Oh my goodness, I loved The Split so much. I raced through it (a bit of a pun as you'll see in a moment) and I just didn't want to put it down. It's a brilliant debut from Laura Kay.

The book begins with Ally being unceremoniously dumped by her girlfriend of seven years, Emily. Whilst fleeing from London back home to her dad's in Sheffield, she manages to pop their shared cat, Malcolm, in a cat carrier and take him with her, something Emily isn't very pleased about. Once she's back home her dad suggests she meet up with her old friend, Jeremy, who she hasn't seen for some years. Jeremy is also nursing a broken heart and they become really great friends again.

I absolutely loved the dynamics between Ally and Jeremy. They egg each other on and have a lot of fun together, whilst putting back together their shattered lives. There are actually so many gorgeous friendships and family relationships in this book and each and every character is written with such warmth. I felt like I knew them all, they all seemed to pop off the page. Ally's dad was a particular favourite of mine and I thought it was lovely how he just adjusted to her being back after so long, especially with a cat in tow. I had a real soft spot too for his dog, Pat, and Malcolm, of course! Even the animals were portrayed beautifully.

Ally and Jeremy decide to run a half-marathon, mainly because Jeremy thinks he's seen his ex, Ben, doing some running locally. The running scenes had me in stitches. This is a true laugh-out-loud book. Laura Kay's humour just completely hit the spot with me. Another thing that I loved about this book was that it's set in Sheffield, my home city, and so it was lovely to see local streets and landmarks being referred to. I could just imagine our hapless pair struggling up and down the hilly city in their running gear.

I truly thought this book was just brilliant. It's been a pleasure to read it. It's full of heart, focusing on friendships, family, and getting up and putting your running shoes on when all you want to do is veg on the settee feeling sorry for yourself. It's fresh, funny, foodie, and feel-good, and I loved it! ( )