Confessions of a Forty Something F##k Up by Alexandra Potter - Review

I got this book recently in a book swap I hosted. The person who sent to me definitely felt the pressure of sending to me because I'm known for loving books, but she chose two books I was really intrigued to read. I don't think I would have picked either of them myself, but I love it when that happens and then I end up really enjoying a book. I saw that there's a sequel to this one which I will definitely pick up. This is kind of 'chick lit' which isn't a term that I like to use, but it seems to fit here. As I turned forty this year a lot of it resonated with me, which was funny. Life really doesn't turn out like you think it will!

So, Nell is the eponymous forty something fuck up, and she's just moved back to London after living in America for a few years with her fiance. She's left her fiance but definitely doesn't want to talk about it. She rents a room off a guy called Edward, who is very fastidious and particular. He's only there for four nights during the week, though, because the rest of the time he's at home with his wife and children. Nell has to look after his dog, though, a being that she begins to love after a while. Nell is from Cumbria and her parents worry about her, but also her brother is sort of the black sheep of the family. Near the beginning of the book, he introduces his new girlfriend. 

Nell has several close friends from uni, all of whom are married with kids. She does feel left out - something I can relate to - and she's just grieving that she's having to start over again. She gets a job writing obituaries for a paper, and that's where she meets Cricket. She is a widow whose husband was a brilliant playwright. She is eighty odd years old and she and Nell hit it off. 

Nell also starts a podcast. She doesn't tell anyone about it, though. But things among her friend group aren't perfect - there's a new top mum in town who seems to really dislike Nell, and the marriages of her friends aren't as perfect as they might seem. 

The book is fun and funny, but perhaps a little too long. I did like it, but it's not quite four stars for me. More a three and a half.