BOOK REVIEW: Mr Make Believe by Beezy Marsh

I was excited to hear about Mr Make Believe, the newly-released novel from journalist Beezy Marsh (who took part in the Q&A recently!). I've been on the lookout for some funny reads over the past few weeks and this one was just perfect.

Marnie Martin, formerly an ambitious, hard-hitting journalist, is now a stay-at-home mum and food columnist whilst husband Matt, a successful barrister, is at work. However, when Marnie - who probably isn't the best person to be in charge of a food column - loses her job due to a paté fiasco - she feels as though she's hit rock bottom.

With Matt being out all hours, and going to events with his hot protegee, Marnie has turned her attention to Maddox Wolfe, gorgeous movie star and object of her desires, and finds herself glued to his movies at every opportunity. With Matt away and having nobody else to vent to, Marnie begins an anonymous blog, on which she writes about her life as a stay-at-home mum and her love for the super-hot Maddox...

Little does she know, the blog is about to take off, landing her the role of Mrs Make Believe, columnist and spokeswoman for mums everywhere. But when fame takes hold, Marnie's life begins to get that little bit out of control. And when she releases a bit of gossip about Maddox, she doesn't expect him to turn up at her office, let alone take her out for dinner.

As Marnie's marriage is slowly beginning to fall apart, her life as Mrs Make Believe is starting to take over. Sure, she may be famous - and not to mention close to her one-time crush, Maddox - but is it making her happy? When her mistakes are suddenly broadcast to the entire world, Marnie's new celeb alter-ego, Mrs Make Believe, is also at risk of crumbling.

This book is a fantastic read, one I struggled to put down. The plot is...well, to be honest, it's a bit outrageous. And that's exactly why I loved it. As Marnie goes from stay at home mum to celebrity, her life becomes a whirlwind, complete with celebrity romance, and it was very hard to stop reading. Nothing about this book was predictable.

The only issue I had with this book was Marnie's attitude towards Matt; I did feel that she overreacted a lot, and I did sympathise with him in quite a few places. For example, her anger at him having watched porn (even though she openly fantastises about Maddox whilst watching his movies), her reaction to him not wanting another child, even though he gave good reason as to why he thought it was a bad idea. I got the feeling that Matt was deliberately painted as a villain for these things, and I just couldn't see it.

That said, Marnie does change throughout this novel. And aside from the above, it is a fab read. It's witty, funny, romantic and with a wonderfully wild plot about the reality of love. I do hope that Beezy Marsh writes more like this, because Mr Make Believe is a brilliant novel.

Rating: 5/5

Thank you to Netgalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

BLOG TOUR: Q&A with Beezy Marsh, author of Mr Make Believe

Beezy Marsh is the author of Mr Make Believe, a romantic comedy about a journalist turned stay-at-home mum. Mr Make Believe was released today, and as part of her blog tour, Beezy has stopped by to answer a few questions about her new book, and life as a writer...

Tell us about your latest novel in 15 words or less.
Daydreaming mum loses husband and career, writes blog, burns tea, meets movie star crush and...

What inspired you to write Mr Make Believe?
Well, I'm a mum-of-two who used to regularly write the front page for a national newspaper, a bit like my main character, Marnie Martin, and I know lots of mothers who are struggling to hold it all together at home; trying to have some kind of career while looking after the children and to strike a balance between it all. It can be isolating to be at home all day with the kids and I have always been a dreamer and asking around, I found lots of my mum friends had secret crushes on movie stars, which they used to keep themselves going when reality was tough. I picked up that theme and took it to an extreme, playing with the notion of what would happen if a mum whose life wasn't turning out the way she'd hoped got to meet her Mr Make Believe. The whole interplay between our real lives and our social media lives is endlessly fascinating to me so that was a big part of it too.

Where do you do most of your writing?
Sometimes I edit pages and write notes on the train if I have to go up to London from my home in Oxfordshire but most days I sit in a spare bedroom in my house and bash away at my keyboard. The letters have worn off it  - I must get a new one.

What is your favourite book?
I find it really hard to pick just one book! I love absolutely everything that Jilly Cooper has written. I would read her shopping list if she published it  - I bet even that would be brilliant. But if I were only allowed one book, I would probably take Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier. Everything about it is perfect, starting with that first sentence - "Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again." I immediately want to read on.

Which part of Mr Make Believe did you enjoy writing the most?
Well, I loved writing all of the book; it was like a roller coaster ride and I didn't want to get off. But the best bit for me was definitely when Marnie got to know her Mr Make Believe a little better...

Who is your favourite literary heroine?
Becky Sharp, Vanity Fair. What a woman!

Do you have any tips for readers who are looking to become published writers?
Getting published is a long, hard road and rejection is a part of the process. Listen carefully to feedback and try to learn from it, especially if you are lucky enough to get criticism from people who actually work in the industry because they know the market. Keep believing in yourself.

Are you working on anything else at the moment and if so, can you tell us?
Yes, I'd love to tell you about my next projects. I am editing a prequel to Mr Make Believe, called Ten Easy Steps To I Love You, which features Marnie Martin but tells the story of how her best mate Belle Devine, the showbiz journalist, gets to meet her Mr Right. I am still in love with all the characters in Marnie Martin's world, so there may be a sequel to Mr Make Believe before too long as well. With my non-fiction hat on, I have a historical memoir coming out with Pan Macmillan at the end of July, which covers the lives of three sisters from London during the 1930s. It's called Keeping My Sisters' Secrets and it's a really moving story about them overcoming poverty and adversity, finding love as the Second World War looms on the horizon.

Thanks, Beezy!

Mr Make Believe by Beezy Marsh

Marnie Martin’s formerly perfect life is not quite going to plan. 

Hard-hitting newspaper journalist turned stay-at-home mum and part-time failing food columnist, Marnie is wondering when her life went so wrong.

While her husband Matt’s career takes off, she’s left with the impossible task of pairing socks and locating Lego. His late nights at the office are turning into late nights who knows where else and they haven’t had a proper conversation in weeks, sex in months, or a full night’s sleep in years. 

On the brink of losing everything when a fantasy about movie star Maddox Wolfe leads to a missed deadline and a disastrous case of food poisoning, Marnie becomes Mrs Make Believe: anonymous blogger, secret spiller, and voice of imperfect mums everywhere. 

However, Marnie Martin could never have imagined that her movie star daydream would walk off the screen and into her reality, turning her already muddled world totally on its head.

Will Marnie find happiness in the arms of the (literal) man of her dreams? Or will she find that true love is just make believe?