Anything Could Happen: A gloriously romantic novel full of hope and kindness

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Lara slowly reveals the secret of Eliza's conception - a night of passion with a man In New York. A chance meeting. Opportunities missed. So Eliza initially sets out to find the mystery man (Ben) on her own without success and Lara begrudgingly tags along - and where do you think they find him - Facebook of course. The characters are easy to like especially the daughter Eliza because in my opinion she made the story funnier with her ideas and thoughts. Favourite things: beaches, holidays, chocolate, wine, reading, Green Wing, bubble baths, sunshine, hearing my children laugh, babysitters

For Lara and her daughter Eliza, it has always been just the two of them. But when Eliza turns eighteen and wants to connect with her father, Lara is forced to admit a secret that she has been keeping from her daughter her whole life. The book we all need – full of escapism and beautiful places, fabulous characters, romance, hope and kindness. I adored it – MILLY JOHNSON I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Customer reviews

So this story contains two big secrets hidden by Lara, one of the main characters, surprise you have a daughter, surprise your dad isn't your dad, a possible car theft, possible second chances, humor and sometimes you get 4 pov which really isn't hard to follow. In haar kenmerkende vlotte en warme schrijfstijl neemt Lucy Diamond je vanaf de eerste pagina mee in de roerige levens van deze personages. Het verhaal heeft een rustig tempo en ze neemt de tijd voor uitgebreide karakterschetsen, afgewisseld met inkijkjes in de gedachten van deze mensen, waardoor je iedereen goed leert kennen. Het zijn realistische, levensecht neergezette karakters die allemaal hun eigenaardigheden hebben en nu de confrontatie met zichzelf aan moeten gaan, om moeten gaan met de gevolgen die belangrijke onthullingen teweegbrengen in hun levens en de consequenties van eerder genomen beslissingen, achtergehouden informatie, misverstanden en gebrek aan communicatie moeten aanvaarden. We also meet Lara her mum, these two have a very close relationship and adore one another. Lara is a strong lady who has been through some hard times in her life but spent the last 20 years being the best mum that she could be.

Anything Can Happen is a story about embracing life, whatever it throws at you and that it’s never too late to try again and find what makes you happy.

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I really did love this book. It’s a perfect escape, even if that is only this book, a comfy chair, and a favourite drink. I love Lucy Diamond novels, never twee, always about people's feelings, about messy families who drive you up the wall but you still love them, and this is no exception. Anything Could Happen is a warm, wise, funny and uplifting novel about love, second chances and the unexpected and extraordinary paths life can take us down. The story had a great flow during the reading and it wasn't too obvious what would happen at some points.

I did also really like Ben. He is a well-rounded male character. He is handsome but, like Lara, has his flaws and does his best to embrace them. He also steps up when it comes to Eliza. Can Ben and Lara uncover what actually happened in New York, can Eliza forgive Lara, can Ben and Eliza develop a relationship and make up for lost time? I loved the title and the premise for this novel so I was excited when I got invited onto the blog tour for Anything Could Happen.

De afwisselende perspectieven, mooie karaktergroei, sterk neergezette dynamiek en krachtige dialogen houden het geheel levendig en terwijl alle levens op hun kop worden gezet, kiest de auteur zeker niet overal voor de meest voor de hand liggende uitkomsten, waardoor verschillende wendingen je zullen verrassen. Het leven loopt vrijwel nooit zoals je had verwacht en soms is het goed om je levenspad te heroverwegen, je relaties onder de loep te nemen, die ‘wat als’-vragen te beantwoorden en in het diepe te springen om je verwaarloosde dromen toch achterna te gaan. Eliza needs answers - and so does Lara. Their journey to the truth will take them on a road trip across England and eventually to New York, where it all began. Dreams might have been broken and opportunities missed, but there are still surprises in store...

I really enjoyed the storyline to this book, for the first couple of chapters I really though Eliza was a bit of a brat, it really was just her circumstances though and I loved seeing her grow as a person and mature into a lovely strong independent young woman. From New York City to North Yorkshire to Cambridge this is a novel of missed opportunities when something potentially wonderful is lost for various reasons. Nineteen years ago Lara meets fellow Brit Ben by chance in New York, there is a genuine spark and he seems to be the man of her dreams. They are on the cusp of something wonderful but fate intervenes. Eliza is turning 18 and wants to reconnect with her father which takes Lara and Eliza on a surprising journey of self discovery. Lucy Diamond grew up in Nottingham and went to university in Leeds where she studied English Literature. After graduating, she lived in Oxford, London and Brighton, working in publishing and at the BBC. She now lives in beautiful Bath where she writes full-time. Eliza is 18 years old and has had a pretty shitty day. She's confronted her father for having left her and her mother Lara, only to find out he's not her father, and his finding out was his reason for leaving. So Eliza's understandably P#@@%d at Lara for not telling her the truth for the past 18 years. Understandable...The characters were lovely described but nothing made them unforgettable to be honest. They were your average, likeable characters - except for Kirsten which I immediately disliked and my feelings towards her didn't change. She was always unhappy, always blamed other people and she herself was not the most loyal, adorable woman she thought she is. They were realistic and relatable. The plot was super easy to follow with some twists and turns on the way but also the feeling of predictability and the happy end was only a question of time - however, this time, it didn't bother me, I read Lucy Diamond's books because I want this happy end! Eliza has just turned 18 and although she hasn't seen her father Steve in years, she now wants to reconnect with him. However, when they eventually meet, Steve drops a bombshell. Her real father is a man called Ben who her mother Lara spent a night with in New York, but never saw again. Fast forward nineteen years and Eliza is an angry young woman confronting her father about why he left her and her mother when she was only small. Her father drops a huge bombshell that shakes Eliza to the core - he is not her father. Lara has been lying to her for her entire life. When Eliza does eventually connect with her real father, Ben, it also causes repercussions in his marriage. Eliza needs answers – and so does Lara. Their journey to the truth will take them on a road trip across England, and eventually to New York, where it all began. Dreams might have been broken and opportunities missed, but there are still surprises in store… Thank you so much to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for the advance copy of this book, all thoughts are my own.