Highly recommend this quick read.
Thanks to NetGalley for a Kindle copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you for an advanced copy. This was a very interesting read! I really enjoyed it and it kept me intrigued til the very end.

I received this from Netgalley.com for a review.

For 18 years, my family lived a normal life in a respectable suburb… until one day, my dad gave up his successful career, and unexpectedly became Britain's most wanted crystal meth dealer.

Broken people living in a broken world.

3☆

I wont go into detail about the story as i dont want to spoil the book, i see so many reviews that give 80% of the story away and it spoils it for the reader in my opinion. I loved this book, I enjoyed the story and i felt connected with the characters. The story was a real page Turner and infact my other half kept needing to tell me to put it down and go to sleep, I was gripped. Pleaseantly surprised and brilliantly written, a must read for sure

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley!!

Breaking Dad is a memoir about a normal surburban dad who one day quits his job and decides to start selling crystal meth. yup, you read that right. Think the tv show Breaking Bad, and you've got it.
the story is told through the POV of James - the son. James has a lot on his plate in his life. HIs parents separate, he comes out as gay, his mom has a battle with cancer, and bam, his dad becomes Britain's most wanted crystal meth dealer. It all sounds like fake, right? Wrong, it's all true. If that doesn't give you enough reasons to read this book, then just know i binged this in less than two days.

go read it.

If you are looking for a book that will keep you glued to the pages, this is your book!! It's story was so captivating, and kept me intrigued from start to finish. One reason as to why I couldn't put it down was because I could easily imagine this dad being my dad. Lubbock tells the story using lots of great descriptive words and an intriguing story line that leaves the reader constantly wondering what will happen next. I binge read this book in two days! Highly recommend.

Thanks to Mirror Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a quick read, because the story is just so unlikely and fascinating that it pulls you in. Yes, it's based on a true story, which makes it even more unbelievable. The story is told from the POV of the Dad's son, James - geeky, sarcastic and portrayed as a bit of a loser. He does badly overwork the Jewish James Bond trope, and has some seriously misogynistic ideas about women, which are the reason I'm only giving three stars, rather than the 4.5 the story otherwise deserves.

I am always curious for answers to the question "where did we go wrong?" Whether it would be in sbig history (World Wars, inventions) or in history on a much smaller space. So, when I read the description of this book I requested a copy really quick.

The story is about James, who is dealing with his separated parents, who turned out to be gay after all, the battle with cancer that his mother goes through in addition to his father becoming a drugs dealer. That sounds straight out of a movie.

Probably a James Bond movie, as we the reader will hear numerous times. That unfortunatly the problem with this book. The story is fascinating. It details the life of James and his parents from their coming out to the end of the story about James' father and drugs. Yet, the reader must endure many mentions about the fact that he is jewish, likes James Bond, is o so terrible with girls because he is - such - a geek and likes to break the fourth wall plenty of times.

That is what bothered me the most about this book. The story is told as the author and you were sitting in a pub and is telling you a story about his dad. One of those stories, that you are wondering if it is all made up. One where you recogise that he isn't o so terrible with girls because he is a geek, but a dick - for instance, his "translation" of dating site language. Being "bubbly" apparently means being overweight and self-centered. It is cringeworthy.

Honestly, there are moments where I wonder if there was any editing at all due, for instance, to the numerous times the author brought up the fact that he is jewish, or that I should cower in horror that this was the result of editing and that the first draft was even worse.

These things, along with a slow start, made me struggle a bit with this book. Yet, I'd still give it three stars because the story is just so fascinating. After finishing the book I still was wondering where it went wrong.

I would recommend this bok only if you too are fascinated with the human nature, but if not, it is perfectly fine to skip it.

This is really quite a mind-bending story. The author James is done with University, just trying to have a normal life, work at a good job, meet girls, all the typical things that guys his age want. But he’s been worried about his parents lately. They’ve been fighting a lot, way more than usual, and they recently announced that they are splitting up. Then they each hit him with some personal news that really shook his world.  I won't tell you what it is, you'll have to read the book to find out.  But this family is dysfunctional with a capital D.

And on top of that, James has noticed that his coin dealer father has suddenly begun selling weed out of his home office he’s set up in his new place. James is having a hard time wrapping his head around that since his father has always been a teetotaler, non-smoking, anti-drug person with very high morals. So who is this new person? The one who goes to hot clubs and dances, drinks, carrying on like guys James’ age, partying all night.

This book is really something, with the son trying to advise the father to be careful, fearful of what he’s getting into, like a reversal of roles almost. James really wants his father to quit his crooked ways and go back to being the honest coin dealer he’s always known him to be.  But Daddy Dearest seems bent on going off the deep end with his new single life, experimenting is far too many areas all at once.  It has James worried as can be!  If you read the book, you will understand why.

It would be good for those who like intense memoirs. It’s quite edgy, and sarcastic and it gets really serious when James finds out that his dad is also dealing hard drugs too like meth and cocaine. And he also seems to have an addiction problem. What can he do to get his dad off the hard stuff, if anything? Now his mom is seriously ill and things are really a mess with James not being able to rely on his dad. This book covers some serious subjects and gets emotional too. This was far more engrossing than I ever dared hope for. It was a read-right-through type of book. Advance electronic review copy was provided by NetGalley, authors James Lubbock & Warren FitzGerald, and the publisher.