Book Review - Mammy Banter by Serena Terry

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Title: Mammy Banter

Author: Serena Terry

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: HarperCollins

Publication Date: 3rd March 2022

Rating: 4 Stars

From the creator of viral Tiktok sensation, @MammyBanter, comes a hilarious warts-and-all novel about modern motherhood – and how having it all sometimes isn’t what you think it might be.

She used to want it all.

Now she just wants a nap.

Tara Gallagher is knackered. She used to dream of being Beyoncé but suddenly she’s thirty-six – with three kids, a loving husband, a very boring job – and instead of headlining Glastonbury, she’s in her pyjamas on a Friday night, watching Gogglebox.

It’s time for a mammy makeover. She’s going to show her teenage daughter she’s still cool. She’s going to show her husband she’s still an absolute ride. She’s going to show her colleagues she’s still a Boss Bish.

But most of all, she’s going to prove to herself that she can still be a mum, still work full time, and still be Beyoncé…

The debut novel from viral TikTok star, @MammyBanter

This was a hilarious and remarkably honest look at being not just a Mammy but also about whether you can be yourself too. 

This is a warts and all look at parenthood, don't expect it through a veneer of an Instagram filter here, this isn't a yummy mummy, this is a real Irish woman, wishing she could re-find her inner Beyoncee, and hoping that she is still regarded as being cool. 

Given her eldest child has just turned 13, and Tara attempted to teach Gemma and her friends the moves to Tragedy at her 13th birthday party, you can guess where Tara is in the embarrassing parent, not cool stakes. 

Then there are the two boys, Nathan (5) and Jax (2) who are everything you expect two boys of that age to be, a lot of bodily fluids, inquisitive minds and in Nathan's case an uncanny ability to repeat the most inappropriate things to his teacher at school! 

This is Tara trying to get her groove back, and the results are incredibly amusing. What I really liked was the clear Irish voice coming through, complete with phrases and slang that we don't tend to use across the Irish Sea from where the book is set!  I love terms like absolute ride, Boss Bish, and how everything is class! 

This book is a real craic, and I think parents everywhere will really be able to relate to Tara and her family. 

There is so much to love in this book and it's a very entertaining debut novel. 

Thank you to Harper Collins and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.