Review: On a Beautiful Day

Life can change in an instant. It's something we all know but tend not to keep at the forefront of our minds as we go about our day to day business. In Lucy Diamond's latest book, On a Beautiful Day, four friends watch a terrible car crash right in front of them and it makes each woman reevaluate where her life is heading. While the novel isn't groundbreaking, it's a sweet story of friends who try to deal with their issues alone and end up realizing they're so much stronger when they're together. 

Here's the synopsis:

It’s a beautiful day in Manchester and four friends are meeting for a birthday lunch. But then they witness a shocking accident just metres away which acts as a catalyst for each of them.
For Laura, it’s a wake-up call to heed the ticking of her biological clock. Sensible Jo finds herself throwing caution to the wind in a new relationship. Eve, who has been trying to ignore the worrying lump in her breast, feels helpless and out of control. And happy-go-lucky India is drawn to one of the victims of the accident, causing long-buried secrets to rise to the surface.
This is a novel about the startling and unexpected turns life can take. It’s about luck—good and bad—and about finding bravery and resilience when your world is in turmoil. Above all, On a Beautiful Day is about friendship, togetherness and hope.

As I alluded to at the start, each woman - Jo, Laura, India, and Eve - spins off into her own private battle after the accident. I don't think this is a spoiler, as anyone who  has female friends will know this, but no woman is an island. You can't handle everything on your own and it's ok to rely on your literal or figurative sisters if you're having trouble. 

The women in this book have to deal with a lot of things on their own but they kind of forget to allow their friends in. From a story perspective, I could understand that. From a structure perspective, I found that even though the women were supposed to be so close and such strong friends, I didn't really get that feeling except for a tiny bit at the start and then at the end when everything had been, for the most part, resolved. 

I sometimes struggle with stories that are told from multiple perspectives like this, with each chapter focusing on another friend. I was able to let that issue go for the most part but there were times when I wish the stories didn't seem quite so disjointed.

The women were interesting enough to read about though. They each had a distinct personality (though I bet their personalities could have shone more had there not been so many threads throughout the novel) and different family circumstances. Their dramas were similar (average issues for white females in their late thirties and early forties) but they each had a distinct problem to deal with, which kept things from being boring. 

While the details of this story will probably fade with time, the overall message Diamond wanted to get across will (hopefully) stick with me. It is important to seize the day because you never know when it might be your last. You should always trust those closest to you. They are there to help you when you need it and celebrate with you when you deserve it. Your close friends and romantic partners were chosen by you for a reason and you should know you can lean on them when times get tough. Do something you love every day. Let your friends know you're thinking of them even if you're not able to coordinate schedules to get together in person. Be kind to one another.

On a Beautiful Day was my second Lucy Diamond novel and, even though I wasn't super thrilled with it, I don't think it will be my last. She wrote a lovely story with a message that goes much deeper than the cover might suggest (side note: I'm so over the a woman's back on a cover aesthetic...especially when it's one woman and the story is about four...). This is one to pick up if you love stories about female friendships.

*A copy of this novel was provided by the distributor, Publishers Group Canada, in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*