Claire Christian

It’s been a lot of years since I was into the chick lit genre, but you know what? It’s a fun set of books to dip back into from time to time, and this one was definitely worth the read. Two years after a slow but tumultuous break up with her long term girlfriend, Noni Blake is finally ready for her quarter life crisis - though honestly, it’s more of an awakening. Spurred on by the sudden death of a person she had a one-night stand with, Noni takes a long look at her life and decides to show more create a rather hilarious bucket list, consisting of all the people who she could have-would have-should have slept with and decides to do something about it. Yes, she creates a fuck-it list. This premise sounds pretty damned stupid from the get go, but thankfully Noni’s rather shallow list morphs into a much more worthwhile exploration of pleasure and figuring out what she actually wants in life. We could all use a trip to London and Edinburugh alongside Noni as we’re stuck in our local abodes during this pandemic, so this was a great book to read at this point in time. Adding some solid themes reminding us not to let the limits we’ve set on our lives define us - now that’s what makes the good chick lit great! show less

this is a fun, funny, sexy romp that tries to get deeper than maybe it really is. i was expecting more general adventures and noni figuring out all kinds of things that she likes and who she is, and instead mostly found a lot of sex which led to her falling in love and figuring herself out. which was fine, just not what i was hoping for. (i actually didn't realize this was going to be a romance.) still, it was sexy and good and the casual bi representation made my heart sing.

Stuck in a rut since a breakup more than a year ago, Noni makes the bold decision to take a sabbatical from her teaching job, pack up her life in Australia, travel Europe for six months seeking pleasure, and see where life (and love) takes her. What she doesn't expect is that the one hookup she had had highest hopes for ends disastrously, causing her to question her adventure entirely. Luckily, friends step in to save the day and whisk Noni away to a retreat in Scotland.

I picked this up to show more fulfill the Read Harder category "a romance with bisexual representation," thinking it might be just another carefree, feel-good, beach read. It was both deeper in some ways and more "WTF?!" in others than I was expecting, but in a good way, I think? I'd still definitely recommend as a vacation read for fast pace, total entertainment value and happy ending. show less

Noni Blake is having a really bad time. Her long-term relationship has ended, and a person with whom she’s just had a fling has died in a tragic accident. Reeling, she flits from one-night-stand to one-night stand and finds that sex with any available partner just isn’t the cure for what ails her. She decides on the spur of the moment that she just needs to get away, examine her life, and take care of HERSELF. So, she takes an extended leave from her job and books a flight to England. show more

It's an interesting coming-of-age story for a thirty-something. I was somewhat turned off by the meaningless sex, and some of the more graphic descriptions, but ultimately I did like Noni’s journey of self-discovery.

Ione Butler does a fine job of narrating the audiobook. She sets a good pace and has clear diction. And she does a good job of the various accents from Aussie to British. show less