It's My Birthday
by Hannah Pearl
It's My Birthday
... I'll cry if I want to.
Oh boy, another birthday …
Karen could be excused for crying on her birthday, especially as it’s the first one since her husband got on a plane to the States and never came back. Then there’s the fact that her workmates were practically bribed to attend her birthday meal. But when a restaurant double booking leads to her sharing a table with single dad Elliot and his daughter, things start looking up.
As Karen gets to know Elliot she experiences feelings she thought she’d never have again. But is it enough? Or will the thing that destroyed Karen’s previous relationship also ruin things with Elliot?
My Rating:
Squeezing in to a gap at the bar, I dug a ten-pound note out of my
handbag and waited until I finally caught the attention of the young man behind
the bar. Again, in days gone by I might have been tempted to pop a button on my
blouse and lean forward to see if I could get served more quickly, but these
days my bras were less a feat of construction, pushing my wares up and out with
their scaffolding, and instead were more comfortable and practical. I tried to
pretend that buying them in black was enough to keep them from being boring but
it probably wasn’t true.
I’m a child psychologist. And no, that doesn’t mean that I have
all of the answers when it comes to bringing up my own child. It just means I
have more insight into where I’ve gone wrong.
I greatly enjoy stumbling
upon books featuring mature professional or established women facing
significant life transitions or epiphanies, and such was the case for Karen -
teacher, recently betrayed and abandoned wife, and somewhat of an unsociable
loner – being dragged out by her only friend on her fortieth birthday. Her party attendees were limited to a few of
her vaguely familiar fellow teachers who had required the incentive of a free
meal and drinks to attend a celebration in her honor, ouch. Ms. Pearl’s amusing writing style was
observantly insightful and often ironically humorous and fairly balanced in
emotional tone with entertaining storylines which were easy to follow and
relevant to many. Her characters were
an interesting, authentic, and quirky mix of realistically flawed personalities
with relatable traits and issues. And
score, I noticed a new phrase for my Brit word list with “gee myself up,” which
Mr. Google implied is to encourage and lift someone's spirits.
Empress DJ
About The Author
Hannah Pearl was born in East London. She is married with two children and now lives in Cambridge.
She has previously worked as a Criminology researcher, as a Development Worker with various charities and even pulled a few pints in her time.
In 2015 she was struck down by Labrynthitis, which left her feeling dizzy and virtually housebound. She has since been diagnosed with ME. Reading has allowed Hannah to escape from the reality of feeling ill. She read upwards of three hundred books during the first year of her illness. When her burgeoning eReader addiction grew to be too expensive, she decided to have a go at writing. In 2017 she won Simon and Schuster's Books and the City #heatseeker short story competition, in partnership with Heat magazine, for her short story The Last Good Day.
Hannah is a member of the Romantic Novelists Association.
Blog - dizzygirlwrites.wordpress.com
Twitter - https://twitter.com/HannahPearl_1
She has previously worked as a Criminology researcher, as a Development Worker with various charities and even pulled a few pints in her time.
In 2015 she was struck down by Labrynthitis, which left her feeling dizzy and virtually housebound. She has since been diagnosed with ME. Reading has allowed Hannah to escape from the reality of feeling ill. She read upwards of three hundred books during the first year of her illness. When her burgeoning eReader addiction grew to be too expensive, she decided to have a go at writing. In 2017 she won Simon and Schuster's Books and the City #heatseeker short story competition, in partnership with Heat magazine, for her short story The Last Good Day.
Hannah is a member of the Romantic Novelists Association.
Blog - dizzygirlwrites.wordpress.com
Twitter - https://twitter.com/HannahPearl_1
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