Family, fashion, fiascos—this is how to be fabulous. 💃🏼
Busy mum. Fashion guru. Domestic disaster waiting to happen?
When Annie Valentine agrees to help her best friend Svetlana pull off a charity fashion show, she thinks it’ll be a breeze. After all, no one knows couture quite like Annie, so how hard can it be?
Answer: very. With no venue, no clothes, and definitely no showstopper, Annie’s in danger of her first ever fashion fail.
And just when the wardrobe rails are about to collapse, her family life does too. Daughter Lauren is home from New York with a broken heart, son Owen is off to university with an empty wallet, and Annie is hanging on by a thread.
But when a mystery donation arrives in to save the day—and Annie—it feels like she might just pull it all together. That is, until Owen goes AWOL and everything unravels.
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My Review
This is a warm, witty blend of fashion, family chaos, and heartfelt humor that pleasantly surprised me. What begins as a seemingly breezy fashion comedy quickly reveals more emotional depth, with Annie Valentine juggling a charity fashion show, family upheaval, and her own fraying nerves.
Annie is wonderfully drawn—capable and caring, yet perpetually overwhelmed. She can transform anyone with the right outfit, but her personal life is held together with loose threads. Reid excels at showing the messiness of midlife, balancing real emotional stakes with perfectly timed humor. Annie’s children bring their own challenges, adding tenderness and relatability without tipping the story into heaviness.
The fashion show plot is gloriously chaotic, spiraling into disaster in the most entertaining way, while small twists—like a mystery donation—offer moments of hope. Reid’s writing is confident and lived-in, with sharp but kind humor and a brisk, engaging pace.
Ultimately, this is a joyful, comforting read that celebrates resilience over perfection. Fabulous, it turns out, is simply getting through the day with grace—and maybe good lipstick.
My Rating
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