The Flip Side by James Bailey

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To coin a phrase, Josh is suffering a quarter-life crisis. He just broke up with his long-term girlfriend, lost his job, and moved back home with his parents (shudder). Welcome to rock bottom in Bristol. As Josh starts questioning all his life choices, he has a mad thought: Maybe he would just be better flipping a coin. After all, careful planning has landed him homeless, jobless, and single.

What starts as a joke soon becomes serious and Josh decides to start putting his faith in the capriciousness of currency. He doesn’t have anything to lose.

But when the chance of a lifetime and the girl of his dreams are on the line, will the coin guide him to a rich love life or leave him flat broke?

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I wish I had more to say about this. It's sweet, it's fun, it's charming. It's a clever idea. The settings were fantastic, really well described; the central idea is fun (has anyone tried this in real life? I'd love to know about it!) 

I also really liked that the book is from a male point of view. That's really unusual in a romcom and I hope it's a sign of things to come. Men enjoy romance just as much as women do, after all.

Jessie, Jake and Jake's Jake may have been the highlights for me, although, weirdly, there's also the scene outside the church; it just hit exactly the right notes, not contrived, not too heavy, just perfect. I can see that being a family story for years to come.

Overall a good read. I definitely recommend it.


The Flip Side publishes on 17th November, 2020.