My grateful thanks to Team Bookends for sending me a copy of Thirty Things I Love About Myself by Radhika Sanghani in return for an honest review. I’m delighted to share that review today.

Thirty Things I Love About Myself will be published by Headline Review on 20th January 2022 and is available for purchase through these links.

Thirty Things I Love About Myself

When Nina Mistry hits rock bottom – because no one plans to turn thirty in a prison cell – a tatty little self-help book finds its way into her hands. She doesn’t think she needs it; why would a strong, sensible Taurus like her go on a ‘life-changing journey’ to fix herself? But her inner journalist is curious. Within minutes, she’s hooked. By the time the sun comes up, she knows exactly what she needs to do . . .

‘This book will change your life . . . if you’re brave enough to let it.’

This will not be a journey for the faint-hearted, but whatever else Nina has messed up in her life, she’s never been afraid of a challenge.

’30 bold steps. One year.’

Her mother is – as always – appalled. Her brother is too depressed to care. The love of her life? He’s already moved on. And her friends . . . well, that’s another story.

But Nina has Nina.

And she’s about to find out if that’s enough.

‘It’s time for a brand new kind of love story. Are you ready?’

Thirty Things I Love About Myself is a gloriously uplifting novel for anyone who has ever had a self-worth wobble, or is watching someone they love struggle; it is for any woman who has ever failed and got herself right back up again, or whose life is veering a little off track!

My Review of Thirty Things I Love About Myself

Nina has got herself arrested.

Thirty Things I Love About Myself is absolutely glorious. I think it’s the must read of the spring and I loved it. It’s funny, it’s sassy and it’s heartbreakingly refreshing. Radhika Sanghani’s writing sparkles with talent and engagement for the reader. The natural direct speech, Nina’s thought processes and the whirlwind of events all combine into a truly entertaining, mesmerising read.

Nina is an absolute triumph. Her authorial voice is so distinct that it’s impossible to believe she’s a character in a story and not a real person. I adored her. I’m as much in love with Nina as she becomes. Her mother is a wonderfully depicted character too. It was like reading about my own mother in so many ways. Kal’s counterbalance to Nina is perfectly pitched so that his strand to the narrative has all teh more poignancy. The cultural setting for the characters in Thirty Things I Love About Myself may be Indian, but the people, the actions and the themes are completely universal, relatable and compelling for all readers.

Despite the fact Thirty Things I Love About Myself is written in a light hearted, thoroughly engaging manner, with a fast paced narrative, Radhika Sanghani  touches on themes that are so relevant to today’s society, exploring the thorny issue of racism in and between cultures, true friendship, mental health, online and social media realities, and the thin veneer of civilisation in such a way that I was not only cheering for Nina, but rather wished the author held political power in the country. I genuinely feel my world is a better place for Thirty Things I Love About Myself.

Sprinkled with laugh aloud humour, humane truths and the kind of connection for the reader that Nina herself is searching for, Thirty Things I Love About Myself is totally fantastic. I loved it.

About Radhika Sanghani

Radhika Sanghani is an award-winning features journalist, an influential body positivity campaigner and a 2020 BBC Writers Room graduate. She writes regularly for the Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail, Elle, Guardian, Grazia, Glamour and Cosmopolitan; was recently featured in Italian Vogue as well as BBC Radio 4 Woman’s Hour, and is a regular guest on Sky News and Good Morning Britain. She has previously written two YA novels: Virgin and Not That Easy. Radhika is also a TEDx speaker on body positivity, a yoga teacher, and she runs a charity initiative with Age UK fighting loneliness in older women.

For more information, follow Radhika Sanghani on Twitter @radhikasanghani, visit her website or find her on Facebook and Instagram.