Charlie's marriage didn't survive the tragic loss of their teenage daughter. But while Charlie's ex-husband has moved on, she feels her life is in a rut, making cakes for a local cafe and volunteering at the hospital radio station. So her friend Mercedes urges her to write a bucket list - then throws in the twist that the pair will swap and do whatever is on each other's lists. And Mercedes certainly knows something about rising to the challenge - having been left wheelchair-bound after an accident.
Readers go along for the ride as Charlie's challenges push her out of her comfort zone - from bellydancing to diving with sharks. Despite feeling that doing someone else's bucket list sort of defeats the purpose, this is a light-hearted, inspirational story, with a bit of romance along the way.
Car salesman Simon feels like his life is going downhill – he’s approaching 50, he’s struggling to make his sales quota, his wife seems bored with him, his mother-in-law is forever finding fault with him and his kids basically ignore him. When a new manager decides he should be let go, Simon can’t handle admitting this latest failure to his family and ends up doing a deal with the devil instead.
Meanwhile, sports therapist Polly is also in over her head – she’s drowning in debt and a legal issue is adding to her woes. So when she gets the chance to swap lives with a glamorous socialite, she jumps at the chance.
This humorous and inventive tale shows the depths people are willing to go to to escape the troubles in their lives. It took a darker turn than I was expecting but with a few surprises along the way, I thoroughly enjoyed the ride. Even if you find it all a bit bizarre, stick with it for its clever conclusion.
