The Best Days of Our Lives: the big-hearted and uplifting new novel from the bestselling author of Anything Could Happen

Product Information

Somehow, this is the first of Lucy Diamond’s books I’ve read. I know of her and I’ve seen her books and often been interest in them, but for reasons unknown to me, I have never actually read one. But I was very eager to read this one. Take a Look at Our Summary of November Highlights, Whether You're Looking for the Latest Releases or Gift Inspiration Oh how I treasured this precious novel by Lucy Diamond. Sure, it's majorly weepy for the most part but also enduringly uplifting. Wayyyyy too many feels to contend with!! Given the nature of this book it may be triggering for some, there is loss of a sibling and the loss of an adult child. There are also issues relating to infertility and complications in pregnancy. Whilst these are very heavy issues Diamond handles them with the upmost care and respect.

Another absolutely gorgeous book by the best selling author Lucy Diamond. Oh how I loved this precious book. This was a beautiful story that contained so much heart and lightness amongst its tragedy, such is the skill and warmth of Diamond’s writing. Its characters were written with depth and real humanity and as such their grief was raw and palpable and yet this is a novel that still manages to leave you uplifted by the end. Thanks to NetGalley and Quercus for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review. Belinda, their mother is obsessed with her clairvoyant friend, wanting answers from the other side.Despite the heavy subject matter which is sure to stir up your emotions, Lucy Diamond's lively and frequently humorous writing ensures you'll laugh as often as you cry * Sunday Express * Even better is the sensation of being let into other secrets not all the characters know, but I won’t spoil the story by saying more! Reminding us how to fly Books about grief seem to have their moment right now and it's ok, though I think I'd rather read about cupcakes and bookshop in Cornwall. Whatever. This one was written by Lucy Diamond, so I had to give it a go. Last few books by this author didn't gel with me so much, but "The Best Days of Our Lives" turned out to be a poignant yet funny, touching story about a family dealing with the worst - with grief. The Best Days of Our Lives is one of those books that makes you reassess how you live your own life. Deeply moving but ultimately uplifting, you won't regret reading this * Katie Fforde *

I guarantee that anyone reading The Best Days of Our Lives will find it hugely relatable and take solace, pleasure and joy from it. Reading this one might just inspire you to try something new in your own life. Bob Mortimer wins 2023 Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction with The Satsuma Complex However, I had a feeling that the story, all the feelings and emotions are a bit over the top. It was a bit overdone and the characters' behaviour was too extreme, to over the top.she tries to put together the last few weeks of Leni's life.......Only to find secrets she did not know about her. There’s such depth that it’s hard to accept that all the people here – Alice, Belinda and Will in particular – are not real people. I felt their emotions every bit as much as they did because I believed in them so completely. The mystery of Leni’s last few weeks Alice is Lenis sister and one of her best friends. Alice is trying to navigate the world without her sister in it. She is also finding out lots more about her sister things she kept hidden from people and what happened to her in the last week of her life. Alice is also trying to find her own path in life now that her sister has died and is trying to find out the things that she wants out of life for herself.

A brilliantly observed slice of family life full of joy, sorrow, happiness and hope, I loved it * Alex Brown * The story is essentially about the grief her family feels when Leni dies following a bicycle accident. Lucy Diamond explores how guilt, despair, loneliness, isolation, anger and vulnerability reverberate through those left behind. Humour, love, excitement and joy This is well-written but it will not appeal to everyone. There is a lot of focus on the grief suffered by Leni's family following her surprising death.Now with her 18th, The Best Days Of Our Lives, just out, and the last of her “babies” preparing to fly the nest for university in Edinburgh, Diamond recalls those good-old-bad-old days: “I decided to give the novel a go, but there was no safety net at all. We didn’t have a lot of money. That was in 2002. I gave myself six months.” Leni and her sister Alice were best friends as well as siblings. But did they know each other as well as Alice thought? In the hope of coming to terms with her grief, she tries to piece together Leni’s last weeks – but her discoveries only lead to more questions. And that’s before the surprise reappearance of someone from the past. Life is certainly getting very complicated … Everyone blamed themselves in their own way for Leni's death, even though it was no-one's fault. The only one who annoyed me was Alice, as what Leni was up to in her last days consumed her to the point of obsession and took over her whole life. A bittersweet ode to the highs, the lows, and all the shades of living in between, The Best Days of Our Lives is Lucy Diamond at her absolute best. Prepare to be charmed! * Laura Jane Williams *

In spite of the sadness surrounding the family there is still lots of good humour in the book. I especially liked Tony, I thought his character was funny. He made mistakes in the past, but as he begins to realise he didn’t quite live up to being a particularly good dad, he is determined to make amends now that he’s lost one daughter. Where Lucy Diamond does excel is in her character creation. Main or supporting, old or young, female or male…they’re all so well written. And the extended family as a whole. It’s a great exploration of a dysfunctional family without straying into the pantomime. And Tony Lenis dad is trying to make amends for leaving the family and being a rubbish dad. While awaiting a new baby himself with his new girlfriend. The Nottingham-born writer took her first draft to the agent she’d worked with on her children’s books. “He told me not to give up the day job,” she reveals. “I tried another who was intimidatingly posh. She asked me, ‘darling how can I market you, are you poor?’ So, I went with someone else who signed me up with a publisher. It was a happy ending.”

Leni drives the narrative, making her relationships with the other characters shape them and bring them to vibrant life. I loved meeting them all because they are messy, flawed and human. Favourite things: beaches, holidays, chocolate, wine, reading, Green Wing, bubble baths, sunshine, hearing my children laugh, babysitters