One of this months Beauty and Lace book club reads is Loving Lizzie March by Susannah Hardy.
Lizzie’s dream of becoming a fashion designer has come to naught and her one-year relationship has ended. She finds herself working in a call centre for Winecall, whilst there she meets handsome bad boy Jake Wheeler. They have a one-night stand and she falls pregnant.
Lizzie has had her fair share of bad relationships and all she wants is a man that will always be there for her and put her first. Jake is not the type of man to settle and with the shock of becoming a mother, she wants him to be her happily ever after.
Jake’s pending responsibility conflicts with his lifestyle and I found it very hard to like him. Whilst he was happy to continue to sleep with Lizzie, he didn’t want to date her which she longed for. He is arrogant and selfish with narcissistic traits, I hoped for Lizzie’s sake he would change as a father.
There’s a great ensemble of characters that help move the story forward. Her mum was a great support and her best friend Clem, who had a problematic relationship of her own and was desperate to be a mother. Lizzie’s work colleagues intertwined within the story, celebrity Willow Smith and the wonderful Dr. Mitch who Lizzie made a strong connection with.
Lizzie is one of those characters you want to slap one minute and then hug the next. She was so lost. Susannah did a great job at painting her pain all the while making her personality bubbly, strong, and charming. I was rooting for Lizzie’s happy ending.
I loved this debut book and it really was hard to believe it was Susannah’s first novel. She is talented and a natural at writing. An evocative and satisfyingly engaging story focusing on love, family, belonging, loss and hope. I would love a second novel following Lizzie’s life.
Thanks to Beauty & Lace and Pan Macmillan AU for the opportunity to read and review.
ISBN: 9781760983475
A selection of our Beauty and Lace Club Members are reading Loving Lizzie March by Susannah Hardy. You can read their comments below, or add your own review.
My love of books started at a very young age. My mum has always been a reader and encouraged me to read, buying me endless book from classic fairy tales advancing to the world of Enid Blyton, CS Lewis, Louisa May Alcott, Kathryn Kenny, Carolyn Keene, Francine Pascal. In my adult years the list of authors is endless and every room in my house is filled with books.
One of my favourite novels is Narnia which has always has a special place in my heart. I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes in 1978 and when I was given this book to read it let me escape to another world where I felt like I was in the book with all the characters, it wasfun and exciting to escape from reality and eased the ups and downs of the disease at such a young age.
In books nothing is impossible and there is endless potential and hundreds of places to explore or being taken to places that are only made up from the authors’ great minds, the past and future to navigate, characters lives you step into taking you on an emotional rollercoaster ride or being scared out of your wits. I can experience things that I can’t in real life because they’re not possible or real. It challenges my perspective and mindset expanding my worldview.
I find joy, comfort and peace with books, many people may not get it, but I know bookworms like me truly understand. Reading makes my heart happy.