This was a highly entertaining book with some definite laugh out loud moments - it actually for me is four and half stars of well worth readingness.

Emma is a truly fascinating character who is surrounded with a group of characters that are completely unforgettable. She works in television as an assistant director and life is fairly ordinary. There is work, there is home, there is work again. Emma's partner, Ned, is not the most regular of guys - always chasing the next great idea for the best invention or scheme of all times. Just as Emma realises that their relationship has reached its used by date and tosses Ned out, she also becomes aware that she is pregnant.

From this point on this book becomes a complete rollercoaster of a read as Emma careers from one minor setback to another including Ned clearing out her bank account and nearly sleeping with a marrried man while very pregnant on a zombie film set. This book has it all: supportive sister, slightly eccentric mother, the nosy neighbour, a horde of cute but precocious kids and a new potential love interest (not the married man). You do become quite attached to Emma as you hope she finds some semblance of normality and sorts the whole adulting thing out before the bump becomes a living breathing human.

Absolutely find a corner to hide with this book where you won't be disturbed, break out the tim tams and the pot of tea and laugh yourself silly.

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon& Schuster for the opportunity to become immersed in Emma's world.

We follow Emma as an accidental pregnancy makes her stop and take stock of her life, which up to that point had only consisted of a shitty job, a shitty apartment and a shitty boyfriend.

At the start we met 27-year-old Emma just before she finds out she is pregnant. The story covers the months that she is pregnant, with the book ending just hours after the baby is born.

It took me the first half of the book to really get into the story, but I think that’s more because of the fact I was only squishing in a few pages here and there. I managed to get enough sit down time to finish the second half of the book in one day and found myself really enjoying it.

The leading Lady: Emma did at times come off as self-absorbed and whining. But she was pregnant and being pregnant is hard even with a loving and supportive partner and here she was trying to go it alone, so she is forgiven. Emma matures in the second half of the book and I ended up really liking her and wanting her to have a happily ever after. *spoiler alert: she gets her happily ever after*.

The impregnator/ex-boyfriend aka Ned: By the end of the first chapter I already disliked Ned, he came off as a lazy good for nothing leach. But chapter six proved him to be an absolute asshole with him draining Emma’s bank account before her overly trusting pregnant ass even thinks to remove his access.

The supporting cast: The book had some rather amusing background cast members; Emma’s infuriating and over the top mother, the nosey old couple next door and green thumbed Joe were standouts for me.

While the story was predictable at times it still gave me the warm fuzzies. The writing was humours, flowed easily and was a joy to read. I will be keeping an eye out for Catherine Bennetto works in the future.

My Thoughts

‘Yeah, well, I’m living the dream,’ I said, detangling myself and adjusting my hemline. ‘Although most of the time it feels like a nightmare.’
This book is classic British rom-com: fresh, funny, bright and comical. You journey right along with Emma throughout the tale in a laugh-along classic British way. There are no real surprises here and therefore it’s a pleasant enough way to pass a weekend to its obvious conclusion.

‘This is me. Hair up, no eyeshadow. And my underwear doesn’t match.’
I cannot help, however, but feel there were a few too many characters and just a little too much going on - it all seemed rather busy. And if you don’t appreciate the left of centre British humour, their eccentricity may leave you confused (including interesting use of language). Overall, for me, there were just too many people involved that I had trouble following; and a rather complex and over the top plot - I confess to skimming over some sections. It was just a little bit all over the place for my liking.

‘I tried to laugh a response, which came out as a strangled snort, and then coughed as I choked on my own saliva.’

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher and provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release