How to be Fabulous

by Carmen Reid

240 pages, Paperback

Expected publication January 23, 2026

About the author

Carmen was born and brought up in a chilly and windy corner of Scotland in the depths of the countryside.

This may explain her lifelong phobia of cows and abiding interest in cities, department stores, books, the cinema and newspapers.

She is currently working on her eigth novel for grown-ups and her third novel for teenagers. Well, she likes to keep busy.

Carmen did once study English Literature at University College London, but, ignoring everything she’d learned, she spent most of her 20s working as a local, regional and then national newspaper reporter.

Knowing deep down that she was supposed to be an author not a journo, she left her day job to have a baby and write her first novel. (Hey, and just four sleepless, penniless years later it was published!)

Although there is a corner of her heart that will always belong to London (property developers welcome) she now lives in Glasgow, Scotland, with her husband, Thomas, and two children, Sam and Claudie, plus Jimmy the (lunatic) Jack Russell and Clive, Orangey and Gorcha, the fish.

Fortunately her hobbies are cooking, cleaning, arguing about whose turn it is to walk the dog, clean the fish tank, take out the rubbish, do the laundry... and so on.

Reviews

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

How to Be Fabulous by Carmen Reid.
Boldwood Books, thank you for the gifted ARC, and thanks to NetGalley for the chance to dive into Annie Valentine’s world before everyone else does.

I opened this book expecting a breezy fashion comedy and instead found myself pulled into a warm, witty escape where couture and chaos go hand in hand. Annie Valentine is once again trying to keep everything stitched together, and naturally everything unravels the moment she touches it. She agrees to help her best friend Svetlana with a charity fashion show, and on page two I was already thinking, “Annie, honey, this is going to go badly,” the way you warn a toddler before they climb something they absolutely shouldn’t. No venue. No clothes. No plan. No problem—at least until it all becomes a problem.

What I love about Annie is that she’s competent and a disaster at the same time. She can style a stranger into their best self but can’t manage her own family without tripping over her good intentions. Her daughter Lauren shows up with a broken heart, her son Owen heads off to university with a wallet full of optimism and nothing else, and Annie herself feels like she’s hanging by a thread that probably frayed three chapters ago. Reid lets the family moments hit with just enough emotional weight that you feel them, but she always throws in the right joke to keep the reading warm instead of heavy.

The fashion show fiasco is one of those plots where everything goes so wrong it loops back around to entertaining. There’s a real joy in watching Annie try to salvage an event that seems determined to collapse. When the mystery donation appears, it adds the sort of twist that feels like the universe briefly remembered to be kind. Of course, Reid doesn’t let Annie relax, because Owen promptly disappears and pulls the rug right back out from under her. I actually found myself muttering, “Please give this woman a nap.”

Reid’s writing feels lived-in and confident. The humor is sharp without being mean, and the pacing moves with the steady beat of a fashion show playlist: upbeat, dramatic in spurts, and never boring. Her characters feel familiar in the best way. You’ve met some version of these people at school gates, awkward brunches, or that chaotic charity event you agreed to help with before thinking it through.

One line from Annie stuck with me: “Sometimes fabulous is just surviving the day without losing your shoes.” Honestly, it could be the book’s thesis. Fabulousness isn’t perfection; it’s muddling through with humor, resilience, and maybe a lipstick that makes you feel like you tried.

How to Be Fabulous is the sort of book I’d recommend to anyone who wants something warm, funny, and human. It’s ideal for a rainy afternoon, a too-long commute, or that hour of the night when you should be asleep but decide you deserve a little joy instead. It’s escapist without being empty, stylish without being shallow, and heartfelt without getting syrupy.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐½

[Kristen Cook - A Book Ninja · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had not read any of Carmen Reid's previous works so I wasn't sure what to expect.

I found that it took me some to get in to the story. In the beginning the FMC was hard to connect to and I found I was annoyed with her. Thankfully the second half of the book it finally all clicked.

I could see how many people would find this story enjoyable. I wonder if I had read some of the previous books if it would have been easier to connect with the characters. There was some character information to give new readers and idea of who the main characters were and the roles in the stories.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Meeting up again with old friend Annie valentine and her family.
The chaos and fun ensues. This book will make you smile and want to curl up and immerse yourself in all things fashion.
The twins are now four and starting nursery as Owen is leaving home to start university in Scotland.
Changes in the older sibling lives have a massive impact as Annie worries not only about her children but will her TV contract be renewed and what her next step in her career will be.
Organising a massive charity fashion show and sale whilst trying to source some show shopping pieces.
Enjoy I did

Come back to your Review on 

[Roo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Annie Valentine is back, a fabulous read as always. I’ve read every nook in this series and they don’t disappoint. Annie has to organise a fashion show, but her friend Svetlana has forgotten to get the right planning for the venue, will it be over before it’s began. This story is filled to the brim with family life, work life and sorting around the problems that come from both. The start of each chapter shares what that character is wearing, it really is the best. 5 huge stars. Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun-filled story about the chaotic Annie Valentine as she navigates haphazardly through her busy life. With her eldest children now becoming young adults and heading off into the big, wide world, and the twins starting nursery, Annie finds herself organising an important charity clothes sale. As we have come to expect from Annie, there is humour, chaos, love and friendship in abundance in this enjoyable new story.

[Marisa Batista · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my first time reading a Carmen Reid book.

I was expecting it to be more “Absolutely Fabulous”, but instead I was pleasantly surprised by deeper topics and characters.

I absolutely loved Annie and I’ll definitely read the remainder of the Personal Shopper series.

If you love fashion and designer brands, I am pretty sure you’ll like this book.

Thank you, NetGalley and Boldwood Books, for this ARC.