Blurb.
Twenty-one and insecure, Vicky Hope comes up with a plan on the eve of travelling the world with her high flying friend, Kat Lloyd: if she isn’t married by the time she’s thirty, she’ll marry her geeky best mate Mikey Murphy.
Fast-forward eight-and-a-bit years, Vicky, now Vee wakes up on her thirtieth birthday in Brighton, expecting a proposal of marriage from her arty boyfriend Jez. Instead he tells her their relationship is over and she has no choice but to return to her parents’ home.
Devastated and alone in her childhood bedroom, she decides she has nothing to lose and tracks down her two old mates. With shock, she discovers Mikey, now Murphy, is a successful app designer driven by his tragic upbringing. Kat, or Kate, never made it – but she hides a devastating secret, which threatens the happiness of all three.
What does TWG think?
I would hang my head in shame seeing as I managed to worm my way onto this particular blog tour, but I’m not going to. Instead, I am going to get my pom poms out, sprinkle a bit of glitter and be honoured that I am able to help champion Laura Kemp’s latest novel. Be prepared though; this book takes you on a walk down memory lane and BOY does it feel good. It’s even better than a Tamagotchi (and that’s saying something).
Cover + title = one rather curious reader. How could anyone NOT be intrigued about a back up man? Ahhhhhh, oh to be 21 again! I say that like I’m in considerably older (I’m not, i’m nearly 27), but memories of our youth can always stir up a teensy bit of nostalgia. Well, unless you’re Vicky of course! A teensy bit is quite an understatement. You see, Vicky made a plan; a plan to have a back up man if she wasn’t married by the time she turned 30. No pressure, right? What Vicky didn’t really account for was life, and how fast that bad boy moved. She decided to see the world, be free, live a little, find her inner peace….and end up on her own. It is safe to say that Vicky’s fool-proof idea didn’t exactly go to plan.
Fast forward nine years where Vicky finds herself at a crossroad; make…or break?
Delving into Vicky’s youth had me in absolute hysterics! The reminiscing of childhood favourite items and go to things, made me put my head in my hands and forget how to breathe due to my oh so sexy, full-blown belly laughing. Laura managed to keep those all time favourite memories in their own little bubble, without tainting them in today’s world. In my eyes, Laura had reached legen-DARY status with that alone. Genius.
As I sunk my teeth into more of the storyline, it soon became clear that the novel had more to it than just laughter. The characters had depth, quirky personalities and most importantly, relatable emotion. I didn’t dislike any of them either, I just understood some of the characters more than others.
I’ll cut to the chase; I absolutely LOVED this book. There was just something rather special about the entire storyline and I cannot put my finger on exactly what that is, even after having weeks of letting it settle in my mind. It was just…unique. Fragile perhaps. Maybe even soulful. No, definitely soulful. Yes, the humour was off the chart; but so was the emotion, lifestyle turbulence of the characters and the ‘I cannot stop reading this book’ factor.
Laura Kemp has written such a down to earth, relatable and highly amusing read which takes hold of your soul, emotion and all of the cringey memories from your youth that you wanted to hide (but secretly think about). Absolutely brilliant read, I cannot recommend this book enough.
Thank you Aria & Netgalley.
Whatever Happen to Vicky Hope’s Back Up Man is available to buy now from the following:
The Writing Garnet 
“even better than a Tamagotchi” That talks to me! I miss those little things! Haha, nearly 27 too and feeling so much nostalgia for my teenage years and early 20s. I thought it was reserved to real grownups, like past 40! 😂 Fantastic review, it makes me want to leave all my plans to devour this light and magical story!
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Hahah thanks lovely!!!! I’m 27 this Friday! Remember groovy chick bedding? And the aliens that came in egg things and everyone thought they bred? 😂😂. Ah you really need to, feed the nostalgia!! Xxx
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I won’t say it before Friday because it’s bad luck but I’ll remember to wish you a happy one at the end of the week 😀 So many memories, haha! It’s a perfect book to laugh and fight the cold! xx
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Aw thank you!! Oh most definitely!! Xxx
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