Lucy is fifty, frazzled and fed up. After spending half her life working, she’s tired, and her idea of inner peace involves a sofa, wine and a takeaway.
But when her boss announces his retirement, Lucy gears up for a well-earned promotion – that is until Tara, her annoyingly perfect colleague, swoops in, dazzling the CEO with her #BossBabe energy and commitment to a wellness bootcamp so hardcore it sounds like a cult.
Desperate to compete, Lucy lies about joining the same program ― even though her body feels more landfill than temple. Now she’s trapped in four weeks of ice baths, crystals and green juices… not to mention jade eggs in unspeakable places.
As the wellness madness escalates and rivalries flare, Lu starts to wonder if she actually might be growing as a person – or if that’s just the kombucha talking? And why can’t she shake the feeling that maybe Tara isn’t as perfect as she seems?
LIVE, LAUGH, LEAVE ME ALONE is a hilarious and relatable exploration of what it really means to 'live your best life', perfect for fans of Marian Keyes, Alexandra Potter and Fiona Gibson.
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Live, Laugh, Leave Me Alone by Harper Ford was published on 25 September 2025 by Avon Books. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review.
I read this one whilst on holiday in Corfu last month. More than once, I snorted out loud with absolute glee at the story, this earned me more than one side-eye from other people around the pool. However, like our heroine Lu, I am in my fifties (nearer to sixty if I'm truthful), and I just don't give a damn. I'll snort if I want to!
Not only is this novel incredibly funny, it is also extremely relatable if you are a woman of a certain age. It is one of the best examinations of middle age for women that I've come across for a very long time.
Lu is knackered. She's worked her way up in the same firm for many years and is now in charge of HR. She hates having to deal with people, she knows that the staff don't see her as a friend, she's just the person who enforces rules that make life harder for them ... in their eyes anyway. However, when her boss announces his retirement Lu is determined that she will be promoted. Enter Tara - the woman who appears to be perfect in every way, a hard person to like, let alone to even consider having to work for. When Tara talks about a wellness programme, Lu knows that she has to compete and she joins up too.
This is where the novel gets even more hilarious. We've all seen the wellness gurus on line, those people who can promise everything, as long as you hand over the dosh. Lu experiences so many ridiculous sounding treatments that my snorting laughter went overboard!
The novel does take a serious turn though and although it is still funny, the author deals with wellness fakery excellently. She looks at the development of friendship in middle age along with rage, flushes and how bloody annoying people are!
Wonderfully written with characters to shout for and a plot that is utterly entertaining. Highly recommended.
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As Mascull, she is a historical novelist, who also writes saga fiction as Mollie Walton and historical fiction as Ava Miller.
Rebecca has been listed in a variety of awards, such as nominated for the Edinburgh International Book Festival First Book Award, to twice being a finalist in the Romantic Novelists’ Association Saga of the Year Award.
She writes short fiction for magazines including My Weekly, and blog posts for The History Quill, Writers & Artists and The Royal Literary Fund.
She mentors emerging writers for Curtis Brown Creative and Writing East Midlands, as well as via Reedsy.
Rebecca has a Masters in Writing, a PGCE in English and is an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
She provides reader and writer services on her website Becca Novelista and runs a newsletter on storytelling from Substack as Rebecca Mascull.
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