Lisa Doyle is fine. Absolutely fine.
At least, that’s the story she’s been telling herself.
Her best friend is getting married. Everyone around her seems to have a partner, a plan, and a life that makes sense. Lisa, meanwhile, has four glasses of wine in her, a talent for making bad situations worse, and a growing sense that she is being left behind.
So she does what any sensible woman in a crisis would do. She announces that she’s engaged.
There is only one problem.
Brian does not exist.
Now Lisa needs a fiancé before the wedding, her actor flatmate is far too willing to get involved, and the real Brian, who is very much married and very much her boss, is starting to look at her in ways that suggest this lie may have got seriously out of hand.
Warm, witty, and painfully recognisable, Lisa Doyle is Absolutely Fine is a grown-up romantic comedy about love, pressure, friendship, and the exhausting performance of holding everything together when you’re quietly falling apart.
Perfect for readers of Mhairi McFarlane, Beth O’Leary, and Marian Keyes.
About the author
Mo Fanning’s contemporary fiction blends wit, emotional honesty, and a strong sense of place, often exploring love, friendship, and the pressure to have life neatly figured out. Based in the West Midlands, he writes character-driven stories for readers who like their romance funny, thoughtful, and grounded in real life.
My thoughts: I really enjoyed this book, I felt for Lisa, one too many glasses of wine, a bout of feeling a bit shit and she’s conjured up a fiancè who doesn’t exist. Disaster!
Cue her flatmate (who happens to be an actor) donning a fake beard and glasses in order to convince everyone that he’s real and she’s not completely nuts. Only it all falls apart after the mean girl from school (now a mean woman) tries to blackmail her, leading to Lisa needing to tell everyone the truth.
In deciding to come clean, Lisa also has to have it out with her boss, Brian, whose evil soon to be ex-wife is trying to get her sacked, and well, there might be something between her and Brian if he can save her job and get rid of the ex-wife (not like that – there are no murders here, except of fake fiancés).
It’s funny, a bit sad, Lisa has been a bit shut off emotionally and didn’t think anyone really cared but her friends and family are actually pretty good people and love her. So I have hope for Lisa, and when you’ve read this, you will too!
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for reading and reviewing, but all opinions remain my own.
ramblingmads 