Book Review: Living My Best Life by Claire Frost

This life-affirming and hilarious novel is the perfect balm for the Insta-weary mind – get ready to shatter the illusion that is #LivingMyBestLife

'A fun, fresh debut that manages to be both quirky and deep as it portrays today's obsession with social media' MILLY JOHNSON

‘If you’re in need of frank and funny novel that is also a take-down of the rubbish social media can fill our heads (and our hearts) with, then Claire Frost’s debut is for you. Written with verve and a real sense of generosity for her characters, this is the perfect escapist read and antidote to our somewhat grim times' STYLIST

Title: Living My Best Life 

Author: Claire Frost

Published: September 5th 2019 by Simon & Schuster

Amazon | Amazon UK

Blurb: Recently dumped by her boyfriend of ten years, Bell is struggling to move on with her life – and surrender the fleecy pyjamas she’s been living in since January. Haunted by #blessed on social media, she can’t help but compare her life to those she follows online, wondering where she is going wrong...

In the world of social media, Millie is the successful online influencer @mi_bestlife. But in real life she’s just a regular single mum trying to make ends meet, while fending off the younger competition and tenacious internet trolls. Her Instagram feed is far more #BestLie than #BestLife, and soon Millie begins to wish her life was more like her filters.

It isn’t until Bell and Millie’s paths cross that they begin to realise what they’re both missing. Can Millie prove to Bell that life online isn’t always what it appears to be? And in return, can Millie learn that she needs to start living for the moment and not for the likes? 

Review: Claire Frost's debut novel, Living My Best Life is a touching story about friendship, community and the role that social media play in nowadays' society. When we first meet the two main characters, Millie and Bell, they are both struggling, but in very different ways. 

Millie is a single mom trying to make a living being an Instagram influencer. In her pictures, her life is perfect, she follows the latest fashion trends, everything in her house matches and she feels #blessed. But her real life is a lot more chaotic, she can't afford the clothes she wears in her photos and her ex is like a grown-up child who keeps disappointed her and her son. Bell has just been bumped by her long term boyfriend and is not sure of what to do with her life anymore. Seeing all these #blessed people on social media isn't helping her self-love either. 

But by chance, Millie and Bell meet in their community centre and realize they could both use a good friend. I really enjoyed seeing their friendship blossom with mutual support. They both realised a few hard truth thanks to the other and their characters had an amazing development through the story. I also loved how they became involved in the community centre and how this sense of community also helped them greatly. 

This story is a great reminder about how important it is to love yourself, not to believe everything you see online and to have good supportive friends around you. I had a great time getting to know these characters and I found the concept of the story very refreshing and interesting. Definitely a great debut from Claire Frost!

Rating: 4 stars

I would like to thank the publisher for sending me a copy of this book. This is my honest opinion.