Poppy Bloom - well, Doctor Poppy Bloom, now that she has just obtained her PhD in Psychology - has life planned out. With big dreams of life in academia, Poppy is set on gaining a fellowship at prestigious Banbridge University, a feat she has worked incredibly hard for ten years to achieve, along with her handsome boyfriend Gregory.
However, life doesn't always go as planned - and Poppy's dreams are quashed on graduation day when she doesn't get the top spot. And to make it worse, she's dumped by Gregory.
Poppy has no choice but to head back home to her parents' house, unemployed and with no backup plan. Faced with the prospect of a future vastly different from the one she envisioned, Poppy takes each day as it comes, gradually breaking free from her moping and reconnecting with old friends. When she runs into old schoolfriend Leanne, she finds herself accepting some much-deserved social time. And not to mention meeting up with Leanne's lovely brother Tom...
When a radio phone-in makes Poppy irate, her response causes a host of comments and feedback from the public, leading Poppy to an internship offer. Soon, she's a radio agony aunt, with new friends - and she even finds herself joining a netball team. It may not be the dream she'd prepped herself for, but Poppy soon realises that things don't have to go as planned to be perfect.
Don't Stop Me Now is an inspiring, feel-good read that I'd personally recommend to anyone who has wondered about their chosen life path. (And let's face it, that's a lot of us!)
At first, I really didn't like Poppy; she came across as quite rude and superior, especially to her mother, who seemed to only want to help. I almost put the book down because I really disliked her, though Colleen's wonderfully witty writing style kept me reading. However, her attitude changed throughout the book, and I did start to like her more, and was extremely glad I gave her a chance. Her attitude quickly diminished, revealing a determined, smart and headstrong character who pushed on through, even when her life was turned upside down in the space of one day. Poppy took it all in her stride, and ended up with a whole new life adventure.
Don't Stop Me Now is a promising debut. Colleen Coleman is a highly talented writer and I look forward to her future books.
Rating: 4/5
Thank you to Netgalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
