Publication: 7th December 2019 (eBook); 20th February 2020 (paperback) – One More Chapter
Hannah Thompson loves her family beyond words… but sometimes she wishes they would recognise her as more than just ‘mum’.
Eldest son Dylan is soon to be flying the nest, sixteen-year-old Scarlet keeps asking about penalties for worryingly specific crimes, they’ve forgotten world book day and Benji absolutely will not be Where’s Wally again, and it’s at least two days before she and hubby Nick can sit down for Wine Wednesdays… and even longer until Fizzy Friday.
Determined to find herself a job that she loves, earn a whole lot of money and to have her teenagers respect her as ‘Hannah’ as well as ‘mum’; it might sound like a tall order, but she’s a mum on a mission.
A laugh-out-loud read of self-discovery, family chaos and love. Perfect for fans of Gill Sims, Fiona Gibson and Nick Spalding.
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If you are looking for a fun and entertaining read that will make you laugh (even on a train full of people that then turn to look at you in a weird way, true story!) then you should pick up Not Just A Mum, the fantastic debut novel by Rebecca Smith.
The protagonist is Hannah Thompson, in her forties, married, three children (two teenagers and one adorable ten-year-old boy), a biology teacher turned into an English teacher to a class of students who are more interested in pulling each other’s chairs than in learning about George Orwell. She is a voracious reader and aspiring author and she decides to start writing erotica, but sex scenes are hard to write when she blushes just thinking about them…
As much as her work life is far from dull, her family life is even more noisy and interesting: her oldest son, Dylan, spends a lot of time alone in his room “revising for the exams” with his new girlfriend; her daughter Scarlet wants to change her name to Scarlett with two tt, she wants the fridge full of cucumbers, and she has her own ideas about feminism; luckily, her ten-year-old son Benji is still innocent and all he wants to do is play. And then, there is her husband, Nick, supportive, always ready to help and experimenting new positions to help Hannah write her erotica book.
As I mentioned, I laughed, a lot! Hannah is hilarious… she is one of these characters that it’s always likable and engaging, even her classes often take a fun turn. The story is told from her point of views so I sympathized with her as she tried to control a class of hormonal teenagers, as she struggled with her children growing up, and as she tried to find a new path in her life that satisfies her.
Not Just A Mum is so well-written that I was surprised to learn that it’s a debut novel. Captivating, refreshing, and riveting, it’s a book I will keep recommending!!!
A huge thank you to One More Chapter and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of the novel.
Book After Book 