The Back Up Plan - Elsie McArthur

Description

Giving up? Or moving on?

That’s the question for thirty-something Marsaili McKenzie. Ten years after fleeing her tiny coastal village for dreams of fame and fortune in the big city, she finds herself on the brink of an existential crisis. Far from being the star actress she once imagined, she’s still working as a barmaid in a Glasgow theatre while all around her, her friends and family are getting engaged, pregnant or promoted.

It’s all she can do to keep her head above water. But as a new year approaches, she resolves to give her acting dreams one last shot. That is, until a couple of unexpected distractions arrive on the scene.

Will Hunter is undeniably handsome, as well as being aloof, socially awkward, posh and in the middle of a nasty divorce. And to make things even more complicated, he’s also her new boss.

Local boy made good, soap star Euan Campbell, is the epitome of a charismatic leading man. His easy-going charm soon sweeps Marsaili off her feet, but is there more to him than meets the eye?

To top it all off, Marsaili finds herself inexplicably drawn back to the simple, rural life she used to loathe. Can she finally figure out which dreams are worth pursuing, and would it really be so bad to resort to her back up career after all?

Join Marsaili as she navigates the choppy seas of love, family, friendship and self-discovery. This heart-warming novel is full of romance, laughter and more than enough drama to keep you on the edge of your seat!

Review

I absolutely loved this book and the writing style. Set in Scotland you get both the City side with Glasgow and then when Marsaili (rhymes with Parsley!) goes home we get to experience the lovely rural side of Scotland. All places I've been (although Skye before the bridge!) and it brought it all back so vividly, as the writing was just wonderful. You also get some lovely Scottish dialect and sayings, some of which I had never encountered before.

The main character Marsaili is a little (well a lot) self effacing and that was the only trait I wished she could lose. Otherwise I felt she was a little bit of a soul sister for me. She said so many things I would say myself and she and all the characters just felt so true to life. Sometimes you can read a book and think "why would they do or say that" but I felt so in sync with Marsaili.

Marsaili wants to be an actor but she's been trying for an awfully long time and to fill in she works in a bar in a theatre. There single and fed up she manages to meet not one but two men who both fall for her. Will she end up with one of them or none at all? 

I can't praise the style of writing enough. Do you sometimes look into people's houses when the lights are on and they haven't yet closed the curtains? For me this book was just like that. The author took you in and you got a front row seat into their lives. I couldn't wait to get back to the book each time and I'm going to miss everyone. 

I'm giving this book 5 out of 5 stars. Elsie is an author who deserves more recognition when she can write so well. If you are looking for a nice comfortable read of an everyday story that could and probably has happened, then this is the book for you. 

My thanks to Elsie for a copy of this lovely book. At the moment it is free on Kindle unlimited and it's only 1.99 to buy on kindle too.