Author: Jane Costello
He’s a real catch . . . if only she could catch him up.
Abby Rogers has been on health kicks before – they involve eating one blueberry muffin for breakfast instead of two. But since starting her own business, after watching one too many episodes of The Apprentice , the 28-year-old’s waistline has taken even more of a back seat than her long-neglected love life.
When Abby is encouraged to join her sporty best friend’s running club – by none other than its gorgeous new captain – she finds a mysterious compulsion to exercise.
Sadly, her first session doesn’t go to plan. Between the obscenely unflattering pink leggings, and the fact that her lungs feel as though they’ve been set on fire, she vows never to return.
Then her colleague Heidi turns up at work and makes a devastating announcement, one that will change her life – and Abby’s – forever.
Full of warmth, friendship, fun and laughter, Girl on the Run is a novel to devour!
One for anyone who feels inspired to run, or who wants to run, but sometimes curling up on the couch with a good book feels like a better idea than Couch to 5k…!
I have a few Jane Costello novels on my TBR list, but Girl on the Run is my first completed novel by the author. The format of the story is each chapter is only a few pages long, which I both enjoyed and disliked. It was nice to be able to put down and pick up this novel without missing anything, but it was difficult in the longer reading sessions. The story is also on the longer side, although it did not feel dragged out. It follows 28-year-old Abby Rogers who has started her own graphic design business. She has been up and down trying to be healthy and her love life has taken a back seat. Her best friend, who is skinny and fit, suggests that Abby join her running club. Abby agreed on a whim, but the actual running part proves an issue. She decides to stick with it, however, due to Doctor Dishy (Oliver), who Abby is attracted to, along with Tom, a guy Abby befriends. When the opportunity comes up to complete a marathon on behalf of her coworker, Heidi, Abby has multiple reasons to stick with running.
There is a lot to unpack with this story as Abby has her daily life, her business, her love life, her health, and friendships. I honestly had a very difficult time with Abby’s friend Jess. She almost ruined the entire story for me as I greatly disliked her, and she had zero likable qualities. As Abby is her friend, it affected how I saw Abby because it was difficult to understand how the two were friends. Other readers may not mind their relationship or care as much about it when reading, but it did affect my experience. I enjoyed almost every other aspect of the story as Abby herself was an enjoyable character. I loved her running journey as she was not in the best shape, yet she did try regardless of her reasons. The progression of her story was questionable in some areas as the number of pages was long, yet it seemed that some events were sped up without reason. Overall, I think this story was enjoyable and with some further editing and a rework of Jess, it could be amazing!
chonkybooksreview.com 