Saturday 19 March 2016

Book Review - Bricking It by Nick Spalding

Amazon UK
Title: Bricking It
Author: Nick Spalding
Format reviewed: Ebook
Source: Netgalley
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Publication Date: 1st December 2015
Rating: 5 Stars

When siblings Dan and Hayley Daley inherit their late grandmother’s derelict Victorian farmhouse, it seems like a dream come true. All they have to do is fix the place up and sell it for a tidy profit!

Except—as anyone who has renovated an old house knows—things are never that easy.

The walls are rapidly crumbling around them, the architect is a certified lunatic, the budget is spiraling…and then there’s the disturbingly intelligent cow to worry about.

On top of all this, the renovation is being featured on a daytime reality TV show, and as soon as Great Locations presenter Gerard O’Keefe catches sight of Hayley’s first-floor balcony, he’s determined to woo her out of her ban on romance, whether she wants him to or not.

Will Dan and Hayley survive and sell up? Or will the whole thing collapse on them like a ton of bricks?

Bricking It is probably the funniest book I have ever read. I can't remember the last time a book had my laughing almost hysterically not just once during the story but twice (and both times I was reading in public too!). There is something about the writing of this story that has touched my funny bone and left me loving every second of the story. 

You know how they say if you are renovating a large property to expect the unexpected, well Dan and Hayley had both heard of the saying and still nothing could have prepared them for what would happen during their renovation journey.  

They hire an eccentric architect, and the builder they are using wouldn't sound out of place in Eastenders. In addition the presenter of a TV Home renovations show hears about what the siblings are trying to achieve with the property and decides to feature it throughout the latest series, including one live broadcast. 

Let's just say this group of people in a house together, with a live television broadcast, and expecting the unexpected still won't prepare you for just how insanely funny this scene is. 

I often reckon a pet with a bit of character can be a standout character in a story, and a special mention has to be made to the animal that sort of thinks this house is its home too. As you may be starting to gather, this is not your normal pet, how it gets to be upstairs in the house is still a mystery to me (and I'm sniggering in recollection of it). All I will say is the animal is named by Dan, and is called Pat. 

I never thought a book that is predominately about house building works, and the people that make up the project would have entertained me and kept me reading to the extent that it did. I am now determined to read more of Nick Spalding's books, as if this is his sense of humour then I know I'll enjoy them. 

Thank you to Lake Union Publishing and Netgalley for this review copy. This was my honest opinion. 

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