Book Review - Life Swap by Carol Wyer

Amazon UK

Title: Life Swap

Author: Carol Wyer

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Bookouture

Publication Date: 22nd April 2016

Rating: 4.5 Stars

She wanted a new life and true love. But the grass isn’t always greener on the other side… 

All Polly has to her name is a string of failed relationships and a mountain of debt. She sees herself as a hopeless case and would do anything to change her luck. 

So when she’s given the opportunity to swap all she’s ever known for a life of luxury, Polly jumps at the chance. Soon, it’s all diamonds, spa days and celebrity parties. Now all that's missing from her life is a bit of romance. Will hunky Matt be the man to heal her broken heart? 

But money can’t always buy you happiness. Can the life she’s always dreamed of get in the way of true love? 

Has your life ever been going so badly, that you wished you could swap places with someone. Well when Simon and Polly's lives are going downhill they both agree to swap places with their chosen person, and the results are hilarious. 

The first part of the book is the set up, which gives us the vital background to Polly and Simon's situations. It is filled with flashbacks and gives you a good idea as to why they are both unhappy. I found initially I was sympathising with Polly's story far more than Simon's possibly as she was close to my age, rather than a man who was starting to feel his age. 

Once the swaps had been organised they both have radically different experiences, and in both cases are full of surprises and hilarious consequences. I found that once they had both swapped lives with other people, the book really got going and became one of the most entertaining and original stories I have read this year. 

I have no idea how Carol Wyer came up with the nitty gritty of the book, which include a whole bunch of details I would love to tell you about, but feel the surprise and journey will be better without any hints from me. I did at times have some suspicions what could be about to happen, and then I was completely taken in by the set up myself. 

Life Swap is a riot of a novel, filled with surprising circumstances, interesting life choices, and shows that you just don't know your casual acquaintances as well you think. All you really know about another person is the persona they give out in public, but what happens in private stays in private. and in the case of the two people that Simon and Polly become, I was surprised as just what was hiding in their lives. 

With lots of incredibly funny moments, a slightly bizarre storyline, and a very well written debut, Carol Wyer has produced a gem of a book. 

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for this review copy. This was my honest opinion. 

Happy Publication day to Carol Wyer. Life Swap is out now.