Synopsis:
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 her twenty-eighth birthday, Freddie died in a car accident.
So now it’s just Lydia, and all she wants to do is 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 across the doorway of 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.
Review:
After falling in love with Josie Silver’s debut novel, One Day in December, I knew she would be an author I’d read anything from. When I saw Two Lives of Lydia Bird available to be requested on Netgalley- I didn’t even read the synopsis. I just sent a request and hoped I’d be approved. And man, she knocked this book out the ball park!
I tend to alternate between being a mood reader and a book list reader. Up until the earlier part of this year, I was able to create a monthly stack and keep to a very precise reading schedule. Over the last two months, I have been all over the place with my reading. I’d pick up a book and decide I no longer wanted to continue it. Two Lives of Lydia Bird just clicked with me and gave me ALL THE FREAKING FEELS, Y’ALL!
I was already sobbing within minutes. It is as much an endearing novel as it is raw and touching. It is a story about grief and the ups and downs that coexist with it. We follow Lydia after she loses her fiance (whom she has been with for over a decade) as she learns to navigate her life and tries to make sense of everything. In the midst of it all, Lydia has found a loophole that allows her to live a double life. One where she and Freddie can still be together. We watch as she learns to juggle between the two lives.
It is a beautiful story with many wonderful supporting characters. From her mom to her sister to people at work, she has an entire of village supporting her every step of the way as she learns to find her own strength. The characters and the emotions are heart-achingly beautiful. I tend to gravitate towards more emotionally-drawn novels because they are relate-able and there is always a lesson to take out of them. I found myself crying throughout the novel because it felt so real. We all know there is no one direct process to cope with grief and definitely no time limit. I appreciate Josie Silver for including all the struggles and hardships, as well as, the strength and willpower it takes to make it to the next day.
This is truly a story that will stay with me forever. I loved it so much I have already ordered a physical copy through Book of the Month. I know many have and will ask how it compares with One Day in December and I just wanted to make a quick comment. To me, both novels are completely different. Whereas One Day in December is a romance novel, Two Lives of Lydia is not. There are some mentions of romance, but overall it is a story of grief and of finding and believing in yourself. So don’t go into The Two Lives of Lydia Bird expecting a grand romance. Instead, have tissues ready!
Book Details:
TITLE: THE TWO LIVES OF LYDIA BIRD
AUTHOR: JOSIE SILVER
PUBLICATION DATE: MARCH 3, 2020
PURCHASED/GIFT/LIBRARY/BORROW: eARC NETGALLEY
GOODREADS: THE TWO LIVES OF LYDIA BIRD
With many thanks to Netgalley and Ballantine Books for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review. The Two Lives of Lydia Bird releases March 3, 2020! If it’s not already in your cart, preordered, or wishlist- DO IT NOW 🙂
Over and out.
