So Lucky: The bold, brilliant Sunday Times bestseller you need to read this year

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Expect some raw realities of female life, but when these women come together, they go full-blown badass’ Heat So…’ I say, trying to be all blasé about it… ‘What kinda vibrator ya got?’ I nonchalantly start to finger some paperwork, and then bam, a small, pink-silicone, bullet-shaped battery-powered device is waved under my nose. ‘It’s the best!’ Risky says, testing its various speed levels. I am hoping she washed it. It is very close to my face.” So glad I got to review this book as I will now be on the hunt for her others as this is the first one I have read. All in all a great fun read with a powerful message that will resonate with many and I wholeheartedly recommend reading it.

I'm a mum and my body has changed so much since having my little girl, I'm also impacted by social media and the constant pressure to be perfect!
The reality is we all have imperfections we hide, we all want to show the world our best selves and we all suffer from the judgements people make.

Featured Reviews

All are involved in different ways in selling images of perfection. Ruby earns her living - well aware of the ironies and dodgy ethics - by digitally altering photographs to make women appear flawless; Lauren portrays a carefully curated image of her perfect life and gorgeous self on social media; Beth and her young assistant, the strangely named Risky, plan perfect weddings for the rich and famous (and Beth has an apparently enviable marriage of her own). Each character has their own distinct voice, concerns, dramas and thoughts - thoughts we all have on a daily basis, but no one really has the guts to say out loud. This book, and in particular the characters of Ruby and Beth, will stay with me for a while. I found myself really moved by these characters; they’re addictive, relatable and ‘real’. O’Porter does a brilliant job at following each woman’s trajectory of growth. Each character gets a chance to grow and develop throughout the novel. I really did love this book. Perhaps as much as the first and THAT’S saying something! I’d highly recommend this book to all. There are some very humorous moments (Beth’s assistant Risky adds a lot of those!), and there are also some dark moments. My view of the characters changed a number of times as they made mistakes, but ultimately learned from them.

I loved The Cows, so I was thrilled to be invited to read Dawn O’Porter’s new book, and it was indeed a fantastic read.

Ruby has a medical condition that affects her self-confidence has led to her being introverted, shy and rather grumpy and antisocial. She takes commissions to digitally retouch photographs for magazines, usually creating ‘the perfect woman’ which doesn’t make her feel any better about herself. She has a little girl Bonnie and is separated from her husband after a disastrous wedding day where she feels he betrayed her and let her down. Ruby had a bad relationship with her mother and doesn’t really know how to be a good Mum to Bonnie, not least because Bonnie is always playing up and never does what Ruby tells her to. Dawn O’Porter in 1983 and 2022 Dawn O’Porter in 1983 and 2022. Later photograph: Simon Webb/The Guardian. Styling: Andie Redman. Hair and makeup: Heather Marnie. Archive photograph: courtesy of Dawn O’Porter What O'Porter does brilliantly throughout the book is combine real humour with some major and very current themes around the pressures of modern life - mental health, body image, relationship woes, self esteem and the impact of social media amongst them. As a result the book makes you laugh at times, at other times it makes you think hard and brings a lump to your throat as you reflect on the challenges women face. O'Porter ensures the book ends on a positive note with plenty of humour and a message about the power of sisterhood. women who on the outside appear to have it all but as we all know, it’s not always the case. Brilliantly honest & laugh out loud funny, this is another fantastic read from Dawn O’Porter. I read it in one sitting! 5*****

I thoroughly enjoyed Dawn O'Porter's last book, The Cows, so was really looking forward to trying this new offering. I was always a funny little girl who was theatrical, but after my mum died I became even more so. I didn’t want anyone to mention the elephant in the room. I became the kid who spent more time trying to make people laugh than learning, and failed at everything as a result. The joking around was annoying, but I just couldn’t stop doing it. I got pulled up on it when I went to drama school years later. A teacher said to me: “You hide your pain by trying to make people laugh.” Like it was some really negative thing! I thought: “At least I’m not being miserable, and if that’s the reflex reaction to what I’ve been through, I’m not going to be ashamed of it. I’m going to embrace it.”Presenter Angela Scanlon talks to Dawn about Robot Wars, anxiety, and remembering to switch off occasionally. An amazing read, I hadn’t heard of this Author before and wasn’t sure of what to expect but wow, this book had me laughing out loud. I loved all of the characters, they always tried their best, even if it wasn’t the right thing. I will truly miss them all. I am so looking forward to finding more to read by this Author. In between writing and parenting, Dawn is a regular on television - so could we expect her on Strictly? Unfortunately, although we think she’d be great, we’ll never see her compete for the Glitterball trophy: "It just doesn’t come naturally to me, I’d be horrific - I would get a horrible reputation for being a terrible person because I would just be so horrible to work with because I hate it". Fair enough, she does have enough on her plate, after all! Oh, and I have to mention Risky who is one of my favourite book character’s of all time. She’s hilarious, loyal and truly believes in female empowerment. She also has the perfect cure to beat the afternoon slump which is apparently better than a Mars Bar. 😉 Beth who is married with a young baby. Her husband has lost interest in sex and she can’t work out why which is diving her crazy. Then we have Lauren who is about to marry a rich celebrity. She has the perfect life on social media but there are rumours about her fiancé Gavin which just won’t go away. They are all trying to go about their daily lives despite feeling like failures and are trying to make the correct choices for themselves.