Source: Review copy
Publication: 14th June 2018 from Hodder & Stoughton
PP 368
ISBN-13: 978-1473667723
Turning thirty is like playing musical chairs. The music stops, and everyone just marries whoever they happen to be sitting on.’
Who the f*ck is Tori Bailey?
There’s no doubt that Tori is winning the game of life. She’s inspired millions of women to stick two fingers up at convention with her bestselling memoir, and she has the perfect relationship to boot.
But Tori Bailey has been living a lie.
Everyone around her is getting married and having babies, but her long-term boyfriend won’t even talk about getting engaged. And when her best friend Dee – her plus one, the only person who understands the madness – falls in love, suddenly Tori’s in terrifying danger of being left behind.
When the world tells you to be one thing and turning thirty brings with it a loud ticking clock, it takes courage to walk your own path.
It’s time for Tori to practice what she’s preached, but the question is: is she brave enough?
I approached this book with trepidation. The first adult novel by a y/a bestseller, and which focuses in on what it’s like to turn 30. It’s a long time since I last saw thirty, so I wasn’t at all sure that this would be for me.
Fortunately, it took no time at all to convince me otherwise. This is a witty, punchy, on –point read that had me alternately laughing and nodding my head in agreement and understanding.
Tori is the poster child who has it all. She has made her own fantastically successful career by writing a best-seller. ‘Who The F*** Am I?’, is the book that propelled her to fame because she tells it like it is. Her book resonated so much with the 20’s generation that she has become something of a role model and is now a brilliantly successful motivational speaker.
The only problem is that she has just hit 30 and she’s still trading on what worked 5 years ago.
In this social media generation, Tori is great at masking her insecurities and her sometimes dire personal relationship. After all, she told the world that Tom was her dream man and yet she is a self-proclaimed feminist who needs affirmation hits from her adoring Instagram followers.
Turning 30 has left Tori floundering; pondering what it is all for. As her friends start to reproduce, the girl who has everything starts to wonder if her seemingly perfect life is even worth having.
Beautifully raw, with unflinching, authentic moments which had me nodding away as I saw myself in them, this is a wise and witty book about being true to one’s self.
Told in strong and bitingly spiky prose, I found myself drawn in to Tori’s life and captivated by her constant contradictions in her battle to be wanted and loved as well as strong and successful.
A lot of the tension in the book comes from her relationship with her dream man, Tom. They found each other while backpacking and he is her ‘rock man .Except that as time has moved on, it’s clear that he’s a prick. But he is part of the success that Tori trades on for a living and she’s not sure if she’s brave enough to handle the consequences of facing up to that.
This book will resonate with every woman and when you aren’t laughing, you’ll be identifying with Tori and her struggles.
Verdict: A top notch read. 
About Holly Bourne
Holly started her writing career as a news journalist, where she was nominated for Best Print Journalist of the Year. She then spent six years working as an editor, a relationship advisor, and general ‘agony aunt’ for a youth charity – helping young people with their relationships and mental health. Inspired by what she saw, she started writing teen fiction, including the best-selling, award-winning ‘Spinster Club’ series which helps educate teenagers about feminism. When she turned thirty, Holly wrote her first adult novel, examining the intensified pressures on women once they hit that landmark.
Follow Holly on Twitter @holly_bourneYA
Live and Deadly 