Eloise has a very comfortable life. She loves her job as a private chef, her Corgi, and spending time with her mum, Aunt Claire and best friend Marcy. When she reunites with her two best friends from school, Lynne and Teresa, she realises just how much she has missed them. In an effort to spice up their lives by their 40th birthdays, the three make a bet to accomplish a bucket list of items tailored to each of them - Lynne needs to get a dog, Teresa aims to spice up her marriage, and Eloise needs to start dating again after a really bad breakup took her out of the dating game years ago. When Eloise meets Shawn, she figures she’s got the bet in the bag, until an unexpected turn in her romance puts her other relationships in jeopardy. The question then becomes whether they can all make it to 40 as still the best of friends.
Stacey Ballis has once again created the perfect recipe for a great book; engaging characters, laughable, true-to-life moments, a cute pup, and delicious food. I have yet to be disappointed by one of her books and they just keep getting better. (LEK)
How to Change a Life, by Stacey Ballis, is about a group of friends who decide to challenge themselves. The summary says: "Eloise is happy with her life as a successful private chef. She has her clients, her corgi, and a recipe for the world's most perfect chocolate cream pie. What more could she need? But when her long-lost trio of high school friends reunites, Eloise realises how lonely she really is.
Eloise, Lynne, and Teresa revamp their senior-class assignment and dare one another to create a list of things to accomplish by the time they each turn forty in a few months. Control freak Lynne has to get a dog, Teresa has to spice up her marriage, and Eloise has to start dating again.
Enter Shawn, a hunky ex-athlete and the first man Eloise could see herself falling for. Suddenly forty doesn't seem so lonely - until a chance encounter threatens the budding romance and reveals the true colours of her friends. Will the bucket listers make it to forty still speaking to one another? Or do some friendships come with an expiration date?" How to Change a Life is out in August 2017.