The Best days of lives by Lucy diamond is about a McKenzie family dealing with the loss of a loved one. Leni McKenzie daughter/sister and best friend got knocked off her bike and was killed. The family was never the same again.
This is a story about sister Alice finding out about Leni’s last few weeks of her life and she discovers that Alice didn’t know everything about her sister than she thought she did. It is also about them coming to terms with Leni’s death and getting over the grief and living life to the fullest as Leni would have wanted her family to be.
Thank you, Quercus, for an ARC of Lucy Diamond’s latest offering. I look forward to the authors work and it is usually happy, heart-warming tale. I liked the premise of this story, but I found this to be slow and depressing that I struggled to connect to the characters although I finished it. 3.5 stars from me.

Once again Lucy Diamond gets together an interesting and believable cast of characters. I particularly liked Tony who was flawed but really trying to get the family to pull together. The story explored family love and guilt and was a lovely story of people just doing their best for themselves and each other.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. I have liked everything this author has written and have to confess this was one of the best. Great storyline great characters and made me smile.

A really heartfelt book about the way people deal with grief. Quite enlightening. Thank you netgalley for the advanced copy

What a lovely fluffy read, a beautiful story with some wonderful characters, a perfect sense of family, throughly enjoyed it

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Such a beautiful story that i will be holding near and dear to my heart. I went in expecting a depressing tone throughout, but i was proven wrong, this book is so much more than readers assumptions. This story takes you on a trip filled with promise and fulfills such that. I will definitely be reading more of Lucy Diamond's books.

The best days of my life is an emotional read about a family coming to terms with the death of a loved one and not the usual romcom you’d expect from a Lucy Diamond read. It’s a moving story which centres around how Leni’s family deals with death in their own very different ways. Make sure you have plenty of tissues to hand!!!!
Thank you to NetGalley and Quercus Books for the opportunity to read and review this emotive ARC.

Not the usual style of Lucy Diamond’s books and definitely not what I expected. I’m afraid it didn’t grab me like her previous books and I found it difficult to get into, although it did improve towards the end. I enjoyed the “memories “ exerts but overall I found the book disappointing. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read this book.

This was a little bit slower to begin with than previous books I have read of hers and the subject matter was deeper. Yet it is still full of the well drawn characters and storyline that keeps a reader turning the page. I liked the study of grief within a family and their different reactions and memories.

A heart-breaking read about how each of Leni McKenzie's relatives grief following her sudden death.
Though the subject matter was upsetting, the story was artfully told through the lens of a range of colourful and complex characters. I especially enjoyed the memories shared by friends about Leni who sounded like an absolute whirlwind.

I love books by Lucy Diamond and this one was just as good as the others I’ve read, with lots of characters to keep you interested.

As you see from the blurb Leni is already absent from the book as she died when she was knocked off her bike in a road traffic accident. She does make a brief appearance at the beginning, when the story takes the reader back to her birthday party before the accident but after that she’s no longer with us, at least not in person. However we learn a lot about Leni through the memories of her family and friends so she’s never far away from centre stage.

As you would imagine the whole family have been deeply affected by the loss of their sibling/daughter/friend as each attempts to come to terms with their grief in different ways. Alice, her sister is angry, she’s lost a friend, and more so they were at odds with each other in the run up to Leni’s death. Her brother Will is racked with guilt and has fled to Thailand to try to escape his feelings. Meanwhile their dad Tony who has become somewhat alienated from his children since his divorce from their mum Belinda has a new baby on the way, and at his age, well, he wonders if he can start all over again. After all, he didn't do too good a job of fatherhood first time round. Belinda finds comfort in her many conversations with a telephone clairvoyant who is able to speak to her daughter and pass messages back from beyond the grave.

In spite of the sadness surrounding the family there is still lots of good humour in the book. I especially liked Tony, I thought his character was funny. He made mistakes in the past, but as he begins to realise he didn’t quite live up to being a particularly good dad, he is determined to make amends now that he’s lost one daughter.

As the book moves on, through their grief they all learn things about themselves, they learn to support each other, to forgive and to try to move on. It’s a lovely story, full of warmth and humour with a little mystery thrown in for good measure.

**To be posted to my review blog on or close to publication date**

I usually love Lucy Diamond books but this wasn’t her usual style and I found out a little slow. From the blurb I expected some huge secrets but that wasn’t really the case. I almost found it a take someone was telling but they forgot the point half way through then remembered it later on. I like the memories website and enjoyed reading the extracts from there but it just didn’t really grip me

I started thinking that this story was just going to be about loss and grief, but it was so much more than that.
It's uplifting and full of promise and positivity that things will and do get easier.

Beautiful, emotive storyline. The family draw you in and you want to get to know them more ,I couldn’t put this book down. I’m not crying you are!

This is a beautifully written and honest story which details the grief and guilt suffered by the family members following a sudden death. The fall out from this event and the subsequent reactions by each character are believable, well detailed and carefully crafted. Despite the subject matter I enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it to others

Quite a moving emotional read which was beautifully executed in a gentle manner. The book is written from the view of several voices within one family dealing with an unexpected death of one of their members, each dealing with grief in their own way in the year following the incident. Observant, down to earth and real without unnecessary drama.

Wow!! What an absolutely amazing new book from Lucy Diamond!!
Leni McKensie is not having the birthday she has imagined to enjoy, what is going on with all her family? Within weeks she has a terrible accident which leaves her family in varying levels of grief.
This is a brilliantly insightful and truly wise book. We all react so differently to grief and death and dying is still a hugely taboo subject.
Loved this book!!! The characters are well written and depicted, easy to relate with and understand. The book makes you think, it’s interesting, and a fresh perspective on familiar family dynamics. The story took unexpected turns and twists, it is just brilliant!!
Thank you NetGalley for the early read!! I loved it and will be highly recommending!

This is the fist Lucy Diamond book I’ve read for a few years and it didn’t disappoint. It feels like a different style for her- a lot deeper & with some really poignant events and messages. It did take me a while to get really in to it but now I think she was setting the scene as once it does get going, it’s hard to put down. Excellent characterisation - I feel as if I’d know any of them if I met them in real life- and I love how all the ends were neatly tied by the end. A good read.

I enjoy Lucy Diamond's books and this was no exception. It was a slow burner but then I could not stop reading. It deals with the loss of a family member after the initial chapter was about that character. The rest of the family are struggling to come to terms with her death and the book is about how they manage in their very different ways.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advance copy.

It's always a pleasure to read a new novel by Lucy Diamond but I was not expecting to like this one so much. The story revolves around a family who have to reinvent itself after losing one of its members. I've experienced the same thing this year so it was a really interesting way of looking at how people have different ways of dealing with grief.

Lucy Diamond's novels are always a delight and this one combined the best elements: family, love, growth, some tears and lots of learning for the main characters. Definitely one to read in the new year as it will not disappoint!