The Flip Side | James Bailey
Published: 17th November 2020 by William Morrow Paperbacks
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
A story which starts on New Year’s Eve seemed like the perfect read to ring in 2021 and as a contemporary romance lover I was hopefully optimistic picking up The Flip Side.
The story follows Josh, a young man who proposes to his girlfriend on the London eye on New Year’s Eve. Unfortunately, she turns him down and on that fateful night he loses the girl, the job and the path he thought he was heading down. But, he also gains the start of a new perspective on life. After a questionable date he decides that he will now on make all his decisions via the flip of a coin which leads to some interesting moments. There’s also a fierce pub quiz and a fleeting encounter with a girl at a museum that causes Josh to go on a wild journey.
Told in the first person, James Bailey’s writing in fluent and entertaining and it’s certainly enjoyable to read a romance story where the witty internal monologue comes from a man for a change. What’s also enjoyable is how normal the characters are. Despite the somewhat wacky situations, each one feels realistic and the dynamics between them will surely hit chords with readers.
Josh's journey to find "sunflower girl" is great to read and I could certainly picture it as a netflix rom-com. I had all the travel envy as he ventured to various locations and I think I'd like to go on my own Van Gogh adventure when we're allowed to leave our houses!
I did feel the story dragged at times as there was a lack of plot but then the ending was somewhat rushed and almost felt like it came out of nowhere. However, this is certainly an enjoyable read, with a fun storyline and interesting characters. For a quick, carefree read to help you escape from the monotony of lockdown, definitely consider The Flip Side.
ps. Jonathan Bailey aka MT God aka my "I knew him before he was in Bridgerton" claim to fame, reads the audiobook so you'll probably want to get on that!