The Diary of Isabella M Smugge - a perfect read, darlings.

Good morning, Bookaholics and a lovely morning it is too. The sun is shining, the birds are singing and it's a perfect day to curl up in the conservatory and read - I have just the book for you in order to help you do that.

It’s not often a book comes along that makes you laugh, cry, and take stock, then do it all again in just a matter of a few breaths. This debut novel by Ruth Leigh did that for me. This is chick lit with passion and a purpose, that purpose being to make you take a look at the way you live your life and the way you portray yourself on social media. It certainly made me take stock of the way I portray my life to others. The book is also pure entertainment from the first page to the last. A skilled writer, Leigh uses every word in the book to draw the reader in and make them keep reading. Using words, she paints a portrait of village life, how it really is, and paints a portrait of characters for who they really are.

So, what is the book about?

We all know her name should be pronounced Smug but of course, Isabella herself pronounces it like the word Bruges. Isabella is a pretentious Instagram influencer whose every living moment is catalogued on social media. Her obsession to have the most followers, likes, and comments, means that everything she does, either alone or with her family, is driven by how it will look on social media. Every moment of their lives is captured on camera and shared with millions. At the beginning of the book, she is newly settled in a Georgian pile in the country, having left her life in London, and, therefore, all her friends, behind. She immediately sets to getting to know the neighbours, but this proves more difficult than she could ever imagine. She soon finds out the villagers are harder to win over than she at first thought. Her life seems picture perfect in a shallow way, but we soon come to realise that there is more depth to Isabella than can be seen on the surface. As her life begins to unravel, she grows and develops and comes to realise the people around her are more than just an opportunity to diarise her life on Instagram. The more you read the more you come to understand and sympathise with her. My emotions were all over the place and I found myself hoping everything would turn out well for our heroine despite her being a grade A snob.

This is also a book which deals with Faith. Becoming friends with the local Vicar's wife opens Isabella up to the possibility that there may be more to life than she believes. It opens her up to the possibility that the church is more than just a place to see and be seen and as a new opportunity to paint her perfect life on Instagram.

The characterisation is truly brilliant, showing every aspect of human nature you can possibly imagine. I loved characters, hated them, and then fell in love with them again. Every one of them was real to me and I would love to have them as friends. Well, most of them anyway. Some I would like to boot out and lock the door, just as Leigh intended. She has a rare insight into the human psyche and this comes across in the characters she writes. 

This book is absolutely fabulous, darlings. It makes you want to break out the champagne and your best crystal goblets whilst realising you should keep both feet very firmly fixed on the ground. It is one of the best books I have read this year and would highly recommend you read it. Now, If you will excuse me, I'm off to share this on social media and see how many likes, shares and followers I get. Oops. Maybe I should go and read the book again. I would urge you to buy a copy, you will not regret it. As I say, pure entertainment from first word to last. 

You can buy signed copies of the book from Ruth Leigh's Website any good bookshop or alternatively you can buy the kindle version from the links below. Please note these are affiliate links and if you choose to use them I will receive a small renumeration. 

You can follow Ruth on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter 

    

That's it for another day, Bookaholics. I'm off to find my next read, although that will be after I do some writing. After all, I need to get my own books finished too.