‘I absolutely loved this book and devoured it in a matter of hours! The perfect Saturday-night read which I found impossible to put down… I literally laughed out loud.’ Book Lover, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐When the inflatable hot tub my boyfriend hired for a surprise deflated with me in it, spilling water everywhere and almost flooding our flat, I should have known it was a sign… sign…
Could things get any worse? First Alice gets fired from her job as a lawyer out of the blue, and she has absolutely no idea what to do with her life. Then she and her boyfriend Joe bump into his ex, Zoe, with her annoyingly glossy hair and sparkling smile. And now they can’t afford the rent on their flat and Alice might have to cut back on her gin and tonics, the one thing getting her through.
With her life crumbling around her, Alice ends up ugly crying in the middle of the street, with mascara running down her face. She’s such a sorry sight that a kind old man stops and gives her his handkerchief.
But if that wasn’t bad enough, it turns out that Zoe is looking for a place to stay. And Joe has the bright idea of asking her to move in. Living with The Ex, and her fluffy cat Frazzle who leaves ginger hair everywhere, is Alice’s idea of hell. Especially when she finds Joe and Zoe singing and dancing in the kitchen as they cook chilli con carne together, or sneaking off to the pub without her.
Losing her job was one thing, but now it looks like she might also lose her boyfriend and her home Just how on earth is she going to turn this around?
This fabulous, feel-good page-turner is for anyone who has ever felt a little lost in life and turned to a bottle of wine to get you through! Fans of romantic comedies by Sophie Kinsella and Lindsey Kelk, and TV shows like Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and Jane the Virgin will love this utterly relatable read.
Readers absolutely love Just Saying:
‘Absolutely brilliant!… After months of struggling to find another author I love as much as I love Sophie Kinsella I have found her!… I devoured this book in a few hours because it was impossible to put down… Packed full of laughs… Had me laughing all the way through.’ Goodreads Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘You know it’s a good book when you want to be friends with the main character and I want to be BEST friends with Alice!!… Such a beautiful and heartwarming story that had me laughing, and sometimes crying! I just adored this book!!’ Goodreads Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Totally brilliant!… Funny and heartwarming… I read it over 2 nights during lockdown and loved every page of it.’ NetGalley Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘I absolutely loved this book! This is the fourth book I have read by Sophie Ranald and it feels like I’m literally catching up with old friends and having coffee!… I loved reading this as I could relate to the characters and they all felt like real people!’ Goodreads Reviewer
‘I LOVE Sophie Ranald… Just Saying is one of my favourite Ranald novels… Absolutely brilliant.’ NetGalley Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘I was supposed to read to chapter 10 with a few friends that were also reading this one, and I just stayed up till 1:30 am and binged till the end.’ Goodreads Reviewer
‘This book was fun!!!… I will definitely be reading more from this author!’ Goodreads Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘I adored this hilarious and heartwarming story… I loved it… Happy reading!’ Goodreads Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘A delightful romantic comedy that I literally couldn’t put down. The characters made me laugh and cry… Highly recommended!’ Goodreads Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Had me laughing all the way though, full of humour and fun, a total joy.’ Goodreads Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐more
This book is billed as a romantic comedy, and while it is funny and it is a romance, it’s far more emotionally intense. Sophie Ranald captures more than a couple forced to move in with one of their exes; she also touches on sexual harassment and its effects. So if you’re looking for something light and entertaining, this may not check your boxes. But if you want a deeper look at how a despicable act can make us question everything we hold true, this is a solid choice.
Alice narrates her story, showing you the gentle happiness she shares with boyfriend Joe, a guy who rented an inflatable hot tub for her birthday (a gift that goes comically awry). He clearly adores her, and they’re clearly committed. When she loses her job as an attorney, however, it causes financial ripples that lead to them moving in with Zoe, Joe’s comely ex-girlfriend. It’s a device that feels a little stretched. Alice compares herself to Zoe, finding herself wanting, yet she sort of allows this arrangement to happen. Did they–would they–have other options? You can’t help but think so, but then you wouldn’t have this story.
The supporting cast fills the roles of requisite quirky bunch of friends and family (Drew, I love you), and I wanted more out of Joe and Zoe, particularly her. She reveals more about herself toward the end, but even then, she’s pretty predictable. You aren’t as suspicious as you’re supposed to be because Zoe is so transparent.
Perhaps the biggest weakness of the book is the disconnect between why Alice does not reveal an important detail about her job with Joe and the way their relationship is portrayed in the early chapters. Alice tries to explain it, but it doesn’t work for me. It makes me wonder if my initial impression of the two of them was correct.
Let me know what you think of this one.
I thought this was an interesting book with some unexpected twists and turns.
It’s about Alice, a lawyer-in-training, and how her life evolves into something completely different than her original plan. She’s got a great boyfriend — Joe — who is kind and thoughtful and loves to surprise her with romantic gestures. She’s got a great job working at one of the city’s best law firms, and although she’s still in the midst of rotation training throughout the firm’s various departments, she’s already been selected for a permanent position in the Intellectual Property (IP) department. She has a great little apartment with Joe in a nice area where they are close to restaurants, pubs, shops and grocery stores.
The author–Sophie Ranald–paints a picture of a perfect life at the beginning, but there’s more here than meets the eye. Based on the promotional copy for the book, I thought I was in for a lighthearted and whimsical feel-good story. But a deeper issue lies underneath the story’s outward appearance. An issue that slowly unfolds throughout the book.
We get a hint at the issue when Alice’s perfect world comes tumbling down on the day she’s called into the HR Department at her work and told that her position within the IP Department is no longer available, since the head of the department — the man who offered her the position — is being investigated for alleged indiscretions. She’s invited to continue with the training program, but Alice knows that even if she continues to train, she won’t have a job at the law firm, as all of the open positions have already been assigned to other trainees. In a daze, she leaves and wanders the streets toward her home, ending up at a redneck pub called the Nag’s Head. This lowbrow, rough-and-tumble pub is the exact opposite of Alice’s usual preference — she and Joe usually hang out at the more sophisticated and polished bars frequented by young professionals like themselves.
Alice doesn’t realize how much that stop for a beer at the Nag’s Head will propel her destiny into another direction. A direction that makes her question her desire to work in the legal profession, her relationship with Joe, his true feelings for her (when his first love reappears in his life), and what she really wants to do with her life.
This book has been categorized as a “romantic comedy” but I think that’s misleading. Yes, some of the book is funny. But to me, it didn’t read as a lighthearted comedy. The situation that forced Alice from her job at the legal firm isn’t a laughing matter, and the fallout on her emotions probably shouldn’t be played down with lighthearted banter. She struggled with feelings of inadequacy and shame throughout the book. She questioned whether she was over-reacting. She was afraid to talk with anyone about the situation, including her boyfriend. She was able to work through it and find a new self-worth by diving into her job at the Nag’s Head pub, but she suffered through it by herself, as I imagine most women in her place would also do.
She overcame, but I wonder how many women don’t?
For me, I think it was a weird juxtaposition — the idea of comedy against the earth-shattering incident that happened to Alice. The story was good and it is uplifting to see how Alice overcomes her self-esteem issues as a result of the incident. But, I wish that it wasn’t tagged as a ‘ ‘lighthearted read’ and ‘romantic comedy.’ Those are misleading taglines. Readers expecting a breezy, upbeat romantic comedy might be disappointed because of the darker undertone of this story.
Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review of this book.
#justreleased #netgalley #arcreview
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Just Saying – Sophie Ranald Sophie Ranald
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Alice & Joe …
This book made me laugh, cry and relate in some ways with the main characters .
My steno notes: #metoo , old bar, love, drama, heartbreaks, adult romance, friendships.
It’s an easy read, well written, love the settings and characters that are in this book interacting and growing well done.
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Blurb;
I almost gave up on love. My ex, who called his private parts ‘Nigel’, was enough to put me off men forever. But then I met Joe.
Alice thought she’d found Mr Right. Her blue-eyed boyfriend Joe gives her butterflies, makes her bacon sandwiches when she’s hungover, and doesn’t have a nickname for any of his body parts.
She should have known it was too good to be true. Because one day, Alice and Joe bump into Zoe. According to him, Zoe’s ‘just an old friend’. But Alice saw the way they froze, and heard the strange note in Joe’s voice when he said her name.
Then, out of the blue, Zoe needs a place to live. And Joe has the bright idea of inviting her, and her fluffy ginger cat Frazzle, to stay with them.
Alice tries her hardest not to feel threatened. But the thing is, Zoe doesn’t survive off microwave meals, or go days without washing her glossy copper-coloured hair, or accidentally get mascara in her contact lenses.
Joe’s ex might be pretty much perfect, but there’s no way that Alice will let Zoe steal him. She’s on a mission to prove that three (four, if you count the cat) is definitely a crowd…
This fabulous, feel-good page-turner is for anyone who has ever got a little too drunk and checked out their partner’s ex! (We’ve all been there…)
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Genre adult romance, fun, drama
Stars:
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#justsaying #adultromance #bookreview #bookstagram #book #reading #tbr #creative #advocate #barowner #switch #lifestyle #love #drama #adventure #lovedit #photography #booksleeve
Cute Romantic Comedy
This is a cute story that is neither sweet nor clean. There is so much going on in the story that it is hard to describe. On the romantic level, it is about people appreciating what they have and not letting themselves get distracted by the ‘greener pastures’ fallacy. On another level, it is about loving your job/career or find a new one. The story is very busy, but is well written and is not confusing. I received this ARC book for free from Net Galley and this is my honest review.
Alice and Joe are both solicitors for the same company but in different departments. They work very long hours trying to fight their way up the ladder. Joe treats Alice so well and he’s a wonderful cook.
Life is good for them until one day while lunching at a food stall, Joe locks eyes with Zoe, whom he calls an old friend. Alice isn’t so sure until she comes home one day to find that Joe has invited Zoe and her cat, Frazzle, to rent their second bedroom. Alice is not pleased about this arrangement because Joe and Zoe are so happy together as they are always cooking.
Alice had just left her job due to an “incident” and is now working for a pub. It’s rather old but has some quirky people who frequent it. As she becomes more involved in the pub itself and the customers, she sees the potential in the place and how it could use some improvements. She is hooked on it and even Zoe joins in as the new cook. Her plant based food dishes and new activities bring in lots of people making the pub a busy and happy place. Could trouble be brewing with Joe and Alice because here she is now happy working in a pub when she could be back working as a solicitor making more money? Could their relationship be about to break up?
This is a clever book with several plots going on that shows how people come together as they take care of one another and work for the future of all of them. I liked Alice, Joe, and even Zoe. I also had a soft spot for Frazzle because I love cats and I find that adding a cat to a story is like the sugar on top.
Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Just Saying by Sophie Ranald a three star read that is just getting that. I had high hopes for this one and maybe that was my issue, it just didn’t live up to what I was expecting, I was just annoyed for most of the story and I usually like angst in my story but this just made me want to grab some people and tell them to talk to each other. It was as if the author threw a bunch of issue dealing story lines in and shook them about instead plotting them out and making the most of it. I have read the author previously and enjoyed their work and will maybe try it again but only if it looks worth it.
Alice was skeptical she could find real love until she met Joe. Both working in the same law firm he came to her rescue one morning after she’d had a particularly rough night. Now it’s 2 years later, the job she had been offered has been rescinded because of allegations about the person who offered it to her. To make matters worse, Alice and Joe bump into Zoe, Joe’s ex. Zoe is everything Alice isn’t. Alice is trying her best not to feel threatened, and at the same time, figure out what she wants to do with the rest of her life.
Sophie Ranald does a fantastic job writing characters who feel very real, Alice was relatable on so many levels, the conflict, emotions, thoughts, it’s like listening to a good friend. This is a potential spoiler, but I really really love a plot centered around a long term couple who works it out. I was surprised (in the best way) by the direction the Archie storyline went. Just Saying is about so much more than just Alice, Joe, and Zoe working out relationships, it brings up sexual assault, the #MeToo movement, and equality issues. Overall this is a good read, but should maybe have a trigger warning for sexual assault, while a decent part of the plot, it’s not the entire book.