Blog tour: Thirty by Christina Bradley

Publisher: Headline
Published: 22nd August 2019

Synopsis:
Bella Edwards is a hot mess.

Days away from turning thirty, single, struggling to reconcile where she is with where she imagined she'd be by this point in her life, Bella has come to believe her entire future happiness is based on meeting 'The One'.

After an unfortunate encounter with a fortune teller, where it seems Bella's single fate is sealed, she hops on a plane from London to New York to seek the wisdom of her best friend who, in turn, presents Bella with a challenge: thirty dates in thirty days before Bella turns thirty.

Challenge accepted, Bella embarks on a crazy road trip across America to San Francisco, with one clear objective: to find 'The One' and prove the fortune teller wrong. What ensues is a raucous adventure of dating, love, and - most importantly - self-discovery.

Review:
'Thirty' by Christine Bradley is a fun, contemporary romance with moments of comedy that often had me giggling out loud. A thoroughly enjoyable read, this is the perfect book to put a smile on your face.

The story follows nearly-thirty singleton Bella who one day realises that she is isn't living the life she always dreamt of. She hasn't found 'The One', all her friends are getting married and settling down and she feels left behind. After an encounter with a fortune-teller, Bella decides that she is going to fly to New York to see her best friend and that is when the fun really begins. She has a new mission: thirty days in thirty days before she hits 30.

Bella is such a funny, crazy heroine and she carried the story brilliantly. I really warmed to her as I got further into the story and I couldn't believe some of the things that happened to her. Each one of her dates is recounted in a letter to her friend Esther which means she is extremely honest about her experiences (some good and some truly awful). But I loved the way she began to throw herself into the challenge. I really did laugh out loud (and cringe) at some of the dates she ends up going on and they were great fun to read about.

Bella meets all sorts of men on her journey, exploring romance in many different forms but more importantly she learns about herself and what she truly wants. She finally embraces the single life and has time to explore her own passions and the things that make her happy. She is such a wonderfully well written character that you can't help but cheer for her as she gets herself into some hilarious situations.  

I absolutely adored the fact that the story was set in America and that Bella gets to visit my favourite city, New York. She also goes on an epic US road trip, travelling to many of the states that are on my travel bucket list. This was the perfect setting for the story and meant that I enjoyed reading it even more than I was expecting to.

If you love rom-coms then this is definitely the book for you. Funny, witty and warm-hearted, I can promise that 'Thirty' will not disappoint.