Book Review: How Not to Fall in Love, Actually by Catherine Bennetto

The Blurb

A hilarious debut for all fans of Mhairi McFarlane and Lisa Owens. The perfect antidote for Valentine's Day! 

Life is 10% planning, 10% design and 80% totally winging it... 

Join Emma as she guides you through How Not to become accidentally knocked up at the age of 27, How Not to unceremoniously dump the father of your child, and then How Not to lose the job that (even though you hate it) is the only thing between you and being homeless...

Hilarious and heart-warming, How Not to Fall in Love, Actually will make you laugh, make you cry, and will reassure you that perhaps your life is not that bad, actually...

My Review

Thank you to the publishers Simon & Schuster for the review copy.

Emma's life isn't great. At the beginning, she has a job she hates but needs in order to support herself and her daydreamer boyfriend, Ned, who is full of wonderful ideas for the next best thing, but is actually pretty useless when it comes to working/housework/being a great boyfriend. Then she discovers she is pregnant, which is the catalyst for changing ...

She dumps Ned, walks out on her job and invites a random guy who turns up drunk on her doorstep to stay the night.

The book has a wonderful supporting cast. A self-obssessed mother, a sister doing charity work in faraway lands, one friend who eats men for breakfast and another who betrays Emma. Not to mention a psycho chaperone working on zombie-bra movies and the stranger who finds himself embroiled in Emma's chaotic world.

It's a genuinely funny book that had me spitting my tea out and laughing out loud. Emma is a hugely likeable character, and I was able to sympathise with her all the way through. None of the characters are annoying; even the 'villains' are so well written I relished their bad behaviour. 

It's a light-hearted read, despite the main character's predicament; any chance for self-pitying wallowing is blown out of the water by the crazy people and events going on around her.

It's a perfect rom-com and a highly enjoyable read. I think I have found a new author to love.

You can buy How Not to Fall in Love, Actually here.

The Author

Catherine Bennetto has worked as an Assistant Director in the film and television industry, working on shows such as The Bill, Coronation Street and Death in Paradise. She can generally be found travelling the world and spends her time reading healthy cookbooks (not necessarily cooking from them) or at the beach. How Not to Fall in Love, Actually is her first novel.

Follow Catherine on Twitter @cathbennetto.