In the world of social media, Millie is the successful online influencer @mi_bestlife. But in real life she’s just a regular single mum trying to make ends meet, while fending off the younger competition and tenacious internet trolls. Her Instagram feed is far more #BestLie than #BestLife, and soon Millie begins to wish her life was more like her filters.
It isn’t until Bell and Millie’s paths cross that they begin to realise what they’re both missing. Can Millie prove to Bell that life online isn’t always what it appears to be? And in return, can Millie learn that she needs to start living for the moment and not for the likes?
I'd like to thank Anne Cater from Random Things Tours for inviting me to be a part of this blog tour and Simon & Schuster for my proof copy of Living My Best Life to review.
Living My Best Li(f)e is journalist Claire Frost's debut novel but it was such an impressive, accomplished piece of writing that you would have thought that she has been writing for years. Well technically I suppose she has for her day job, writing articles and book reviews as assistant editor for Fabulous magazine but it's a whole different discipline I'm sure to find the time, inspiration and the words to write such a fabulous story.
The whole premise of the realities of what we see depicted on social media, in particular Instagram, to what life is really like was one that instantly appealed to me as I will admit that I have been known to waste hours online. And I'm as guilty as the next of maybe posting something a bit more filtered, upbeat and positive than I'm really feeling and also as guilty about making assumptions based on what others post.
Our two central characters Bell and Millie couldn't have appeared to have been more different if they tried, one a professional career woman struggling to come to terms with singledom in her late thirties after the breakdown of a long-term relationship and the other a seemingly-perfect twenty-something single mother, but yet they have more in common than at first thought. I loved the contrasts between the characters as so often we see people and make judgements when really we have no idea who they are or how they are really feeling. I loved how when you delve deeper into the story, their vulnerabilities and fears were revealed and you got to see their true selves and how alike they really were.
From the opening chapter there are links between the two women but it's not until they literally bump into each other in the street that their paths cross. Over time a true friendship builds between the two of them and I loved how organically this began and then built into a bond so close that they become each others cheer squad supporting the other in life-changing decisions. Normally when I'm reading a book I would typically find that I'm drawn to one character more so than another but in this instance I can honestly say that I loved them both equally. Initially I suppose I was drawn more to Bell probably because she's most like me but the more I got to to know the real Millie, the more I warmed to her. And as for her five-year-old son Wolf, he was an absolute hoot and scene stealer at times.
Another aspect of the storyline that I particularly enjoyed was their joint endeavours to save the local community centre. There was a real sense of community spirit in play as they joined forces with other locals who use the centre in a bid to raise the funds to save it from being sold for development. This introduced us to whole other cast of colourful characters who all played their part too.
I don't want to say too much more for fear of giving spoilers but I was glad to see how life changed for the better for everyone over the course of this book. That's not to say that everything was totally rosy throughout as Claire skillfully managed to explore some serious everyday issues that sadly are all too prevalent in today's society which at times brought a lump to my throat especially when in relation to young Wolf.
Living My Best Li(f)e is an impressive debut from Claire Frost, the perfect blend of humour with the realism of everyday life. I'm already looking forward to her next book, whenever that may be, so no pressure Claire but more of the same please.
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