Title: Confessions of a Once Fashionable Mum
Author: Georgia Madden
Published: Nero April 2015
Status: Read from April 21 to 22, 2015 — I own a copy {Courtesy the publisher}
My Thoughts:
Confessions of a Once Fashionable Mum by Georgia Madden is an entertaining, lighthearted tale about modern motherhood, marriage and fashion.
“I would be the type of yummy mummy real mothers could relate to, and had even coined the perfect hashtag for my instagram feed – #FashMum.”
Being a SAHM is not quite working out the way Ally Bloom hoped. She adores her baby daughter but she has no interest in sitting cross-legged in a dirty school hall singing The Wiggles greatest hits with the ‘Happy Mummies’ and their snotty-nosed offspring. Now that her mother-in-law has come to stay it seems the perfect time to cut her maternity leave short and return to work as a PR executive for the prestigious fashion label Moda, but when Ally learns she has been replaced by a 22-year-old bimbo, she resigns and develops a master plan to become the perfect mother.
“3. Embrace inner earth mama: Weave, bake, plant fragrant herb path or veggie patch, and insta everything as I go along. Use tag #soblessed at least once per day.”
Armed with Nigella Lawson’s How To be a Domestic Goddess, a new wardrobe of cardigans and flats, and her master plan, Ally makes a sincere attempt to get it together and impress her husband, Matt, mother-in-law Judy and the mummy mafia. Her failures are amusing as Madden underscores the competitive edge of motherhood and the pressure of aiming for social media perfection.
“Safe to say, it was, quite possibly, the worst coffee morning in the history of coffee mornings. To top it all off, not one single moment of it had been worthy of my Instagram feed.”
While Ally struggles to adjust to life as a permanent SAHM, she is also struggling with the changes parenthood has wrought in her marriage to Matt and Madden identifies the distance that can sometimes creep between couples with the shift in lifestyle and priorities. Cameron (aka #HotDaddy) provides a distraction for Ally who is flattered by his flirtation.
Madden pokes gentle fun at the members of ‘Happy Mummies’ who are reluctant to admit their lives before children had any value and whose toddlers have Mandarin tutors, wear only natural fibers and eat only organic, gluten free homemade foods. These women are alien to Ally who is quick to dismiss them as ‘saddo losers’ but slowly she discovers she has more in common with them than she thought, and when the group is threatened with closure, Ally is determine to save the day.
“Look, you might think Happy Mummies is just a bunch of mums singing stupid songs and making a mess of your school hall floor every Tuesday morning, but it’s so much more than that…These women, the friendships you make, they have the power to save you, to keep you afloat, at a time in your life when you’re not even sure how you are going to make it through the next day. I know because they saved me.”
There is plenty of humour in this sharply amusing, well paced novel. Wry observation is teamed with snappy dialogue and sarcasm, the characters and scenes may be exaggerated for effect but include a kernel of truth and familiarity for any modern day mother.
#FashMum#Witty#Sharp#AGoodRead#NiceworkGeorgiaMadden
Confessions of a Once Fashionable Mum is available to purchase from
Black Inc Books I I Booktopia I via Booko
Amazon AU I Amazon US I Book Depository
and all good bookstores.
GIVEAWAY
Courtesy of Black Inc Books, I have
5 print editions of
Confessions of a Once Fashionable Mum by Georgia Madden
to giveaway to five lucky Australian residents.
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Entries close May 3rd, 2015
Sounds interesting 🙂
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I love the cover – most telling. I can see I am going to relate to this story in so many ways.
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Aww thanks so much Mary. I hope you enjoy it! xx
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Really enjoyed this book! So much whip-smart humour. It’s a great, pacy read. Am going to recommend it for our book club.
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And you obviously have most excellent taste – thank you!! xx
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The look of this one made me have a chuckle, I tell my girls it’s me – the title only I mean!
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Thanks Suzanne – hope you enjoy it! xx
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I can really relate to this book being a stay at home mum for the last 5 years. I look forward to reading the author’s take on the challenges of being a modern mum. Fantastic cover too 🙂
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So kind of you Amanda! Can’t wait to hear what you think xx
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Sounds like it could be good
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Love the cover of those tine feet standing on the mommy’s feet!
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tiny, not tine
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So glad you like it, Vicki! I was super excited when I saw that cover too – those deliciously squidgy little feet – just want to eat them! xx
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I do judge a book by the cover, and this to me looks like it’s going to be a good read.
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Ha ha this could be me! After 3 kids, life has definitely changed and so has my wardrobe.
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A great read to have over the Winter months
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Sarcasm and humour together makes my favourite kind of book! This sounds like an awesome read!
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