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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
funny
medium-paced
To begin with - I enjoyed this book - I found it funny and laughed quite a lot during it. I also found that there were sections of the book that I found myself relating too quite a lot.
I would say after around half way through this book I started to get quite bored with the book - most of it focused on things away from her family life and being a mother. I only enjoyed the particular sections specifically around motherhood and her relationship. The other parts of the book I found to be often quite irrelevant and just generally didn't feel at all that bothered by them.
I think it could probably be a shorter book, as it does get quite repetitive throughout.
I would say after around half way through this book I started to get quite bored with the book - most of it focused on things away from her family life and being a mother. I only enjoyed the particular sections specifically around motherhood and her relationship. The other parts of the book I found to be often quite irrelevant and just generally didn't feel at all that bothered by them.
I think it could probably be a shorter book, as it does get quite repetitive throughout.
I had never heard of Gill Sims' blog 'Peter and Jane' from which this novel 'Why Mummy Swears', and its predecessor 'Why Mummy drinks' were born. When I was lucky enough to get my hands on a review copy from the publisher, HarperCollins via Netgalley I quickly borrowed a copy of 'Why Mummy Drinks' from my local (digital) library, and set about acquainting myself with the characters; titular Mummy, Ellen, her often infuriating husband Simon, their offspring, Peter and Jane, and their various PTA, school and work connections. I'll say now that you don't have to have read the first book as there are several snippets explaining relative events throughout the second, but to fully immerse yourself in Ellen's world, I suggest you read them both, in order.
This novel picks up the thread two years after the first book ends, with darling daughter Jane now 11 and DESPERATE for an Instagram account and for Ellen to leave her alone because she's virtually a grown up and her Mum is just an EMBARRASSING old person. Youngest child Peter is still farting like a champion, fiddling with everything he sees, the more inappropriate the better, and asking the worst questions imaginable, all the while eating Ellen out of house and home. Simon still doesn't 'get it'. He still expects Ellen to act as his social secretary, and now she's taken voluntary redundancy to work on her aspiring career as the next big App Designer, he thinks she has nothing better to do. To be fair, she spends most of her day browsing tabloids, playing with her beloved Judgy dog, and eating biscuits, but she's still very Busy and Important. A few weeks and a couple of Ellen-style odd decisions later, and her life has almost completely changed and she's pushed and pulled in all directions again, both inside and outside of the home. Sam and Hannah provide light relief, as do the characters that make up the PTA. Lucy Atkinson's Perfect Mummy, and Fiona Montague again make their presence known, albeit more lightly this time and the introduction of Charlie, an old flame, adds an interesting dynamic to the story. Some of the characters are almost caricatures, a bit overblown, but they're well written and add to the balance nicely.
The style reminded me a lot of the first Bridget Jones book, which as we all know, went on to huge success. There's definitely room for a sitcom/movie here. There is an awful lot of swearing, which I don't mind, but if you're not fond of a potty mouth, you might be a little shocked to say the least. The thing that did annoy me a little, if I'm honest, is that the phrase 'eleventy billion' is one I used to use quite a lot, and used to find funny, but it's so overused in this book I'll be happy if I never hear it again!
I read 'Why Mummy Swears' over 2 days - It's light, easy to read, and funny, if sometimes predictable. Mummies of children of all ages will enjoy this book and will recognise many of the situations that Ellen ends up in, along with sharing her frustration at the lack of support and understanding she gets trying to be a working Mum, juggling home and family life without losing her mind or killing anyone!
3.5 rounded up to 4
This novel picks up the thread two years after the first book ends, with darling daughter Jane now 11 and DESPERATE for an Instagram account and for Ellen to leave her alone because she's virtually a grown up and her Mum is just an EMBARRASSING old person. Youngest child Peter is still farting like a champion, fiddling with everything he sees, the more inappropriate the better, and asking the worst questions imaginable, all the while eating Ellen out of house and home. Simon still doesn't 'get it'. He still expects Ellen to act as his social secretary, and now she's taken voluntary redundancy to work on her aspiring career as the next big App Designer, he thinks she has nothing better to do. To be fair, she spends most of her day browsing tabloids, playing with her beloved Judgy dog, and eating biscuits, but she's still very Busy and Important. A few weeks and a couple of Ellen-style odd decisions later, and her life has almost completely changed and she's pushed and pulled in all directions again, both inside and outside of the home. Sam and Hannah provide light relief, as do the characters that make up the PTA. Lucy Atkinson's Perfect Mummy, and Fiona Montague again make their presence known, albeit more lightly this time and the introduction of Charlie, an old flame, adds an interesting dynamic to the story. Some of the characters are almost caricatures, a bit overblown, but they're well written and add to the balance nicely.
The style reminded me a lot of the first Bridget Jones book, which as we all know, went on to huge success. There's definitely room for a sitcom/movie here. There is an awful lot of swearing, which I don't mind, but if you're not fond of a potty mouth, you might be a little shocked to say the least. The thing that did annoy me a little, if I'm honest, is that the phrase 'eleventy billion' is one I used to use quite a lot, and used to find funny, but it's so overused in this book I'll be happy if I never hear it again!
I read 'Why Mummy Swears' over 2 days - It's light, easy to read, and funny, if sometimes predictable. Mummies of children of all ages will enjoy this book and will recognise many of the situations that Ellen ends up in, along with sharing her frustration at the lack of support and understanding she gets trying to be a working Mum, juggling home and family life without losing her mind or killing anyone!
3.5 rounded up to 4
The main character’s a doormat, all the men apart from the gay friend are sexist arseholes, all but one female family members are pushy bitches and the female friends are personalityless props only dragged out when the story demands.
Less a story than a whining diatribe about how hard it is for mothers. I have better things to do than sit through the same rehashed arguments again and again. Nothing was subtle, there was no reading between the lines, everything was spelled out. Also just trying too hard to be Bridget Jones.
I gave two stars as there were some funny parts that read a bit like her blog posts which I do enjoy.
Finally, in the UK at least, you have no legal obligation to tell your employer you have children at all, never mind your colleagues!
Less a story than a whining diatribe about how hard it is for mothers. I have better things to do than sit through the same rehashed arguments again and again. Nothing was subtle, there was no reading between the lines, everything was spelled out. Also just trying too hard to be Bridget Jones.
I gave two stars as there were some funny parts that read a bit like her blog posts which I do enjoy.
Finally, in the UK at least, you have no legal obligation to tell your employer you have children at all, never mind your colleagues!
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Ok so I wasn’t sure about this book. I have the whole series now I think and will continue to read the others as the story line was interesting but some things put me off/frustrated me.
I liked the getting a new job aspect and settling into a role hiding that she’s a mum so she wasn’t judged. It was handled interestingly. She stood up for herself and protected her job which was good.
By about half way through, I was fed up of the phrase eleventy billion. Would have been good to use a few different phrases to exaggerate the number of times something has happened.
I did find that it really makes me not want children or to even get married which may be a plus or a bonus hahaha.
I would read another of her books though.
I liked the getting a new job aspect and settling into a role hiding that she’s a mum so she wasn’t judged. It was handled interestingly. She stood up for herself and protected her job which was good.
By about half way through, I was fed up of the phrase eleventy billion. Would have been good to use a few different phrases to exaggerate the number of times something has happened.
I did find that it really makes me not want children or to even get married which may be a plus or a bonus hahaha.
I would read another of her books though.
I thought I was going to love this. I like reading things about "honest parenting" - anything that reassures me that I'm not the only mother muttering FFS around the house all day long. And in a world now full of potty training, Peppa Pig, and a toddler who refuses to eat his vegetables, I could write a book myself about the reasons why Mummy swears. But they weren't the same as Gill's.
Maybe it's because the children in Why Mummy Swears are older than my two, or maybe it's because the book is more about the mother and her first-world problems than just her parenting life, but I just couldn't get on with this book. Of course there were elements of it that I could relate to, but they were very sparse and there wasn't enough on them.
I thought this diary-style book was going to be more about parenting woes, not about the life of a woman on a quest to find her dream job and follow her passions. Good for her, but that wasn't what I was here for. I couldn't even enjoy the scenes involving the writer's altercations with her husband. I have the same frustrations daily, but there was so much resentment between the two that I just found it awkward.
Sadly, I just couldn't find the humour in this. I may be a stressed-out working-from-home mum, but I definitely don't have the same kinds of pressures that this writer does. I thought that because we both swear a lot, we were bound to get on, but that wasn't the case.
Maybe it's because the children in Why Mummy Swears are older than my two, or maybe it's because the book is more about the mother and her first-world problems than just her parenting life, but I just couldn't get on with this book. Of course there were elements of it that I could relate to, but they were very sparse and there wasn't enough on them.
I thought this diary-style book was going to be more about parenting woes, not about the life of a woman on a quest to find her dream job and follow her passions. Good for her, but that wasn't what I was here for. I couldn't even enjoy the scenes involving the writer's altercations with her husband. I have the same frustrations daily, but there was so much resentment between the two that I just found it awkward.
Sadly, I just couldn't find the humour in this. I may be a stressed-out working-from-home mum, but I definitely don't have the same kinds of pressures that this writer does. I thought that because we both swear a lot, we were bound to get on, but that wasn't the case.
Quite entertaining, knocked stars off for excessive use of capital letters to express emotion, which felt lazy, and for the gratuitous swearing throughout. I get the title is 'Why Mummy Swears', but the main character wasn't nearly this bad in the first book. After a while, it felt a bit like reading a teenager's diary after they learned the word fuck for the first time, with expletives shoe-horned in to sentences that really didn't require it. All in all, fairly enjoyable and would probably recommend, not quite as good as 'Why Mummy Drinks'.
*I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley. The decision to review and my opinions are my own.*
Why Mummy Swears is the second novel by mum-blogger Gill Sims, and is even better than the first.
Obviously if you’re already a fan of the ‘Peter and Jane’ blog then you already know what you’ll be getting: rambunctious moppets, Gadget Twat, Judgy dog, and Wheeler-fucking-Dealers make their usual eleventy billion appearances, requiring lashings of wine and sneaked choccy biscuits.
This time the main plot focus is on Ellen attempting to regain some sort of life outside of motherhood, whilst juggling the demands of school, children, husband and work, and various family dramas. And as usual, Sims totally nails it and manages to do so in an entirely relatable and hilarious way. In addition, Sims gives us an accurate and scathing look at the differences between men and women in the home and workplace, but in so entertaining a way that you only realise after the fact that she snuck the lesson in, like celery in a shepherd’s pie.
I hate spoilers so will just say that the ‘Sarah’ storyline was a particular highlight for me and raised a good few giggles; I was incandescent with rage over the half-term holiday events (to the point that I transferred some of it to my own bewildered husband, with some poisonous looks and pointed comments); and I blubbed far worse than any graduate’s mummy over the nice-lady-with-the-car bit (you’ll know when you get there!).
It helps that I thoroughly agree and identify with Ellen’s parenting style (and general approach to life), and find Gill Sims’ writing skilful and upliftingly light-hearted. Also, and this is fairly important…I am NOT offended by swearing! Especially not when it is realistic and in context, as here.
Recommended if you have your own moppets and a sense of humour!
Jane has obviously point-blank refused to take part in any such babyish activity as being read to in the evening, and so we compromised with her promising to read something herself instead, which I felt was a perfectly reasonable offer, until after two chapters she announced that Anne of Green Gables was stupid and boring and why was Anne always wittering on about imagination and I shouted that Jane had no soul and was clearly a changeling as no child of mine would speak thus of Anne Shirley. Now I pretend not to know that she is watching YouTube make-up tutorials instead of wandering the enchanted lanes of Avonlea with Gilbert Blythe (who I still totally would, incidentally).
– Gill Sims, Why Mummy Swears
Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog
https://bookshineandreadbows.wordpress.com/2018/07/09/why-mummy-swears-gill-sims/
Why Mummy Swears is the second novel by mum-blogger Gill Sims, and is even better than the first.
Obviously if you’re already a fan of the ‘Peter and Jane’ blog then you already know what you’ll be getting: rambunctious moppets, Gadget Twat, Judgy dog, and Wheeler-fucking-Dealers make their usual eleventy billion appearances, requiring lashings of wine and sneaked choccy biscuits.
This time the main plot focus is on Ellen attempting to regain some sort of life outside of motherhood, whilst juggling the demands of school, children, husband and work, and various family dramas. And as usual, Sims totally nails it and manages to do so in an entirely relatable and hilarious way. In addition, Sims gives us an accurate and scathing look at the differences between men and women in the home and workplace, but in so entertaining a way that you only realise after the fact that she snuck the lesson in, like celery in a shepherd’s pie.
I hate spoilers so will just say that the ‘Sarah’ storyline was a particular highlight for me and raised a good few giggles; I was incandescent with rage over the half-term holiday events (to the point that I transferred some of it to my own bewildered husband, with some poisonous looks and pointed comments); and I blubbed far worse than any graduate’s mummy over the nice-lady-with-the-car bit (you’ll know when you get there!).
It helps that I thoroughly agree and identify with Ellen’s parenting style (and general approach to life), and find Gill Sims’ writing skilful and upliftingly light-hearted. Also, and this is fairly important…I am NOT offended by swearing! Especially not when it is realistic and in context, as here.
Recommended if you have your own moppets and a sense of humour!
Jane has obviously point-blank refused to take part in any such babyish activity as being read to in the evening, and so we compromised with her promising to read something herself instead, which I felt was a perfectly reasonable offer, until after two chapters she announced that Anne of Green Gables was stupid and boring and why was Anne always wittering on about imagination and I shouted that Jane had no soul and was clearly a changeling as no child of mine would speak thus of Anne Shirley. Now I pretend not to know that she is watching YouTube make-up tutorials instead of wandering the enchanted lanes of Avonlea with Gilbert Blythe (who I still totally would, incidentally).
– Gill Sims, Why Mummy Swears
Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog
https://bookshineandreadbows.wordpress.com/2018/07/09/why-mummy-swears-gill-sims/
I’m so glad I’m done with that! It was a real slog and I only really finished it out of pure stubbornness. So many people have told me it’s relatable and funny but I don’t get it! The main character keeps mentioning being middle class as though saying it makes it true. Each mention comes with some sort of qualifier like having quinoa (I have that too and don’t imagine I’m middle class!). She doesn’t even seem to like anyone! All she does is argue with everyone or complain at them. There might be 1 instance where she’s not having a go at her husband but other than that, I think they hate each other! And yes there’s a lot of swearing. Mostly to be funny I think. But even I don’t swear eleventy billion times a day - which is this woman’s favourite catchphrase. Everything is Eleventy Billion (and random capital letters to let you know when things are Really Very Important). Still not sure what the book was about other than Ellen getting stroppy a lot with everyone and being annoyed her life isn’t perfect.
I will say I did like the point at the end of the book (no spoilers), but I wish there had been a better, more cohesive story.
I will say I did like the point at the end of the book (no spoilers), but I wish there had been a better, more cohesive story.