Review: Just Saying

Just Saying by Sophie Ranald
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Three and a half stars.

Alice seems to have it all. A promising job as a trainee solicitor, an offer of a permanent position in her law firm's Intellectual Property department at the end of her training, a fabulous boyfriend Joe and a small but charming flat. After Joe plans a perfect birthday celebration Alice thinks everything is perfect, and that's when it all goes to pot: her boss is suspended from work; her job offer is rescinded; and Joe's ex-girlfriend Zoe appears on the scene.

Almost by accident Alice finds herself working at the local grotty boozer (you know the one with sticky carpets in a swirly pattern, the same defeated-looking regulars, and a menu which went out in the 1980s). Then, to help with the rent, Joe invites Zoe to live with them as a lodger! Suddenly Alice is confronted by this beautiful woman wandering around their flat half-dressed, bonding with Joe over things that Alice has never enjoyed (like computer games). Alice is that super ex-girlfriend of our nightmares, beautiful, exotic, a brilliant chef, well-travelled, and all over Joe.

Is Alice taking a break from real life to run a run-down boozer or has she realised that the sensible job in law is not the career for her? Is her perfect boyfriend really perfect, or is there someone else waiting in the wings? What is the truth about Alice leaving her law firm?

I enjoyed reading this and I flew through it in less than day. However, I think the blurb is kind of misleading because the Alice/Zoe conflict isn't really central to the plot. Also, I think this novel will date quite quickly because it references a number of recently topical news stories (Brexit, the Windrush generation, #MeToo). More importantly, I felt that the novel trivialised these issues, as though they were easily solvable or not really worth worrying about (deliberately being vague to avoid spoiling the plot).

I was struggling to classify this novel, it's not your usual chick-lit, it's not romantic comedy, it's not women's fiction. Then I checked out another Sophie Ranald book I had reviewed Out with the Ex, In with the New and realised that this is a bit of a Bildungsroman, a voyage of self-discovery for Alice who finds out what is important to her.

A fun read which touches on some social issues, perfect holiday reading.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

View all my reviews