Author: Joanna Bolouri Publisher: Quercus Publishing Year: 2018 Pages: 336

Sometimes you read a book that gets you more and more excited by each sentence as the end approaches, and then you turn the page and find a blank one. You keep going back and forward with that single sheet of paper until your brain realises the book is over. Then you get up, slowly stepping away from the book and you start shouting

NO!
NO!
NONONONONO!
NNNNNOOOOOOOOO!
NO NO NO NO NO!
NO NO NO NO NO No No No no no no no…

while walking all crazy and finish off on your knees completely defeated while your voice fades away.

no…

But suddenly, a little smile starts to form in your mouth and it gets bigger and bigger. You can’t control it. And that’s when you realise you read a good book. No, that’s wrong! You read a GREAT book! You aren’t upset because how it ended you are upset because there aren’t any more stories to read. This is how I felt after reading Relight My Fire, minus the kneeling part, but I was close to doing it. Each of the characters has their unique personalities that can make you laugh, fall in love, smile, face-palm, and sometimes, a strong will to slap off their faces.

I had my eye on this book from the moment I knew it was coming out. When I finished The List, I wasn’t expecting any book coming after, since it was released back in 2014. Although this didn’t stop me from having high expectations and I was worried to be disappointed. The first book set the bar very high and anything that couldn’t get close to that would be bad and even worst for a sequel. Once I’ve started reading every thought, every worry went away. It was the same Phoebe, the same quirky, smart-arse, funny, self-deprecating, and people-hater. She was back once again, but with a new challenge in hands: being a mom.

The book takes place 5 years after The List, ten challenges to do between the sheets. Phoebe and Oliver are together as a couple and caring for their four years-old girl, named Molly. Nothing much has changed around them. Lucy is still with the same boyfriend, Kyle. Hazel is still happily married to Kevin, and Grace as grown up to a seven years-old. Workwise, Phoebe still works at that lonatic place she calls an office and Oliver still has the same jobs that he actually likes. So not much has changed, ecept their sex life, which is pretty much non-existent.

After the start of a new year, Phoebe decides it’s time to change that and bring back the fire. Although being a couple and parents at the same time is very challenging and each one will have to deal with their own issues in order to relight the pacion.

First of all, this book is a sequel, but you don’t need to read the first one in order to barque in this adventure. Everything that happened in the past that is relevant to this new story is told at some point. Although there are some references to the previous book that are mainly throwbacks. Even though most of the jokes are self-deprecating, it can happen to make fun of others. I don’t mind them, but I know there are people that might not enjoy this type of humour. Also, don’t read this book in public if you don’t want to get everyone looking at you because sooner or later you won’t be able to control yourself and start laughing out of nowhere. Also, I feel I need to warn you, despite this not being an erotic novel and nowhere close to 50 Shades of Grey, some sexy scenes can be descriptive, I mean, really descriptive.

The story is told through Phoebe’s perspective as diary entries from January to December and sometimes the story gets a little slow (probably the only downside of the book). Not every day is a new adventure and can be quite monotonous, but with Phoebe’s personality, she can even make those days entertaining. We are introduced to new characters, some to love and others to hate, and Molly is one of them. She is a gem! I couldn’t imagine how Phoebe’s daughter could be, but mixed up with Oliver, I was even more clueless. Turns out the girl is the cutest, loveliest and funniest thing ever. The number of times she made me laugh and awn is awesome. That little girl is gold and by the age of 4 already has a strong personality. She had become my new favourite character and I would love to read more stories about her and watch her grow. Maybe in a next book… *wink**wink*

Another thing that I enjoyed was how much references to “the real world” there was. This book despite not being said takes place in 2017 there’s no doubt. Facebook is no longer a cool social media since all the moms are joining in. Instagram and Snapchat are annoying and pointless (Phoebe’s opinion). WhatsApp is a great communication tool because no one pays for text messages anymore. Spotify is what you use for music and romantic gesture (although Phoebe still prefers her iPod). The movie It just hit theatres and Phoebe loves watching horror movies to after get all freaked out. Playing Minecraft in the PS4 is possible and a bad use for such a great console. Frozen will always be a major thing for a four-year-old. “That’s what she said” is one of the pre-made answers that become memes and are constantly used by geeks. Any health wanna-be-gurus or diet-obsessed ladies know what stevia is. Playing Youtube on the TV is high-tech and makes you think we are so technologically advanced. The only thing that was missing was a fidget spinner.

Despite all of this, we also get a ton of comparisons, dribbling and jokes about famous actors, some sexier than others. To finish off, you could easily have a playlist entirely make from this book. Some of the songs are easily recognizable by my mother’s generation (the 70’s), but being born in the 90’s I still can recognize some of the songs. If not by their titles, Youtube can help with that. Sometimes, you need to know the reference to understand the joke, but let alone Phoebe’s personality is usually enough. The only problem with this type of book is the sad moments. Every story has them but it doesn’t mean you won’t feel sad, not I-want-to-cry sad, instead I-want-this-to-be-all-over-and-everything-goes-back-to-be-funny sad. But when the storm passes we are back with the jokes and the quirky humour.

Overall, I can’t wait for the physical copy to be released so it can be next to my copy of The List. I’m sure I’ll be reading it again then. If you haven’t already noticed this is 5 stars for me and definitely a book that I’m getting back when I’m having a bad day to read some of my favourite parts and burst laughing like a maniac. If this review wasn’t insightful enough (which I understand, I’m still fangirling over here) everything I said about the first book The List is also valid and accurate to Relight My Fire and you check it out. 

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