Fiona Gibson

This really is such a lovely and heartwarming story about friendships and second or even third chances at life and love.
When I first glanced at the cover I immediately and wrongly thought this book was going to be about two people who find a dog and have to share ownership; a sort of enemies to lovers rom-com. Sharing of the dog doesn't take place until after the halfway mark of the book. The Dog Share is more of a buildup of events leading up to people sharing the dog. And it is such a show more lovely read.

At the beginning of the novel, Suzy is in a relationship with an utter eejit or an absolute gobs***e as he would be called here in Inishowen. Ricky is in a brief relationship with someone completely not right for him. She was not very nice and completely indifferent to Ricky's son, Arthur. On a small side note, I didn't really like that 'the childless woman' was yet again portrayed in literature as heartless and lacking in warmth. Ricky's own mother did something terrible but she had issues and reasons for her awful actions to explain it away.

The dual narration of this audiobook was very effective. We got the best of both worlds with a mild Scottish accent for Ricky and the English accent for Suzy. Both narrators were excellent and complemented each other nicely.

I love the main characters in the book. Ricky's grumpy father is annoyed with Suzy but he is the one person she needs on her side. Luckily Scout, the dog, helps to break the ice here. I couldn't help but cheer Suzy on as she tried to make things better at the distillery and slowly win over the locals. Ricky and Suzy also seemed perfect for one another so their burgeoning romance was a delight to read.
What I really loved about the book though is how Suzy grew as a person. She took on a new and scary venture when she knew the possibility of failure was very high. She began to understand herself better and where she'd gone wrong in the past i.e. masking her true self in a relationship in order to fit into a man's perception of her.
I loved that Suzy's move to the island actually made her world so much bigger. With the help of Scout her social contacts grew, she had a new love interest and new friendships were formed.

The setting of the story made me want to get a wee dog and put the Hebrides on my list of places to go visit next. show less

What a brilliant read! I thoroughly enjoyed this relatable novel. The first chapter had me laughing out loud and the laughter continued throughout the story. I loved the countdown to Christmas, which stresses the short time-frame in which to produce another spectacular family Christmas. I have always found the run-up to Christmas a demanding time of year, trying to get everything done in time for the 'big day' and only realising I've survived another Christmas after the lunch is cleared away show more and everyone is too tired to want anything else.

I completely understood Shelley's plight, kids and a husband who expect her to provide Christmas, yet offer no help to ease her load.

Then there's Lena whose relationship with Tommy sounds good, apart from outside influences from his parents and ex-wife. I'm on the fence about his daughter Daisy, unsure whether there was malicious intent behind her social media posts or just a child of divorced parents wishing them back together again.

Finally there's Pearl. She's a widow and brought up her only son, Brandon, alone since his beloved father died. Brandon and Pearl work well together but Brandon has invited his girlfriend, Abi, to live with him in Pearl's small flat and that is grating on poor Pearl, yet she does not want to rock the boat so says nothing.

These three women have the opportunity to have a few days away before Christmas and take it. Pearl's cousin Michael runs a B&B in the Highlands, and with no bookings, he is able to accommodate them. Naturally things do not run smoothly, but the women cope admirably.

The story also follows the women's family members left at home to pull Christmas together without them. The best part for me was Shelley's husband Joel with his 'hands-off-parenting' style - or rather leave-it-to-Shelley-to-sort-out - getting his comeuppance.

I thought 'Tis The Damn Season was brilliantly funny, insightful, well-written and has my kind of happy ending. I would wholeheartedly recommend this novel to lovers of women's fiction. show less

What a treat!

At first I thought this would be another hackneyed husband leaves wife, hard times ensue, wife makes recovery, The End, type of read. Ho hum ...
But no! This was so much more--witty, real, and enormously enjoyable!
Beginning with 'The Before,' where a menopausal Viv bemoaning the little extras this gift adds to life whilst husband Andy is being as helpful as an ostrich with its head in the sand, the scene is set for a whirlwind read. It doesn't take any keen insight to know the show more story for Viv was sashaying downhill. When she discovers that husband Andy has been having an affair, the downhill turns into a descent of avalanche type proportions.
And so begins Viv's road to recovery. Sure it's an uphill struggle but it's littered with dabs of absolute hilarity, dashes of kindness and occasional doses of drunken reflection.
Things at work (and work is whole other example of Viv's stoicism), seem to have reached a rather lowering plateau. Viv takes on a rather exciting challenge, approaching the local natural history museum with the idea of an exhibition centred around a local fashion icon of the seventies, Viv's older, outrageous friend Penny --The Friday Girl.
Now all Viv has to do is to encourage her friend Penny, who was the brand's owner/designer to give the show the go ahead. Did I mention the help she receives from Penny's son Nick?
A riot of a story, showcasing a woman in her fifties and her community of support, an ordinary mom who eventually fights back and makes lemonade!
Bravo!

An Avon Books ARC via NetGalley show less

The Mum Who’d Had Enough by Fiona Gibson
Source: Netgalley
My Rating: 2½/5 stars

**MINI-REVIEW**

The Bottom Line: Based on the description and the bright, fun cover, I think I expected this book to be something more than it is. I expected this to be a funny and heartwarming read and what I got was quite the opposite. What’s more, with the exception of one character, Flynn, I didn’t find a single character worth liking in this book. Sinead is extremely selfish and unwilling to admit she show more had a significant part in the collapse of her marriage and Nate is just completely clueless about everything. I stayed with this book all the way through to the end because I kept hoping something would salvage this book for me, but alas, that just didn’t pan out. With all that being said, I would have absolutely DNF’d this book if the writing quality had been bad. That is not the case at all and I can’t find any complaint with the mechanics of this book. At the end of the day, this just wasn’t the story for me, but I can see it being quite an appealing and enjoyable read for many readers. show less