Skip to main content

So Happy For You - Celia Laskey

 


Genre: Contemporary | Thriller | LGBT+ 

Release Date: 7th June 2022

Publisher: HQ

"If you want to know the story of how my best friend and I ended up trying to kill each other, I should probably start with the night she asked me to be her maid of honour."

Robin is so happy for her sort-of best friend, Ellie. She's getting married and has asked Robin to take up the title of Maid of Honour. So now she's trying her best to keep smiling through the talk of traditional weddings (which she hates), dealing with her fiancé (who she hates even more), trying to navigate the constant bridal disasters (like unmatching nail polish!) and even the bizarre and dangerous pre-wedding rituals that have become common since the government have been pushing heterosexual marriages to combat their dramatic decline. 

Ellie was there for Robin through everything, so it's her turn - but as the big day draws closer, Ellie gets desperate and frantic to make sure her marriage will be perfect - and Robin can't help but think there isn't so much to be happy about anymore …

So Happy For You is a dark, curiously twisted parallel of modern life - one where the crushing pressure placed upon women has reached new levels and the cracks are starting to spread across everything. The entire story is strikingly otherworldly - everything feels familiar, but in a world where the governments control over women's bodies has become even more sinister - further controlling access to abortion and egg freezing, creating tax breaks and loans exclusively for married couples to leave them with no other options.    

This book will strike a chord with anyone who feels like they're not following the timeline society, family, or even you had planned. Ellie is trying to faithfully follow the standard and climb the ladder, whereas Robin, a gay vegan feminist doesn't quite fit into the story everyone wanted her to follow and I adored her. She was electrifying, bold and undeniably human. 

Their friendship was complex - Laskey masterfully uses them to explore the compelling intricacies of female friendship, the darkest reaches of obsession and compulsion, and the lasting destructive force that love can be. 

From the first line, we know something explosive is on the horizon - but Laskey takes her time, taking us back to the first spark of friendship between Robin and Ellie and showing us how their relationship grew, building a rich history between two girls, two women - and flowing between their past and present seamlessly. This spark slowly starts to burn out of control page by page, and even when there's nothing left but ashes as we reach the conclusion, I was desperately hoping for just a few more pages. 

This is a book you need to read - and you'll be so happy you did. 

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I was gifted an advanced reviewers copy of this title in return for an honest review. 

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

REVIEW: This Could Be Us by Clare McGowan

Genre: Fiction | Literary Fiction Release Date: Expected 1st June 2023 Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group | Corsair  Kate has done the unthinkable. She'd worked hard to build a perfect life for herself, while ignoring her growing unhappiness. But when her second child was born profoundly disabled, reality hit. Unable to cope, Kate left - disappearing without a trace. She ends up in LA, with a glittering career and a new family of sorts, but the guilt is still suffocating. Husband Andrew was left to pick up the pieces and care for their disabled daughter and angry, confused son. Bereft and broken, he leaned on Olivia, Kate's best friend. She's been by his side ever since, ignoring her own needs to meet his. Years later, Andrew has written a memoir about his daughter learning to communicate against all odds. But when Kate's new producer husband decides he wants to make a film of it, their worlds collide once again. Now, Kate must return to the life she abandoned and reck...
Post a Comment
Read more

REVIEW: Live, Laugh, Lesbian by Helen Scott

Genre: Non-Fiction | Memoir | LGTBQ+  Release Date: 19th October 2023 Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Part memoir, part guide, part conversation and all queer joy — Live, Laugh, Lesbian is a brilliantly warm and friendly journey into the queer experience, not only from the author but from plenty of other lesbian, queer, bisexual and pansexual contributors who bring a unique viewpoint and voice and also show a beautiful diverse, intersectional scope of the queer spectrum and welcomes in queer people and allies of any kind to come feel the love. The book is very conversational, talking to the reader in a fun, friendly way — at times I rolled my eyes as the use of “famalam” but as a previous patron of Colours and Chicagos I’m not in a position to judge the Essex-isms. It’s full of anecdotes and observations that were witty and relatable as well as talking is through the more difficult side of queerness like dealing with workplace discrimination, religious trauma and coming out to family...
Post a Comment
Read more

BOOK TOUR STOP x RANDOM THINGS TOURS: Thirty Days of Darkness by Jenny Lund Madsen

  " This town has secrets that are best left alone." Author Hannah is a success, on paper at least. She's receiving critical acclaim and praise worldwide and her work is regarded as some of the best. She writes literature, not just books. But the reality is, outside of the literary circles nobody actually reads her work. But when she finally snaps at a book event and publicly criticises the genre fiction books that outsell hers, claiming they're easy and mindless she's challenged to write her own crime fiction novel in just thirty days by an author she loathes. Desperate not to lose to him, her editor arranges for her to spend a month in a quiet, cold village in Iceland hoping that the solitude will spark inspiration.  But instead of writing a murder story - she's in one . Just before she arrives, the body of a young man is pulled from the icy waters and her search for ideas soon becomes a search for a killer. And if she's not careful, she might end up the...
Post a Comment
Read more