Book Review : The Greatest Love Story of All Time by Lucy Robinson

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.

But something has gone wrong. Very wrong. By the end of the evening Fran is howling in bed with a bottle of cheap brandy and one of Michael’s old socks.


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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