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

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As you would imagine the whole family have been deeply affected by the loss of their sibling/daughter/friend as each attempts to come to terms with their grief in different ways. 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. A novel that is typical of it's Author but with perhaps a slightly slower paced feeling than previously. I had a problem with Leni, though, because the picture of her, painted by the characters, was totally different to this what the author showed us in the first chapter.

Her sister Alice, mum Belinda, dad Tony and younger brother Will all experience their loss differently and they also deal with it in their own individual way. She has constant reminders of what she had but once lost as she sees her family members doing well in life or she thinks. Her marriage is over as her husband can’t cope with what she has turned into and all the solid structures once in place in her life are gone. As they gradually piece together the puzzle that they so carelessly let shatter all those years ago, and with it, form new connections, as well as re-connecting with old ones. Thank you to Net Galley and the publishers for allowing me to read an advanced reader copy before publication date!We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. He can’t deal with the emotions her loss has stirred up and instead he spends his days selling knock off gear on the beaches of Thailand. Some characters are loveable from the start, some grow on you as you go through the story, and absolutely nobody is perfect.

Tony, Leni’s dad, is a classic example of this, and I really admired and loved his character by the end.The story, on the whole, was very character driven and the author did a good job with describing them, yet I still think that Leni was really the weakest link and I'm guessing it shouldn't be like this, I was supposed to like her and because I didn't, well, the whole story was already from the beginning spoiled for me. As there were so many characters to get to know I thought things might become quite confusing but it was easy to follow each of their individual storylines and I enjoyed seeing how at some point they were bound to come together. The books featured on this site are aimed primarily at readers aged 13 or above and therefore you must be 13 years or over to sign up to our newsletter. There are a few little mysteries along the way which do add to the story - Leni's story particularly, but I feel its these mysteries that help give closure to a devastating tragedy. Through the novel we follow the four people closest to Leni, her mum Belinda, father Tony and sister and brother Alice and Will.

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. Their fond recounting of stories about Leni was wonderful and following them all through their grief was so sad yet uplifting. Deeply moving but ultimately uplifting, you won't regret reading this * Katie Fforde * Wise, moving and heart-warming - this is Lucy Diamond at her very best * Rosie Walsh * Lucy is at the top of her game with this wise and wonderful book. 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. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a weepy and will have you reaching for the tissues throughout, but it was so heart-warming that I couldn’t help but be captivated by it right from the very beginning.I’ve used a pen name because ‘Diamond’ is a lot easier to spell and pronounce than ‘Mongredien’ and also because I’ve written lots of children’s books too and wanted to keep the genres separate. What follows are chapters from each family’s members viewpoint, her sister Alice, her brother Will, her mother Belinda and her father Tony. We do, however, get to know her really well through her sister Alice, her brother Will and her parents Belinda and Tony.