If We're Not Married by Thirty by Anna Bell - book review: A true winter-warming romp

Could one of your oldest friends turn out to be the husband you have always dreamed of?
If Were Not Married by Thirty by Anna BellIf Were Not Married by Thirty by Anna Bell
If Were Not Married by Thirty by Anna Bell

Romance, comedy and drama sparkle like a candlelit Christmas tree in this fun, fresh and frothy concoction from a writer who knows how to melt even the coldest of hearts.

Ann Bell, author of rom-coms like The Bucket List to Mend a Broken Heart and It Started With A Tweet, delivers a wonderful, whirlwind love story packed full of the wit, warmth and vitality that have become the hallmarks of her writing.

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Will Lydia ever meet a man who can give her that ’giddy-in-your-belly-butterflies’ feeling?

Even when she was only 21, Lydia was already worrying that marriage was never going to happen for her, and at her sister’s wedding she confided her fears to Danny, the son of her mum’s best friend and her childhood chum.

Smart, fun and sexy, Danny was always her ‘crush’ and he assured her that her fears were unfounded but suggested that if they were both still single at thirty, they should ‘give it a go.’

Nine years later, Lydia has broken up with her long-term boyfriend and is definitely not living her best life in a dead-end job in Portsmouth and surrounded by friends all winning at life when she is still barely taking part.

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So when her mum Linda buys her a plane ticket to stay at Danny’s mum Hazel’s apartment in Barcelona, Lydia jumps at the chance of a free holiday and jets off to sunny Spain. What she didn’t expect was to bump into Danny there… and she certainly never expected that they would soon be sharing a passionate holiday romance.

Danny is still single too and when the relationship starts to feel as if it could be more than just a fling, the nine-year-old pledge might just be on the cards. But no one really follows through on these pacts… or do they?

If We’re Not Married by Thirty sees Bell on her best form, creating a brilliant cast of characters – with top honours going to the irresistibly madcap mums Linda and Hazel – and delivering a playful package of misunderstandings, cringe-making mishaps and gorgeous romance.

This is a story to escape into on cold nights, a true winter-warming romp that will have readers hooked from first page to last.

(Zaffre, paperback, £7.99)