"Living one life is less stressful than living two."

My goodness... One small decision has monumental consequences. Lydia's fiance dies unexpectedly and seemingly without reason. Lydia can't sleep and is overwhelmed with grief. Her heartache is palpable and, for large portions of the book, so was mine. Her mother insists on requesting a prescription to help her sleep. Once Lydia does, her life splits between hours of awake and those when she's asleep, where Freddie is vibrantly alive and she gets to live the life she expected.

There is so much about this book to love. It's more than her love story with Freddie. Lydia copes with love and loss through her relationships with Freddie, her sister, mother, and friends. While the grief is understandably heavy, there is light and empowerment through her road to a new life.

Josie is fantastic at drawing out sympathy and empathy. She did an amazing job weaving in fantasy with realism and the supporting cast is so great. I loved so much about this book and I know this is one that will stick with me.

Thank you, Random House and NetGalley for the advanced copy! All thoughts in this review are my own.

Lydia thought she and Freddie would be together forever, and then, on her 28th birthday Freddie dies in a car accident. As much as Lydia wants to hide herself away from the world, she knows Freddie would want her to be happy and live a full life. With the help of her sister and mom, along with Freddie's friend Jonah, Lydia learns to adjust to life without Freddie. However, something happens and she's able to see what life would be like had Freddie never died. Lydia moves between these two lives - the one with Freddie and the one without.

This was a really unique story, and one that I enjoyed reading a lot. I liked her shift in perspective as she moved between her two lives. It was heartbreaking at times, but I feel like it was ultimately a story about acceptance and growth.

Lydia and her fiancee have been best friends since they were kids. It was inevitable that they would fall in love, get married, and live happily ever after. But when Freddie is killed in a car accident, Lydia is lost, unable to function, unable to sleep. Her doctor prescribes a sleeping pill. Like magic, the sleeping pills bring Freddie back to her. While sleeping, she's living her life with Freddie as if nothing happened. She finds herself living for the nighttime when she can be with Freddie again. Did she find a loophole to a parallel world, or is it her mind showing her what she wants to see?
This book was heartwrenching and sad, but I was glad that Lydia was able to move on from her grief, and become stronger because of it.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. The views and opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This book was so heavy, but it was an incredible portrait of grief. It lost me for a bit in the middle because it was hard to read at times, but the ending was done so well. I actually liked this one better than Josie Silver's first book.

The Two Lives of Lydia Bird was one of my most anticipated reads of 2020. As soon as I finished devouring One Day in December, I frantically searched Goodreads to see when Josie Silver would be releasing a new book. And then, that magical day happened. The Two Lives of Lydia Bird was announced. The noise of my squeal could only be heard by my dogs (and yes, I am still apologizing to them to this day). Take away: I was really, really excited for this book.

Lydia and Freddie met in school and have been inseparable ever since. It only comes naturally that their friendship would progress into something more, a love that defines a lifetime. The evening of Lydia’s twenty-eighth birthday, Freddie and the couple’s friend Jonah are in a car accident where Freddie dies, leaving Lydia and her small corner of the world devastated. When Lydia is given the ability to visit Freddie in the dream world, she sees her chance for closure. Yet, the more she visits, the more she becomes torn between two worlds. Will Lydia let Freddie go in order to find love in the real world?

Oh guys….Can I please have some tissues? Why do I need them, you might ask? Was this book a tear-jerker? More like, it pains me to say how much I was disappointed by this book. I cannot contain my feelings, so fair warning going forward, this may contain some spoilers. First of all, I felt like nothing happened in this book. There were bits in the middle where I skimmed. Please don’t tell! However, that is not the biggest issue we had here. This book handles the tricky subject of grief. Now, I understand that everyone grieves differently, but I really do not feel that drug addiction should be glorified like it was in this book. Oh, look at this pretty pink pill AND you can be with your dead ex-fiancé again! What?! If we had to have the sleeping pills as a part of the book, I wish it would have been a brief segment in the beginning, rather than taking up so much of the book. I really wanted to see how Lydia actually coped with Freddie’s death, rather than spending half the book in denial. I also really needed to see more of the relationship with Lydia and Jonah. I couldn’t really believe they were as close as we were told they were. And, we have finally reached it folks. The end of the review. My biggest gripe. Can I get a drum roll please? I really did not like how this book felt like it was written to play on emotions. We had two events back to back and I felt like it was a way to exploit the reader.
Whew! I can breathe again! Please, do yourself a favor and pick up One Day in December. Then you can have some perspective of why The Two Lives of Lydia Bird was such a disappointment for me.

This book was heartbreaking, but I enjoyed Lydia’s journey through her grieving process. Losing someone you love is never easy and this story was an interesting take on how to move on.

I really enjoyed the authors first book One Day in December and was very excited to get an eArc -thank you NetGalley and Ballantine. Unfortunately, The Two Lives of Lydia Bird missed the mark for me. This book is centered around grief, not your usual light and fizzy romcom here. Grief isn't necessarily something I avoid in my reading and it was handled fairly well in this book. I had trouble with the pacing; the first half seemed to be drawn out and I almost didn't finish it. There was some hope throughout and the hope of seeing Lydia push through her grief helped me to complete the book. Unfortunately, I thought it ended on a predictable note.

Growing up, it has always been Lydia, Freddie, and Jonah. Since Jonah was in the car with Freddie on the night of the accident, and only received a few stitches, Lydia can’t help but blame him. The best friend, the third wheel, the person that always came along with Freddie. There was no one else to blame but him.

Lydia Byrd is suffering since the death of her fiancé Freddie. Encouraged to seek professional help, Lydia is prescribed sleeping pills, unbeknownst to anyone, this little pill allows her to enter a parallel dreamworld where she meets up with Freddie and can see what could have been.

Living two lives is taking its toll and in a spur of the moment chooses to drop everything and head to the airport. With few options, Croatia it is. Once there, I won’t say that she finds herself, but she does come to terms with the pain of losing her first love, the future without him, and through nightly phone calls to Jonah, she begins to heal and to forgive.

Not usually a fan of the romance genre, I was heartened when it did not bog down into the usual gushing and swooning. You can feel Lydia’s love, and her pain, and her forgiveness, without the usual eye-rolling and wanting to heave the book across the room. By the end, which is suitable for a Hallmark movie, I loved the characters. Josie Silver builds each with just the right amount of attention, without pushing the boundaries, and though the reader can see something coming, and hopes for what is best, the ending is still a giant exhale and smile.

I’m never sure of how alternating time periods will go when dealing with death but Ms. Silver handled it with aplomb and inventively. Lydia and Freddie have been together forever but happily ever after alludes them when Freddie dies. Lydia is besides herself with grief but somehow returns to what her life would have been with Freddie when she goes to sleep. Except it takes a toll on her by living two lives. She has to chose which one she wants to live in to the fullest..

You will root for Lydia to find her way back to her life and to become who she should be.

I picked this up after enjoying Silver's debut "One Day in December". Really liked that one, but for me this was even better. This is not a romance, while there are some threads of romance within the story. This is a story of grief. Of navigating grief. Of finding oneself after something devastating.

Lydia's fiance dies in a car accident and after months of no sleep, her doctor prescribes her pills that will help her to rest. When she takes the pills she begins living a "sleeping" life, one where her fiance didn't die and they are continuing on with life. I really appreciated that instead of just leaning hard into the romance, we really see the impact that living dual lives has on Lydia's life. She's not the same person in either life because of the experiences she has. I really enjoyed watching Lydia find herself and pull herself through her experiences. There was a great quote about grief not necessarily getting over something but about being able to live a life that doesn't feel second-rate just because they came after a tragedy.

Josie Silver is now an auto buy author for me.

A lovely read.The choice you make in life a chance to take another path.Lydias character heR loves the emotions the sadness A book that kept me up late could not put down.#netgalley #randomhouse

While I liked this book overall, I thought it moved a bit slow in the middle. And, I didn't really like that she ended up with Jonah in the end, it's not because I thought it was a betrayal to Freddy, but instead seemed not within character for Lydia.

I loved Silver’s book “One Day In December” but I loved this one even more. I re-read the last couple pages about 10 times because I loved it so much. I wish I could see more of what happens in the future for this relationship. I didn’t want this book to end! I definitely recommend this book. The characters feel like friends and I was sad to finish it, but loved the ending.

<I>“The human brain is wired to cope with grief. It knows even as we fall into unfathomably dark places, there will be light again, and if we just keep moving forward in one brave straight line, however slowly, we’ll find our way back again.” </I>

This is not an easy review to write. The first 29% of the book made me want to quit reading -- perhaps because I had just finished reading PS I Love You, and this felt painfully similar. At that point, I actually mentioned to a friend of mine that it was a "three-star-read" at most. By the 50% mark, I started enjoying it. At 60%, I got sucked in. Grief is not an easy thing to deal with, and I'm keen on reading about the different ways people cope with loss. Despite my initial boredom, I grew to love the characters and their storylines. The ending was absolutely epic, and it bumped up my rating to four stars!

The Two Lives of Lydia Bird By Josie Silver

Lydia Bird’s fiancée Freddie, the love of her life, was killed in a car accident on the night of her birthday. Weeks passed and Lydia was still unable to get through her grief. Her mother demands for her doctor to prescribe something. The first time Lydia takes the pill and falls asleep, she wakes up to a life where Freddie is very much alive.

I have never read a more creative style of storytelling about the process of grief so well told through a glimpse of what life might have been and what life could be. I read this in one sitting and you will too. As Lydia’s life takes a turn, you will not be able to stop until you know what happens next, as Lydia navigates life’s crossroads. What you end up is a character that is completely changed and an ending that will surely satisfy.

I cried, laughed and I swooned. The characters were a delight to spend time with even her coworkers at the community center all had amazing personalities that come alive through the pages. Silver truly understands the human psyche that when one becomes broken in sadness, grief and despair, one can also be made whole by opening our hearts to possibilities.

This was a true delight to read and should not be passed up. Highly recommend!

I loved this book. I could not put it down. It was such a fun read and really made you think about the decisions you make in life and how each one can effect you forever. I loved seeing what happened on both sides of her lives.

THE TWO LIVES OF LYDIA BIRD by Josie Silver had moments I loved, but they were few and far between; mostly it was full of good enough moments.

I do believe Ms. Silver handled the subject of grief in a well thought out and respectful manner. Adored the relationship between Lydia, her mother and her sister and how deep the relationship between best friends can be. Lots of positive feedback for the story.

That said, the the book was just OK for me. The romances in the book just did not spark for me perhaps I was too immersed in their grief, perhaps the dream-like state didn't work for me. I'm just not sure where this book fell short for me.

This book has it's appeal and should be read. Would like to give it 3.5 stars as I did finish it and I did enjoy many parts of it.

I really loved Josie Silver's debut novel but this book feels too sad for me. I am going to need to be in the mood to read this book. Thank you for sharing this book with me.

**Thank you to Random House for the free advance reader's copy!**

“The human brain is wired to cope with grief. It knows even as we fall into unfathomably dark places, there will be light again, and if we just keep moving forwards in one brave straight line, however slowly, we’ll find our way back again.” ⁣
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You know that whole “sophomore slump” phenomenon you hear about, after an author wows us with a debut and then publishes their second novel, and we all worry whether it will meet our expectations? Yeah, don’t worry, author Josie Silver has you covered. I loved ONE DAY IN DECEMBER but I may love THE TWO LIVES OF LYDIA BIRD even more...just read it.

If I had to pick one word to describe this book it would be heartbreaking. Yes, this book is sad, how could it not be when it deals with our leading lady -Lydia- losing her partner -Freddie- of over a decade, but in between all those moments of genuine grief we see Lydia experience we also get to see her as she strives to put her life back on track.

Josie Silver did a fantastic job of crafting a story that could leave you in tears while simultaneously putting a big fat smile on your face. She's a master at getting readers to feel for her characters and really immerse themselves in the story.

If you enjoyed her previous novel One Day in December I can guarantee you'll enjoy this book.