This book was well written but not for me. I liked how she evened out the serious topics with humor, but it was still rough to get through in parts. The journey of all the characters had you cheering them on and good to see their happy endings.

“But that’s the thing about mental illness. Whatever you lean on the most is in the greatest danger of disintegrating beneath you.”

“I wondered if perhaps Elinor would understand—in a way my own parents never seemed to—how it felt to carry around the potential to harm the people you loved best, just by nature of your being.” 🥺💔

This book is so important! Wow. If you have mental illness, love someone with mental illness, or treat those that suffer…this book was written for you. I would read this again, honestly, and I never do that.

Never Been Better is simultaneously educational, emotional, and eye opening. Although #gifted a copy of this book I will be purchasing my own physical copy to place on my shelves. The audiobook was great too, as I both read and listened to this one. It’s wrought with emotion and that really comes through in the narration. 10/10, man. 10/10.

Thanks for the free audiobook @PRHAudio #PRHAudioPartner and to Putnam Books, Netgalley, and the author for the ARC.

Never Been Better is a thoughtful novel about Dee, a woman in her late 20s, learning how to live again following a stay at a psychiatric hospital. Dee is such an authentic, funny, and flawed character. At the hospital, she became close friends with Matt and Misa. Dee fell in love with Matt, but Matt and Misa are now getting married. Since they relied on each other so heavily during recovery, they want her to be part of their destination wedding. Dee now lives with her sister, Tillie, who is protective of her but also wants to see her thrive.

The characters are fantastic! I especially loved Dee's sister. Tilley is no nonsense but sometimes parties too hard. Matt and Misa are wonderful characters as well. I loved the deepening of Dee's friendship with Misa. Dee and Tilley decide to attend the wedding week and issues are brought to light. The characters are so relatable and some of the situations and dialogue are so funny. The novel really tugs at your heart strings. You root for all of the characters to find their way and help themselves. I listened to the audiobook, which was perfectly narrated by Kym Miller.

Thank you, Penguin Random House Audio for the audiobook and Penguin Group Putnam for the ebook.

Dee, Misa, and Matt were the "three musketeers" of the psych ward. A year after discharge, Matt and Misa are tying the knot, surrounded by guests who have no idea where they met, and the secrecy isn’t sitting well with Dee, who has been hopelessly in love with Matt since before she got kicked out of the hospital.

The level of humor in this book was intoxicating. I loved how the author hanfled the serious topics with grace and care but simultaneously also being hilarious.

Dee was the highlight of this book. Her internal monologues and dry humor were everything. I enjoyed how the dynamics of each relationship were depicted; some of them were complex & some were easygoing. Definitely check out this book if you want to read something different!

Thank you Netgalley & Publisher for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 ⭑ wrongfully labeled as a romance, but still a great read with vulnerable characters to laugh and cry alongside.

this was very different than I anticipated, but I still enjoyed it! this is a book filled with vulnerable characters that are oftentimes unlikable (hello, victim complexes) but relatable enough that you cannot help but like them.

I wish we got a little more explanation from matt on his feelings for dee because that felt very underdeveloped, and his lack of response to her unrequited love felt a tad cruel in the end. I’m happy for misa and matt (as is dee), but I can’t help but feel a tad discouraged on behalf of dee and her feelings.

I also wish there was an epilogue because I want to know if dee and vik could’ve made a perfectly messy life together.

A sensitive funny novel about three people with mental health issues who are in love- and two of them are getting married. Dee doesn't want to go to Matt's wedding to Misa in the Turks and Caicos but he asks her and her sister Tilley (love Tilley) is determined that they go. Dee's not found her feet since leaving the hospital; Matt and Misa are doing their best but are both hiding their issues from Misa's family. Everything and everyone collide at the resort. These oh so relatable characters shine (and don't miss Misa's cousin and grandmother who have incredible insight). It's thoughtful, insightful and addresses serious issues in a light hearted way. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. A terrific read.

This book was NOT for me. I gave it to 35% and I was not captivated nor did I care about these characters. I feel bad for feeling that way given the subject matter. I wanted to love these characters. I wanted the laugh out loud shenanigans that were promised, and didn't get up to that point. The story dragged for well over 20%. I found Tilley to be way over the top and not at all realistic. I have mental illness in my family, so the subjects were not lost on me, however it also makes it difficult for me to have characters trying to joke about it and laugh it off, at least from the POV of a family member who tries to help those that suffer from mental illness.
I'm thankful to Netgalley & Penguin Group Putnam for this ARC. This is my honest review for the 35% that I read. I do feel like this is one either people will like or simply dislike. It will find it's audience.

Amazing Debut for Leanne Toshiko Simpson! At first I wasn't sure about the story, and characters, but then as you slowly dive into the wedding week, POW. The background, personalities and family drama start spiraling into an exciting finish of the best ending possible. This novel opens a door to mental illness and support systems for first hand knowledge of different ways to deal with being bi-polar. I highly recommend #Never Been Better and look forward to reading more by #Leanne Toshiko Simpson. Thank you to #NetGalley for the e-book arc.

Matt, Dee, and Misa were their own support system in the psych ward where all three were receiving treatment for bipolar disorder. They each provided the others with something that helped outside of their meds, but after Dee was discharged things changed. Now, a year later Dee is flying to Turks and Caicos with her sister Tilley for Matt and Misa’s week long wedding extravaganza. In addition to battling feelings of not being good enough and deep depression, Dee also has to deal with her feelings of love for Matt and her annoyance that Misa is hiding where they met. With the help of Tilley Dee somehow manages to keep things together just enough to get through the week.
I picked this up because the synopsis says it’s hilarious, but I didn’t find anything about this to be funny. Maybe it’s because I don’t have bipolar and felt like I couldn’t relate to any of the characters, but I was bored throughout the entirety of this. I’m giving it 3 stars because I think someone who can relate to the characters would really like this.
I love seeing mental health issues brought up in books because the only way to destigmatize mental health is to keep talking about it. While I didn’t relate, I actually love that all three of the main characters are bipolar and it affects all of them differently. I think Leanne Toshiko Simpson is doing the literary world a real service by bringing bipolar disorder front and center and while I wasn’t a fan of this book, I look forward to seeing what else she writes in the future. Thank you to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam’s Sons for an advanced copy of this. Never Been Better hits the shelves on March 5th.

Never Been Better by Leanne Toshiko Simpson
Narrator: Kym Miller
Rating: 4 stars
Pub date: 3/5

Thank you so much to PRH Audio for my complimentary audiobook, and Netgalley and Penguin Group Putnam for my advanced copy.

Dee, Misa, and Matt met in a psych ward and have been friends ever since. A year after getting out, Matt and Misa are getting married while keeping how they met a secret, and Dee is in love with Matt and has plans to sabotage the wedding. Dee and her sister, Tilly, make the trip to Turks and Caicos for the destination nuptials, but nothing goes according to plan.

This was not what I was expecting when I picked this up, but in a good way! The story is lighthearted while also shining a light on the struggles of people with mental illness. It’s perfectly messy, while also being hilarious, heartwarming and sometimes sad. It’s also a story about friendship, love, and family, that I really enjoyed.

The audiobook narration was done by Kym Miller, who brought all of the characters to life perfectly, and really enhanced my listening experience.

Read if you like:
*mental health rep
*love triangles
*tropical setting
*contemporary fiction

this book was a whole lot of nothing! i appreciated the parts when they looked back at being in the hospital together but it was so hard to get through otherwise. this could have been a novella in 50 pages or less

An offbeat comedy that follows love, friendship and mental health.

Dee is in love with Matt. Except that Matt is engaged to Misa, and the three of them are best friends who met in the psych ward. What could be complicated about that?

Dee attends Matt and Misa’s fancy destination wedding in the Turks and Caicos, along with her sister Tilley, with the intention of stopping the wedding. The story alternates back and forth between the family shenanigans at the over-the-top wedding celebration and Dee, Matt and Misa’s time in the mental hospital in Toronto.

Tilley, Dee’s loudmouthed (sorry, Tilley) and usually drunk sister and self-appointed caretaker, is such a cringey joy and is the comic relief of the story. Nothing can ever get too heavy with Tillie around.

Though the book tackles deep and difficult topics, it does so with such a soft and funny touch and with so much love. I loved this book, and as I’m writing the review I just bumped it up to 5 stars because that’s how much I loved it.
I strongly recommend it!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for an advanced copy of this book.

Dee, Misa, and Matt are best friends, bonded by their shared time at a psychiatric hospital a year ago. But lately Dee feels like she is lagging behind in her recovery. She is in unrequited love with Matt, lives rent-free with her quirky sister Tilley, and still has to actively work to keep her mental health on an even keel. But Misa and Matt have, to all appearances moved away from their psychiatric history - and they're getting married in an extended destination event that they urge Dee to attend. She takes Tilley as her guest and embarks on a week of sun, alcohol, and other people's families, imagining that she will take this opportunity to prevent Matt from making what she's convinced is the biggest mistake of their friendship.

Never Been Better is a well-written, interesting, and important book. It presents a side of mental health that is rarely seen in fiction, focusing less on the characters' interior lives than on the social and relational consequences of their illness. Dee feels like she is falling behind in life because she doesn't have a real career and hasn't dated much, Misa struggles to live up to her family's expectations, and Matt avoids vulnerability by maintaining an affable veneer - all of which are relatable and realistic conflicts for twenty-somethings, even those without mental health issues.

Two things about this book frustrated me. The first - probably not the author's fault - is that it's categorized as a romance novel on Goodreads, and it isn't. (I will here omit my rant about how books can be about women, and include romantic relationships, without being romance novels.) My second quibble is with the main character's sister, Tilley. This is a matter of taste, but I found her so obnoxious that I just didn't want to read about her. Fortunately, there are plenty of other interesting characters - Misa's sweet, wise grandmother and unflappable nonbinary cousin; Matt's warm mother and handsome, kind best friends - and even Tilley experienced some character growth by the end of the book.

The end of the book, by the way, was excellent; it was hard for me to imagine, as I was reading, what conclusion would not feel melodramatic or trite, but the author did an excellent job. All the primary characters reckoned with their roles in the dysfunctional friendship trio, and everyone came away with both less and more than they started with, and although the story started with one guy and two women who loved him - bound to end badly for somebody - it ended in a way that felt promising for everyone without betraying the story's tone and themes by providing a fairytale resolution.

4.5 stars.

I really enjoyed the discussion within this book. Three friends surviving and coping with suicidal thoughts is great to me and I'm always down for mental health talk. I just didn't feel that the writing was for me.

I'm torn in writing this review. It is a tale of what was promised versus what was delivered.

Never Been Better was described as a rom-com in a tropical paradise. While there was a definite unrequited love angle between Dee and Matt, the rom-com elements were overshadowed by the mental health focus. As a rom-com, this book did not deliver for me. However, and this is a big HOWEVER, this book was well done as an examination of mental illness and its affects on the patient and their family and friends. It is powerful and authentic with plenty of comedic moments.

I truly felt for Dee and her struggles trying to balance her illness and recovery with the desire to have a life where mental illness was not a driving force. Her relationships with Matt, Misa, and Tilley were raw and complex. The author did a fantastic job of putting us inside the mind and heart of Dee; making her a sympathetic character. Had my expectations been framed against this backdrop, my reaction to the book would be different.

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Group Putnam, and G.P. Putnam Sons for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my unbiased review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC of this book. All opinions in my review are my own.

I really enjoyed this one a lot and found the topic super interesting. The books follows Dee and her two friends Misa and Matt. All three of them have recently been released from an in patient psyciatric hospital due to suicide attempts and bipolar disorder. They have formed a bond with each other due to their shared traumatic experience and learning to navigate life with mental illness. When Misa and Matt get engaged, Dee feels lefts behind in her recovery. The book has so many up and downs for all of the main characters and truly was beautifully written. I don't personally struggle with mental illness but I felt like the author wrote about it in a way that was both relatable and easy to grasp. I would read other books by this author in the future. Thanks for the opportunity to review it.

Never Been Better, follows the lives of 3 friends who met in a psychiatric hospital. Misa and Matt, meet, have a whirlwind romance, get engaged and plan a wedding all in the matter of months. Dee, is invited, but terrified to go on vacation etc. Dee also harbors feelings for Matt.

The book really focuses on mental health struggles and how society views this as well. Overall, I enjoyed the book and reading about how to get "there" from different perspectives.

This was the story of Matt, Misa and Dee - who met in the psych ward and became friends. Dee thought she loved Matt, but Matt and Misa were getting married. They were all out in the real world but they were all experiencing issues. Dee's sister Tilley helped her, but Misa and Matt helped each other. Dee and Tilley went to the wedding anyway so she could put it behind her. The story went back and forth between present day and when they were in the hospital. It was a good story, but I felt bad for all they all went through.

I got this book from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review

Never Been Better was just ok for me. Maybe I’d have enjoyed it more, if I had read it poolside.

A lot of the story was all too convenient and really just super unbelievable. All these people who are near strangers are having super-deep, emotionally driven, heart-to-hearts while on a tropical island resort?!

Dee is struggling with life out of the psychiatric ward, where she formed some super codependent friendships. Her recovery attempt is derailed when those 2 friends get engaged. Dee and her sister fly to an island resort to attend the wedding. The story is basically Dee’s journey to find herself…and there was SO much potential with the plot and location. But for me, it just fell short. I felt the whole first 75% was laying the backstory… for what? A slow burn that fizzled out.

The chapters had clever song names… but they were also long AF. There were decent spaces/stopping points throughout, though!

Like I said, a fluffy read with “feel good” summer, poolside potential.

This one for me started slow, and heavy. It was advertised as a rom com, and to be honest I was so weighed down with the mental health aspect it was hard for me to see.

What I liked: it's unique, the raw mental health and how the characters share this information with those they care about, the choices at the end that are made to a healthier path.

What I didn't like-- honestly the book was good! But I don't think it was advertised correctly.

It's funny, some people said if you have a mental struggle this is the book for you-- I disagree I think this is for those with or without mental struggles to empathize and understand, as well as to not feel alone if you are struggling. It was very well done, and the characters were a lot but likeable. If you have a loved on with bipolar I think this really has a lot of moments to learn with the characters