The Happiest Ever After - Milly Johnson

About the book… 

Polly Potter is surviving, not thriving. She used to love her job – until her mentor died and her new boss decided to make her life hell. She used to love her partner Chris – until he cheated on her, and now she can’t forget. The only place where her life is working is on the pages of the novel she is writing – there she can create a feistier, bolder, more successful version of herself – as the ­fictional Sabrina Anderson.

But what if it was possible to start over again? To leave everything behind, forget all that went before, and live the life you’d always dreamed of?

After a set of unforeseen circumstances, Polly ends up believing she really IS Sabrina, living at the heart of a noisy Italian family restaurant by the sea. Run by Teddy, the son of her new landlady Marielle, it’s a much-loved place, facing threat of closure as a rival restaurant moves in next door. Sabrina can’t remember her life as Polly, but she knows she is living a different life from the one she used to have.

But what if this new life could belong to her after all?

Buy Links: 

Amazon: https://amzn.eu/d/9rmuiqY

About the author… 

Milly Johnson was born, raised and still lives in Barnsley, South Yorkshire. A Sunday Times bestseller, she is one of the Top 10 Female Fiction authors in the UK, and has sold millions of copies of her books sold across the world. The Happiest Ever After is her twenty-first novel. Milly's writing highlights the importance of community spirit and the magic of kindness. Her books inspire and uplift but she packs a punch and never shies away from the hard realities of life and the complexities of relationships in her stories. Her books champion women, their strength and resilience, and celebrate love, friendship and the possibility and joy of second chances and renaissances.

Contact Links: 

Milly's website: www.millyjohnson.co.uk. 

Twitter: @millyjohnson

Instagram: @themillyjohnson

TikTok: @millyjohnsonauthor 

Facebook: @MillyJohnsonAuthor

My thoughts…

Where do I begin, another Milly Johnson hug on a page! Milly Johnson has crafted her story telling to perfection. She tempers real life scenarios and characters with her dry northern wit - this time through a series of Daily ~Trumpet newspaper articles that are toe curlingly funny, the very perfect antidote to this story as we meet and get to know the character and life of Polly. Polly is without a doubt an absolute diamond of a woman that has become invisible - everyone walks all over her, her friends, her partner Chris, his family and new boss Jeremy. People talk at her, and she does their bidding, she really doesn’t have a voice.

From the very first pages I was cheering for the under-dog, Polly’s only escape from her life was her writing class, something she kept to herself, for herself and it’s this that is her saviour, an escape from the reality of her life. A personality test at work and the subsequent meeting with her boss sees us watch Polly finally explode, fighting back and spewing the truth. As a reader you could feel the steam rising within her, once released it was unable to stop boiling over until she eventually deflated like a balloon.

She decides she’s has to escape, to get away from her life and everyone in it. Packing her bags she heads for the seaside only for a series of unfortunate events to occur that see her sink even lower, not knowing who or where she is. I loved how she found herself hiding in plain sight behind a character that was just like Polly but with far more sass and confidence. I loved watching her blossom and grow through the guise of Sabrina. Reality and fiction merging on the page.

I particularly loved how Milly set the tone and pace of the Happiest Ever After, it ebbed and flowed as we interacted with the plethora of supporting characters and particularly as Polly grew in confidence and stature. The pacing and tone depicting the emotions and feelings that Polly felt as she reclaimed her self confidence and voice. Though, I found myself gritting my teeth and wanting to spit as I read her partner Chris’s take on how and why she’d disappeared and how she would return with her tail between her legs. I’ve lost tooth enamel from gritting my teeth!! Thank goodness Milly Johnson likes to see the good and down trodden triumph and those that need bringing down a peg or two knocked cleanly off their pedestal.

This was a truly heartfelt, emotive read that was both sad and hopeful and uplifting at the same time.  With light shining on the dark moments, as Polly found her voice and grew in stature. I loved how the Happiest Ever After was tastefully scattered with a liberal amount of very tongue in cheek humour told through the Daily Trumpet articles, which served its purpose of softening the edges perfectly.  Thank you Milly Johnson for yet another beautiful story about relationships, family dynamics, love, friendship and self confidence and self growth delivered in your usual open, honest, straight -forward northern style - it was just perfect.

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