14.2.11

Book Review: Mum on the Run by Fiona Gibson

The dreaded Mums' race at school sports day- every mother's worst nightmare. Laura Swan hopes to wriggle out of it- but her daughter's not taking 'no' for an answer. Racing against the super-fit mums is bad enough. What Laura hadn't bargained for was spotting her husband Jed, smirking in the sidelines with his delectable colleague Celeste...
Laura decides it's time for drastic action. She steals her son's trainers, drags herself around the local park- and gets a lot more than she bargained for when she finds herself a new running buddy in Danny...
Is Laura falling hopelessly in love? And is it normal for a mother of three to buy saucy lingerie in the supermarket. Mum on the Run will have you cheering Laura on as she desperately tries to rediscover her true self- and her pre-motherhood, wobble-free tum.

Mum on the Run is the first book by Fiona Gibson that I've read and I thought it was great. I loved the relaxed style of writing, it only took me about 4-5 hours to devour the whole book.
Laura Swan has a pretty hectic lifestyle, mum to three young children, with a home and a husband to look after plusher job as a hairdresser to keep on top of. Things come to a head when she is forced into running the mums' race at sport's day, things do not go well and Laura is left red-faced, especially as her husband Jed and his beautiful colleague Celeste made a surprise appearance just as she was reaching the finishing line.
Determined to get fit, Laura joins a slimming club and decides to go running. She meets Danny who is also trying to shift a few pounds; they decide to become running buddies and are soon meeting up two or three times a week. Laura doesn't tell Jed about her new friend though, she's not too sure why as she doesn't feel as though she is doing anything wrong.
Laura's suspicions of Jed and Celeste's relationship grows, she loves her husband but she just has an awful feeling that something isn't quite right. The tension between her and Jed only causes her to spend more time with Danny. Danny who makes her feel so comfortable and interesting. However, Laura cannot ignore the cracks in her marriage forever, but is it too late? Have her and Jed been keeping too many secrets from each other?
I loved Laura's character, to be honest I don't know how you couldn't like her. I don't have any children yet so I couldn't really identify with that aspect of Laura's character but it didn't mean that I found the book any less enjoyable. I think that Fiona Gibson has identified how we often find ourselves stuck in a rut and that we have to have a lot of willpower and determination to get ourselves out of it. As someone who took up running late last year, I really enjoyed this part of the story and was soon laughing out loud as I remembered my first jog around the park.
I highly recommend Mum on the Run as one of those books that is extremely entertaining whilst also lifting your spirits.
Many thanks to the always lovely and generous Charlotte from Harper Collins for sending me a copy to review, Mum on the Run is out now!

5 comments:

verity said...

I love Fiona Gibson - think she wrote - Mummy said the F word which was great fun. This must be a new one?

Chloe - chicklitreviews.com said...

I really loved this one - as a mum I can really sympathise with poor Laura, and I just thought the whole story was lovely!

Dot said...

Verity- She did write that one, going to try and get a copy! This is the new one, only came out this month, really good read.

Chloe- It was good wasn't it!

Nadia said...

This book sounds like such a fun read. I don't have kids either, so from the title alone I don't think I would have picked it up, but after reading your review, its definitely a book that sounds like my cup of tea. Cheers!

Dot said...

Nadia- I probably wouldn't have picked it up in a shop which is a shame as I really enjoyed it!

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