Living Your Best Life By Maxine Morrey

Review by Veronica

“I knew Luca always thought I was reserved but in comparison to him, most people were. It was called being normal. But now it appeared that he wasn’t the only one of my friends who thought I wasn’t exactly ‘living my best life’, if I wasn’t being kind to myself, I could say that they actually thought I was pretty dull. Somewhere deep inside I wasn’t entirely convinced they were wrong, but I liked quiet, and security and gentle pastimes.” 

Living Your Best Life is a sweet romance that reminds its readers that sometimes the one we are meant to be with is right in front of us. 

Some days Bee feels invisible. Most days Bee does not feel as if she is ‘living her best life’.

Sure she has a loyal group of friends, a job she’s good at, and a small London flat to call home, but a lot of the time, Bee feels as if no one actually ‘sees’ her.  

Her best friend, the unfeasibly handsome and successful Luca Donato does not have that problem. People are practically falling over themselves whenever they see Luca, but one thing the two friends do have in common, is they haven’t yet found the ‘One’.  When their friend Tia challenges them to change all that through online dating, Luca and Bee set about the task with very different levels of enthusiasm.

The saying goes that you have to kiss a lot of frogs to find your prince, and it’s not long before Bee is ready to admit defeat. But with Luca inundated with potential love interests, Bee is determined not to give up. Surely her perfect partner is out there somewhere… 

I enjoyed reading this book. It reminded me of Jenny Bayliss’s book The Twelve Dates of Christmas, minus all the Christmas stuff. I loved going on all these first dates with Bee. It was fun and, at times, a little horrifying as she kept on meeting Mr. Wrong and Mr. REALLY Wrong. I think anyone who has done online dating will relate to all the experiences Bee and Luca went through while trying to find the one. 

Bee is a character that I instantly connected with. I think that is because I see a lot of myself in her, so I really understand why she feels the way she feels. She doesn’t have much confidence in herself, and the dating world leaves her feeling nervous and unsure. Bee would rather stay in her comfort zone than take any risk, whether at work or in her love life. Bee’s childhood shaped how she sees herself and how she thinks others see her. Her parent’s complete lack of interest in loving their daughter or showing her any support or encouragement really did a number on Bee. Maxine shows readers how our childhood experiences shape who we are as adults. I just loved that Bee has a great support system around her; Luca, Tia, and her friends are incredible at building Bee up and encouraging her to take those chances.

Luca is a gem. I just loved everything about the man. He really is a great modern-day rom-com hero. He is this perfect blend of sweet, spicey, and such a gentleman. Luca’s family is delightful and endearing and I couldn’t get enough of them. I actually wished they made more appearances in the book. They just added just so much warm and richness to the story.

This book is a friends-to-lovers romance book. Luca and Bee are close and have known each other since they were wee ones. I loved the friendship between these two. The way they tease each other is both sweet and funny. Their relationship is like a drawn-out slow-burn love affair. The majority of the book is about them dating other people, and even though it was super obvious to their friends, and me, neither one of them made that first move. I wish Bee would have recognized her feelings for Luca a bit sooner. There is one thing that I have to say: Maxine made my heart stop near the end of this book; she definitely was playing with my emotions and almost had me crying. Thankfully everything worked out, and I didn’t have to throw my Kobo across the room.  

Thank you, Boldwood Books and Rachel Random Resources, for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.