Working It Out by Jo Platt

From the publisher:

Her new colleague is about to shake things up...

When her love life crashed down around her, Edie found solace in work. But her job rapidly goes from uplifting to unbearable, with the departure of her work wife, Ruby, and the arrival in the office of new guy, Cameron - a chauvinist, a womaniser, and the very opposite of a team player.

And just as things start to go downhill at work, Edie’s personal life takes a downturn too, when her ex, Jason, decides that right now would be the perfect moment to get back in touch and deliver some devastating news.

Edie's increasingly miserable work life and her complicated personal life are suddenly on a collision course. The big question is, will she be able to salvage anything from the wreckage?

A tender uplit novel of one woman’s accidental rediscovery of the perfect work-life balance. Ideal for fans of Mhairi McFarlane, Sophie Kinsella and Beth O’Leary.

My Review:

I'm a longtime fan of British women's fiction, so this is not an unfamiliar genre for me. I enjoy romantic comedies. However, while this novel was definitely thought-provoking and was a slow burn on the romance front, "Working it Out" was not quite as amusing as I expected. There were some details that seemed as if they were missing, particularly in the prologue and definitely with Edie's job. I would have really enjoyed hearing more about why she likes her work, and what she specifically wants to do with her work projects.

That being said, I'll admit that the rest of the book had a lot to offer. The relationship between Edie and Ruby as "work friends" was well done. It is not always easy to know whom to trust, and competition between and among women is often pretty fierce and sometimes one-sided. This felt very real to me. Additionally, the whole mix-up with the neighbor and the coworker was done pretty well, too, but I can't discuss it without spoilers. Suffice it to say, nicknames can be confusing. :)

In the end, there is happiness and love, although it might or might not be who you think it will be at the beginning. No spoilers!

Overall I will give this novel 3 1/2 stars, rounded up to 4.

Thank you to Love Books Tours, the author, and the publisher for allowing me to have a review copy of this novel here in the USA.