Living The Dream by Lauren Berry

3.5 Stars

The tag line for this book irrationally annoys me "A millennial tale about...".  From having read this book it is just a standard about that good old work / life balance and how much the world is ready to stab you in the back at every turn.  Honestly, if this story is representative of the millennials then it equally applies to us doddery old Gen X'ers too.  I'm sure it applies to those who have gone before and those who are yet to come too.

Okay, that mini-rant over I did enjoy the story, it just didn't "grab" me.  I enjoyed each page and the way the plot (such as it is) unfolded and the characters were relatable.  It was just vaguely pedestrian.  It had nothing to say, ultimately, that we don't already know but it was fun and fluffy and passed the time in an agreeable fashion.

Emma, hates her job but can't see a way out to do what she really wants to do.  She lives in a very dodgy flatshare that means it's inhabitants can't register for a doctor or register to vote because it isn't actually a domestic property but at least the rent is cheap and they avoid Council Tax.  Not forgetting the perk of as many pleather handbags as you can get a five finger discount on.  Throw in a friend that she doesn't seem to actually like very much and a best friend who is as messed up as she is by the whole working life and "following your dream" guff as she is and you have a pretty standard chick lit set up.

Make no mistake, despite the blurb and the tag line this is a solid piece of chick lit.  Complete with handy resolutions all around and a couple of happy endings thrown in.

Emma and the delightfully named Clementine Twist are relatable (to an extent) and fun characters.  They mess up, they own their mistakes and you know from the first few chapters that they will come good.  This makes it enjoyable in a box set binging kind of way.  You don't really want to savour the story you just want to barge through it like a bulldozer.

The cringy office at APRC will be familiar to anyone who has ever worked in an office environment.  Maybe that is where the appeal for this one really lies; the reality of working life and office politics blown up to exaggerated proportions.  Certainly the resolutions for the two main characters don't exactly ring true to life for the vast majority of us wage slaves.

I did enjoy it but it didn't pull me deep and keep me turning those pages.

THANK YOU TO THE PUBLISHERS FOR A FREE COPY OF THIS BOOK TO REVIEW.