DNF @ 9%

I never ever ever EVER DNF books, but after reading this passage:

“Then there’s me. The jet-setter. The blonde with the big tits. The smart one. The one who plays the field and never lets her feelings get the better of her. Before I realize what I’ve done, the entire cake has disappeared down my gullet. I feel gross. Utterly gross and utterly alone in a city packed with petite people.”

I had to call it quits for my well-being. The fatphobia got to be way too much and I will not willingly subject myself to that much of it.

I’m only 9% in, less than FIFTY PAGES, and the MC will not stop complaining about how fat she feels (she’s 5 months pregnant!) and how she needs to constantly work out to stop from gaining baby weight. Every time she eats, she talks about how fat it makes her feel, and God forbid she wants something fatty, or full of carbs, or sugary.

Not to mention she’s obsessed with not being like other women: she constantly talks about her boobs, thinks she’s more important and better than everyone around her, and is generally just a bitch. When she meets what I can only assume is one of the three love interests, she’s put off by the fact that he isn’t checking her out; she says it wouldn’t matter if he was married so she thinks he’s gay, and to test that theory she puts her boobs on the table and juts them out to get his attention.

I was so excited for this book, but I’m just angry and disgusted.

I like to call myself a pregnancy trope enjoyer so of course, when I saw that book I had to read it.
Judging by the cover and the description I was expecting some Bridget Jones 3 vibes so I was really hyped for that.
Let me stress one thing at the beginning. The biggest and actually the only disappointment I had is that this book is not a romance, period. It may be advised as that but honestly? It's barely there the whole book. It's more about Trisha's difficulties with accepting her situation. And don't get me wrong. The book is really good and I really enjoyed it. Trisha was a really fun character, watching her struggle was very human and made her very likeable. It's just that I was hyped for a romance and this book has none, maybe some action between certain characters but I wouldn't go as far as calling it romance.
So if you're looking for a romance with pregnancy trope-this is not it.
If you're looking for a book with a relatable character struggling to get her life together and fighting childhood trauma-go for it.

* 3.5 stars *

Something I really enjoyed about this book was how easy it was to read: the story was very fluid, with something always happening and the characters were all very well-built and, I would dare even say, quite relatable (especially if you've ever been pregnant).

Trish's group of friends is quite an amazing one and it was very entertaining to read about them (there's actually a previous book to this one with the same group of friends - "A Way Back to Happy" -, but it's perfectly fine to read this one as a standalone).

The book also mentions some quite important topics (TW: postnatal depression, mental health) and I really enjoyed the way those topics were mentioned and how they were part and gave "texture" to the story.

What caught me off-guard and made me not enjoy the book as much is the fact that this is not really a romance book, but rather a book about friendship, its power, and self-discovery. Was it my fault that I was expecting some spice, some sexual tension, and more romance scenes? Probably, but a girl can dream ahahahaha. I felt that the "love interest" of the main character didn't have enough scenes and dialogue and I felt that there was so much more that could have been done with its character (*spoiler* I mean the guy even KNITS!!)

I would definitely still recommend reading this book, as it's a light read with some funny dialogues that approaches some important topics and it can definitely be interesting (especially, like I said if you've been pregnant), however, if you're expecting this to be a romance book with all the ingredients it usually brings, this is definitely not that book.

Never judge a book by its cover. Well, I did. I do. How could I not want to read this cute romance (as categorized/marketed), with a flirty mama, 2 dudes and a quip about dating?! So imagine my disappointment when I’m reading page after page convincing myself to keep going- because, surely, the romance aspect is just around the corner. Yeah, not really. This is women’s lit with a sprinkle of romance. And there is actually a big difference. If you’re a romance reader looking for romance, this isn’t it. If you’re looking for a book that follows a woman’s emotional journey through her pregnancy and navigates topics of trauma and mental health, well, then you chose well! Sure, it has an air of lightness and comedy. It’s not that it wasn’t enjoyable. It’s that it’s mismarketed and that will only be a disservice to the author and book. It wasn’t what I thought I was getting, and I have no desire to finish it. It wasn’t riveting or grabbing enough to make me stay once I realized it was going nowhere I wanted.

Thank you NetGalley & the publisher for the eARC in exchange for my opinion!

I absolutely loved this! It was such an enjoyable read. The author wove in heavier topics of mental health that really transformed the book. I found myself heavily invested in this love square (?) of elliot, pete, scott & trish.

Thank you Netgalley & the publisher for the ARC!

Trish Kirkpatrick never expected to find herself unmarried, pregnant... and not entirely sure who the baby's father is.
With her ex, Pete, and her colleague, Elliot, in line for daddy duty while waiting on the DNA results, Trish finds her complicated world getting even more chaotic when a meet-cute on a plane to Tokyo with gorgeous architect Scott sparks a new flame.
Now, as her bump grows so do Trish's troubles. Between family issues reappearing on her doorstep and the delivery date fast approaching, Trish will need to make up her mind not only on who she wants to be but who she wants to become.
Characters are very well written, and I raced through this book.

I loved this book! It sucked me in and I read it within the day… it was a very lighthearted read but I loved seeing the growth in the character throughout so many changes. I also enjoyed the honesty in this book about pregnancy and mental health. Only thing is that I wish there would have been a bit more romance throughout.

A beautiful story of impending motherhood and childbirth. Olivia tactfully navigates family trauma, depression, the doubts throughout pregnancy and PND (post natal depression).
The author has put a lot of time and effort into crafting a perfect friendship group with a blend of strengths that Trish (MC) is able to reply upon. There is a light humour throughout, and the author regulates this during the difficult issues within Trish's life.
I would recommend this to my friends and family - especially those who have children, there's a little bit of Trish in all of us mothers.

I was given an ARC by netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I was torn between rating it between two and three stars. The overall plot of the story was very interesting and gave me motivation to read it fast. It had a ton of potential to be a 5 star book with a few tweaks. The support Trish finds in her friends is amazing, her character development and backstory is really well written. Scott is a welcoming surprise that one would not find in a leading male! The things I did not like about the book. The setting was not very well explained and I feel like it should have been since Trish travels to different countries. I also am not entirely sure where Trish is from since there is Australian lingo as well as British lingo? One of the major things was the similarities in names. Tash and Trish kept getting mixed up and multiple scenarios names were mixed up in the writing. Rose would be in one scene but she was supposed to be outside. The grammar mistakes, muddled clarification on characters and settings is what really brought the book down which is a shame because the book is extremely entertaining! One last thing that bothered me was that this is categorized as a Romance but there is no romance. I thought there would be a slow burn but was extremely let down in the end. I feel that it should be adjusted towards an adult audience in romance since it does go into detail with pregnancy and can see adult women connecting with Emma and Trish over that.

This novel was a great quick read. It deals with many topics including friendship, mental health, and family issues. It highlights the idea that in everyone’s life there are huge parts that we may not let others see. Trish has wonderful friends, but keeps them in the dark about her childhood and bouts of depression until she needs to face them head on. In some of the lighter parts, the story was greatly enjoyable with the idea of finding love in unexpected places. Great novel. Would highly recommend.

A cute and wholesome book.

Olivia Spooner writs beautifully about the essence of female friendships.

Trish finds herself pregnant and not sure who’s the father of her soon to be baby. On a business trip to Tokyo, she meets Scott and sparks fly. As we follow Trish on her journey to motherhood, discovering who’s the father and reconnecting with her estranged family there is really only one constant in Trish’s life and that is the unconditional love and support of her group of friends Emma, Lily and Mags.

A cute and easy read but that’s all.

I really enjoyed this book! It hooked me from the first chapter and kept me glued to my seat to find out what happened next!

While this story had a bumpy(pun intended) start for me, I came to enjoy the journey of Trish dealing with some less than ideal situations. I am admittedly a sucker for the pregnant and has no clue who the baby daddy is trope, but at times the author had too many things going on(romances, work troubles, and mental health issues). There were a lot of instances where I felt that I was being told instead of shown how tough the main character was, but overall the story flew by and I was thoroughly entertained and even a little emotional toward the end!

Big thanks to NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

I quite enjoyed this book but felt that it wasn’t quite sure what it wanted to be - a chick flick type romance, girls gets pregnant, not sure who dad is, meets lovely man and ends up with him - or pregnant girl with underlying mental health issues, childhood issues with parents, quick descent into post natal depression and then ‘back to normal’. I enjoyed the story but wish the book was either one thing or the other, I don’t think mixing the two ideas worked particularly well with the mental health just being glossed over and the ending seemed very quick and convenient.
Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy x

To be honest, I DNF'd this one at about 30%. My primary reason for quitting is because I just wasn't invested at all in the main character or the plot. I found myself not wanting to pick up the book / wanting to read a different book. The main character seemed all over the place, the writing felt stilted, and it felt like there could be several different plots but not an actual focus on one of those.

Thank you to Head of Zeus, Aria, & Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I know what I was expecting from this book but it wasn't the deep and very serious topics that were touched upon within this romance.
Trish has a lot going on all at once, she's pregnant and not sure she is ready for that. The father is unknown with two potentials but both are not the best choices. Pete and Ethan want different things from Trish but neither of them wants or expected a baby.
Meanwhile. Trish has come to notice some feelings for the man she meet and interacted with while in Japan for work
This story was more about her growth and background of Trish. She's had a hard upbringing that is unaffecting her current life. As much as she tries to hide it.

This book portrays the ups and downs of depression and postpartum and I thought that was good to see that side of childbirth looked at in a book.

A good more serious read for sure

Don't get me wrong, the story was cute. I just felt like there was everything, yet nothing happening all at once. There were a few storylines which I think could have been their own stories. I wanted more. It wasn't as good as I thought it would be, but it wasn't horrible. This was more of a self discovery book rather than a romance book in my opinion.

Romance novels are the author’s fantasy, although I suppose all books are like that. It is just that romances typically have everything work out in the end.

This romance is a subgenre where the pregnant woman is single, and not necessarily looking, but a nice guy steps in. In this one, the woman slept with two men that she doesn’t really care for, but figures she should let them know she is having their baby, if they pass the DNA test. And in the meantime, she has met someone while on a business trip, that makes her heart pound, but she can’t be falling in love while she’s pregnant, she thinks. Must be the hormones.

This is a cute romp, as ron-coms go, with missed connections, and a squad of girlfriends to give Trish perspective.

There is even an underlying issue of Trish having a mental illness that she has been fighting her whole life, by being the one in control, and keeping her emotions bottled up.

I liked how they treated the mental illness, and the mental abuse her own father subjected her too, which gave the typical romance a little bit of weight, which some romance books would rather just skip over..

<em>Thanks to Netgalley for making tis book available for an honest review.</em>

If I am a fan of one thing...it's a pregnancy trope. I'm not sure why I love it so much, but I especially loved this one. This gave off major Mamma Mia vibes in a business setting. Trish was a funny and relatable narrator, and her posy of men did not disappoint. Overall, I really enjoyed this.

A quirky romance about a pregnant woman, her group of friends, and finding herself while experiencing the beautifully challenging world of motherhood.

Trish Kirkpatrick is all about her career, and then she finds out she is pregnant and not entirely sure who the father is. More than that, she is also coming to terms with her mental health and the impact that pregnancy has on her body.

With a ton of interesting messages, I was curious about where A Bumpy Year was taking me. Unfortunately, I feel like the plot lacked focus, talking a bit about everything and then about nothing at all.

It was still a fun read, just a bit underdeveloped.