Thirty-something sisters Leni and Alice became inseparable following the divorce of their parents, Belinda and Tony, with younger brother Will always trying to keep up. I’ve never read anything from Lucy Diamond before, but I’m definitely going to dive into her previous work. If they’re half as good as The Best Days of Our Lives, I’m going to read a Collection of Greatness. Set over the course of one life-changing year, The Best Days of Our Lives is a warm, big-hearted and poignant story, full of hope, heartache and love.

Lucy is at the top of her game with this wise and wonderful book. It's deeply moving and truly uplifting. No-one does real life better than Lucy Diamond * Veronica Henry * Belinda is dealing with her grief in a different way and her partner Ray is extremely worried about her. Hours spent talking to Leni through a psychic hotline may be bringing Belinda comfort but deep down surely she must know that this is not real at all? She may be finding short term comfort but long-term acceptance seems very far away. As her ex-husband Tony seems to have had a revelation/wake up call when it comes to his own life situation Belinda starts to realise things from the past which she desperately wanted kept hidden could be about to break through the surface. Can a lid be kept on something she and someone else have been sitting on for years? Or will a new can of worms be opened up? What follows are chapters from each family’s members viewpoint, her sister Alice, her brother Will, her mother Belinda and her father Tony. As there were so many characters to get to know I thought things might become quite confusing but it was easy to follow each of their individual storylines and I enjoyed seeing how at some point they were bound to come together. The absence of Leni is felt keenly by her family and by the reader too. You are desperate to get to know her and to read things from her perspective but you know this can’t occur but the further the story develops you do get a sense of who she was and how integral she was to the family and how loved she was. The Nottingham-born writer took her first draft to the agent she’d worked with on her children’s books. “He told me not to give up the day job,” she reveals. “I tried another who was intimidatingly posh. She asked me, ‘darling how can I market you, are you poor?’ So, I went with someone else who signed me up with a publisher. It was a happy ending.”I guarantee that anyone reading The Best Days of Our Lives will find it hugely relatable and take solace, pleasure and joy from it. Reading this one might just inspire you to try something new in your own life. They're not perfect, but they love each other - most of the time, anyway. But then one ordinary summer day, an accident changes the family forever. A brilliantly observed slice of family life full of joy, sorrow, happiness and hope, I loved it * Alex Brown * Tony, their dad, who is divorced and remarried, is dealing with the feelings of becoming a father again. The story is essentially about the grief her family feels when Leni dies following a bicycle accident. Lucy Diamond explores how guilt, despair, loneliness, isolation, anger and vulnerability reverberate through those left behind. Humour, love, excitement and joy

This was a beautiful story that contained so much heart and lightness amongst its tragedy, such is the skill and warmth of Diamond’s writing. Its characters were written with depth and real humanity and as such their grief was raw and palpable and yet this is a novel that still manages to leave you uplifted by the end. This is well-written but it will not appeal to everyone. There is a lot of focus on the grief suffered by Leni's family following her surprising death.Oh how I treasured this precious novel by Lucy Diamond. Sure, it's majorly weepy for the most part but also enduringly uplifting. Wayyyyy too many feels to contend with!!

A compelling and beautifully written tale of love, grief and family. This book touched my heart * Sarah Morgan * Another absolutely gorgeous book by the best selling author Lucy Diamond. Oh how I loved this precious book. Even better is the sensation of being let into other secrets not all the characters know, but I won’t spoil the story by saying more! Reminding us how to fly Everyone is keeping secrets and the thing about secrets is that they will all be revealed in the end. Leni drives the narrative, making her relationships with the other characters shape them and bring them to vibrant life. I loved meeting them all because they are messy, flawed and human.

Summary

In spite of the sadness surrounding the family there is still lots of good humour in the book. I especially liked Tony, I thought his character was funny. He made mistakes in the past, but as he begins to realise he didn’t quite live up to being a particularly good dad, he is determined to make amends now that he’s lost one daughter. Belinda Lenis mum is having a hard time dealing with the death of her daughter. She is in touch with a clairvoyant who she believes she is convening with Leni through. She is also thinking of selling the family home and setting up a b&b with her new boyfriend. Books about grief seem to have their moment right now and it's ok, though I think I'd rather read about cupcakes and bookshop in Cornwall. Whatever. This one was written by Lucy Diamond, so I had to give it a go. Last few books by this author didn't gel with me so much, but "The Best Days of Our Lives" turned out to be a poignant yet funny, touching story about a family dealing with the worst - with grief. She has the uncanny ability to look right into a person’s heart and convey the most hidden secrets and feelings they harbour, in ways that feel innovative and natural. The Best Days of Our Lives takes all those features and delivers an outstanding read that is simply fabulous.