The Single Mums’ Book Club
Three friends, three single mums, one quest to find love…
It’s 8:30am and I’m already utterly exhausted. My son has lost his football boots, my daughter is ready for school dressed only in her vest and knickers, and of course, my 1-year-old has filled his nappy for what feels like the tenth time this morning.
As for my husband? He’s decided marriage doesn’t suit him, and well… buggered off.
All hope of ‘me time’ has but dwindled to sipping half a glass of wine whilst shouting after the kids. But everything is about to change.
I’m taking control of my life! I’ve joined… a book club.
Yes, I know what you’re thinking. ‘Wow… live a little.’ But my fellow book clubbers, Amanda and Janey, are my lifelines. They understand the daily struggle because they’remothers too.
And in between the prosecco, Doritos and googling everything about Mr Darcy on SparkNotes, they’ve convinced me to go on a date with my boss.
A single mum of three looking for romance… what could possibly go wrong?
A gloriously funny and relatable read for anyone who just needs a little more ‘me time’. Fans of Why Mummy Drinks and Has Anyone Seen my Sex Life? will snort with laughter at this utterly hilarious and heart-warming read.
Excerpt
Main character, Stephanie nervously applies for a job after ten years out of work. It is here she meets her intriguing boss-to-be, Edward.
A tall man appears. He’s on a cordless phone and doesn’t seem to have noticed me so I sit patiently.
‘Yes, Mrs Pearson, the last time you attended was the seventh. Let me just check that for you.’ He balances the phone between his ear and his shoulder before walking behind the reception desk where he starts clicking on the computer.
‘Was it cash you thought you’d paid? Hang on, Carly keeps a paper record. I’m just going to put you on hold.’
He starts to flick through a paper file on the desk. Two deep lines form between his eyebrows.
‘Buggering bugger.’ He slams the file down. ‘For God’s sake.’
I shrink down into the chair hoping he doesn’t notice me, and for once Henry rests quietly against me.
The man turns his attention back to the computer and starts clicking away. ‘Bloody hell.’
He eventually picks his phone back up. ‘Mrs Pearson, I’ll need to double-check with Carly but I think you’re up to date. Don’t worry. You too.’
He hangs up his phone and slumps in the swivel chair, letting out a sigh that sounds like a slowly deflating hot air balloon. I don’t really know what to do. He’s never going to give me a job now I’ve just witnessed his outburst; he’ll be too embarrassed to ever want to see me again. I sit silently, hoping he goes back in the other room without spotting me.
Then his eyes lock on mine. I freeze, like it helps with invisibility or something.
‘Oh, Jesus. I’m so sorry. Can I help you at all?’ he asks, rising to his feet and smoothing down his trousers.
I look away, feeling more than a little awkward but Otis yanks on the lead, desperate to get over to the man for a head pat and before I know it, I’m about a foot away looking up into his mesmerising blue eyes.
‘Hi,’ I say, plastering on a smile whilst wrestling the lead. ‘Sorry, he gets excited.’ The vet crouches down and fusses Otis, who, in turn, wags his tail in a state of euphoric glee. Honestly, you would think he was neglected.
‘I’m Edward and I’m afraid I don’t cope well with chaos.’ When he’s not cursing, his voice is less harsh. It’s richer, deeper and much more smooth. He’s wearing tweed. Lots of tweed and looks like he’s wandered off the set of All Creatures Great and Small. Despite that, I can tell he’s a similar age to me; mid (okay, late) thirties. I thought you had to go to university for forty-seven years to train to be a vet but apparently not. He’s tall and strong-looking with light brown hair but there’s something incredibly warm about him too.
‘Did you need me to take a look at him?’ He gestures to Otis, who is still ridiculously excited to the point where he seems to have forgotten about his fear of the vet’s. This place doesn’t have the same feel as the large, modern chain that Mike made us go to in the city centre. It’s traditional, homely. Perhaps Otis is picking up on that.
‘Oh, no. He’s fine. Mental but fine. Sorry, I didn’t mean to bother you. You seem really busy. I can come back.’ I turn to leave.
‘Don’t be silly, you’re here now and besides, I’m always busy so you’d be hard pushed to find me otherwise.’ He smiles and his sodalite eyes crinkle a little in the corners. They’re the kind of eyes that are hard to look at. The kind that compel you to look, but when you do, they make you . . . feel things. Like their beholder can see deeper into your soul with each glint. I look away. How can someone who shoves his arms in cow bums for a living be so captivating?
I shake my head subtly and focus. ‘I just popped in for an application form for the bookkeeping job.’
He sighs and his cheeks flush a blotchy rose. ‘Ah. That makes you witnessing my little outburst even more embarrassing. Carly should be on reception but she’s always buggering off for a fag when I’m not looking and despite having a doctorate, I can’t for the life of me fathom her quirky admin systems. There should be some here.’ He rummages through a paper tray on the reception desk and eventually pulls something out.
‘Are you a bookkeeper?’ he asks, handing me, but not letting go of, the forms.
‘I am,’ I say, then point to Henry. ‘At least I was, before children came along. I’m looking to get back into the workplace.’
‘Great. Though I have to warn you, I inherited this practice from my late father and I’ve not had a chance to update the systems and things yet. I’m afraid our books are paper-basedand we still use Roman numerals.’
My forehead crumples, then I realise he’s joking and relax. This could be perfect. ‘Well, that suits me. I’m a little out of date myself – I have a son who’s doing his SATs soon and we’ve been revising Roman numerals.’ I smile and watch as his upper body loosens. ‘In all seriousness, when I took time out to have children, the whole sector seemed to take that as their cue to change everything!’ He smiles again and his eyes catch a stream of dusty sunlight beaming in through the small window in the entrance door.
Victoria Cooke grew up in the city of Manchester before crossing the Pennines in pursuit of a career in education. She now lives in Huddersfield with her husband and two young daughters and when she's not at home writing by the fire with a cup of coffee in hand, she loves working out in the gym and travelling. Victoria was first published at the tender age of eight by her classroom teacher who saw potential in a six-page story about an invisible man. Since then she's always had a passion for reading and writing, undertaking several writers' courses before completing her first novel, 'The Secret to Falling in Love,' in 2016.
Her third novel, Who Needs Men Anyway? became a digital bestseller in 2018 and her debut, The Secret fo Falling in Love was optioned in 2020.
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The Single Mum’s Book Club
Written By
Victoria Clark
Review By
Heidi Lynn’s Book Reviews
First, I would like to thank Victoria Cooke, HQ Digital, NetGalley and Rachel’s Random Resources for providing me with this book so I may bring you this review!
OMG!! Ohh Victoria Cooke you have no idea how much I needed this The Single’s Mum’s Book Club this week! So many times you threw me off guard and I. Could. Not. Stop. Laughing.
The Single Mum’s Book Club is dedicated to Victoria’s children, Scarlett and Amelie, who were not utter horrors during the lockdown of 2020.
How adorable was the cover design for this book?! So cute! Books placed all around a stroller! Perfect graphic for this book!! Great job to the Graphics Department.
Victoria wins the award for best scene ever in a comedic book. I was literally rolling on the floor laughing my booty off during this once scene!! The set up was priceless. I have always wondered what would happen if I got locked into a library! Well knowing me I would have a field day curled up in my fave genre sections and just binge read. However, ohh she shares what really happens. Needless to say this is an unforgettable scene in the book!! Well done Victoria!!
Mike was well not my favorite character in the book and a jerk in my eyes.
The unsuspecting friendship between Janey and Stephanie was refreshing in how much they were alike. Seemed like fate brought them together when they both needed someone in their lives to fill a void.
It did rub me the wrong way that Janey made fun of Amanda’s Dog for having difficulties walking and using a special dog pushchair. People shouldn’t judge humans or pets before getting to know them.
Little Big Lies the tv series and the book are both mentioned in this book. I totally binged watched the heck out of that show and loved it. Sadly, I didn’t hear about the book til afterwards. But WOW was it good!
1 comments:
Thanks for sharing. This sounds like a good one, overall. But yes, don't make fun of pets/animals!!!
-Lauren
www.shootingstarsmag.net
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