I don't know what I expected from Never Been Better, but it wasn't what I got from this novel. Although the publisher's note describes it as hilarious and funny, this Leanne Toshiko Simpson novel is certainly not funny. In many places it is so very sad and painful that I wanted to cry for these characters. There is some slapstick, although some of it seems unintentional and forced. The descriptions were a real strength, since I was easily able to visualize much of the action. I kept thinking this book would make a funny film, but I will also admit that I am not a fan of slapstick humor.

The central characters in Never Been Better--Dee, Misha, Matt, and Tilley--are mostly dysfunctional. They are all dealing with some level of mental health problem. In many ways, Never Been Better is an extraordinarily sad novel. For about the first 25-30%, I was not sure if I would be able to finish reading Never Been Better. I kept pushing through and eventually the novel became better and the characters more interesting. Readers learn about Japanese culture, about women's lives, and about how people survive mental health disease. Matt's mother actually provides the best humor, although unintentionally. Simpson produces an emotional coming of age novel, creating a slightly different take on the traditional bildungsroman narrative. Without giving anything away, Simpson also establishes the importance of finding balance in the midst of bipolar disease.

I thank the author, publisher, Penguin Group Putnam, and NetGalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review. The above comments reflect my honest thoughts. I do think that Never Been Better is an important novel, since I helps readers to understand many of the complexities involved in mental health treatments.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!

If you enjoy mental health rep and quirky characters, this one is for you! The setting is unique and interesting. The characters have depth and I would consider the character relationships like found family dynamic.

I ended up wanting more from this book though I appreciated it for the things included. 3.25 ⭐️

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️- {NEVER BEEN BETTER- Leanne Toshiko Simpson}

As soon as I read the synopsis I knew I had to read this one! I was diagnosed with bipolar in my early teens so any book related to bipolar disorder or mental health peaks my interest, and the love triangle at the center of this one sounded too good to pass up!

Dee met Matt and Misa while they were inpatients of a psychiatric hospital. They stood by each other during their darkest moments and developed a deep (maybe a bit codependent) friendship by the time they were discharged. One year after discharge Dee is still trying to get her life together when Matt and Misa reach out to invite her to their wedding in Turks and Caicos. Dee is devastated. She has been in love with Matt since day one of tapping songs on her arm in the hospital rec room and holding her like a teddy bear when she was hurting. He was supposed to be part of her recovery story, her prize for getting out of the hospital, her missing puzzle piece to finally fix her! Dee decides to tell Matt how she feels and stop the wedding with the help of her firecracker sister Tilley, so they board a plane and embark on a week long, alcohol fueled vacation with plenty of laughs, lots of breakdowns, and an important discovery of the value of friendship in your support circle.

I loved every part of this book! I felt like it was a lighthearted way of presenting mental illness so that the reader wasn’t bogged down by it. There was plenty of humor to keep the vibes up even as it showed how difficult it can be for families and friends to support each other when someone they loves is suffering. I think it will be well received in 2024 and I highly highly recommend!

Thanks to @netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you Netgalley, Penguin Group Putnam, and the author for the opportunity to preview the ARC. Publication date: March 4, 2024

The cover tricked me into thinking this was going to be a sweet little romcom, but it is definitely a chunkier book that’s more Midnight Library. This was a slow burn for me and took me about 100 pages in before I realigned my expectation and got into the groove. The book is about mental health, finding yourself, and finding your community.

This was a sensitive, nuanced, darkly funny exploration of mental health, friendship, love, and community—a smarter kind of beach read, and a total delight.

This story was at times very heavy. I governor credit to the author for so openly and accurately portraying characters with mental health issues. I occasionally had some issues with continuity as I feel the story jumped around a little abruptly and didn’t always provide detailed context for how certain characters knew each other or how their relationships came to be but overall I think it was a great story. I like how the focus turned to the sisterly relationship and less about the Main Character finding love. Overall I would give this story 4 out of 5 stars.

Thank you to Netgalley and publisher for an arc in exchange for my honest opinions.

Publication: March 5, 2024

Rating: 3 stars

I wished I enjoyed this more but I realized that what this book is advertised as was different than what I got.

I appreciated the mental health rep especially as someone who deals with that on a daily basis.

Where this book lost me was that it’s not really a romance. This was more in the vein of self help/growth/discovery. An example could be “The Measure” or “The Midnight Library”.

I was hoping this would have been more like Chloe Líese or Mazey Eddings where the main focus is romance but underlying tones of mental health.

TW
- Suicide attempts (off page)
- Talk of harm
- Bipolar Disorder
- Depression

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for this ARC! I wanted to love this book, but it fell flat for me. The character development was minimal at best and the book seemed to drag on for quite awhile. I think there was a huge opportunity to give a glimpse into the world of mental illness, but this was very surface level.

On the positive side, this book gave light to experiences and perspectives many people have which are underrepresented in literature and we need more of! There are a few moments of deep humanity, applicable to everyone. But on the negative side, the book didn't hold my attention enough, there was something superficial and not super engaging about how it was written. I liked the story, but the way it was written just didn't grab me enough.

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this E-arc for my honest review.
A touching story of mental illness and accepting who we are. The author was able to blend humor with tears as well as heartbreak and empathy.
This is a story of learning to accept yourself and who you are not defining yourself by illness. It also sheds light on the stigma that society has on mental illness in a very real and raw way. Highly recommend.

Cute book but it took way too many turns to get to the ending. Events happened that just didn’t make sense.
While I did finish the book, it isn’t one I would be running to recommend or read a second time.

I loved this debut novel! The whole crew felt like my new best friends. I fully expected Dee to realize she was actually in love with Misa but alas that was not part of the story. I’m so hopeful for Dee and what comes next. Refreshing and realistic view into serious mental health struggles that are affecting so many people.

Book was tagged as a romance, but I wouldn’t necessarily say that it was! It was more focused on mental health and strategies of coping, with some fun parts thrown in. It was also a book about self discovery after tragedy and trauma. All that to say - it was still a good book! Dee is our main character with her own manic episodes, while Matt and Misa are two other main characters that are intertwined with Dee. All have tragic background stories and have been through a lot, but Dee is out to discover who she is and who she wants to become. Very appropriate take on many heavy issues, and a well written story. Thanks for the opportunity to read!

Was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this story and how connected I felt to all the characters. Dee is struggling to adjust to life outside of the psychiatric hospital where she spent some time getting a handle on her bipolar diagnosis. While there she became close two other patients one of whom she fell in love with. When they all are discharged her friends have fallen in love and are now in engaged to each other leaving her to feel left out and as if she's not "healthy" as they are. When the invitation to the destination wedding arrives she and her sister go for the week and she has to decide if she really is truly in love with Matt or just not really moving forward with her life. This was so well written and handled such a delicate subject so well I will definitely be reading more from this author. Dee's struggle was so real and you could relate to her and just want the best for her and everyone involved in the story. I want to thank NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

The book was fantastic. I love getting to know everyone and I loved getting to read about such a great topic.

Thank you NetGalley, for the opportunity to read this in advance.

This was one of my favorite recent reads. Very different than most Romance novels, but very good, and very thought provoking. Mental Health is such a struggle for so many, and I was glad to see it portrayed so well in writing. This can be a hard feat, but I was mesmerized. Moments of humor, love, growth and vulnerability were sprinkled throughout. Definitely would recommend.

Such a funny yet eyeopening read about the struggles with mental health and how to build and maintain friendships around that. Refreshing and real!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book took me quite a bit of time to get into. I think I was over 50% of the way through it before I enjoyed it. That's not to say it's not a good book, but just wasn't doing it for me in the beginning.

However, once I got into it I really did enjoy it. The three main characters are all wildly different yet they fit well together. Dee, Matt & Misa are all forces to be reckoned with in their own ways. I really enjoyed the friendship between Dee and Misa the most.

Tilley, Dee's sister is a walking tornado of emotions and drunken mistakes but is the winner of the book, in my opinion. Her utter devotion to Dee's recovery is so touching and meaningful, I love her so much!!

I'm torn on if I'd recommend this book. I think it has themes that won't appeal to just anyone.

Huge thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book that totally surprised me! Though I wouldn't categorize this as a romance, it was a beautiful story about friendships of all kinds - those we inherit from our families and those we build during our lives. I found myself consumed by the story and super invested in each of the characters. I loved the focus on mental illness and think I learned things about my own family members who struggle with it. The author did a wonderful job making each character multidimensional and likable - even when messy. I was rooting for each and every one of them.

Never Been Better deals with the difficulties living with Bipolar. The story is written in two time lines. The past focuses on time spent in a psychiatric hospital. The present is at a destination wedding of two the former patients and friends of Dee, the main character.
Dee struggles with figuring out what normal is for her and her Bipolar illness. She also has to learn just how much is too much when trying to support her two best friends.
As a person who deals with Bipolar Disorder the book did a fair job of explaining some aspects the illness. The difficulty after a psychiatric stay was also fairly well described. No book can fully paint a picture of the illness, and a psychiatric stay and all that goes with it. This book manages to capture these things in a way that isn’t too graphic and disturbing.
There are mentions of suicidal thoughts and attempts