Cover Image: The Two Lives of Lydia Bird

The Two Lives of Lydia Bird

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Member Reviews

Having previously read ‘One Day In December’ I was excited to read about Lydia Bird. I’d been putting it off for a while as I had been warned it was quite an emotional book. It’s the story of Lydia - who’s upcoming wedding, and future have been snatched away one fateful night. After losing her fiancé in an accident Lydia must learn how to live without him, how to grieve for him & who she is without him. Unfortunately Lydia also has some sleeping pills which when taken transport her back to a parallel time when her fiancé is still very much alive. This is such a beautifully written story. It’s sad, funny, relatable, far fetched and everything in between. Highly recommend.
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This is such an engaging story. Romantic but with realism.  The author explores Lydia's grief with emotion and sensitivity. Her feelings are relatable to anyone who has lost someone close. She doesn't take her bereavement journey in isolation there's a cast of believable characters, who support her
along the way.  

There's a twist to this story a parallel life as the title suggests. She has a choice to make, which affects her and the lives of her family and friends. Lydia is a lovely character, easy to empathise who self-deprecating humour lightens this often heartbreaking story.

The ending is romantic and uplifting and makes all the heartbreak and soul searching worthwhile.

I received a copy of this book from Penguin Books UK via NetGalley in return for an honest review.
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Unfortunately I had to purchase a new Kindle device and could no longer access this book. I will come back and review if I read this in the future.
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Really enjoyed this book! There were a lot of tears and some of the decisions she made were really difficult - I'd just have loved a bit more about how and why the pills did what they did!
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This is another excellent book by Josie Silver.  I loved the parallel plot (which reminded me of the movie sliding doors, which I loved).  I liked the way she dealt with grief and loss and moving on with life.  It had me in tears but ultimately I found it very uplifting.
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Another lovely book from this author! I enjoyed reading it! The characters are lovely, though the book could possibly have been a little shorter.
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This is a story about love, a story about losing the love of your life, a story about how you live on without the love of your life. Lydia and her close family and friends were shocked by the sudden death of her fiancé Freddie and this book follows her grief journey. It was an easy read in how it’s portrayed and yet it’s dealing with a lot of emotion. It’s hard to say you enjoy a book about grief as such but I was absorbed by the characters and their journeys. Many thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Books (UK) for this arc.
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I DNF this one. I found it slow and tiresome. It wasn’t like Jojo Moyes’ books. The humour wasn’t there. I couldn’t read more
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This was exactly what I expected, sweet and a bit sad. It was an enjoyable book about self discovery and grief. 
I think there could have been more discussion around drug abuse as the sleeping pills made me slightly uncomfortable. Plus the final quarter of the book did drag a little for me, but otherwise it was a lovely read.
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An enjoyable read but not as good as Josie's previous books that I've read. Still a pleasant read though with some lovely characters.
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As usual in my reviews, I will not rehash the plot (there are plenty of reviews like that out there!)

This is the second book I've read by Josie Silver.  It was an enjoyable read on the whole. Incredibly sad at times (obviously, due to the subject of the novel!) so with hindsight I should probably not have read it over the festive period.

It's well written, but I found the pace slightly slow in some sections - not enough to stop me reading it though.  Also felt that Lydia was incredibly lucky to have such understanding employers and colleagues - it was slightly unrealistic really though (having had experience of the amount of time bereaved folks are given off work - usually one week, and a few weeks at most).

I'll happily read more from this author - I like her style, and she writes excellent characters.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC. All opinions are my own.

Note:  I am posting this VERY late - I thought I'd already posted it but found it as a draft.
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Loved this book
 Characters were well written. Loved the way it switched between the present and the might have been
Recommended
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This book was fab. A really interesting take on the dual narrative style with the protagonist living two lives. It captures the heartache so well of losing somebody so close, but how eventually with time one can heal again. 

A lovely, heart-warming read.
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A lovely book, portrays grief and love very sensitively, and really tugs at your emotions. I really enjoyed it.
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I don’t know what to think about this book. I didn’t love it but I didn’t hate it either. I found it difficult to work out which life I was reading at times. I guessed how it would end fairly quickly but then it felt like it was then too long to get to that part. It was a lovely ending like a love story.
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There were parts of this book that I absolutely adored as it was funny, engaging and full of humour. There were also times I felt increasingly frustrated with the main character and the fact the story flicked between the two lives with little indication in the headings as to which world was which.
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My first by this author. I struggled getting into it initially as you are jumping around in time. Having said that I am so relieved that I persevered. 
Wow what a story, what an ending. 
The journey the main characters took was well thought out, wonderfully written and just plain brilliant. 
Lydia is best friends with Jonah all through school, then she falls in love with Freddie who is also best friends with Jonah. They are just the perfect trio. Definitely a five star read and annoyed it took me so long to get around to reading it.
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So when I heard Josie Silver had a new book out I was absolutely thrilled as I loved one day in December yet equally nervous incase i didn't enjoy after loving the previous book so much .... I'm happy to say I loved Two lives of Lydia Bird just as much, another beautiful, moving story that will stay with me for a long time.
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I loved this book. I cried almost all the way through but what a story. The emotion all through is so real and heartfelt that you can't help but get so tied up in every emotion Lydia goes through. This is not something you ever imagine going through but this book just floored me. I didn't want it to end and would love to read more about Lydia and Jonah.  I wish I could give it more stars.
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A story centering on grief and loss but surprisingly fun given the subject matter. A journey of self discovery and romance which I throughly enjoyed.
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