Today I am on the blog tour for The Time of Her Life (Published 18th January 2024) By Tracy Bloom. A big thank you to the publishers HarperCollins for sending me a copy to read and review , always appreciated. Also to the wonderful Anne for the invite to take part in the blog tour, always a pleasure to work with.
The Time Of Her Life
The worst day of her life could be the best thing that's ever happened.
Kim Jacobs believes that she is happily married, until her husband tells her he is leaving her. Forced to re-evaluate her life on the same day that her son leaves for university, Kim is shocked to find herself sleeping in the spare room of his college flat share.
She never imagined her prime would be spent with a bunch of man-babies, but amongst the empty pizza boxes and unwashed laundry, Kim can feel something starting to happen.
Can her unlikely new housemates help her realise that maybe the best is yet to come?
About The Author
Tracy Bloom started writing when her cruel, heartless husband ripped her away from her dream job, shopping for rollercoasters for the UK's leading theme parks, to live in America with a brand-new baby and no mates. In a cunning plan to avoid domestic duties and people who didn't understand her Derbyshire accent, she wrote NO ONE EVER HAS SEX ON A TUESDAY. It went on to become a No.1 bestseller and publishing phenomenon. Since then Tracy has written many more novels and been published successfully around the world. She now lives back home in Derbyshire with her husband and children.
My Review
Kim Jacobs has it all, happily married for 20 years to husband Richard, a rewarding job as a hairdresser and her only son Harry is about to go to university. Life couldn't be better for her…that is until the night of her husbands 50th surprise birthday party. After Kim does a speech to their friends and family about how much she adores her husband, he drops a massive bombshell. He is leaving her, for Alison, the neighbour next door. It's a classic cliché that destroys everything Kim thought she had. Not wanting to stay where it is literally on her doorstep, Kim decides to go and stay in Nottingham after dropping her son off at his new accommodation for university. As luck would have it there is a spare room going free and before she knows it Kim is living with her son and his flatmates while working at the local chippy. The student life has never looked more appealing when your husband's a cheater and everything you thought you had was a lie.
The narrative follows Kim in third person as she navigates her new outlook on life after the destruction of her marriage. Bloom has created an extremely likeable character in Kim that the reader can feel and root for. Bloom has written Kim with a vulnerability that all she has ever known is being a hairdresser, mum and wife. She has done it for so long that she no longer knows what she wants in life. Kim is a great believer in fate and turns her unfortunate situation into one of opportunity. Bloom allows Kim to grow, to realise that she is strong enough and doesn't need to rely on anyone but herself. Kim also has to let her son Harry go, to cut those apron strings and let him be free. She starts to think that maybe Richard leaving her was possibly the best thing to have happened.
Bloom has captured the heartache and torment that comes with the collapse of a marriage. Years of love and fond memories all fade and make you wonder if it was ever real. Kim is left hurt and confused, questioning what did she do wrong, how could she have not seen it and of course he would have an affair, she's 'only a hairdresser'. Bloom displays the never-ending hope, possibilities of happiness and passionate endless love to the reader. In Kim she has created a caterpillar turning into a butterfly, allowing her the room, time and freedom she needs in order to transform into her beautiful true self. It's a joy to read, you want her to succeed and cheer her on the whole way through.
The characters that surround Kim bring that extra warmth and support that you need after a break up. They are a mixed bunch, her housemates Sonny and Angus are complete opposites. Vicky, her best friend since primary school is always up for a laugh and encourages the happy-go-lucky side of Kim to emerge. Max her boss appears to come off as a no-nonsense kind of guy but as Kim gets to know him she finds out that he too has been hurt by love in the past. These characters encourage Kim to get out there, live a little and have the time of her life. She deserves it, now is her time to shine and figure out what she wants out of life, free of guilt. You are ecstatic that Kim is not left alone during her breakdown. She has the support and kindness in the last place she ever suspected to find it.
I give The Time Of Her Life By Tracy Bloom a Five out of Five paw rating
Beautifully heartbreaking, I was a mess. Bloom writes with a powerful emotional creativity that tugs at the heartstrings but also makes you smile with the happiness and love that is slowly uncovered.
How can you not love Kim? You feel like you know her, have become friends with her. As a hairdresser she loves talking to people and listening to their woes. You feel at ease with her and comfortable, that your worries will be cut and washed away.
Don't forget to follow the rest of the blog tour, dates below, enjoy!
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