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The Further Adventures of Isabella M Smugge

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The UK’s premier Instamum Isabella M Smugge has never met a hashtag she doesn’t like. And with her mother’s wedding to organise, blended families to negotiate and her long-awaited house renovation – all while potty training a toddler – there are plenty to choose from. What could possibly go wrong?
Our heroine is also beginning to wonder if something – or maybe even someone – could be missing from her single parent life. But what would the new and slightly improved Issy Smugge be looking for in a man?
As she navigates playground politics, freestyle praying and deepening friendships, Issy’s learning about life in a whole new way. But just as everything begins to look #perfect, her dastardly ex-husband arrives with a shocking idea…

270 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 20, 2024

11 people are currently reading
9 people want to read

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Ruth Leigh

23 books23 followers

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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
1 review1 follower
September 4, 2024
Once again Ruth Leigh delivers!!!! Excitement, twists, laughs, life etc. It’s all here with the 4th Issy Smugge book. Won’t give any of the story away, but mummy is just as funny as ever! Oh boy that Johnny! Love love love these books ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Profile Image for Sarah Nicholson.
15 reviews
September 4, 2024
This is the best Isabella book yet. I have been sniggering, laughing out loud and cheering her on as our favourite influencer negotiates family life in rural Suffolk.
Including:
- PTA problems - so relateable
- An embarrassing parent 😳
- Potty training - so glad those days are behind me
- hearing from the Almightly and learning to pray 🙏

Ruth writes about deep topics, such as faith, dementia and infidelity with a light touch and including some classy humour and in jokes.
Porphyria as a paint colour - I'm really not sure.
And I am going to call Mr Knight, Mr Knightley, solid and dependable yet so often overlooked and disregarded😉

I can't write any more for fear of adding spoilers, but pour yourself a cup of Lapsang Souchong, grab a slice of fig and fennel flapjack, fold yourself into your favourite armchair and enjoy - you're in for a treat!
Profile Image for Deborah Jenkins.
Author 4 books12 followers
March 22, 2025
Issy Smugge never fails to make me smile. With her trademark warmth, humour and perception, Ruth Leigh draws the reader into the fourth book about her heroine's unique world with a flourish. Issy's simplistic, often naive way of looking at life is morphing into a new faith, both in God and the new self experience has thrust upon her. It is an intriguing, sometimes painful, at times hilarious journey. The interesting thing is how relatable these books are. I am not a rich, poised 'mumfluencer' yet there is so much that I smile and nod along to in the books - the sign of an accomplished author. If you haven't met Issy Smugge, you need her in your life!
Profile Image for Joanne Gilchrist.
Author 9 books3 followers
Read
September 10, 2024
I get so excited every time another Issy Smugge book is out that I read it in 2 days, hardly taking a break! It had me laughing my socks off by the end of the first chapter (it reminded me of the kind of situation Bridget Jones might find herself!). I feel like I have reconnected with an old friend. Love this series, love this book. Bring on the next one!
70 reviews3 followers
September 18, 2024
I read a paperback copy of this book, having enjoyed the previous books in the series. As with the earlier books, I could hardly put it down. Isabella has become a better person than in the earlier books. My full review is here
Profile Image for Julia.
3,085 reviews94 followers
September 29, 2024
The Further Adventures Of Isabella M Smugge by Ruth Leigh is the most wonderful contemporary Christian offering. It is the fourth book in the Isabella M Smugge series. It can be read as a stand-alone but I recommend reading the previous books in order, for maximum enjoyment and for character development.
I am a massive Isabella Smugge fan and get so excited when a new book comes out. I alternate between wanting to read and see what happens and wanting to savor the book. I chose to savor book four. It was a totally wonderful, absorbing read.
Isabella Smugge is a huge hearted character who tries to see the best in people and to help where she can. She is a ‘new’ Christian who is trying to find her way. “Religious people who are doing it properly read their Bibles every day and engage in something called devotionals too.” She is trying to be the best version of herself. “As I try to be a better parent, friend and daughter, and continue to dip into church life, I’m changing.”
Isabella Smugge is also hilarious. Her observations are priceless and spot on. “Trying to juggle work and children is no joke. I don’t know how people without staff … do it.” And her observations on home groups – “Homegroups were set up for those who think that going to church on Sunday just isn’t enough!”
The world of Isabella Smugge has been very Instagram based. She has presented a perfect picture to the world but now she is learning to be real. There is a highly amusing scene with a potty training toddler and a puking cat, just as she is about to host home group. It doesn’t get more real than that!
As a new Christian, Isabella Smugge is learning about prayer. She is naturally worried about praying out loud in her home group. After her first attempt, she notes: “I must have been doing something right as everyone was doing the murmuring and ‘Yes, Lord’ thing”
Her prayer time with God is at first very formal. “Dear God. This is Issy Smugge… With very best wishes.” As time goes on, she notes: “I have found myself speaking to the Almighty on a relatively regular basis … and He has been most helpful answering may of my requests.” As with us all, Issy Smugge is learning to give her requests to God rather than to depend on herself. She does have lapses though. “I’m giving Him [God] till close of play next Tuesday and then I will be taking matters into my own hands.”
Remarkably perceptive, Issy Smugge comments on church: “The church family. A mixture of people all with their own stories, secrets and hidden sadnesses.” Earlier, she had seen church as a place to collect heavenly brownie points! “I went to church twice and got lots of extra holy points by donating… to our food bank.”
The turning point for Issy Smugge is an encounter with God. “I want you to spend time with Me.” Not totally understanding what just happened, Issy Smugge turns to someone older and wiser in the Christian faith, her friend who is the vicar’s wife.
Once more we see Issy Smugge juggling life, children, her mother, the school gates and more. It is easy to empathise with her and her observations on life. As Issy Smugge moves from concentrating on the outward appearance to the inner appearance, the reader applauds.
The end of the book leaves this reader wanting more, more, more!
I just love Isabella Smugge. She is delightful, charming, generous and so much fun. I savor every single book in the series and am always upset when the book ends. There is a hole left in my life.
We all need an Isabella M Smugge in our lives.
I have used many quotes and could use many more, but will leave you with a very powerful quote:
“Shape your worries into prayers.”
I received a free copy from the author. A favourable review was not required. All opinions are my own.
3,117 reviews6 followers
December 9, 2024
‘The Further Adventures of Isabella M Smugge’ is the fourth book in the series from British-based author, Ruth Leigh. We join Issy for another year in her adopted village as her brand remains on-message. As with the previous books, the chapters are divided into months, with each one devoted to a mixture of minutiae and major life events.

Issy remain the country’s premier ‘mumfluencer’ with her practical parenting and lifestyle advice being eagerly gobbled up by the masses. She is still viewing the world through a materialistic prism, however, as she matures, Issy is starting to question her direction. This doesn’t sit well with her agent whose life revolves around social media traffic stats and paid partnerships. Will Issy continue to pander to public demand or will she risk her popularity by prioritising her children’s privacy?

This is another tongue-in-cheek outing for Issy Smugge. The character list can be divided into family, friends, tolerable frenemies and outright enemies with her estranged husband getting a category all of his own. I won’t pretend that I was able to keep up with the ever-growing cast list but the flow of the story isn’t dependent on identifying everyone. I’m sure there won’t be a parent or grandparent who doesn’t relate to some of the incidents Issy experiences with her toddler, Milo. The hierarchical dynamics amongst the parents on the school playground at pick-up times will also resonate.

There are deeper undertones as Issy continues her faith journey, along with a realignment of her priorities and unexpected allegiances. The last chapter gives a hint that there could be more to come. Whilst there is the danger that the formula might become stale, I’m sure a lot of readers will welcome the thought of another dip into the life of Isabella M Smugge.

Ruth Leigh is a skilled writer and I congratulate her on finding sufficient material to produce another engaging book which drips with humour and sarcasm but equally, delivers thoughtful insights into the everyday struggles of life. Objectively, I’m happy to award five stars.
Profile Image for S.C. Skillman.
Author 5 books38 followers
February 19, 2025
Another lively, perceptive novel from Ruth Leigh taking us forward on Isabella’s personal journey and all her diverse relationships with the people around her, family, friends and ‘frenemies’. I love the author’s observational humour; one example would be her account of the parents unwilling to accept responsibility for the behaviour of their children at school, and the difficult situation that arises as Isabella tries to deal with it without ruining what she hoped had been a blossoming friendship.

When I began reading this series, in common with many other readers, I strongly disliked Isabella as she is described over the first few pages of Book 1. It is fascinating to see how the author has developed her so that not only has she become a likeable character we can identify with on so many levels, but the changes she undergoes are completely believable. It would be so easy to make those changes in values and outlook seem artificial and contrived, and yet near the end of this 4th book I was genuinely moved by something Isabella acknowledges about herself, which is exactly the very thing I so disliked when we were first introduced to her at the beginning of Book 1.

There were so many touching and acutely perceptive moments in this novel and often very funny as well, and I must say I loved the end of the story!
Profile Image for Vicki Cottingham.
135 reviews6 followers
September 26, 2024
I have been looking forward to the fourth book in the series about Issy Smugge and I was not disappointed. It was great to be reunited with characters from earlier books, such as Mr Cottingham (such a great name for a lovely man!) and to meet some new characters, including Robin. But I'll say no more about him as I don't want to include any spoilers in my review.

Much drama, as always, with Issy having to manage various blended family get togethers, PTA meetings, and standing up for her girls when friendships turn nasty.

Issy is not the woman we first met four books ago, in 'The Diary of Isabella M Smugge'. She has changed from being a self-absorbed woman with very little self-awareness, to someone who genuinely cares about others and their needs. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about her interactions between the various characters. Her relationship with God is developing too. She is beginning to learn that a relationship with God is more than attending church, doing good deeds and sending him prayer requests.

I highly recommend these books. They will make you laugh out loud at times, and at other times will tug on your heartstrings.
To get the most from these books you will need to read them in order.
Profile Image for Ben Jeapes.
199 reviews5 followers
September 6, 2024
I just love Isabella. She is a genuinely kind and lovely person, she is a highly intelligent observer of life as a woman in the early 21st century, and she is genuinely funny too - without having the faintest idea why, or even that she is.

A couple of critics make comparisons with Jane Austen. This series certainly has the same depth of observation about society. Issy has Emma's lack of self awareness, but it is coupled with Elizabeth's Bennett's drive and independence - and unlike any Austen heroine, it gradually dawns on her that she can in fact get by without a man. This is the crucial book where that realisation finally settles in.

Meanwhile she continues to navigate her career as Britain's favourite Mumfluencer (her words, not mine), resolving some issues from previous books, discovering new ones sprung on us here, not quite resolving others and sometimes learning just to walk away. The supporting cast - her mum, her ex, the children and various characters from around the village - continue to supply their background chorus with impeccable comic timing. Welcome back to the world of Isabella M. Smugge.
Profile Image for Fran Hill.
Author 3 books42 followers
September 5, 2024
There's so much to admire in Ruth Leigh's 'Isabella' series and the way it takes us through this Mumfluencer's journey of self-discovery (and God-discovery). I agree with Lucy Marfleet whose endorsement graces the front cover of this fourth book: 'Witty, poignant and marinaded in joy.' Leigh's writing does indeed encompass all of those qualities and that takes some skill.

As I read, I marked some of my favourite 'Issy' lines. 'I wouldn't pick Mimi as my agent. But like a weak pelvic floor or an infected ingrown toenail, she's hard to shake off.' Or, 'I am continuing to trust in the good Lord through gritted teeth. I am giving Him until close of play next Tuesday and then I will be taking matters into my own hands.' There are many more but you'll have to read the book (or books, if you haven't read the other three) yourself. Don't miss them, or their wit, because Issy is a one-off and you won't meet another character like her elsewhere.
5 reviews1 follower
September 14, 2024
Well, I have to say I am very cross with this wonderful author. Not only have all her books kept me up far too late into the night, but this latest one just takes the biscuit. I am losing sleep - a given - but now, I have a further problem this time. I can't put the book down and yet I really do not want it to end, so what to do ? What would Issy do ? I have laughed, welled up, related ( SO many times) shouted at her and felt her pain. I am only just over half way through because I simply have to make myself put it down so I am trying so hard to avoid spoilers from my friends who seem to have no such problems as me but clearly love it just as much. Ruth is an exceptionally gifted writer. Rarely does a series always deliver with each new title. This one does. In spades. Congratulations on another corker. WHEN IS No. 5 COMING OUT RUTH ? Need it for my sanity.
8 reviews4 followers
September 8, 2024
What an accomplished writer Ruth Leigh is. Her books continue to generate joy, dismay and concern in the hearts of her readers as mumfluencer-in-chief Isabella Smugge negotiates her way between friends, frenemies and foes while dealing with ghastly terracotta agent Mimi and Johnnie, her charming-but-dastardly ex. The enduring delight of this series is that the vivid characters of earlier volumes such as Mummy, vicar’s wife Claire, indispensable au pair / executive PA Sofija and the redoubtable Liane all grow in stature and clarity, becoming more fully themselves. I finished this latest offering with appreciation and returned immediately to the first. Human, funny, inventive and memorable. Thoroughly recommended.
Profile Image for Joy Margetts.
Author 11 books71 followers
September 27, 2024
Isabella M Smugge is back! Global brand, on trend super influencer, with millions of followers and a comfortable life in the country. But Isabella has changed. Life as a single mum of four, ex wife, daughter, friend, church goer, and member of the PTA, comes with a whole host of challenges. Even Isabella is struggling to juggle it all, and vulnerable to the same stresses as any lesser mortal. She needs her friends more than ever, but also needs more than even her friends can give her.
Ruth Leigh has done something extra-ordinary with this chapter of Issys’ story. Amongst the familiar fun and frivolity, the pomposity and ridiculousness, she weaves a heartfelt, poignant and beautifully written story of deep spiritual awakening. The best book yet IMHO. #issyandGod #perfectmatch
3 reviews1 follower
October 2, 2024
I have eagerly anticipated the 4th book in this series and it has certainly has lived up to expectations. As the characters develop we share in Issy’s joys and her pain. It is poignant and hilarious in equal measure making it a true joy to read. The throw away remarks that only Izzy would make remind us of who she is and where she is coming from. Lines such as ‘painted in Ansbach and Powdering Gown’ say so much about her and the carefully crafted works of Ruth Leigh. My only question - when can we expect number 5 in the series please?
14 reviews1 follower
February 2, 2025
IMO Ruth Leigh's best book so far in this series, with many laugh out loud scenes. The dialogue is witty and includes insults that somehow avoid obscenity, e.g. "You've got a face like a trod-on chip". In this book, there is also a love interest for Issy that keeps the reader hooked. Knowing Suffolk as I do, I could also picture the places described, although none of them are mentioned by name. Lovely!
Profile Image for Denise.
122 reviews13 followers
April 23, 2025
I loved this latest update on the life of Issy Smugge, everyone’s favourite mumfluencer and lifestyle blogger. Juggling family, work, PTA issues, a manipulative ex-husband, her mum’s wedding and blended families, Issy’s life gets evermore complicated and hilarious. Along the way she is getting to grips with free praying and hosting a church home group. I would love to join Issy’s home group and taste all those delicious homemade snacks. Funny, warm and relatable. It’s the best book yet.
1 review2 followers
September 7, 2024
Dear Issy. Her hectic and immersive life continues through playground squabbles, husband’s final exit (we hope), the continuing Mother drama and all sorts. But hey, she does it all with enviable style and increasing depths of real people-based and spiritual understanding. Full of laugh out loud moments, this book is a roller coaster of busy mum life. Fabulous.
Profile Image for Jules C.
15 reviews1 follower
September 10, 2024
I’m completely addicted to Issy Smugge …living in Suffolk and picturing all the places adds to the fun!
This latest instalment had me laughing and crying in equal measures and shouting ‘go Issy’ when the awful Johnnie shows all his worst true colours!
Loved every page and can’t wait for the next one … we all need to an Issy in our lives 😊 #ontrend #suffolk #suchfun
1 review
September 19, 2024
Ruth Leigh does it again! I’ve missed Isabella so it was good for the soul to reconnect with all the characters (most of whom are recognisable from any school playground!)
I love journeying with Isabella and seeing her become ‘real’ and relatable. Always a pleasure to kick back with my feet up and read these books and I can’t wait for the next one…
1 review1 follower
September 4, 2024
I have read all of the books in the series and none of them disappoint. However, this is my favourite to date. There are warm and wonderful characters and frankly some downright nasty ones too. Such a joy to read. The only downside is that the fifth book hasn't been written yet.
1 review1 follower
September 7, 2024
Having thoroughly enjoyed all of Issy Smugge's previous trials, tribulations and triumphs I was not disappointed with her latest challenges.
These books have everything, humorous, moving and thought provoking they are also very readable and suitable for all ages from late teens to infinity!
2 reviews2 followers
September 8, 2024
Another juicy instalment in the life of Isabella and her family. I want this series to carry on forever! I love how the characters have grown and developed and can’t wait to find out what happens next.
33 reviews
October 29, 2024
Gripping story

Don't have anything important going on as you read "just one more chapter"! I predict the time will run away with you as you enter the entertaining world of Isabella Smugge!
1 review1 follower
September 9, 2024
I have just finished this book - number 4 in the series. I laughed, cried and can't wait for the next one! Ruth Leigh is a master Storyteller.
1 review1 follower
September 24, 2024
Issy is always such a delight. She was such an airhead but now she's really using her intelligence and even developing emotional intelligence. Such clever writing.
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