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Have You Got Anything Stronger?: A sharp and furiously funny must-read about family life
'The funniest take on love and marriage I've read in years - possibly ever' - SANTA MONTEFIORE'Social satire at its finest' - CANDACE BUSHNELL'I fell over laughing' CLAUDIA WINKLEMAN___________Have You Got Anything Stronger? is a sharp and furiously funny novel about being married with two children.We follow a year in the life of four best friends as they navigate careers, friendship, love, sex, money, children, and question their harassed realities.Why did they get married? Do they like their children? Does lemon in your vodka and tonic count as one of your five a day? Does life ever, you know, slow down?Between running late, meetings, pick-ups and drop- offs, it's clear the hamster wheel never really stops turning and the question eventually must be asked . . .Is this it?For fans of Why Mummy Drinks, this next-generation Bridget Jones's Diary will resonate with women who, between running late for playdates, meetings and Ocado deliveries, have realised that the hamster wheel never stops turning, and it may be too late to crash out.Reviews for Have You Got Anything Stronger?:'This rollicking, moving comedy of contemporary urban family life is reminiscent of I Don't Know How She Does It. Except that it's bolder, wilder, swearier and even funnier . . . Fabulous' - Daily Mail'Painfully relatable and funny' - Heat'A hilarious new satire' - Hello'A sort of midlife Bridget Jones with less drinking shame' - Sunday Times
313 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 30, 2023
35 people are currently reading
451 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
July 20, 2023
Disappointed with the ending.
March 29, 2023
If you’re looking for a book that absolutely nails the hilarity of growing old then definitely pick this one up. This one covers everything from body hair, sex, double standards, inequality, basically anything you think you would talk about as you age in this modern society is covered with hilarity in this book. Let’s face it, being female in a world made for men is exhausting, but reading our struggles in this book makes it so much more entertaining. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and you’ll run to share this book with your friends and family.
Definitely add this one to the top of your TBRs.
Thank you to Welbeck Publishing for sending me a copy of this one and having me on the blog tour.
Definitely add this one to the top of your TBRs.
Thank you to Welbeck Publishing for sending me a copy of this one and having me on the blog tour.
February 25, 2025
Meh. Not particularly funny. Plot twist/ending felt as though it was thrown in/together purely as a way to finish up without having to resolve anything. Ending felt abrupt.
July 27, 2024
Funny read, but the end was disappointing
March 23, 2023
I liked this book. I enjoyed the characters and they were all different to each other. The friendship in the book is a huge part which I enjoyed reading how they were there for one another and helped each other through good and bad. Although I do wish the main characters husband had a name. I didn’t see why he was named husband instead of a name it was distracting. However I found this funny, cringe yet in a good way! I felt towards the end it rushed past an important part of the storyline and I felt this couldn’t be developed more. I look forward to reading more from Imogen
Thanks goes to net galley and the publishers for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for Imogen for writing it.
Thanks goes to net galley and the publishers for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for Imogen for writing it.
May 8, 2023
Easy read but found it pointless
May 27, 2023
Really funny but the story line wasn’t great!!!
May 14, 2023
This author writes the way I imagine I talk to my friends except she is actually witty and clever.
The story is told from the point of view of the main character. It’s her 46th birthday and she is hungover as fuck, wondering if she’s pregnant or menopausal. She locates a pregnancy test in her version of Michael McIntyre’s man door and after it fails to compute, she has to wonder, “was I/am I the sort of person to use a pregnancy test and pop the lid back on”. The MC whose name I have realised I do not know, (which is either intentional or user error) is married to a man referred to only as husband (touché). I definitely did not learn husband’s name and perhaps this is intentional to generalise the thoughts and feelings of most middle aged men and women as I can name every other character.
She has two children, her daughter Ella who is a teen and her son Sam or Pig who is almost a teen. Both are selfish and hilarious in equal measures. The existence of the children allows us to be introduced to the school run mums in scenes that remind me both of Motherland and the nonsense that schools now insist on such as “joining a portal”.
The MC feels undervalued and quite frankly bored and unsatisfied with the way life has turned out. She manages to keep her sanity by leaning on her three best friends and Mrs Rees for help. Mrs Rees btw is my favourite character in the book. I’d love to see a book with Mrs Rees POV as the MC visits her with all her dilemmas that Mrs Rees simply got on with in her day.
Her best friends cover the basic circumstances and personality we might see in our own friends. It took a bit of time for me to hear each of their differing voices but by the end I saw them each load and clear. The intro to the group sees them meeting for lunch following the MC birthday drinks for which she is nursing a hangover. There is a brilliant reference to “having sex on a Friday” which no one does because they are too tired. I’m glad to see this was clarified somewhere because I am basically the walking dead on a Friday. Also, this is not referenced but Friday is the worst day because the kids don’t have to go to bed and therefore it’s even harder to stay up long enough to have sex. They talk about milking their husband before going in business trips.
She and “husband” are at the stage where free time is the most valuable commodity and whoever is not receiving that commodity resents the other, particularly as the other is ungrateful of the other’s contribution to keeping the household going and has little understanding or care to the feelings of the other. This may sound a bit harsh but I think it is pretty normal. The worker resents the person at home as they miss out on the home and let’s be honest the freedom of being at home while being exhausted and having to prioritise work to keep the family afloat whilst the person at home feels undervalued and constantly on duty to satisfy the family’s needs while their spouse is off gallivanting at work escaping the lack of identity and purpose that they experience.
If you enjoy observational comedy, this one is for you.
The story is told from the point of view of the main character. It’s her 46th birthday and she is hungover as fuck, wondering if she’s pregnant or menopausal. She locates a pregnancy test in her version of Michael McIntyre’s man door and after it fails to compute, she has to wonder, “was I/am I the sort of person to use a pregnancy test and pop the lid back on”. The MC whose name I have realised I do not know, (which is either intentional or user error) is married to a man referred to only as husband (touché). I definitely did not learn husband’s name and perhaps this is intentional to generalise the thoughts and feelings of most middle aged men and women as I can name every other character.
She has two children, her daughter Ella who is a teen and her son Sam or Pig who is almost a teen. Both are selfish and hilarious in equal measures. The existence of the children allows us to be introduced to the school run mums in scenes that remind me both of Motherland and the nonsense that schools now insist on such as “joining a portal”.
The MC feels undervalued and quite frankly bored and unsatisfied with the way life has turned out. She manages to keep her sanity by leaning on her three best friends and Mrs Rees for help. Mrs Rees btw is my favourite character in the book. I’d love to see a book with Mrs Rees POV as the MC visits her with all her dilemmas that Mrs Rees simply got on with in her day.
Her best friends cover the basic circumstances and personality we might see in our own friends. It took a bit of time for me to hear each of their differing voices but by the end I saw them each load and clear. The intro to the group sees them meeting for lunch following the MC birthday drinks for which she is nursing a hangover. There is a brilliant reference to “having sex on a Friday” which no one does because they are too tired. I’m glad to see this was clarified somewhere because I am basically the walking dead on a Friday. Also, this is not referenced but Friday is the worst day because the kids don’t have to go to bed and therefore it’s even harder to stay up long enough to have sex. They talk about milking their husband before going in business trips.
She and “husband” are at the stage where free time is the most valuable commodity and whoever is not receiving that commodity resents the other, particularly as the other is ungrateful of the other’s contribution to keeping the household going and has little understanding or care to the feelings of the other. This may sound a bit harsh but I think it is pretty normal. The worker resents the person at home as they miss out on the home and let’s be honest the freedom of being at home while being exhausted and having to prioritise work to keep the family afloat whilst the person at home feels undervalued and constantly on duty to satisfy the family’s needs while their spouse is off gallivanting at work escaping the lack of identity and purpose that they experience.
If you enjoy observational comedy, this one is for you.
February 7, 2023
Have you ever spent so long waiting for your life to start, only to realise it's been going on under your nose the entire time? And now, when you look around at it, you wonder if this is really it for you? Is this as good as it's gonna get?
For four best friends, these are questions they've been asking themselves a lot lately. So join us as we navigate a year of their complicated, messy lives and try to figure out love, parenthood, relationships, careers and everything else that comes with being an adult. And if they can't figure it out, there's always wine.
"Where did it all go? The youth? the joy? The firm skin? The fresh face? The spring in my step? The mirth in my laugh? The hours in my sleep? Why does everything now seem so flat and difficult? I know we're supposed to be a long time dead, but I had no idea you could feel just that, while still being bloody alive."
Sharp, smart and satirical - this playful exploration into growing up and growing old is full of witty observational humour about the utter absurdity of modern life.
Set in just under a year, we follow the lives of our characters; Sally, whose kids may be actual demons and is starting to think a mild concussion sounds like a spa day. There's Kate who's working her ass off to maintain her perfectly together influencer image and her demanding career. Claire, who is trying to navigate the possibility of starting all over again after a divorce. And of course, our narrator dealing with her unrelenting family and feeling as though she's going invisible. Our wonderful narrator remains nameless and faceless until the very end - allowing us to behold her in all her messy glory and put ourselves right into her shoes. Every single person we meet is somehow both wonderfully real and nightmarishly over-the-top all at once, like caricatures of some of our worst fears but I loved meeting them all.
This is very much less of a set narrative and more of taking a lens to the reality of being a middle-aged woman and the bullshit they're expected to deal with, showing us what life can be like and giving us some good old fashioned catharsis. We move through the months easily, like life passing us by, and much like life things have changed before they've even realised it.
Deeply relatable and dryly funny, this will resonate with anyone who has ever felt like a background character in their own story - someone that life just happens to. We delve into double standards, unpaid mental labour, body hair, menopause, bad sex and good sex - all the things we aren't meant to talk about let alone complain about.
HYGAS guarantees some laughs but a few tears too as we go through this wickedly clever story about the ridiculousness of being a woman in a mans world.
For four best friends, these are questions they've been asking themselves a lot lately. So join us as we navigate a year of their complicated, messy lives and try to figure out love, parenthood, relationships, careers and everything else that comes with being an adult. And if they can't figure it out, there's always wine.
"Where did it all go? The youth? the joy? The firm skin? The fresh face? The spring in my step? The mirth in my laugh? The hours in my sleep? Why does everything now seem so flat and difficult? I know we're supposed to be a long time dead, but I had no idea you could feel just that, while still being bloody alive."
Sharp, smart and satirical - this playful exploration into growing up and growing old is full of witty observational humour about the utter absurdity of modern life.
Set in just under a year, we follow the lives of our characters; Sally, whose kids may be actual demons and is starting to think a mild concussion sounds like a spa day. There's Kate who's working her ass off to maintain her perfectly together influencer image and her demanding career. Claire, who is trying to navigate the possibility of starting all over again after a divorce. And of course, our narrator dealing with her unrelenting family and feeling as though she's going invisible. Our wonderful narrator remains nameless and faceless until the very end - allowing us to behold her in all her messy glory and put ourselves right into her shoes. Every single person we meet is somehow both wonderfully real and nightmarishly over-the-top all at once, like caricatures of some of our worst fears but I loved meeting them all.
This is very much less of a set narrative and more of taking a lens to the reality of being a middle-aged woman and the bullshit they're expected to deal with, showing us what life can be like and giving us some good old fashioned catharsis. We move through the months easily, like life passing us by, and much like life things have changed before they've even realised it.
Deeply relatable and dryly funny, this will resonate with anyone who has ever felt like a background character in their own story - someone that life just happens to. We delve into double standards, unpaid mental labour, body hair, menopause, bad sex and good sex - all the things we aren't meant to talk about let alone complain about.
HYGAS guarantees some laughs but a few tears too as we go through this wickedly clever story about the ridiculousness of being a woman in a mans world.
May 25, 2023
Have You Got Anything Stronger? follows a year in the life of four best friends as they navigate careers, friendship, love, sex, money and children.
In just under a year we follow the plight of four best friends; Sally who's pretty sure her 3 kids are spawns of the devil and thinks a concussion is equivalent to a spa break, Kate who's single and working hard at her career and keeping her image, Claire who's getting a divorce and dealing with the prospect of starting all over again, and our wonderful narrator who's questioning her life choices.
This is a satirical, funny, and witty outlook of growing up and growing old.
Our narrator stays nameless until roughly half way through (husband however never graduates to a name). We meet our lovely narrator on the morning of her 46th birthday where she's feeling invisible and unheard by her family and starts to wonder about she got to this point in her life where her kids hate her and husband seems to love his ipad more than her.
Each person we meet feels real and are people we all know and meet throughout our lives; over-the-top yummy mummies at the school gates, mental friends who love wine and chocolate just as much as you, and family who you don't want to deal with.
I thoroughly enjoyed this. It's funny and lighthearted and is real to life, nothing is romanticised - a true to life read of growing older.
Thank you to Netgalley and Welbeck publishing for an advanced copy. I highly recommend if you fancy a bit of a laugh.
In just under a year we follow the plight of four best friends; Sally who's pretty sure her 3 kids are spawns of the devil and thinks a concussion is equivalent to a spa break, Kate who's single and working hard at her career and keeping her image, Claire who's getting a divorce and dealing with the prospect of starting all over again, and our wonderful narrator who's questioning her life choices.
This is a satirical, funny, and witty outlook of growing up and growing old.
Our narrator stays nameless until roughly half way through (husband however never graduates to a name). We meet our lovely narrator on the morning of her 46th birthday where she's feeling invisible and unheard by her family and starts to wonder about she got to this point in her life where her kids hate her and husband seems to love his ipad more than her.
Each person we meet feels real and are people we all know and meet throughout our lives; over-the-top yummy mummies at the school gates, mental friends who love wine and chocolate just as much as you, and family who you don't want to deal with.
I thoroughly enjoyed this. It's funny and lighthearted and is real to life, nothing is romanticised - a true to life read of growing older.
Thank you to Netgalley and Welbeck publishing for an advanced copy. I highly recommend if you fancy a bit of a laugh.
May 3, 2023
I chose this for some light relief after a few serious books. It's very funny and reminded me of my Sophie Kinsella habit a few years ago.
The humour is quite sharp and biting, and very up-to-date. I'd reached 81% and I was wondering if there was a plot. But by the end of the book, we find that the four friends had all undergone some sort of major change in their lives, mostly for the better. I was slightly disappointed for the main protagonist because it seemed to be perfectly OK for her husband to go through a major upset on his own without talking to his wife.
Some of the characters were a bit cliched (Madison, Erica, most of the husbands).
The heroine was well drawn: largely ignored by her husband, scorned by her children, feeling inferior to her sister.
There was one passage that many midlife women will relate to: "Have I just been sleepwalking my entire life? Do I live in a dull twilight of my own making? Have I not really thought about anything? Did I just blithely do things and not think about the consequences? Am I just passive and inert? Am I destined to go through life like an odourless gas, leaving no trace at all? My insignificance is total."
The humour is quite sharp and biting, and very up-to-date. I'd reached 81% and I was wondering if there was a plot. But by the end of the book, we find that the four friends had all undergone some sort of major change in their lives, mostly for the better. I was slightly disappointed for the main protagonist because it seemed to be perfectly OK for her husband to go through a major upset on his own without talking to his wife.
Some of the characters were a bit cliched (Madison, Erica, most of the husbands).
The heroine was well drawn: largely ignored by her husband, scorned by her children, feeling inferior to her sister.
There was one passage that many midlife women will relate to: "Have I just been sleepwalking my entire life? Do I live in a dull twilight of my own making? Have I not really thought about anything? Did I just blithely do things and not think about the consequences? Am I just passive and inert? Am I destined to go through life like an odourless gas, leaving no trace at all? My insignificance is total."
August 14, 2024
different but Brilliant
This was chosen at a book club and not something I would normally pick up.
Similar style to Bridget jones but very different at the same time.
The narrator is married to husband (referred to as such all through) and has two children. Her life she considers is mundane compared to her best friends’ lives.
We are invited into her thoughts about various relationships and it is very well written with truly laugh out loud moments.
At times it’s thought provoking and you as a reader might ask yourself the same questions she does. What would you do?
Kept me page turning in the way a personal diary would. Will she, won’t she?
Loved all the characters except perhaps The Husband but who knows he might be having a mid life crisis too?
This was chosen at a book club and not something I would normally pick up.
Similar style to Bridget jones but very different at the same time.
The narrator is married to husband (referred to as such all through) and has two children. Her life she considers is mundane compared to her best friends’ lives.
We are invited into her thoughts about various relationships and it is very well written with truly laugh out loud moments.
At times it’s thought provoking and you as a reader might ask yourself the same questions she does. What would you do?
Kept me page turning in the way a personal diary would. Will she, won’t she?
Loved all the characters except perhaps The Husband but who knows he might be having a mid life crisis too?
January 6, 2025
This whole book was like a comfort blanket for the soul. Highly relatable to anyone in a long term marriage or partnership and especially if you have children. Every single sentence has humour and sarcasm woven into it and it made me chuckle out loud a lot of times.
I read another review that compared this book to the series motherland and they couldn’t have been more correct. If you watch and like that series you will definitely like this book.
You have the vaping moody teenager, her computer obsessed son, her husband who doesn’t appear to care about her anymore and the annoying mothers at the school. Honestly hilarious. Would definitely recommend.
Don’t read if you don’t like swearing or vulgarity! It’s brilliant
I read another review that compared this book to the series motherland and they couldn’t have been more correct. If you watch and like that series you will definitely like this book.
You have the vaping moody teenager, her computer obsessed son, her husband who doesn’t appear to care about her anymore and the annoying mothers at the school. Honestly hilarious. Would definitely recommend.
Don’t read if you don’t like swearing or vulgarity! It’s brilliant
March 17, 2023
Have you got Anything Stronger by Imogen Edwards-Jones is a story of modern everyday life for a group of forty something women wondering how they’ve ended up in their mundane lives. Troubled marriages, affairs, divorce and the disapproval of the yummy mummies at the school gates are par for the course here with the odd mid life crises thrown in for good measure. This all comes to a head when a serious accident takes place bringing everything to a head and making everyone concerned take stock of their lives. Is where they’ve ended up so bad after all? This book is a lighthearted and fun take on the ups and downs of adulting and was, to me reminiscent of the tv series Cold Feet.
Thanks to Netgalley for this advanced reader copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Thanks to Netgalley for this advanced reader copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
April 4, 2023
I devoured this book over 24 hours, it was such light reading, incredibly funny and one of those books that I think is relatable for many people.
When I had to put the book down, I couldn’t wait to pick it back up and just be in a world of lots of laughs! The book was packed with just entertainment and humour throughout while also including some serious moments.
Great and likeable characters which is a big win for me! The ending was unexpected but worked well.
If you fancy a real escapist read that just cheers you up then this is the book for you!
When I had to put the book down, I couldn’t wait to pick it back up and just be in a world of lots of laughs! The book was packed with just entertainment and humour throughout while also including some serious moments.
Great and likeable characters which is a big win for me! The ending was unexpected but worked well.
If you fancy a real escapist read that just cheers you up then this is the book for you!
August 3, 2024
This was a fun book to read and I enjoyed it - just wasn’t a fan of the ending. Felt like a cop out and no one seemed to really grow or learn anything, they were all just distracted by the Big Thing that happened and it didn’t feel like there was any self reflection, or consequences. Also was this woman ever going to deal with her alcoholism orrrr
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December 7, 2023Sorry, I hated it. Nothing worse than people droning on about how awful their life is but showing no sign of doing anything about it. AND, she sees her friends life destroyed by casual infidelity, and then does exactly the same. Dear God what tripe.
May 4, 2025
It is an incredibly funny book and is not one to read on a train. But just when you think it's just an amusing helping of fluff, it surprises with a sucker punch out of nowhere, which brings you to your knees. This is one of the best books I have ever read.
February 27, 2023
Funny read!
This is a funny and relatable book it made me laugh out loud at times. This is the first book I’ve read from this author but I’ll be looking up some more!
This is a funny and relatable book it made me laugh out loud at times. This is the first book I’ve read from this author but I’ll be looking up some more!
May 3, 2023
Easy reading. Fun, quirky and a few laugh out loud moments.
January 19, 2024
I liked it. Wasn’t anything amazing.just a nice funny read .
March 9, 2024
Quirky and fun, this is a relatable read for every woman over the age of 40. I loved the characters and so many things were familiar. Definitely recommending to all of my friends!
March 18, 2024
A funny book that occasionaly made me laugh out loud. These days anything that does that has to be good. However many of the characters i found annoying. But an enjoyable read nevertheless.
March 27, 2024
Hilarious!😂
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April 27, 2024Weak plot.
Plot is thin & too trivial even for a supposedly humorous book. OK if the target audience has a mental age of 12.
Plot is thin & too trivial even for a supposedly humorous book. OK if the target audience has a mental age of 12.
May 20, 2024
Very fun book about a snapshot of life ! Would recommend !
September 13, 2024
This had me laughing out loud and I couldn’t put it down. I love a book that tackles real life sometimes serious issues and throws some humour in there
September 18, 2024
Good holiday read. Made me laugh out loud at times.
October 22, 2024
more books that have me trying not to spit out my coffee please x
February 28, 2025
Midnight Oil - Only the Strong (Live)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews