Reviews with content warning for Death - The Two Lives of Lydia Bird

I wanted to like this as much as I liked One Day in December; unfortunately, it just wasn't there for me. The dead husband was so unlikeable, in both worlds, that I couldn't really bring myself to care about him. Lydia, Elle, & her mum were soo codependent that I lowkey hated their relationship too. It didn't feel like a healthy circle to me, especially since the relationships she had with other people (ie., her coworkers &... that's it) were almost nonexistent. I think it's one of those cases of show, not tell, because I kept hearing how much "they were all like a family" but I didn't really feel it at all. They felt just like friendly coworkers to me. The Croatia bit was also kinda weird & bordered a bit on stereotypical? Idk. I found myself annoyed by Lydia more often than not.

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thatswhatiloveaboutreading's review

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

I enjoyed this book a lot. It’s as much about grief as it is about love, but it’s also about family and friendship and finding yourself when everything falls apart. Josie Silver’s writing is both relatable and funny, and her books make me wish I was British. I’m so glad to have read this book, and I hope to read everything else Josie Silver has written too.

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marimaia's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

“it's hard to accept that life always marches forward, isn't it? always forward, never back. i was forced to change when my life suddenly changed around me, but even if it hadn't, i'd have changed in one way or another sooner or later, wouldn't i? Because people do, don't they, no one stays the same forever. everything is just so fragile, isn't it? we make our decisions dependent on the day, the weather, our mood, the phases of the moon, what we had for breakfast… i can't keep questioning choices i may or may not have made, blaming myself for being too soft there and too hard here. i see now that i've been walking in circles, making crazy patterns.” i stop and draw breath. “i need to walk in a straight line, Petar.”

não cabe aqui o tanto que essa história me fez chorar. ver a lydia sem rumo doeu tanto em mim, que precisei parar diversas vezes pra me acalmar. é incrível que até o final eu não tinha nem sequer cogitado a possibilidade da outra realidade ser apenas um sonho, uma maneira que o cérebro dela encontrou de escapar da realidade atual. fiquei surpresa com a relação dela com o jonah, mas depois percebi que não tinha como ser diferente.

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