Other than the time spent on "IFI" history...what could have happened, when her real life presented so much to write about, I enjoyed this romance. I call it "a rainy day book" perfect for curling up with on a rainy day and reading in one sitting.

While this book began a little slow, I loved the way it was written with such strong emotions. I felt connected to the characters immensely. A little too sad for my tastes, but was still a good read.

This book took me a long time to get into. The reader is along the journey of a woman's grieving process after a terrible accident. The story is at times heart warming and devastatingly sad and is all about how life's events change our stories. I'd suggest this book to anyone who wants an introspective and emotionally challenging read. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital ARC.

I hate to give a bad review, but this wasn't for me. There just wasn't much plot and for such a long book, that's a problem.

The author did well conveying emotions, but the plot itself needs some work.

Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to read this one! I hope others enjoy it more than me.

I’ve always loved the idea of parallel universes, and so I loved the idea of The Two Lives of Lydia Bird. While technically this could be classified as a romance, it is more about a woman who puts her life back together after the death of her fiancee.
I really liked Lydia, and I especially liked seeing her grow and seeing her realize she was growing. I liked the idea that Lydia’s sleep world with her fiancee wasn’t perfect. No life is perfect and while perhaps one bad thing isn’t happening doesn’t mean other bad things won’t.
Was this book a little predictable, yes. But that didn’t bother me. This is a book where the ending doesn’t matter as much as the journey. That isn’t to say I didn’t like the ending, but it wasn’t as important as the rest of the story.
I really enjoyed this book. It was well written and an enjoyable read.

I gave this a three out of five stars. This is pretty much what one would expect but it was really good. For me, it just seemed to be a bit long.

Silver's novel is a compelling Sliding Doors inspired read, when a young woman realizes she can continue living life with her deceased fiance via a prescription sleep drug. Despite the slightly fantastical plot, Silver does an excellent job excavating the effects of grief and the effort to continue living your real life when one that seems better interferes.

I was a HUGE fan of Josie Silver's "One Day in December", so when I heard about this novel I absolutely HAD to read it.

Reader beware - for the first half of the book I cried every time I picked it up... now I will admit that I am an easy crier, it doesn't take much. But this story really pulled at my heartstrings. On the flip side it was also heartwarming at times, but it was really a downer to me after that first half - almost hard to pick up.. So I started to put it off and get really bored with the story.

I honestly felt like there wasn't a whole lot of plot, just what was happening day to day. I was hoping for a book that sucked me in from the first page and didn't let me go. Sadly this is not what I got with this one.

I loved this story that expounded on the "what ifs" or "if onlys"!
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Lydia Bird's fiance is killed in a car accident early in this novel which follows her in the months following his death and her struggles to move forward. Initially she is comforted by dreams of their alternate live (hence the title) but she has difficulty making sense of her life without him.

I liked this book, but there was a slight tone of fantasy via her dream life which I think was corrected by the end.

The Two Lives of Lydia Bird by Josie Silver

I had heard mixed things about this one and was hesitant going into it. I switched formats too since the physical was a little slow to get into but then flew through the audio version. The two lives are between Lydia in the present day, after she is grieving the loss of her fiance, Freddie, and in the dream world where she is still with him living their lives.

This is a story of loss, grief, and how to recover through these emotions. This has similar vibes to Maybe in a Different Life, The Two Lila Bennetts, and The Versions of Us. Lydia's support system was so strong and helped her endure her pain and processing. This is sad, and feels 100 pages too long, but I'm glad I finished this one!

𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰⁣
𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦: 𝟻:𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘐𝘵 𝟺:𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘓𝘪𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘐𝘵 𝟹:𝘓𝘪𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘐𝘵 𝟸:𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘖𝘒 𝟷:𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘓𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘐𝘵 𝟶:𝘋𝘕𝘍⁣
⁣
"𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐰𝐨 𝐋𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐋𝐲𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐁𝐢𝐫𝐝" by Josie Silver⁣
𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: #fiction #contemporaryfiction ⁣
𝐒𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬: see comment section⁣
𝐂𝗪/𝐓𝗪: car accident, death of loved one⁣
𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: 4.0/5.0⁣
𝟏-𝗪𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰: emotional⁣
⁣
𝟒.𝟎/𝟓.𝟎⁣
Hi, hello- this book had me crying from page one. This story tackles the loss of a loved one and one woman’s journey through loss, grief, love and friendship. I loved the writing in this book, though it did not feel like a quick read for me. I loved the characters, the way Silver seamlessly transitioned between Lydia’s “two lives”, and I’m extremely impressed with how she was able write a story that conveyed grief in such a relatable manner (relatable for me, at least). ⁣
𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢 𝟻/𝟻...⁣
•Some chapters seemed to drag or serve no purpose. On the other hand, this resulted in the book reading like Lydia’s experience and not like a work of fiction- so I wouldn’t necessarily change this.⁣
•I wasn’t on the edge of my seat to get to the “end” or a certain resolution, though I don’t think this was the purpose of the book. Point being...I still like a solid peak(s) in the books I read (for this one think less mountain range type book and more low-rolling hills type book). ⁣
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𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: I would recommend this book to anyone that is a fan of contemporary books with relatable characters, that isn’t afraid to tackle tough topics.

The Two Lives of Lydia Bird is a powerful and thrilling love story about the what-ifs that arise at life’s crossroads, and what happens when one woman is given a miraculous chance to answer them. Lydia and Freddie. Freddie and Lydia. They’d been together for more than a decade, and Lydia thought their love was indestructible. But she was wrong. On her twenty-eighth birthday, Freddie died in a car accident. Lydia knows that Freddie would want her to try to live fully, happily, even without him. But then something inexplicable happens that gives her another chance at her old life with Freddie. A life where none of the tragic events of the past few months have happened. Lydia is pulled again and again across the doorway of her past, living two lives, impossibly, at once. review: This book was quite emotional as it deals with loss, grieving, and forgiveness. For me, it was a bit of a slower start, but once the story built I found that I really enjoyed it. I liked that Lydia was flawed and it showed a true view of how some people grieve. I really enjoyed the journey Lydia took us on both when she was awake and when she was asleep in her alternate life. This book was equal parts heartbreaking and uplifting. rating: 4 out of 5 ⭐️

Okay. Last year I read and loved One Day in December. It reminded me a little of Love Actually and I could see it being a movie. WELL. The Two Lives of Lydia Bird is A GEM. I don’t think it’s going to be for everyone right now because it’s not just your average light romance read. Lydia has been through it. Her fiancé passes away in a car accident, and the story is her moving through her grief...IN TWO WORLDS. It alternates between Lydia being “awake” and “asleep”. This is the second book I’ve read where people have mentioned the movie Sliding Doors (The Two Lila Bennett’s is the other) and so clearly I need to watch that movie. It’s interesting to read about Lydia trying to juggle her feelings, how loss has changed her, and two worlds.

This one is sweet and has all the feelings. It’s both sad and hopeful, character driven and I miss reading it already. I can’t wait to talk more about this one with my #nerdoutbookclub. I think there’s still room so let me know if you want in. 🖤 Thank you to @netgalley for my copy as well.

The Two Lives of Lydia Bird is a beautiful love story that you won't be able to put down. It follows Lydia Bird after she loses her fiance in a car accident. She is torn between trying to work through her grief and visiting with her fiance in her dreams at night. Josie Silver is at the top of her game right now in the romance genre and I can't wait to see what she writes next!

Did not finish when I realized it was about someone that feels like she goes back in time then come to today?

I started to see where this book was going at about 10% and quickly lost interest. While I enjoyed the authors previous book, this one did not do it for me. Hopefully next time!

I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

When Lydia's fiance, Freddie, suddenly dies, her grief is immense and she can't sleep. Her doctor prescribes her sleeping pills that transport her back into a life where Freddie is still alive. Navigating her loss, Lydia learns a lot about herself and what it means to live with grief.

Sounds sad, right? It is. It's super sad. But it's also accurate, happy and hopeful by the end.

I felt that Josie Silver did a fabulous job depicting what grief is really like, so while the book is depressing until maybe the last 20%, this book is absolutely spot on with what I've experienced--maybe not as a bereaved fiance, but as a bereaved sister.

I love, love, loved the message that happy endings don't end with significant loss. I absolutely loved that Lydia's story ended happily.

Thanks Random House & NetGalley for the free advanced e-galley!

TW/CW:
fatal car accident; dependence on pills; intense depictions of bereavement; traumatic childbirth experience; miscarriage

This wasn’t exactly what I was expecting. I knew it would be emotional, and it was, but it didn’t quite resonate with me. The main character seemed lacking to me and I couldn’t quite understand her. All in all I would say this book wasn’t for me but I might give the author a try again.

Although I wasn’t a huge fan of One Day in December I decided to give her new book a shot. I tried everything in my power to finish this book but it was a struggle. There was barely any type of plot. I get the two different time periods but it didn’t tie together and it was just the main character crying or sleeping the entire book. This was unfortunately a let down. Thank you to NetGalley for the arc!