The Two Lives of Lydia Bird by Josie Silver

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Book Summary:

Written with Josie Silver’s trademark warmth and wit, The Two Lives of Lydia Bird is a powerful and thrilling love story about the what-ifs that arise at life’s crossroads, and what happens when one woman is given a miraculous chance to answer them.

Lydia and Freddie. Freddie and Lydia. They’d been together for more than a decade and Lydia thought their love was indestructible. But she was wrong. On Lydia’s twenty-eighth birthday, Freddie died in a car accident.

So now it’s just Lydia, and all she wants is to hide indoors and sob until her eyes fall out. But Lydia knows that Freddie would want her to try to live fully, happily, even without him. So, enlisting the help of his best friend, Jonah, and her sister, Elle, she takes her first tentative steps into the world, open to life—and perhaps even love—again.

But then something inexplicable happens that gives her another chance at her old life with Freddie. A life where none of the tragic events of the past few months have happened.

Lydia is pulled again and again through the doorway to her past, living two lives, impossibly, at once. But there’s an emotional toll to returning to a world where Freddie, alive, still owns her heart. Because there’s someone in her new life, her real life, who wants her to stay.

Publication Date:

March 3rd, 2020

Genre:

Contemporary Fiction

Purchase Your Copy:

Amazon Link | LibroFM Bookstore Link | Book of the Month Club Referral

My Review:

The Two Lives of Lydia Bird

The Two Lives of Lydia Bird was a highly anticipated book for me as I very much delighted in Josie Silver’s 2018 novel One Day in December. Not only did I end up enjoying The Two Lives of Lydia Bird but I ended up connecting with it even more than my first book by Silver.

I can appreciate a fun contemporary romance but I definitely am drawn to plotlines that are a bit more realistic and relatable so this was a great fit for me. Silver shines at sharing stories that are heartwarming while also feeling like they are rooted in reality.

This book was heavy at times and I appreciated the look at the process of grief, especially for a young woman who was still finding herself when she lost the love of her life. The plotline isn’t seamless and I got a lot out of seeing the main character Lydia move through the different stages of loss.

While there was a romantic storyline, I appreciated that this new guy didn’t just sweep Lydia off her feet and make her forget about her grief. The overwhelming and persistent feelings of loss felt real and the tumultuous road to her healing made this book feel heartbreaking and powerful at the same time. If you are looking for an engaging and emotional read, I definitely recommend this one.

Thank you to Ballantine Books for the gifted advanced copy and galley.

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