With 3 children under the age of 4 at home, it's fair to say that me time is not something I get a great deal of at the moment!
The struggle to split my time between my work from home job and being Mum to 3 active little boys is real, and I find myself at the bottom of my own priority list most of the time.
But lately I've been feeling more than a little burned out, and I've decided that a little bit of self-care is in order - I am determined to dedicate a little bit of time to myself again, and one thing I'm really keen to do is get back into reading. I've always been such a book worm and pre-children I would always have a book on the go and would usually finish them within a week, but in the past 4 years I doubt I've actually finished one!
My bedside table is full of a huge variety of books, I still buy them as though they're going out of fashion, but it's rare that I actually find the time to finish them these days.
So A few weeks ago when I was given the chance to review Wilde Like Me, the debut novel from YouTube sensation Louise Pentland, I jumped at it - because I knew that agreeing to a review would mean I'd HAVE to put the time aside to read until the end, and that hopefully once the habit had been started I'd find it easier to keep up.
So for the past two weeks, instead of spending a good hour before bed scrolling aimlessly through my Instagram feed which did nothing except fill up my wish lists on various retail sites, I've been putting my phone down and picking up my book instead - and for once, I have finally finished it!
So, what did I think of it?
I have to admit, I'd been intrigued to read this book ever since I first heard about its release - I've always been a fan of Louise Pentland's "Sprinkle Of Glitter" YouTube channel and enjoyed her blog, and the book sounded as though it would be right up my street.
The story focuses around Robin Wilde, a single mom to little Lyla, and her struggle with what she calls "The Emptiness".
When I first started reading, I thought I had the book totally sussed before I was even a whole chapter in but I was pleasantly surprised by some of the themes it covered - from mental health to domestic violence, the story threw up all sorts of things I simply wasn't expecting to come across and after years of reading "chick lit" style novels which can feel very samey - this was very welcome.
The story kept me gripped to the end and I found Louise's writing style easy to read, with a good balance between humor and drama.
I did struggle slightly for the first couple of chapters to stop reading the story in Louise's voice, something that fans of her YouTube channel will probably struggle with too, but after three or four chapters I managed to separate the character of Robin Wilde and the persona of Louise Pentland in my mind, and from there on in the story became a lot more enjoyable.
I do have to say that if one thing let the book down, it was unfortunately the editing as I did find quite a few "reading speed bumps" where words had been misspelled/misprinted or used incorrectly - these were obviously a bit irritating as I find things like that really interrupt my flow when reading and distract me from the story, but it wasn't enough to spoil the book - it was still an enjoyable read, just something I'd recommend the editors take more care over in future books.
This book would be the perfect poolside holiday read, and one that fans of the likes of Sophie Kinsella and Marian Keyes would no doubt enjoy.
I look forward to reading further adventures in the life of Robin Wilde!
I am a member of the Mumsnet Bloggers Panel, a group of parent bloggers who have volunteered to review products, services, events and brands for Mumsnet. I have not paid for the product or to attend an event. I have editorial control and retain full editorial integrity. I have received a voucher as a token of thanks for this post.
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