Slummy Mummies unite. A book that will instantly make every Mother feel better about themselves when they realise they’re ‘not the only one’! A mesmerising tale about family, relationships and friendship and their corresponding unbreakable ties. I did not want to put this book down and felt so sad that it was over, after I foolishly stayed up all night to finish it!

Saoirse is juggling motherhood and keeping up with the ‘Organics’ (the competitive uberMums at school) with a career as a ghost writer. Her job is not easy, trying to appease her ‘Monster Child’, Anna, who seems to have her parents exactly where she wants them, whilst trying to avoid being looked down on by the ‘Organics’.

She gets approached by Sebastian, offering her an unbelievable amount of money to ghost write his book. Seeing as her Husband, David has just been made redundant, she can’t turn down the offer, however creepy Sebastian is. David is relishing his opportuntiy to have some time off work to concentrate on the things that he likes doing, leaving Saoirse with no choice financially, other than to accept the gig. He is also taking the chance to meet his birth Mother, in the hope of forging a relationship with her, without destroying the relationship with his adoptive Mother.

The old adage ‘too good to be true’ must surely rear its ugly head? Saoirse soon realises that there is really no book to write and she is left with a dilemma a little too close to home.

You will have to read for yourself to find out what happens with the ghost writing and whether Saoirse manages to keep the ‘Organics’ at bay!

First things first, I am so glad I did not have to read the book out loud as Saoirse’s name left me scrambling every time I came to it. I mean it had me silently tongue-tied. Secondly, I did not know this was a sequel until I started looking up the details for the beginning of my post. I guess I’m going to be hunting it down through the Kindle store now just because I honestly loved Saoirse. I feel she is
exactly how I would be on the playground – once the Covid restrictions ease a little – awkward, anti-social and chasing the cool mom.

The book follows our main character Saoirse through her day to day life a mother, well slash ghost-writer, best friend and breadmaker. As Saoirse proves, its never just housework, playdates and school runs. Its about being the superhero best friend with a little white stick, a silent text assassin looking out for the working mums, a supporting partner when your husband’s life turns completely topsy turvy and all whilst figuring out if your parenting style whilst the I-Pad rules the roost. No seriously, as adorable as Saoirse’s daughter Anna is; she is like a demon on a blood fuelled rampage if you get between her and her YouTube Kids. You get to know Anna a lot during the story, her character is full of personality. She is the perfect example of a sassy 4-year-old. Saoirse clearly has her hands full with this adorable monster. I would love a playdate between Anna and my oldest Oscar, I feel it would amazing though the bombsite afterwards would definitely need a cleaner.

The other characters you get to meet throughout this uplifting and funny novel are just as big on the personality front. Well, except Diane. Diane fails at small talk. You have David, the husband and newly passionate chef. I don’t know what his job was before, I am certain neither did his wife Saoirse, but now he likes to cook. Plus, brunch is his new addiction. Brunch’s David’s way makes a marriage fun. Remind me to try it once both kids are in school. You also meet Bea, Saoirse’s best friend and fellow mother who’s life explodes into uncertain territory. But with a best friend like Saoirse, she will do just fine. See, their friendship is the goal that you need in your life. Reminds me once this Covid situation eases, I need mine back in my life rather than inbox. You also get to meet Anna’s new best friend Millie, as well as her parents Sho and Ambrose. See, Millie is the daughter of the cool parents, the parents who are edgy and alternative. The parents with tattoos, but not me. Even though I’m covered, I feel I am too geeky to be a Sho. Sho is the old Chlo, the one that could live past 10pm and travelled to see bands without a second thought. Parent Chlo is Saoirse. I do love the juxtaposition between the two characters, two completely opposite sides of the parenting spectrum with a united goal. That brings me to the Organics. The judgey mums who have banned all processed foods and like to rub it in your face that they can parent better than you. If you have these sorts of mums on the playground, ignore them, they aren’t doing better at the parenting game than you. We are all just on different difficulties, that being our child’s choice in listening skills and taste pallet.

Honestly, the book is a feel good comedy highlighting all the true moments of being a parent, the
breakdowns, the test on relationships and the irony of raising a mini you. Plus it feels like it could be written by you. Well, not the well written jokes and comedy. At least not me. But the parenting stories, the wins and the fails that deserve a glass or two of wine. I loved the book and it was such an easy read. It felt like a gossip over a coffee when the children wreck the upstairs. Plus considering the current situation outside, everyone deserves a pick me up and this book provides big time. I mean knickers over work trousers for an interview sort of laugh. So let Emma Murray y and Saoirse provide the jokes and you can provide the wine and laughs. It went down well with my bottle of red.

Rating 4.5/5

Reviewed on goodreads, amazon UK and personal blog

{Thank you to Boldwood Books for my gifted copy. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.}

The Juggle by Emma Murray was such a delightful read. Anyone who has stepped foot into the parenting arena knows that the stakes feel high and the juggle is real. Every day there are so many balls in the air that it's only a matter of time before one gets dropped and Murray shared this premise with humor and plenty of relatable moments.

The daily journey through Saoirse’s trials and tribulations of motherhood was refreshing because we have all been there! Murray included many relatable topics including relationships, domestic duties, work pressures, childcare, and even the judgemental school moms.

I loved that while Saoirse's life was portrayed as hectic, Murray also focused on the loneliness of motherhood...something that is often not talked about but so many of us have felt. While I didn't always agree with every thought Saoirse had, her wonderful self-reflection and overall kindness made her feel much more multi-dimensional as a whole.

The section about miscarriage was powerful and I am so glad that Murray included it in this "lighter" read on parenthood. It is something so many women (and families) experience and normalizing the heartache and grieving process, especially in written media, is so important.

Overall, this was just such an enjoyable read, and I look forward to reading what Emma Murray comes out with next! 4.5 stars. Thank you to Boldwood Books for my gifted copy.

Okay. First of all, I had to look up the pronunciation of the name Saoirse so I didn’t murder it every time I came across it. Secondly, I was thoroughly exhausted from laughing at Saoirse’s antics as a mother, wife, friend, and ghostwriter.

Between the judgemental school moms nicknamed the Organics, her nutcase of a client with his creepy secret invention, her moody daughter, and her redundant, stay-at-home husband looking for his birth mother, what more could happen to Saoirse? Pull up a chair…

Saoirse is one tough dude holding her life together like a rock star. She servilely outmaneuvers her precocious and manipulative four-year-old Anna, she enjoys brunch sex with her jobless husband, and she is a loyal and wonderful friend to her best friend Bea who is going through some rough times.

I laughed out loud so many times reading this book including the “blowjobgate” with Mr. Russell at her daughter’s school and the snarky ankle-crushing, scooter-riding Facebook Vale Mums. There are also some very moving and heartbreaking moments with Bea’s situation and David’s search for his birth mother. There is nothing I love more than a book that makes me laugh and cry within just a few chapters as the surprises keep coming to the cliffhanger ending.

I recommend this smart, relatable, and funny book about juggling motherhood, friendship, and family while trying to stay sane in the process. I can’t wait to see what the author brings in book 2. Give this book a try.

Thank you to Ms. Murray for giving me the opportunity to read this book with no expectations of a positive review.

I read and loved Emma’s previous book called ‘Time Out’. When I heard that she was due to release another one, I knew that I just had to read it as soon as I could. I managed to get my hands on a copy and I squirrelled myself away until the moment I read the very last word on the very last page. I thought that ‘Time Out’ was good but ‘The Juggle’ is even better. I ADORED reading ‘The Juggle’ but more about that in a bit.
It took me no time at all to get into this story. In fact by the time I got to the bottom of the first page, I knew that this was one of those books that would prove to be unputdownable. I was spot on too. My Kindle wasn’t exactly glued to my hand but it might as well have been because it travelled everywhere with me. I just couldn’t bear to miss a single second of the story. I think part of the reason for my addiction to this book was the fact that it made me smile so often. In fact I don’t think that I stopped smiling once whilst reading this book. ‘The Juggle’ was just the tonic that I needed. The pages turned over increasingly quickly as I worked my way through the story. Then al too quickly I reached the end of the story and I had to bid farewell to Saoirse.
‘The Juggle’ is superbly written but then I thought that to be true of ‘Time Out’ too. Emma has one of those writing styles that reads more like a chat between friends than an actual book. I hope that makes sense. Emma’s writing style is easy to get used to and easy to get along with. I love the way in which she creates such lovable characters that end up feeling more like friends than anything else. I also love the way in which Emma injects a large dose of humour into the story. The way in which she described some of the school Mams and what happened to the headmaster made me cough, splutter and spit some of the tea out that I had just taken a large gulp of. I found this to be a gripping story which held my attention from start to finish and made me laugh a lot.
In short, I thoroughly and totally adored reading ‘The Juggle’ and I would have no hesitation in recommending this book to other readers. I will certainly be reading more of Emma’s work in the future. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*

Thank you to #NetGalley for the early copy of this lovely book 📖 I thoroughly enjoyed my time reading this one. It’s publication is 11th February 2021, so only a few days left to wait for its release - how exciting. ⁣
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TW: miscarriage⁣
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This book was a lovely view into the courageous landscape of “motherhood” in all its forms, friendship, marriage and the perseverance of loving, and respecting, oneself. I enjoyed this one a lot and there few a few moments where I found myself chuckling like this ‘heh heh’. ⁣
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I did find that this story lacked in some areas that could have been fleshed out more. However, I think this is down to the fact that I did not read the first instalment of this book, for this is actually a sequel. For example, some of the relationships with male figures in here were very two dimensional and I felt like I wanted more. ⁣
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I loved the very honest conversation about loneliness. Though I sometimes found the main character very judgmental... but this is rectified in her self awareness. There was some reference to prostitution as being “bad” by some of the characters, which were a little uncomfortable to read. ⁣
I loved the conversation surrounding miscarriage, which is very topical at the moment. So it was great to see this being represented. ⁣
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Overall, this was a quick, lighthearted read that I needed and I am glad that I picked this one up. ⁣

It was not until after I finished reading that I looked at other reviews and found out that this novel was a sequel to the novel Time Out. The Juggle follows the same set of characters and acts as a direct sequel given that it takes place after the events of the first. I read this novel without reading the previous and was able to follow without any issues, so I believe readers can read this one as a standalone if they wished. However, reading the first novel would provide background and more details to the story. There are references to the events from the previous novel, but there are times where I wish I read the entire story first.

Saoirse is currently a stay at home mom trying to balance life in a school where the mom squad gives those that do not serve only organic snacks, a difficult time. Her daughter, Anna, is a sweet and vivacious four-year-old who loves her iPad time, which is something else Saoirse gets judged for by the other moms. Even if you do not have children, Saoirse is very relatable how she tries to balance multiple things at the same time while trying to actually do them well. Anyone who has ever tried to keep track of multiple things at once can absolutely relate to this character and sympathize with her struggle.

Saoirse’s husband, David, loses his job in this one and now must find a new career path, or at least a new job. To keep the family afloat, Saoirse ends up taking a ghost-writing job, given that her book is currently on hold, in order to earn enough money for the family to survive while David works on his professional life. The story goes through the day-to-day life of the juggle that everyone goes through where they have so much to keep track of in their life with others that either directly or indirectly are impacted by how well they can hold it together. I loved the humorous take on this struggle as it was light-hearted and very relatable. Things don’t always go as planned where you have to pivot to something new, sometimes at a moment’s notice. There are times where you have to pick and choose your battles and just take even the smallest achievement as a win, even if it was not the outcome you were working towards. With David’s job loss and Saoirse’s new job to ghost-write, their roles change as David steps up to help out more at home. This slight role reversal was entertaining and enjoyable to read about.

In addition to Saorise’s life at home, she also has her best friend, Bea, and her new school mom friends. The moms in the Organics, “perfect” school mom group, are her “friends” and we see how Saorise balances these different relationships. Like every person, there are many obstacles with trying to balance the lives of others with you own as you don’t want to be a bad friend, wife, husband, mother, father, etc., yet you need to find balance to keep yourself happy, too. Again, this is a topic that everyone can relate to in some way as all readers will understand the struggle to try and be everywhere at once without experiencing burnout.

The school Whatsapp group was funny as I fully related to Saoirse. If there was a school bake sale, I would absolutely be bringing store bought cakes instead of making my own, especially because I’m not a great baker. Saoirse’s journey was very enjoyable to read about as she further explores her friendship with Bea and begins to wonder if her current writing career path is right for her. I love how the entire novel looks at what happens when your life seems to be going one way and then curveballs are thrown at you and now you either have to work to return to the original way of life or figure out a brand new way. Overall, this is a perfect book club novel as there are lots of possible discussion topics. It was very enjoyable and gave a nice slice of life reading to my day. I would gladly read more from this author!

**I give a special thank you to NetGalley, Boldwood Books, and the author, Emma Murray, for an ARC to read and review. The opinions expressed are completely my own.**

The Juggle is a story about Saoirse, a 40 year old mother to one. She is currently a ghost-writer, writing books for others as well as starting on her own book about motherhood. Saoirse's husband is made redundant and she becomes the breadwinner of the family. This brings the added pressure of being a mother, wife and friend and she soon finds herself trying to please everyone and accomplish everything until something has to give.

Meanwhile Saoirse is under constant pressure to keep the household running financially. Her husband having been made redundant has taken the back seat and decided to pursue his hobby rather than look for another job straight away. Her best friend has become pregnant again and the guy she has been assigned to ghost-write for is very creepy.

I really enjoyed this book, it was light-hearted and funny. The character Saoirse is an absolute gem. She believes in bringing children just as she was brought up and constantly finds herself in a judgemental clash with the other mums at school. The mums who feel there is a certain way to raise a child and particularly feeding them an all organic diet.

The story is a great one for tuning out and being in someone else's shoes for a while. However I did feel there were parts I was missing whilst reading the book, things that didn't make sense. I was right and found this is actually a sequel to Emma Murray's first book 'Time Out' which I have now purchased and I'm currently reading.

The Juggle is an excellent story especially for Mothers who try and please everyone and do everything. Emma Murray has created some really relatable characters. This enables the reader to follow the story with ease and at times laugh out loud. The basis of the story tells me although you want to- you can't be everything to everyone all the time.

Loved the book from the start and hadn't realised there had been one before until there were a couple of references to things that had happened in the past, it certainly didn't spoil the book though. I am hoping there is going to be another one as I want to know what happens next !

As soon as I read the description for this book, it instantly caught my interest. After reading and really enjoying Time Out by Emma Murray, I couldn’t wait to get started on this one.

I really loved the character Saoirse. Her personality was so wonderful and realistic, along with her having a true strength within her, we get to see her at the moments that are also filled with self-doubt. Her daughter Anna is now four years old and is a beautiful, humorous character who really adds a sense of joy to the story, and of course to Saoirse.

As Saoirse and David both face their own struggles, will they be able to work together to give Anna the life they so desperately want for her, or will it push them apart?.

I truly enjoyed reading this book and diving back into the world of Saoirse and her family as she juggles motherhood, her family and other loyalties. This book flowed beautifully, and as a mother myself I could really relate to her on many levels as this story progressed.

All of the characters were wonderfully unique and added so much to the story, as every interaction showed a different side to peoples personalities. The storyline was well constructed and had a lot of context to keep you needing to read to the very end. A really enjoyable read.

We are thrown into a scene of domestic chaos straight away, at the beginning of the book. However, this is chaos of a lighter kind – a normal, everyday chaos if you like. The kind where everyone, but especially the central character Saoirse is rushing around, trying to do and be lots of things all at once. I immediately identified with the character and her situation – “it’s been a mad day” is a phrase I use often! Saoirse describes herself delving into the “cupboard of crap” in order to keep her child happy, and I found myself laughing out loud at these lively descriptions.

There are many light and humorous observations throughout the book and I could really sympathise with the pressure Saoirse felt to be a “perfect mum”, and I loved that she had the strength and confidence to do things her way! This instantly made her a likeable character and one that I could see myself being friends with.

There are many interesting relationships explored within the book, including that of having a best friend (as an adult), an only child and even a journey of discovery involving a birth mother. This is where Emma Murray takes this book to another level, and gives it a depth and warmth that are sometimes missed in favour of laugh out loud humour in similar style books.

There are some interesting and possibly triggering subjects explored in the book, including adoption, death and baby loss. However, I felt that these are dealt with in a sophisticated and sensitive way.

Overall, I have found this to be a heart-warming and uplifting tale about remembering what’s important in life – namely connection, compassion and self care. I have really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to fans of Suzy K Quinn and Gill Sims.

After having reviewed and loved Time Out for how honest and open a portrayal of motherhood it was, I was left aching for a sequel. I showed my interest as soon as Boldwood sent the email with the details.

Saoirse is such a great person, so real and such a fighter yet we do see her at her weakest, most self-doubting moments. Her daughter Anna is now four and is still full of energy and just a joy with all the things she comes out with. Yes, she still loves her iPad and YouTube. She is just the sweetest little girl yet has a character that makes her wise beyond her years.

David has a struggle in store when he loses his job, and the snobby mums are still trying to get Saoirse down. But will she give them what they want, or rise to the challenge?

Can she succeed in giving her daughter the best life possible and will David work with her, or will it all prove too much?

Once again, family, motherly duties and loyalty come into play for a loveable family in an amazing sequel that flows so easily and is very feel-good but also real. Although I am not a mother myself, I feel that Saoirse has so much to teach me, and anyone else who wishes to be a mother.

Another great book by Emma Murray! She has such a talent for any subject relating to motherhood and making all the themes relatable that I never felt lost in the book. Each and every character was clearly formed, highly individual and the plot was easy to follow. The already excellent pacing was enhanced further by short, tightly focused chapters which was something I enjoyed about Tine Out, the previous novel, too.

Thanks to Emma Murray, Rachel's Random Resources and Boldwood Books for my ARC in exchange for an honest and voluntary review.

5 stars.

The Juggle by Emma Murray was a laugh out loud funny and relatable book that explored friendship, parenting struggles, and marital woes. I enjoyed it so much that I am going to read the first book in the series, and will anxiously await the sequel!

Such a fun read. A story of a woman juggling motherhood, work, a house, a husband and the dreaded playground mum wars (thank god my son gets the bus).

It is lighthearted and funny. I laughed A LOT!

I had no idea it was a sequel and certainly dont feel like I've missed anything by not reading Time Out.

I am really excited to read more of Emma's work.
⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Juggle is one of those books where you read the blurb and just know you are going to love it. Within the first few pages I knew I was going to really love Saoirse, she is the kind of Mum that I loved chatting to on the school run as she was much more down to earth and realistic. I laughed at her references to the organic mum's who used their scooters to and from school as it was like stepping back in time to when my daughter started school.

A book packed full of great characters with tears of laughter and sadness throughout, this is a real insight into the battles you choose to pick with your children and how sometimes you don't have the time and decide to settle for a quick win. Being a working parent is tough at times and it does require a lot of juggling and so much judgement is passed on parenting styles, rather than people just focusing on making their little humans as nice as possible.

This was my first book by Emma Murray but I loved it and I really hope we get to meet Saoirse and her family again as this story made me giggle throughout and I love a light hearted read.

I was enjoying this novel, but there were some references that I was not sure about. I checked and then realised that this is a sequel to Emma Murray’s Time Out. I went back and this put the Juggle in a better perspective for me. I don’t necessarily think that you need to do this, but it helped with my enjoyment of the novel. That said, this is a fun irreverent read about trying to juggle it all as a mother, working woman and as part of a relationship. It is an interesting read either as a sequel or as a stand alone. Thanks to Boldwood Books and Netgalley for an ARC of this novel.

I was completely unaware when I signed up for the blog tour that this book is a sequel and even by the end of the story I didn't feel like I had missed significant amounts of information by not reading the first one. On reflection yes, I probably had but not sufficient to spoil the story for me.

Saoirse and David have life pretty much sorted, David works in banking while his wife does the school run and works as a ghost writer from home. Then life does what it does and drops a bombshell with David being made redundant from his job. But this coincides with Saoirse being offered the chance to earn big bucks for a seemingly easy writing job and for only six months work. There's a saying: if something looks too good to be true it usually is. This comes to Saoirse's mind when she hears the offer - but in a desperate effort to take the pressure off David she agrees to the task and at first she believes all her dreams are coming true.

The author presents us with comical narration of the family's day to day life with Saoirse's twice daily dreaded experience of the Organics, the seemingly perfect school run mums. Anyone who has done the school run will be able to relate to these tales and there are some particularly laugh out loud events which befall Saoirse and her daughter Anna. Dad David tries to take the strain of these treks to the school gates much to Anna's dismay (nothing the promise of a much frowned upon pink doughnut won't solve though) so that Saoirse can travel across London to meet the eccentric benefactor who is facilitating this change of lifestyle.

While taking his sabbatical from work David makes the decision to try and trace his birth mother (this must be one of the sections of the story which the first book provides a background on) which causes the inevitable ripples in his relationship with his adoptive mother, a cold, rather strange individual I found. This part of the story I found quite emotional in more ways than one, which I wasn't expecting amongst the humour I had been reading so far.

I found the whole book a very realistic representation of the many and varied characters in life - but at the same time realised that even with all these different personalities, humans are the same the world over and we are all stereotypes in one form or another.

This would be a fun book to discuss for a book club with all sorts of issues to discuss from parenting styles, employment issues, adoption, friendship boundaries and many, many more.

Anyone who has ever tried to balance children, work, family and friends knows that really is, as Emma Murray says, The Juggle. Saoirse has it all figured out. She has a loving (most of the time) husband David and a part time job as a ghostwriter. She’s also writing a book about motherhood, something she’s becoming an expert on because of her four year old daughter Anna. Dealing with the competitive, passive aggressive mothers at Anna’s school is her only problem until David loses his job.

With income now a problem, Saoirse asks her editor for more work. It comes in the form of Sebastian Fox, an ex-banker turned author. He has a breakthrough invention and wants Saoirse to write about its creation. He’ll pay her a large (and much needed) sum when she signs a non-disclosure contract. Only then will he tell her what the invention is. Then it is too late to change her mind.

While she wrestles with an acceptable way to describe Sebastian’s work, she is also dealing with problems in her family and with her friends. Saoirse’s caring, sympathetic nature radiates from the pages of The Juggle and is a large part of the book’s success. The Juggle is the second in a series but can be read as a standalone. It’s a quick, easy, fun read! 4 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Boldwood Books and Emma Murray for this ARC.

The Juggle is a heartwarming story about balancing children, relationships and your career. It's a really honest portrayal and even though I don't have kids I found Saoirse's character really relatable. Like many others I didn't realise this book was a follow up for Emma Murray's 'Time Out' but The Juggle is a great standalone book even if some of the back stories might have made more sense. However, if Emma wrote it I'd read a follow up because I want to know what happens to Saoirse, David and Anna.

This book is a sequel, although you do not need to have read the first, It can be read as a standalone.
The book is very funny, if you are easily offended by bad language stay clear, but for the rest of us this is an excellent, warm, funny read.
Meet Saoirse normal forty something mum trying to navigate life with its ups and downs. When Husband David loses his job she becomes the main breadwinner. Cue funny situations, honest emotional moments and personal growth.
What makes this book so enjoyable and readable are the experiences Saoirse encounters which are so true to life, the school gate cliques, friendships, the behaviour of young children.
A thoroughly enjoyable and lovely read, I have just finished the first book and it is a worthy follow up.
Read it and be entertained, you wont regret it.
Thank You to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for this advanced copy to review.