Title : The Greatest Love Story of All Time
Author : Lucy Robinson
Publication date : 12 April 2012
Publisher : Penguin
Source : Received from publisher for review. Thank you!
Rating : 5/5
It’s Fran’s thirtieth birthday and things are good . . .
She’s bluffed her way into a Very Posh Job and her outlandishly
handsome and talented boyfriend Michael is escorting her to the Ritz
with a bulge the shape of a ring box in his pocket.
In her quest to figure out why her life has suddenly gone down the
pan, Fran comes up with a failsafe plan: live like a badger, stalk a
stranger called Nellie and cancel her beloved Gin Thursdays in favour of
drinking gin every night. But then Fran’s friends force a very
different plan on her and it’s nowhere near as fun. How could eight
dates possibly make her feel better?
But eventually she agrees. And so begins the greatest love story of all time . . .
Aha! I’ve been wanting to read Lucy Robinson’s debut book since I saw
it on Amazon a few months back. I’ve got to say, the story captivated
me almost instantly and I was really eager to read it. Too bad Amazon
didn’t have a preview, must to my dismay, I contacted Lucy on Twitter to
ask her about it and she was puzzled to why I don’t have a review copy.
Oh! So her publicist contacted me and about 3 weeks later, I found a
Penguin parcel in my mailbox! I wrapped it up and started on Fran’s
greatest love story of all time! And as usual, the characters in my
head. Fran is portrayed by Lucy herself, such a form of flattery, Leonie
was Leona Lewis for some God forsaken reason. Stefania was a mean but
lovely Russian lady with crazy black hair and Dave, well. Dave was more
of a Greg Grunberg kind of guy while Michael was gorgeous, I’m such a
bitch. Yes, Michael was just a handsome guy I pictured in my head. Ooh!
And the cover, isn’t it sweet? All soft pastel cream and the beautiful
bold font! Cover aside, the story was really heart-warming and I enjoyed
every page of it.
Well, where do I start? OK, Frances! This is a story of Fran, who is
newly single after her boyfriend, Michael decided to take 3 months off
their relationship for no apparent reason. What kills her is that she is
expecting a proposal from her boyfriend on the night of her 30th
birthday. She’s funny, feisty, and loveable, even though she makes a tit
out of herself most of the time. Lucy described her heartbreak very
clearly, stating her emotional breakdown, the terrible state she was in
with moulding ice-cream and her uninhabitable home. I find her being
real, genuine and down-to-earth, which is rare nowadays in books. Other
than Fran, her group of friends, Leonie, Stefania and Dave are really
amazing friends. They look after her after the disastrous incident on
her birthday, literally being there for her when she’s neglecting life
outside her bedroom. Leonie was a sweetheart, really caring BFF of Fran
who’s got a really interesting and unusual profession. Stefania was a
wonderful character, who’d cook for Fran and leave the food at Duke
Ellington, Fran’s cat’s cat flap, to make sure she hasn’t died of
starvation. Given that she’s Serbian, if I’m not mistaken, I enjoyed
reading how Lucy wrote what she says, like “vhat” or “vhen”, which was
very hilarious when you’re reading it, almost like you’re reading it
with an accent! Dave, ah, Dave. He was a darling male friend with a big
heart, bigger than him in life, albeit he’s described as huge. He was a
great friend who treated Fran like his little sister, that’s how close
their relationship is.
I enjoyed the book from the beginning to the very end, because well,
it was hilarious. The story had a lot of sub-plots too, Fran dealing
with her hectic job to her alcoholic mother, and well, stalking Nellie
Daniels, which was downright amusing. The story was written in Fran’s
point of view which makes it really laughable, though she deals with her
heartbreak naively, I’ve got to give credit to Lucy to pen down such
detailed emotions. I could relate to Fran’s heartbreak, what with her
shutting out her life, job, family and friends, to her disastrous online
dating with random men over the internet. I was happy with ending,
though throughout the story, readers will be left guessing who Fran will
end up with. Another thing I liked about the book is Lucy’s realistic
writing on the witty banter between the characters. WARNING! THIS BOOK
CONTAINS EXCESSIVE EXPLETIVES! Oh, hell yeah. I loved the swearing, I
think personally I’d beat Fran if there was such a contest :)
The flow of the book was upbeat and was not really dragging, though
it was about 491 pages. It’s a good book to curl up when you’re down or
feeling rather miserable. Even when you’ve suddenly thought of your
bastard of an ex, this book is about getting back on your feet when shit
happens to your love life. I loved it. The Greatest Love Story of All
Time is chick lit humour at its best! Follow Lucy on Twitter
@Lucy_Robinson.
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