Are We Nearly There Yet?

by Lucy Vine

Escape on a round-the-world trip with Lucy Vine's hilarious novel about FOMO, #findingthefun and losing yourself - longlisted for the Comedy Women in Print Prize 2020

Alice is turning thirty and is stuck in a rut. Her friends are all coupling up and settling down, while she's still working as a temp, trying (and failing) not to shag her terrible ex, getting thrown out of clubs, and accidentally sexting her boss... She decides to throw caution to the wind and jets off on a round-the-world adventure to #FindTheFun and find herself. Of course, she's no more likely to find the answer to true happiness on the beach in Thailand than she is at the electric beach in Tooting, but at least in Thailand there's paddleboard yoga. Can Alice find happiness on her travels? Or is she more likely to lose herself all over again...?

Genres: Fiction, Romance, Chick Lit, Contemporary, Travel, New Adult, Adult

303 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 18, 2019

About the author

Lucy Vine is a writer, editor and the bestselling author of Hot Mess, What Fresh Hell, Are We Nearly There Yet? and Bad Choices. Her books have been translated into sixteen languages around the world, with Hot Mess optioned for a TV series. She has been nominated twice for the Comedy Women In Print Award and hosts the podcast and live event series Hot Mess Clubhouse, celebrating funny women. Her journalism has appeared in international publications, including Grazia, Stylist, heat, Fabulous, New, Now, Marie Claire, Glamour Online, Cosmopolitan, The Daily Telegraph, The Sun, and The Mirror. She lives in Cambridgeshire.

Reviews

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hey, this book is billed as the new Bridget Jones,,this caused me to put it way ahead of many other booksthat have to read and review before this is published in May......I am glad I did....( and yes I think it does deserve the accolade re the new Bridget Jones )
Alice is just 30 and the book starts with her 30th party,and its too funny!, easy to say LOL but I really did, not once, not twice but countless times and this continued throughout the book
After the party Alice decides to travel the world and write a blog,,the book shows these blog entries ( hashtags and all ) and comments ( inc a scream of a moderator’s ) and then the book reverts to what really has ‘gone on’......the difference in the blog posts and reality are hilarious as are the descriptions of what actually is happening
You know those thoughts we have randomly all day, every day but never write them down? Alice does....from sex to clothes to food to people nothing is left untouched and its all very very funny, I think important to say it is genuinely funny not forced funny or false funny just very honest funny 😃😃
Through her journeys Alice encounters various people and also family members and it actually gets very moving when long standing problems and resentment that Alice has been holding onto come to the fore and are dealt with and actually gave a few good lessons on life, again not in a po faced way but a realistic and affirming way
This book is unusual in the way you can read it in one sitting or it can easily be a tube/bus journey read over a few weeks, whatever suits it will fit
I cant remember a book ever making me cry with laughing, this did, please give it a go in May it really is a fabulous read and I hope there are more books to follow
Of course 10/10 5 Stars

[Lisa (Remarkablylisa) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly, it was not funny. I think the only funny scene was the funeral scene but that was it so sophie kinsella lied to me when she blurbed it. I also didn't expect this to be more serious in the later half of the book. It dealt a lot with mummy issues and the big blow up that changed her life for the worse. I hated how the blow up even started/ended so... Lol anyways im still happy i read it and it did make me cry because i cared a lot about our main character and her brother relationship.

[booksofallkinds · Rating 5 out of 5]

*I voluntarily reviewed this book from the Publisher

This book is AMAZING!!!!!! Funny, relatable, and with characters that feel like they could be your best friend, ARE WE NEARLY THERE YET? by Lucy Vine is the smashing summer read that you have all been waiting for.

​Alice turns thirty and her life falls apart. She gets ridiculously drunk at her boring birthday party that her friends have thrown for her and mistakenly texts her boss which means she no longer has a job. She keeps going back to her useless ex, and her best friend in the whole world, Eva, has just announced that she is pregnant so obviously Alice will have to move out of their flat to make room for Eva's brand new world that won't include her anymore. On top of that, her stepdad has taken ill but she doesn't want to deal with that considering she hasn't spoken to him or her mother in years, no matter how hard her brother has tried to get them to reconnect. So, yeah, this birthday isn't exactly starting off well.
But Alice has a plan. She will travel, write one of those blogs that everyone seems crazy for, and find that spiritual enlightenment moment somewhere along the way where she will realise what she wants to do for the rest of her life. First stop is America - let the adventure begin ...

Yes, this book is absolutely hilarious (and I don't say that lightly!) but it is also very real. As Alice travels and meets lots of new people, she is searching for an epiphany moment but it is only when she lets down her guard and faces her problems from her past head on, that she can feel again and move on into her future. There are moments of tenderness and connection, and I really enjoyed getting to know Alice and all of the characters that she comes across along the way. And the laughs are truly one of a kind!!! Alice is a kick-ass woman who doesn't apologise for who she is and when she realises her own self-worth, nothing can stop this strong woman, which is inspiring.

ARE WE NEARLY THERE YET? by Lucy Vine is the kind of story that grabs you by the ... (ahem) throat and makes you pay attention and I loved every single second of this wonderful story. I cannot wait to read more from this super-talented author!

[Kirsty · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wanted to give it a go because the author’s previous book was really funny. Unfortunately the main character was a whiny selfish bitch and I hated her so much I wanted to through the book out of the window.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

ganske ok. litt kjedelig, ikje såå morsom, men lo av og t. fine poeng te tider, men litt "basic".

[Sofie Amalie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Den lå egentligt til en 2-3 stjerner, men de sidste 70 sider var smertefulde at komme igennem. Episodisk fortalt med en meget tynd rød snor af plot, hvor der er prøvet at proppe så meget humor ind på siderne som muligt, så det bare ikke er sjovt mere. Til sidst skulle moralen lige ind, og 4-5 konflikter opstod og blev forløst på et par sider.

[Justkeepreading · Rating 5 out of 5]

Laugh out loud funny, this book had me in stitches with tears rolling down my face. Highly relatable and utterly fabulous I loved it.

[Tripfiction · Rating 5 out of 5]

Novel set in LOS ANGELES and THAILAND



Alice’s thirtieth birthday party is a complete disaster – her friends, now all too mature to indulge in the usual binge session, elect to go for dinner instead, where Alice is confronted with their happy relationships and is forced to reflect on her own miserable love life, consisting mainly of trying to resist sex with her appalling ex. Inevitably, she ends up drunk and crying under the table and finally accidentally sexts her boss, which results in her losing her job. There being nothing left to stay for (Alice’s best friend, Eva, is happily pregnant and will need the room that Alice has been living in) she decides to set off on a round-the-world adventure using some inheritance that she was saving for a house deposit. She is intent on emulating her favourite travel blogger Constance Beaumont and sets up a travel blog on AWOL where she intends to record her progress towards “finding herself” through a month in LA followed by a month in Thailand.

Lucy Vine’s account of the lunacy that is LA is priceless. Little is left unscathed. From the modern dating world to New Age religious cults and mindfulness (Alice decides to go instead for mindlessness, which she manages to great effect at Venice Beach) all are a rich source of comedy. There is a scene where Alice attends an awards ceremony that creates one of the funniest/most excruciating moments in the book – be warned – if reading in public, you’re likely to snort with laughter. When she travels onwards to Thailand, Vine continues to cast her critical eye over Phuket and the drink, drugs and debauchery that Western tourists indulge in, whilst purporting to be in search of inner wisdom and spiritual enlightenment. The account of the Ayahuasca retreat is just a joy and you’re left feeling that it serves us all right if we get ripped off. I loved the characters too – even the crackpots and the potheads and the scammers. Vine has the ability to get us to laugh at their foibles but still see the humanity beneath.

This is a very funny novel, not only because of its shrewd observations of life today but also because of the central character. Believe it or not, but Alice Edwards makes Bridget Jones look cool and sophisticated. It’s very much a novel of and for our times and a lot of the humour stems from the discrepancy between Alice’s on-line character and experiences as contrasted with the reality. It cannot but help to make the reader ponder over our obsession with life lived through social media. One of the most hilarious elements are the trolls that bedevil Alice’s posts and the moderator’s attempts to control them.

Of course, it’s not all laugh-a-minute for Alice is really trying to run away from some truths that she needs to face in terms of her relationships with friends and family and, as time goes on, she gradually realises what she needs to do. Hence a gratifying ending. There’s nothing really to beat a book that makes you laugh out loud but allows you to reflect a bit too.

[Fabulous Book Fiend · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my goodness I could not put this book down, it made me laugh, it made me feel and it quite simply made me keep turning the pages until I had had my fill-I just loved it.

Alice is such a great character because she is so easy to relate to. We have all been there, wondering where our life is going and trying to do something about it when it just isn't going where we want it to. I loved Alice's decision making process and I loved her view of herself. I think a lot of us would struggle with being brave enough to go off and do the travelling that she did and so it was wonderful to live vicariously through here. She also has some amazing one-liners thanks to the awesome writing of Lucy Vine so you've got that to look forward to as well.

There are some fab supporting characters in this book as well, all of whom add to some great comedy setup but also counteract some of Alice's personality traits. We get to meet friends in LA first then Alice's brother and his friend in Thailand and let's not forget bestie Eva back home in London. Then there are the men in Alice's life, another part of what makes her so relatable. She switches between thinking she needs to meet someone completely different and thinking that she's best to stick with the kind of guy she had back home. There are also some AMAZING one-liners when it comes to sex in this book none of which I will spoil for you but you are in for some spitting out the coffee with laughter moments there trust me!

When it comes to things like being sex positive and being body positive Alice is pretty open and honest. She hasn't got it quite right but she knows what it ought to look like and so this is a pretty open and honest book which is strongly feminist and definitely girl power and that's one of the things that really kept me turning the pages. I loved the fact that Alice knows what respect should look like even if she doesn't always look for it for herself, or others. Those around her also help with that and so I loved what this book had to say about the way we view women in society and the way they are often treated without explicitly coming out and saying in.

There are definitely some serious moments in this book and Lucy Vine has achieved the perfect balance of some serious messages within the laugh out loud comedy. I loved this book. I loved the characters and the travel and the fab writing and I highly highly recommend it to you!

[You.look.like.a.book · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 / 6 stjerner

En meget anderledes bog. Den er både hylende morsom og gribende. Den handler om en ung 30 årig kvinde, der rejser ud I verden for at finde ro og en ny start på livet. Jeg grinte højlydt et utal af gange. Forfatteren har virkelig skrevet nogle skønne passager med masser af humor og steder der rammer en lige I hjertet. Jeg kunne godt spejle mig lidt i hovedpersonen. Det er en rigtig god og rørende historie, som man kan lære meget af .

Men jeg synes godt at der kunne være skåret en del fra. Jeg mistede tråden flere gange oh interessen desværre. Der skulle være skåret mere en til kernen, så der ikke var alt for meget udenomssnak. Jeg må indrømme, at jeg var ved at opgive bogen nogle gange. Men jeg er glad for, at jeg læste den færdig , da slutningen helt klart er noget af det bedste ( også begyndelsen er vild god og sååå sjov . )

Men den er forfriskende, hjertevarm og sætter mange tanker i gang, som får en til at reflektere over sit eget liv og De valg man har taget og hvorfor.
Kan man også selv nå at ændre noget ?

Det kunne have været en fantastisk bog. Udførelsen kunne bare godt have været meget bedre.

Modtaget som uopfordret anmeldereksemplar fra Flamingo books.

Jeg er vild med forsiden.
Supergod indlæser på Mofibo.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.75/5 ⭐
Thank you so much to the publishers and Lucy for the early review copy. Absolutely loved this book it was just what I needed in my life. The MC had such a great journey throughout this book mentally emotionally and physically and I laughed so much throughout it was just brilliant and i loved the highs and the lows with Alice and her love life and her brother Mark and her friendship struggles with her best friend Eva and I loved the travel aspect of this book and trying to find yourself but you have to change what's inside first because changing the setting just means the same problems but on a beach! Highly recommend this book.

[Kelly Brocklehurst · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wouldn’t have read Are We Nearly There Yet? if it hadn’t come in a book box I subscribe to. The premise of it sounded promising—a woman turns thirty and decides to spend three months traveling the world to find herself—but this book didn’t work for me.

The first half to two-thirds of it was a miserable read. I couldn’t feel any sympathy or empathy for Alice because she was so annoying and unlikeable. It’s entirely possible that we aren’t supposed to like her, but I can dislike a character and still feel sympathy and empathy toward them. That wasn’t the case with Alice. She was so self-centered and so “poor me” throughout so much of the novel that I found it hard to care about her.

The second half/last third was better. When Alice finally started doing some self-reflection, the tone of the novel changed, and I started to hate her a lot less. The problem with this was that it came so late, the book felt unbalanced. The book started as a completely shallow story and ended with the hint of substance that I wish had been there all along. It was, after all, supposed to be a story of a woman finding herself, and while she came to some good realizations in the end, the first part of her journey didn’t seem to reflect what the book was supposed to be about.

I appreciate what the author was trying to do with Alice and her blog posts, in terms of themes about what we present on social media versus the reality of our lives, but that wasn’t touched on enough, either. The discussion around it happened very quickly near the end of the book, in a brief scene where Alice meets a travel blogger she admires and the blogger tells her that nothing about her blog is real. Alice does reflect on this just enough to change how she blogs, but like a lot of the themes in this book, there was a lack of depth in how these themes were discussed.

By the end of the book, I found that I didn’t actually like any of the characters, nor did I care about them all that much. Most of the characters were just there to teach Alice that she needed to be a better person and treat people better; most of them lacked depth and personality. Hannah especially rubbed me the wrong way, because she was such a stereotype. She was there only to be a token character who is paranoid and doesn’t trust the government. She was supposed to be comic relief, someone for us to laugh at and roll our eyes at, and she was never given a personality beyond that. Hannah wasn’t necessary for the story at all; unlike the other characters, she wasn’t even there to teach Alice to be a better person.

The writing in the book wasn’t that good, either; it felt as immature and young as Alice felt, which could have been intentional, but it didn’t work. I was especially irritated when the author wrote American dialogue as if the American characters were British. For example, in a text to Alice, and American character says, “I’ve been having therapy.” That just isn’t how Americans talk. I don’t know a single person who would say “I’ve been having therapy.” We say, “I’ve been going to therapy.” It’s a minor thing, but it bugged me.

Overall thoughts: Are We Nearly There Yet? had promise. It could have been a good book, but it fell flat instead.

[Hannah Brandt (den.brandte.bogreol) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kan godt se, hvorfor den kan appelere til nogle, men det er også bare næsten 5 timer af mit liv, jeg ikke får tilbage😅

Karaktererne forsøges på den mest tåkrummende måde at fremstilles relaterbare og virkelig sjove, men det er bare alt for forceret for min smag - og så har hovedpersonen lange indre monologer, hvor hun filosoferer over livet og/eller rejser og/eller hvordan vi fremstiller os som mennesker - det var alt for gentagende og alt for “jeg stopper lige bogens pointer direkte ned i halsen på dig for tredje gang, hvis du nu skulle have misset dem”

Men altså, måske elsker jeg den her bog, når jeg er 30 - who knows?

Udelukkende læst på grund af fomo, da mine roomies buddyreader den✌️

[Kaitlin]

DNF at page 21. I can already tell I am going to loathe the main character, not in a good way. Writing is also pretty weak.

[Jamie Klingler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Coming off of three hard core coming of age stories involving abandonment, abuse and religious fanaticism, this was such an enjoyable break. Lucy is brilliant at relatable female angst while making you laugh. Particularly memorable is the yoga class, but I don't want to give any spoilers. Perfect plane or beach read.

[Dragana Ružić · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the book! The beginning was a bit better than the ending but I loved going on this “self aware” journey with Alice because, honestly, I’d be the very same! Searching for answers else where when it was always just up to myself! Great eye opener and funny too.

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny book, took me a while to get in to it but rrally enjoyed in the end

[Dawn lawson · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was not what I expected after reading the reviews. I could predicted what came next before reading the next chapter 😞

[KASC ♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a funny author. Definitely gives 2020 Bridget Jones vibes!! Excited to read more from this author.

[Lotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

Deze begon heel leuk maar verzandde daarna een beetje in eindeloze uitleggerige en nadrukkelijk feministische passages, terwijl dat allemaal prima duidelijk werd in het verhaal zelf.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book a lot. It looks fluffy in the surface but I weirdly connected to so much of it. The only downside is that one pretty big aspect does not get resolved and I was very interested in how that would pan out.

[Steph ✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was immediately intrigued by this book once I’d read the above synopsis.

As an almost 30-year-old, single woman, still unsure of her career path and what she’s doing with her life, I related to this book and Alice so much. As it turned out, Alice was running away from more problems than we’re initially led to believe, but I can completely understand it. When everyone around you is coupling up, having babies and settling down, it can be hard not to retreat to familiar things, even when they’re bad for you.

Are We Nearly There Yet? Is laugh-out loud funny, witty and perfect in every way. Lucy’s writing is amazing, and I’ve already purchased another one of her books – Hot Mess – for me to dive into.

I don’t think I can gush over this book enough. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

I gave Are We Nearly There Yet? 5/5 stars and highly recommend to those who are fans of Lindsey Kelk, Mhairi McFarlane, Veronica Henry and Sarah Morgan

[Kirsty Oughton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Someone please tell me why I haven’t read one of Lucy’s books before!? I am so glad this has now been rectified and I can’t wait to get her other books on my TBR pile.

We meet Alice at her thirtieth birthday party and events that occur at this party make her want to jet off on an adventure to ‘find herself’ therefore she packs her bags and goes to three incredible destinations, much to her best friend Eva’s disappointment as she will miss Alice so much. I was absorbed in this story from the very first page till I closed the book. I absolutely adored Alice, however her sister Hannah is a barrel of laughs (you will see why!) I thought the format of the story was brilliant, we see blog posts from Alice throughout her trip with the very amusing comments attached!

‘Are We Nearly There Yet?’ is a compelling story about realising your self worth and being brave enough to go on a journey of self discovery ❤️. This has to be one of my favourite reads of 2019 so far and I’m gutted it had to end! 😊 I give ‘Are We Nearly There Yet?’ a very befitting 5*/5*!

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm so sad about this book, after reading the synopsis I couldn't wait to read this one as this sounded like my life - temp, lover of travel. I thought this will be great. Well... it wasn't. My biggest issue with it was the discussion about things like reabsorbed poo, fanny fungus / cottage cheese thrush and the term "blood plug" for tampons... I think this was meant to come off as humor but I found it gross. Then we have the fact that the main character is a rediculously selfish idiot who doesn't give a toss about anyone but herself, and then when she finally realises she's been awful and changes she keeps saying how shes a 'better person' which makes her seem totally full of herself. This was my first book by Lucy and unfortunately it has really put me off reading more of her work ☹

[Jo Shaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a hilariously funny tale of Alice, who heads off on a world trip to find herself and #FindTheFun.

There have been comparisons with Bridget Jones, so I was tempted to read it but at the same time dubious that it would not live up to the comparisons, but how wrong I was! Alice really was the modern day Bridget, from her haphazard attitude towards life, to constantly getting things wrong.

The book begins with Alice's 30th birthday, a day where she gets really drunk and accidentally sends a sexually inappropriate text to her boss which causes her to lose her job, add in a newly pregnant and loved up flatmate, and Alice feels that she no longer knows where she fits in. As a result, she decides that she has reached a milestone where she needs to broaden her horizons and find herself. She sets off on her travels and sets up a travel blog to share her experiences.

I honestly cannot think of the last time I laughed out loud when reading a book, but the snappy dialogue and sheer hilarity of Alice's escapades were just so funny it was impossible not to laugh! There was also a more serious side story, which was thought-provoking and poignant, and provided the perfect balance between the humour of the present day events, with the sadness Alice carries from her childhood and early adulthood. The blog posts and comments interspersed within the story added something special to the story. Alice blogs sometimes creatively to make things sound less chaotic than they actually were, and sometimes with such a brutal honesty that I cringed at her openness. The trolls commenting on her posts, together with a funny moderator add a realism and additional level of humour that really add to make this an exceptionally funny book.

I have not read Lucy Vine's previous novels, but I will be checking them out now, because this was fantastic.

I would like to thank Lucy Vine, Orion and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Meagan Houle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was skeptical going in, because "Are We Nearly There Yet?" is not my type of book. While I have a fairly high tolerance for silliness on occasion, books like this tend to strain that tolerance very quickly, and the overabundance of hashtags didn't help. But authors I deeply respect had spoken glowingly of Lucy Vine's other work, so I took the plunge.
There's a lot not to like here. The main character, Alice, is shallow and self-centred in a way that makes you wish her ill. She gets herself into the most ridiculous situations not with self-deprecating charm, the way Bridget Jones might, but through one horrendous decision after another. The show is not all that fun to watch, and it's hard to stomach the callous way Alice treats everyone in her life, especially when she always seems to wriggle her way out of facing any kind of consequences. There are plenty of dull and small-hearted people in real life who never face the damage they’ve done, and never have to clean the messes they leave in their destructive wake. Why would I want to read about such people in my leisure time?
That said, there's a lot to like, too. Alice does experience quite a lot of growth throughout the book, confronting her demons and admitting her many faults. She resolves to be kinder to her friends and more honest with herself, and for the most part she follows through. She even gets to the bottom of why she--and so many other women, self included--is so drawn to romantic partners who mistreat her. To top it off, she meets a popular blogger she has long admired, who turns out to be something less than the perfect, self-actualized guru she pretends to be.
By the end of the story, Alice has blossomed into someone I might actually want to read about, so hopefully a "further adventures" book is on the horizon. In the meantime, I think I’ll find a protagonist who is a touch less infuriating.

[Claire · Rating 2 out of 5]

I get what the author was trying to do with Are We Nearly There Yet. A novel about Alice, a shallow and seemingly self-centred individual who after turning thirty embarks on a three month trip to LA, Thailand and a third destination she’s not quite decided on yet. Part written as blog posts I get what the author was trying to achieve but the overuse of hashtags and a strong dislike for the main character were somewhat off-putting. Having said that it is a quick and easy read that you can zip through in a couple of days. I’m sure people will love this but sadly it wasn’t for me. Thank you to NetGalley, the author and Orion Publishing Group for the chance to review.

[Charanya · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's tough to keep reading books for its humour alone. The emotional gravitas and the reason for why our protagonist was running away to all these places fell fully flat for me. I think that's one of the reasons I rounded down the stars. But that's not to say the book is not entertaining, some of the parts were downright hilarious but something was missing for me in this one
P.S. One Full star is for the AWOL blog write up and the comments on them, I kept moving chapters just to get to them

[Kayla (krakentoagoodbook) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual rating: 2.5 stars

Well, this wasn't as fun of a book as I hoped. I didn't really find anything here to be particularly humorous (certainly not laugh out loud funny). I thought Alice was really rude and selfish, though I do appreciate how she has to confront her own behavior and grow over the book.

[Evangeline · Rating 2 out of 5]

This sounded right up my street - a novel about backpacking and travel blogging - but the protagonist was an insufferably selfish and shallow individual. She does experience some growth throughout the course of the book, but this wasn't enough to save it for me. Disappointing.