Trying: the hilarious novel about what to expect when you're NOT expecting

by Emily Phillips

A hugely funny, searingly honest comedy about what to expect when you're not expecting.

Olivia and Felix are trying for a baby. They even moved to the suburbs in anticipation of their future family. But despite approaching her cycle and their sex life with military precision, there's still no sign of what felt like the sure next step, whilst friends' broods seem to be growing by the week. Meanwhile, vying for a promotion at work under the (very attentive) watch of a new boss sends Olivia down a dangerous road of risking it all. Does a happy ever after, she starts to question, even have to include a baby?

This is standout, intelligently written commercial fiction for fans of Sharon Horgan's Catastrophe, Dawn O'Porter's The Cows and Mhairi McFarlane's It's Not Me, It's You.

Genres: Fiction

384 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 25, 2018

Reviews

[Pauline · Rating 1 out of 5]

requested this book because I thought it was a humorous book about a couple trying for a baby. Unfortunately I did not like the language or the content of the story. I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Bookread2day · Rating 5 out of 5]

Paperback edition
This story is exactly as it says on the front cover. It's funny, bittersweet and touching. Olivia and Felix are trying for a baby. Olivia is trying to keep her marriage alive and suggest that maybe they should try some porn. After a year and half of sex shall they and must and quick, the ovulation stick flashing, there both secretly glad when it's over quickly. I recommend this story with funny lines where Oliva is trying to have a baby. Trying to get promotion. Trying to keep her marriage alive and trying to hold it all together. Having it all? Inconceivable.

[Daphne (Illumicrate) · Rating 3 out of 5]

All in all, I enjoyed this book. I've been in the mood for a certain kind of funny/honest stories about being a grown-up in London lately and this certainly does tick the box.

There are some hilarious truths being told here. I completely understand the searing jealousy you feel for your friends when they've 'achieved' something that you've been trying to. It's selfish and awful, but you can't help what you feel. You want to be happy for them, but deep down, you're really not. Liv's thoughts have no filter and it's really refreshing. She's thinking those things you're too scared to.

Mainly though, trying is trying; something not right can fracture even the strongest of marriages. The book doesn't shy away from infidelity, but doesn't paint it out to be a pretty picture. It's messy and angry and it happens.

I wasn't terribly impressed by the cinema-style rushed ending. The cover, I feel, is a little mismatched to the style of writing within. Also, I read it quite soon after Holly Bourne's wonderful 'How Do You Like Me Now?', it just didn't stack up. However, I did enjoy it and it had me laughing quite a few times. I really want to HYGGE my house.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book reviews on www.snazzybooks.com

I loved this heartfelt but very funny novel about not just 'trying' for a baby but also love, life and friendship in the modern world. Although I'm not trying for a baby myself (or ever have I been), and don't even have many friends with kids, it didn't affect my enjoyment at all as I can sort of tell how it feels to try and juggle being a 'modern female' and all its 'demands'! I  hugely identified with Olivia and her changing feelings, from being completely overwhelmed, to heartbroken, to (at times)  acting quite stupidly! At times I could almost feel Olivia's sadness and desperation myself; her emotions almost bounce off the pages and this is a testament to Emily Phillips' brilliant writing. 

I don't agree with every choice Olivia makes, and some of Felix's notes seemed a bit much at times, but I can really understand why both her and Olivia feel the way they do, and I hugely enjoyed reading about both characters - and their friends too.

Trying is definitely bittersweet, as it's described on the cover - that word immediately springs to mind when I think of this novel. It's lovely and humorous whilst making you really care abut the characters. In some ways it really is just about normal, everyday, boring life (with a few dramas along the way, admittedly!) but that certainly doesn't equal boring. Trying remains so completely absorbing and brilliantly written that I didn't want to put it down, and would happily have read on and on. 

Many thanks to Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for providing a copy of this novel on which I chose to write an honrst and unbiased review.

[gem · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book is so relatable. Any thirty something woman who is surrounded by pregnant, glowing, smug friends can seek solace in the brutal and hilarious thoughts of Olivia.
It charts her struggles to get pregnant, her relationship problems and how competitive she feels in her career, and the pressure she’s under from her mum.
It’s funny, sad, entertaining and so unbelievably real.
A must read for any one who’s feeling overwhelmed (ie sick and tired of) with all the baby news on social media 😂

[B.R. Maycock · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to admit when I saw this and heard all the rave reviews I was excited but a little part of me was wondering if it was for me. In reading you’re willing to put yourself into other people’s shoes, walk along with them, whatever way the author leads you, but you do worry when it’s totally comfort zone, and something you haven’t had to deal with, whether you can be impartial. Turns out this wasn’t the problem I had with this book, which was a bumpy ride for me, ups and downs and all in between. But, as they say, I digress.

Olivia and Felix are desperate, obsessed with having a baby. The book opens with an eye opener of a sex scene that had me almost snorting and I settled in, happy out. I loved that both of them want the baby so much, as so often the tale is told of the woman thinking about it non stop and the man saying ‘enough.’ None of that here, and it endeared me to Felix. I’m afraid then the book kind of dropped for me. The book itself was a bit too wordy for me and so people who enjoy something a bit more literary will like this, although it does ease up a lot too, giving us a nice romantic comedy element. We followed Olivia as she struggles, along with other friends who were trying to conceive, watching people around her get pregnant with ease. My biggest issue, I think, was with the group of people I was watching. There was a lot of pretentiousness in the book for me, and this, on top of the bitterness which in all fairness was to be expected given the subject matter, left me reading extremely passively, sometimes pushing myself on. And I think that was the main problem. I just couldn’t connect with anyone, finding them all in a different word in terms of their behaviour and it made me feel old (I’m 37), or past it or disconnected or something!

It picked up for me in places, so that I was willing them on as a couple, and I laughed a fair bit throughout, but then my lows, including struggling to connect with Olivia’s work colleagues and at times her, were very low. Thanks to Netgalley and Hodder and Stoughton for this book in return for an honest review.

Rating: Unfortunately a 3/5

[Kerry Henderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was given this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Olivia and Felix are trying for a baby but having no luck. Forced to watch as all their friends do. The stress of trying to conceive begins to take it's toll and both start to look elsewhere but can they get through it all.

This was such a good read. I loved it so much and it's written with so much thought and care. The subject is a hard one to pull off sensitively but this book does it. It's so real and honest you really feel for Liv every time there's no baby.

Liv is a very real character, she's not perfect and makes many mistakes but it makes her real and human. I would have liked a bit more of Felix and his feelings but we really saw what they went through.

A Brilliant end and cleverly done. A definite must read and a favourite.

[Mill_smithy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was so beautiful and heartfelt. It gave me whole new perspective on women trying for children. It made me realise it effect male partner just as much as female. I love how this book took such sensitive subject and made wonderful. I though was educational and real eye opening. I love how show the difficulty they were having in they marriage and stress it putting on them. I thought this whole book was done perfectly and really reflected on the situation immaculately

[Karin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fell off after only a couple of chapters. Not my style of book, the writing is boring and not as funny as I hoped and expected. It’s probably good for people expecting children or planning on it, but not for a young girl as me.

[Lizzie Flanagan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was just kind of blah. It was way too long for what it was, had so many peripheral characters that I couldn't keep track of, and had a whole bunch of annoying characters with very few redeeming qualities. The writing was decent but the story was just not great.

[Verity · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recieved an e-arc of this book via Netgalley in return for an honest review

I initially requested this book via Netgalley because I thought it was going to be a humourous book about a couple trying for a baby. It is a humourous book, and it is about a couple who want a baby but the humour and the infertility are separate. I feel like that's an important thing to state early in on in this review. If you are currently struggling with fertility and you're hoping to pick up a book that you can empathise with and to help you find some humour in your own experiences then this isn't the book for you.

Considering it wasn't at all what I expected it to be, by the time I was about 1/3 of my way into it I enjoyed it immensely, however, I did have some difficulties with it. I disliked the main characters very, very much. I felt they were immature and vacuous. Although the premise of the book suggested they were desperately trying for a baby, in actuality they seemed unwilling to do anything that might assist them with getting pregnant. I also have a real annoyance with the cliche that so often pops up in fiction that if a married couple have an argument they'll both immediately pop off and drop their drawers for anyone who winks at them. It seems like there are no happily married people in books and that would be nice to read about.

As I mentioned though, by the time I was about 1/3 of the way into the book I felt I had a good understanding of the characters and my dislike for them personally did not detract from the fact that Emily Phillips has written a really good dramatic, funny and emotional story. I became fully caught up in the dramas; I could feel myself cringing as the lies started to unravel and I shed a few tears at the end of the book. It's a testament to her writing that I obviously found myself emotionally invested in characters I hadn't liked at the beginning of the book.

[Saarah Niña · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trying to reach Parenthood.

Olivia and Felix are trying but failing to conceive. Their intimate relationship is no longer the same, it is a chore. They want a baby, the only piece missing from their jigsaw of a seemingly perfect marriage. Their delusions don't last for long: Olivia soon learns some incriminating secrets that Felix has been keeping from her, while he uncovers some information regarding his wife and her extra-marital activities.

With all the pressure, from parents sharing conception advice and from close friends being blessed with yet another child... Things soon heat up, tensions flare and all their efforts may just blow up in their faces. It makes for an incredibly funny and memorable story.

This book is perfectly relatable, comfortingly so, and will get a lot of women talking. I especially loved the ending of this novel, it was perfectly written and so very fitting. Too often we become too caught up in achieving the dream life that we take for granted what we have with us. Without meaning to, we neglect those we love. We don't always get a second chance. This, however, is a book worth a chance.

I received this book through NetGalley.

[Catherine (Bakerreadsbooks) · Rating 4 out of 5]

As well as being insanely pretty to look at (pretty covers get me every time) this book is also really important. It's about a couple who are trying and failing to conceive and is inspired by the author's own experiences. It's a very real, very relatable, unedited yet humorous account and I think it gives a lot of insight into infertility, how it can feel to be surrounded by fertile friends and the inevitable thoughts about whether it's all worth it.

But as much as I applaud it for bringing infertility out of hiding and into the public domain, I didn't enjoy the portrayal of the couple's relationship. It hit some major bumps and there was some very questionable behaviour from both sides with the reasoning being the stress of TTC. Personally I think there was room for some more positivity here. Infertility can massively strengthen a relationship and deepen a bond and I'd hate for someone who is new to infertility to read this and panic about the stability of their relationship.

Other than that, I enjoyed the style and the mix of traditional format with text messages, emails etc. And found the writing style very natural. It's so important to break down the stigma around infertility and open up the conversation so I applaud the author for using her experience to bring this book into the world.

[Veronika · Rating 1 out of 5]

I expected a funny book that would actually make me at least chuckle a few times but boy, was I dissapointed.

The story sometimes feels like the chapter or just section or whatever just ended mid sentence. Every chapter felt unfinished.

I can't imagine what the MC looks like because a few times it is mentioned she is too skinny but then I think she implied she was fat and swollen, and then she is too skinny again, sho wore glasses at one occassion so maybe she wore them? Don't know.

It also felt like the MC and her husband didn't have any affection for each other, she obviously wasn't doing it for him anymore, they didn't have a single loving moment in the book except for the end, it only posed a question why were they trying to have a child if they didn't even want to spend time together.

I wanted to stop reading like 3 times but I eventually pushed through, and if I didn't, I would not have missed out on anything.

Said to be hilarious novel, it was not.

[Nicki Southwell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Felix and Olivia are trying for a baby. They are experiencing the common problems of fertile days, and other bits of advice available, in order to help. Not taking this struggle in a simplistic view, their heartache every month, when it hasn't worked, invokes all of our sympathies.

This amusing story tells of Olivia's ambition for promotion, her volatile relationship with a needy mother, and an insight into their friend's lives.

Somehow this just didn't work for me. Possibly humour alongside the desperation to start a family fell flat with me,

I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are all my own and completely unbiased. My thanks to NetGalley for this opportunity.

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really thought that this book was going to be a book about the struggles of fertility. And it was, but not really. The plot throughout the book was good, not great. I was invested in the middle of the book, but the beginning and the end dragged and I felt it was a chore reading it, and I wasn’t too interested until I got to the middle of the book.
I did enjoy the diary-style of the book and the ‘inner thoughts’ of the protagonist, but she was the only character in the book I liked - maybe because I related to her in my fertility struggles?
Her husband is hit-and-miss, her mother is awful and very unrealistic given the situation and I find her friends very unsupportive of her situation, even though she is very supportive towards them.
Again, good book but not great.

[Cassie · Rating 3 out of 5]

What happens to a relationship when you reach that certain age and decide a baby is the next step?
This story is an interesting insight into life whilst trying very hard to conceive.
It certainly made me think about how wanting a baby can become an obsession.
Whilst the emotional roller-coaster of the main protagonists is well drawn I found their lifestyles totally outside my understanding. Well paid, demanding jobs are hastily sketched but how do they support their profligate social lives?
I was happy to forgive this an go with the story until the final chapters. What a shame it descended into farce.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Daniella Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5, rounded up to a 4 because I appreciated the story the author was trying to tell, and haven't read any fiction capturing infertility in this way. The main characters are frustrating at times in their behaviour, but it served to underline the frustrations of trying to conceive and how lonely infertility can be. There were times when I related to the protagonist, and times her feelings and actions made me squirm. It captured some of the uglier feelings around infertility, although possibly veered into the extreme at times. I'm glad somebody has tried to tackle the topic in a lighter way than some of the infertility fiction tropes, but I hope the author isn't the last.

[Amy Tasker · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought I was going to love this book as the accuracy of the first few chapters summed up exactly the feelings of fertility struggles. Sadly though, it just didn’t live up to my expectations! The story just went off in a direction that didn’t appeal and I didn’t really warm to the characters - her mum for one is AWFUL! I think the book did highlight how it feels to be going through these experiences and how people don’t understand or act around you etc. but I just didn’t warm to this particular story and characters.

[Demi · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took a while for me to enjoy this book. It wasn’t until the last 100 pages that Left me breathless with the book as the plot developed. Unfortunately the writing felt clunky, most of the interviews I skipped passed and messages and emails as they just felt that they were plonked in there. The ending felt rushed too , i like that they go into the unknown , thus, leaving us in the unknown too. But it just felt like a cheesy cop out.

[Faith Cushing · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF

Admittedly, I am not finishing a lot of books lately. I just could not get into the story on this one. It was a mundane story about her mundane life, wanting a family, wanting a promotion, etc. It is not written in an easy-reading style, it's a bit more literary. This made it even harder for me to get interested in an already uninteresting story.

[Madison Hargreaves · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at just over 100 pages. Main character refuses to tell anyone about her struggles to conceive and then gets mad and upset when people unknowingly say things that offend/trigger her (plus she's constantly whining about how sex is a chore) - I felt like the rest of the book would be more of the same and I was not down for that.

[Anna Finlayson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good, honest read about a couple struggling to have a baby. Funny and lighthearted, yet deep and a bit gut wrenching at times. Sometimes the British 'cultural' references went over my head. A bit Bridget Jones' meets infertility. It was good but not great.

[Jenny Hull · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting plot however often found the lead character of Olivia very frustrating due to her choices - lots of characters in the book were introduced and seemed indifferent from one another. The central crux of the book was never resolved.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was hard going. It has taken me weeks to read. Kept putting down, reading something else, picking up again. It just didn't grip me but I can't not finish reading a book. So I persevered. So it was slow to get going, felt like stodge in the middle then a rushed ending. Wouldn't rush to recommend

[Rachreads22 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having been on this particular journey myself, I really wanted to love this book. To be honest though, while some of the ttc stuff was very familiar, I couldn't reconcile that with the other main storyline (don't want to add spoilers!). So, an okay read and 3 stars from me.

[Row · Rating 2 out of 5]

Look, if you’re not going to bother with a plot, you damn well better make the voice captivating.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

- Quite a few typos
- Written in first person. Could relate to the character

[Rachael Bassett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love love loved it - bittersweet funny and honest - Olivia says all the things a girl thinks but is often too afraid to say out loud.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really original story, well told with really believable characters.