‘Never Say No’ by Elizabeth Neep is a contemporary, lighthearted story of 29-year-old Hailey who has just started work in a new career at a law firm. Sophie, her best friend is a teacher; as is Dom, Hailey’s boyfriend.
Hailey is always chasing her tail in life, Sophie wants her to run a marathon with her and obviously they train together. Dom wants Hailey to spend more time with him as a couple and then we have Haileys boss, Vivian who gets her to stay late at work and even attend events. Ergo Hailey is unable to spend more time with Dom! She is a sucker for overloading herself and having to let down the most important people. As we can see, this storyline is highlighting the work/life balance that she has got herself into, by having none!
I really enjoyed reading this, it gave a good chuckle that’s for sure. Hailey is a woman aiming for something in life and she sees her boss Vivian has it all and thinks “I can do this!” Then she sees what sacrifices Vivian has to make for this life and wonders if she should follow Vivian’s way of doing things. Making her consider her relationship and everything around her.
I thought Vivian a great go-getter in this world. A woman who doesn’t care at all if people see her in a negative light! She knows what she wants and she will grab it. The story develops Vivian and we learn more as we go along. Then there are Hailey’s colleagues at work, we meet Daniel, on a par with Hailey at work and a little bit of an enigmatic man who, in a positive way, makes it a little hard to figure him out. Then we have a proper ladies man, Liam – a wish he was partner type, all the charm buy yuk!
On the surface, an amusing look at life but scratch a few layers and we see that its a story of friendship and even loyalty. A why do we worry about other people and the impact of your decisions on them? Can we actually never say no? Do as we really wish deep inside and forget everyone else.
An enjoyable read for me and I loved the twists with the relationship side to Hailey’s story at work. I felt for Dom and Sophie, waiting patiently for Hailey constantly. Their loyalty shone through.
Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for the copy of the book.
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