Sparkling, funny and poignant, this is a triumphant return for Pearson and hopefully not the last we will hear of Kate’ Daily Express

I kept laughing out loud in places with extreme quiet- a snort shy of embarrassing the hell out of myself.. The article that killed me was the one where Jeremy was stumped by a high-tech Japanese toilet. Just look at this: How Hard Can It Be? H.A.R.D. No one ever said being a mom was easy, but try being a mom pushing 50 who has been attempting to raise semi-functional humans and finds herself trying to re-enter the workplace thanks to a combination of a giant manchild of a husband who has decided riding his bicycle and taking classes is his new passion rather than going to a paying gig every day and an old “fixer upper” of a house that has morphed into something more like this . . . . Having trouble finding a suitable job is just one of Kate’s many issues. She is starting menopause and is dealing with the symptoms this change is bringing into her life. Richard is changing more than just his career - he’s become obsessed with his bike, herbal tea, mindfulness and meditation. Kate and Richards adorable children from the last book are now teenagers and not exactly easy and of course, Richard is starting to become an absent husband and father, just when Kate needs him most. Just to throw in one more issue, Kate and Richard bought an old ‘fixer upper’ upon returning to London and of course, the remodel is turning out to be more complicated than expected. Kate spends the rest of the book trying to sort out these problems; some of its hilarious and some very heartfelt. Don't think that it's just all laughs, because you'd be wrong. This caters for a wonderful romance, it involves peoples lives, family and friendship. I must share with you that when I finished this book yesterday, I left a comment on Goodreads and it went like this: Review to follow. I can't write it as yet, as I'm still too darn busy laughing my head off. This is the most hilarious book I've read... ever! It deserves more than 5 stars. I was fortunate enough to receive a message from the author who saw this. I'm sure the author won't mind if I share it. The main character decides to take a break from her CPA world and try writing a romance novel. How hard could it be, right? She meets a wonderful group of old ladies, and turns beet red as they talk about sex, s&m, and so on as if they were talking about their grocery list. Then enters the evil Evangeline, who has a huge career as a romance novelist. But it turns out she has stolen everything she has ever written. The only thing she's good at is digging up dirt and using it against people to get her way.That being said, I could see most of the plot twists coming a mile away, and you couldn't help but get frustrated that Kate couldn't see them too. Overall, while I found parts of this novel funny, refreshing, and quite apropos, I couldn't really get over Kate's obsession with her looks or her one-sided relationship with her children. In the end, 3.5 stars, probably bumped up a bit for a little Kate Reddy nostalgia. If you enjoyed Bridget Jones (well, you know, up to the point where she had some miracle baby at 50+ years old and the thing crapped the bed), this might be for you. I kept thinking this is how Bridget’s life would have turned out if she had married Daniel Cleaver. She would have remained a highly functioning dysfunctional crazyperson – he would have maybe pulled his act together up to the point where he had a midlife crisis and then everything would start to fall apart . . . hilariously. And if nothing else, we could ALL take a little comfort in the fact that . . . To add to the stress of being the only present parent and main breadwinner Kate is also going through menopause... i’m not quite to this point in my life yet (and if I am I am in complete denial about it) but nothing about it sounds all that fun.... but as Kate does with all aspects of her life she adds a splash of humor to it(Intentional or not) that I just absolutely loved in this book... this book is a sequel, but it absolutely can be read as a standalone, I don’t believe I lost anything having not read the first book... however I plan on eventually reading the first book so I can visit a younger Kate.... I have read about half of this book and I think that it is a good and funny books written by taking some serious topics and ridiculing them to make them funny, I really like this approach and I think that it should be used more when writing books. Kate has a decent resume, her problem is her age, and competing with all the twenty/thirty-somethings in the workforce. "Lie," say her friends. "Or at least twist the truth a little." (my paraphrasing) So she becomes 42, on paper.

This is a story that will be familiar to many women, the act of juggling so many commitments while trying to hold down a full time job at the same time. For Kate though, it's also about reaching this important milestone and discovering who she really is - who she'd like to be if she wasn't so concerned with making everyone else happy.The top end of OK. This has been sitting about a while and is a compilation of Clarkson's Sunday Times columns from 2008-9 so it is something of an instructive wander down Memory Lane as well as a handy bag book for a train journey (aside from feeling faintly as though a plain cover is required) Of course all written pre his final fall from grace and the end of Top Gear and indeed the end of his long marriage. Laugh-out-loud funny and entirely relatable--you'll fall in love with Kate all over again." -- Popsugar I highly recommend this book, especially to all the women in the sandwich generation. I will be immediately seeking out Ms. Pearson’s first book.

The problem is I don’t even understand what it is I don’t understand. Emily may as well be talking in a foreign language. I mean, I’m on Facebook, I’m in a family group on WhatsApp that the kids set up for us and I’ve tweeted all of eight times (once, embarrassingly, about Pasha on Strictly Come Dancing after a couple of glasses of wine), but the rest of social media has passed me by. Until now, my ignorance has been funny—a family joke, something the kids could tease me about. “Are you from the past?” That was the punch line Emily and Ben would chorus in a singsong Irish lilt; they had learned it from a favorite sitcom. “Are you from the past, Mum?” Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Filled with smart insights...Kate makes good company. You can't help rooting for her." — The New York Times Book Review It turns out that this is a sequel to another book, which I’d never heard of, I Don't Know How She Does It. That’s a fact I discovered after I read this book, which functioned perfectly well as a standalone. Look, I was doing OK. I got through the oil spill on the road that is turning forty. Lost a little control, but I drove into the skid just like the driving instructors tell you to and afterwards things were fine again, no, really, they were better than fine.Bloody brilliant! In 2002 Allison Pearson wrote I Don’t Know How She Does It and introduced Kate Reddy. A working mother with young children. I loved it so much because Kate Reddy was me. I identified with everything. Kate’s story of juggling all of life’s challenges, especially this newly evolving sandwich generation, and feeling very much alone in doing so, is without question relatable. Kate (and Allison) truly get it, and I felt like giving her a few high fives while reading. Or fist bumps. Or the wave! This romantic comedy is simply brilliant! Ms. Peterman had me LMFAO…[she] is amazing in bringing in good humor, friendship and good romance”. ~Under The Covers