I feel a little bit conflicted writing this review. I really like Fiona Gibson books and she has a very easy quality about her writing but in all honesty this wasn’t one of my favourites of hers.

Viv is our lead character and is of a ‘certain age’ shall we say. There were numerous mentions of menopausal symptoms which at times were funny but at others a little too much. Her husband is an absolute idiot and she ends up newly single while her husband moves in with his new girlfriend.

I didn’t particularly warm to any of the characters and although the storyline was perfectly readable it just all felt a little contrived. I finished the book and there were certainly moments I found the book amusing, but overall it just wasn’t memorable enough and I ended up feeling a little disappointed

I do love Fiona Gibson and her writing. I needed a book that would pick me up make me smile and give me all the feels and this book literally did that. It got me out of my reading funk. I loved the feel good factor about the book and it made me think that there are good people still in this world.

So the story, we follow Viv an older lady who has had her rolled knocked by her cheating husband leaving for another woman, having the start of menopause and well her job isn’t exactly doing it for her anymore.

Throw in some fabulous friends, a brilliant idea, a hunky male and maybe a gin or two and you literally have a book that makes you smile, laugh and want to shout at the male counterpart! The characters made the book enjoyable, I loved the side characters, Viv’s daughter Izzy and her cooking, which I found really cute!  

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, as I said  it had everything in it to get me out of a reading funk. I loved Viv as a character, she had a knock but she got back up stronger and ready to fight for what she wants and a side project as well that she gave everything to.

After Viv found an interest in her friends old work Girl Friday, a fashion brand she made it her mission to bring it back to life and have a fashion show. This book is definitely celebrating women and the friendships and love that we have for one another.

I liked how the characters came together, that it was a feel good book. That they supported one another and that it was relatable and definitely made me think about the support I have around me. The writing flowed and I was literally glued to this book from start to finish.

Took me ages to get into this and finish it. It was ok but it didn't grip me. I liked Viv the main character and her struggles .and triumphs...but instead of being compelled to read I found this novel a bit of a chore. Funny in places.

This is my first time reading a Fiona Gibson book and I am not sorry that I picked this up.

Viv is married, has a son in his 20's and a daughter that is 9. Take on a job that is sub-par and the fact that she is in the throws of menopause. She expects her husband, Andy, to be more understanding when he snipes at her for hormones that are out of her control.  The icing on the cake is finding out that her husband is actually having an affair.

This story takes us through the trials and tribulations of divorce, trying to figure out who you really are, be a good mom, friend, and no longer settling. Throw in her friend Penny, and you have the makings of a wonderful story.

Definitely one-click this now to check it out.

I liked the sound of this book as this woman was a similar age to myself and I thought it would be relatable. It was, to a certain extent.

Viv is married to Andy, who decides that someone else's bed is more comfy than his own. This throws all sorts of spanners in the works of a life that is a fairly normal one when you have been married for 25 years. Through the processing of Andy's affair, Viv discovers that she has very good friends around her and there IS more to her, than dutiful wife and mother.

I like that Viv starts to explore what she wants a little more, she certainly has her eyes opened. I found some of the parts of the book dragged a bit for me - yes, what happened was awful but she went on and on about it a bit much. I appreciated that the author made this book about Viv, and didn't send her on a quest to find a new man in her life or something, as some of these books tend to do. The characters were well written, I even started to like Ludo a little bit by the end!

This book was an easy read.

4 stars from me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books.

This was an okay read. I liked it but I didn't find myself head over heels for Viv and I really struggled to relate to her character. But I think it was a decent quick read.

This book is a great for a super cute and light read with the added bonus of giving you a healthy dose of female empowerment.

Viv is a 50+ mother to a young daughter and older son with an unpleasant husband. And I absolutely hate to admit it, but I struggled with the first few chapters – probably the first 15% of the book. Viv was a doormat. And I was horribly worried that she was going to want him back after his affair. 

But!

I kept reading and trusted in Fiona Gibson to steer us in the right direction and she did. Viv took strength in friendships, protected her daughter and son and even found a spark with someone else. She had the strength to start again. She was no longer putting everyone else above herself. 

It was an uplifting read. 

The book reminds you how amazing women of all ages can be and how we all need to stand on a table sometimes and shout about our brilliance – One of my favourite moments from the book. 

When life gives you lemons was a fun, entertaining and easy read and I very much enjoyed spending time with Viv, Penny, Nick and the very lovely Izzy. 

Fiona Gibson is a great writer, but it is her characters more than her stories that always stand out for me. Within the women’s fiction/Rom Com (I HATE the term chick lit) genre, a lot of the story arcs can be similar. It really is the characters that make a novel special. I have been pre-ordering Fiona Gibson’s books for years and I have no intention of stopping anytime soon. 

A fun, uplifting and entertaining read with some amazing characters.

🌟🌟🌟🌟/5 Thank you @netgalley for this copy.

I absoloutley loved this book it's about a woman called Viv who is in her early 50s with a husband son who now doesn't live at home in his early 20s and an 8 year old daughter called izzy.
She thinks her live is ok just rolling along until she discovers her husband has been cheating. On her he promises he is now longer seeing this woman then all of a sudden says he's leaving.

And her life seems stuck in a job she doesn't really like, going through the menopause. What else is she going to do.with her life.

But suddenly things get exciting after chatting to her friend penny and her son who has arrived from new Zealand. 

Maybe life isn't so bad after all with lots of laughter along the way. A really enjoyable read

I absolutely adore Fiona's work and I have read every book that she has released to date.  When I heard that Fiona was due to release another book called 'When Life Gives You Lemons', I read the synopsis and I just knew that I had to grab a copy of the book as soon as possible.  It sounded just like the funny and light hearted read that I so desperately needed.  I thoroughly enjoyed reading 'When Life Gives You Lemons' but more  about that in a bit.
I took to the character of Viv from the first time I met her and by the time I got to the third of the way through the book I had begun to think of her as a friend.  She's the sort of woman I could imagine having a good bitching session with over a few glasses of wine or a few glasses of gin.  Viv is a lovely lady, who at the start of the book is married to a man called Andy and they have two children together.  Their youngest child came as something of a surprise and Viv didn't expect to be the mother of a young child a the same time as going through the menopause.  Viv is sent a curveball in the form of her husband admitting that he has been having an affair.  Initially Viv becomes obsessed with the other woman but eventually Viv decides to make a go of their marriage.  Andy has other ideas though.  It was at this point that I wanted to jump inside the pages of the book to chase after Andy with a pair of blunt and rusty scissors to remove a certain part of his anatomy.  After a little period of time, Viv realises that she needs to get out there and create a new life along the way, whilst having fun and lots of laughter.  Viv is aided and abetted by her slightly eccentric but totally lovely friend Penny.
Oh my word, 'When Life Gives You Lemons' was just the tonic I needed, at a time when I was feeling a bit low and in need of a feel good and fun read.  In all honesty I haven't laughed as much during a book as I laughed whilst reading this book.  On several occasions, I found myself randomly chuckling at something I had read, which attracted some funny looks from the other passengers on the bus I was travelling on at the time.  I found it nigh on impossible to put this book down.  The book wasn't exactly glued to my hand but it might as well have been because it travelled everywhere with me.  The book had developed a hold over me and it was a hold that I just wasn't willing to break.  The pages of the book turned increasingly quickly as my desperation to find out whether or not Viv managed to create a new and better life for herself, steadily grew and grew.  I had everything crossed that Viv would find the happiness that she so deserved.
'When Life Gives You Lemons' is superbly written but then I think that to be true of all of Fiona's books. Fiona has a writing style that is easy to get used to and easy to get along with.  The author certainly knows how to grab your attention from the start and draws you into the story.  She creates kick ass, strong female lead characters and sends them on a journey of discovery.  There's lots of drama, humour and lots of fun along the way.  Reading 'When Life Gives You Lemons' felt more like a chat between friends rather than me reading a book.  Fiona uses such vivid and realistic descriptions that I felt as though I was part of the story myself.  
Reading 'When Life Gives You Lemons' was a pleasure and I enjoyed every single second of it.  I wholeheartedly recommend this book to other readers.  I will definitely be reading more of Fiona's work in the future.  The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*.

I feel a bit meh about this book. For Viv being in her fifties, her voice sounded more like she was a petulant teenager. I just didn't understand some of her actions. I also don't know a lot about menopause personally but I have seen my mother go through it and her experience compared to Viv's was just so...different, and not in a good sense. I'm not saying that menopause isn't different for everyone but rather that I wish it would have been more...expanded on in a way? 
The pacing in the beginning was also very slow and dragged a few times, but it thankfully picked up towards the latter half of the book. 
I just think this story wasn't for me and that's okay.
I did enjoy the writing style overall though and wouldn't be opposed to reading another book by the author.

Thank you to net gallery for a copy of this ebook in return for an honest review. 
When life gives you lemons is not a book I imagine was aimed to be read by my age group (32). I found it really difficult to build a relationship with the main character ( liv is a 50 something year old mother of two who’s husband leaves her all while she struggles through the battle of menopause), I also felt the story was slow to unfold but obvious which direction it was heading. 
While I have read other books by the author and loved them, this one just didn’t hook me into it,  I found myself pushing myself to read rather than my usual read at every opportunity. There are parts of the story that are funny and I didn’t catch myself having a little giggle but these were few and far between.

It is a story of Viv-Vivianne, a mother of two children, Izzy and Spencer. Viv is in her early 50's and is in her menopausal phase. She feels disgusted about herself. To make it worse, her husband Andy, has changed. Andy makes Viv feels worse. Later, Viv figures something out about her husband. Then, she dives into depression and more anxieties. What happens next? She figures things out and successfully tackle the problem one by one.
.
This book is written in four parts; before, after, moving on, and the show. The story takes place in Glasgow (A city I want to live in. I'm so glad I read about Glasgow from this book). In this book, we read about Viv's story of moving on and overcoming struggles. We can learn so many things from her story, not only from her but all of the characters in this book. Also, this book is easy to read and entertaining. This book is funny, easy-reading, and witty. The pace is fast and the plot is interesting. I feel like I can't put my phone down. Moreover, the narration is so good I can feel the characters and the story. All in all, I like this book so much! Thank you for writing this book! :)

What a warm and wonderful book this was to really pull you into the heart of the story and entertain and delight. I felt that the writing welcomed me in like an old friend and allowed me to quietly sit on the sidelines and watch the characters reflect and grow.

Speaking of characters, this book provided so many fascinating creations I began to lose count. But Viv was the perfect leading lady to take centre stage in this story....from taking charge of one lonely pube on her bosses toilet seat halfway across the world to organising a triumphant fashion show in honour of her friend Penny, she showed that she could take on the world. A cheating husband and menopausal hit flushes were a mere side distraction for our super hero who took her life back and created her own unique lemonade.

This book truly has something for everyone. It's warm and witty with a colourful set of characters that will leave you wanting more. I thoroughly enjoyed this little gem of a read and I know you will too.

This is a solid read about a woman who’s essentially experiencing a midlife crisis in both wild and silly ways. I loved reading about Viv finding her voice and herself among the whirlwind of twists that life threw her and I absolutely adored her quirky neighbor. This book was good, but I think I struggled to relate to any of the characters, so it was just a personal preference issue with connecting. It’s written very well and everything else is great. 😊

I think When Life Gives You Lemons was a super fun, quirky read! Viv's husband is cheating on her, and this story is about how she finds out, recovers, and the rediscovers herself and her life. I think it's probably more fun for people who are closer in age/life experience to the main character than I was, but it's definitely still enjoyable for all. The main character's resilience and spunk made this entertaining, and the whole book had a hopeful feel, which I really enjoyed!

Viv is fifty with a 22 yr old boy and a five year old girl. She is going through the menopause, drowning in sweat every night, putting on weight and feeling a bit yuk about herself.  She can't understand why her husband Andy won't give her any advice considering he's a doctor who specializes in hormones, he only complains about her night sweats.
It all becomes clear when she reads a message on his phone, he's having an affair. Andy is a man who doesn't really know what he wants apart from having his cake and eating it too..
Viv is working at a job she is bored with and with no hope of promotion it only adds to her unhappiness.
Thankfully she has good friends and works on a voluntary protect for the museum where one of her friends work. Is this the start of Viv getting her life back? 
I have read all of Fiona Gibson's books and enjoyed every one of them. It's lovely to read a book that deal with everyday issues. I've laughed and I've shed a tear while reading them.
Each character in this book merits a book of their own they are all so interesting. I would love to know if Penny and her Girl Friday shops were based on any particular shops in Glasgow in the seventies.

What a treat! 

At first I thought this would be another hackneyed husband leaves wife, hard times ensue, wife makes recovery, The End, type of read. Ho hum ...
But No! This was so much more--witty, real, and enormously enjoyable!
Beginning with 'The Before,' where a menopausal Viv bemoaning the little extras this gift adds to life whilst husband Andy is being as helpful as an ostrich with its head in the sand, the scene is set for a whirlwind read. It doesn't take any keen insight to know the story for Viv was sashaying downhill. When she discovers that husband Andy has been having an affair, the downhill turns into a descent of avalanche type proportions.
And so begins Viv's road to recovery. Sure it's an uphill struggle but it's littered with dabs of absolute hilarity, dashes of kindness and occasional doses of drunken reflection.
Things at work (and work is whole other example of Viv's stoicism), seem to have reached a rather lowering plateau. Viv takes on a rather exciting challenge, approaching the local natural history museum with the idea of an exhibition centred around a local fashion icon of the seventies, Viv's older, outrageous friend Penny --The Friday Girl.
Now all Viv has to do is to encourage her friend Penny, who was the brand's owner/designer to give the show the go ahead. Did I mention the help she receives from Penny's son Nick?
A riot of a story, showcasing a woman in her fifties and her community of support, an ordinary mom who eventually fights back and makes lemonade!
Bravo!

An Avon Books ARC via NetGalley

This book was not what I expected. The main character acted as if she was not grown and that irritated me a lot hence I couldn't go through with this book.  I had reached about 10% into the book and the dnf'ed it. This book really felt to childish for my liking.

I enjoyed this book immensely. Viv is in her early 50's, going through menopause, raising a 8 year old daughter (also has a 22 year old son), and finds out her husband is cheating on her. She's been married for 25 years (to a doctor no less!) who could care less about her menopause symptoms - no sympathy whatsoever (jerk!). This book follows her story dealing with all of the above, including working full time at a dull, dead end job....but thank goodness she has her friends to get through it all. As a woman in her 40's, I related to Viv and her anguish. It's hard being a mom, wife, holding down a full-time job, and taking care of the family. 
I love the way Fiona Gibson writes; her characters are always believable and relateable. This book was funny, poignant, and a joy to read.

Thanks #Netgalley for the ARC.
#whenlifegivesyoulemons