I am very pleased to bring you my review of The Single Mums Book Club by Victoria Cooke on publication day!
Three friends, three single mums, one quest to find love…
It’s 8:30am and I’m already utterly exhausted. My son has lost his football boots, my daughter is ready for school dressed only in her vest and knickers, and of course, my 1-year-old has filled his nappy for what feels like the tenth time this morning.
As for my husband? He’s decided marriage doesn’t suit him, and well… buggered off.
All hope of ‘me time’ has but dwindled to sipping half a glass of wine whilst shouting after the kids. But everything is about to change.
I’m taking control of my life! I’ve joined… a book club.
Yes, I know what you’re thinking. ‘Wow… live a little.’ But my fellow book clubbers, Amanda and Janey, are my lifelines. They understand the daily struggle because they’re mothers too.
And in between the prosecco, Doritos and googling everything about Mr Darcy on SparkNotes, they’ve convinced me to go on a date with my boss.
A single mum of three looking for romance… what could possibly go wrong?
A gloriously funny and relatable read for anyone who just needs a little more ‘me time’. Fans of Why Mummy Drinks and Has Anyone Seen my Sex Life? will snort with laughter at this utterly hilarious and heart-warming read.
Great blurb, and a great cover – excellent ways to draw a reader in, and The Single Mums Book Club provides us with both!
Stephanie is a single Mum of three, who is struggling with her newfound situation. She had always craved to be part of a stereotypical family unit, and for a few short years she had achieved that. Unfortunately, her husband had decided that he wasn’t actually keen on marriage, and therefore ended her perfect family life. As a result, Stephanie finds herself regularly alone, with three children, and very little help. She needs to find herself again, but she has no time, no money and she didn’t even get to keep her friends in the divorce. After what can only be described as an epic breakdown in the local supermarket, Stephanie finds herself in the company of her neighbour Janey, a fellow Mum with her own problems. And so, the Single Mum’s Book Club was born! With the addition of Amanda, a widowed woman desperately in need of company, these three women form a support group that is, at times, loosely based on books!
The descriptions of motherhood in this book are scarily accurate, divorced or not. We’ve all felt stressed, juggling the many tasks that we are faced with when we have children. Even if you’ve got a supportive partner, life is always hectic when children are involved! Victoria Cooke captures the feelings of Mums everywhere beautifully – she really shows how women can feel torn, how much they adore their children, and how they really do put their children first.
I loved following Stephanie’s story – it was good to see her realise that her perfect family life may not have actually been that perfect. In fact it was good to see her realise how her idea of perfect may not have been perfect for her at all! Naturally we got a lovely little romance thrown in for good measure, which was not picture perfect either – dating a divorced mother of three is never going to be easy, but I loved following their own story.
I am more than happy to recommend this novel – it was a lovely, easy read which was very easy to relate to. Perfect for a bank holiday weekend – so grab yourself a copy, a blanket and a glass of wine and dive right in!
Thank you to Victoria Cooke and Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me on this blog tour, and for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Author Bio
Victoria Cooke grew up in the city of Manchester before crossing the Pennines in pursuit of a career in education. She now lives in Huddersfield with her husband and two young daughters and when she’s not at home writing by the fire with a cup of coffee in hand, she loves working out in the gym and travelling. Victoria was first published at the tender age of eight by her classroom teacher who saw potential in a six-page story about an invisible man. Since then she’s always had a passion for reading and writing, undertaking several writers’ courses before completing her first novel, ‘The Secret to Falling in Love,’ in 2016.
Her third novel, Who Needs Men Anyway? became a digital bestseller in 2018 and her debut, The Secret fo Falling in Love was optioned in 2020.
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