The Vision Board (Chill #1) by Siobhan Murphy

ABOUT THE BOOK

Two best friends. Two one-way tickets. And a future that might just surprise them.
Bex and Amy are best friends and total opposites. Bex is cynical, Amy is romantic. Bex is chaotic, Amy is organised. With the prospect of turning 34 just around the corner, neither is where they expected to be at this point in their lives.

Bex is exploring her sexuality and has a string of failed relationships, while Amy is newly single and desperate to fall in love. Armed with a photographic vision board of the future, Bex and Amy put their trust in ‘The Universe’ and fly from London to Bali, then on to Australia in search of adventure, cocktails on the beach, and maybe even love.

Almost immediately, Amy finds someone who is the perfect fit for her dream life. While Bex is stuck playing double dates with his best friend, the most pompous man she has ever met, but also one of the hottest. Travelling via white sand beaches, lush rainforests, and road trips through idyllic scenery, the images on their vision board begin to transform into reality.

However, people are not always what they seem, and first impressions are not always accurate. Add in a queer, charismatic love interest and a vindictive ex-girlfriend, and the path of true love begins to get a little more complex.

When ‘The Universe’ has its own agenda, is it possible to manifest a happy ever after? An Enemies to Lovers destination romance with a sprinkling of Pride and Prejudice vibes.

MY REVIEW

I’ve always wanted to take a fun and exciting trip with my friends, and The Vision Board is the next best thing.

Bex and Amy are best friends who just say screw it and leave the cold UK winter for the sun-kissed beaches of Bali, Singapore, and Australia. They couldn’t be more different, but that’s what makes this trip so interesting. Bex is a gregarious person who is strong, passionate, and unconventional. She’s got this free spirit that draws people to her like a moth to a flame. On the flip side is Amy, who balances Bex’s energy with her grounded consciousness and hesitant demeanor. Together, they’re the perfect blend of free and reserved, representing a friendship we should all strive for.

The story is told in Bex’s voice, and she comes across as independent, creative, and funny; however, she’s an overthinker and is plagued by the family from hell. It’s hysterical and sad how her family doesn’t understand her bisexual lifestyle. There’s a whole world inside her, and it’s both exciting and challenging. The trip represents more than just sunny beaches; it’s a chance for her to explore what she truly wants, especially with the presence of JP, her new love interest. With the wild unpredictability of old feelings cropping up, Bex is doing her very best to keep her emotions in check.

JP and his best mate Ben are going to a friend’s wedding while celebrating a new deal. Their trip to Australia is a good excuse to combine work and leisure, but with JP’s unhinged ex-girlfriend lurking in the background, there’s certainly never a dull moment.

JP’s family is wealthy, but what’s interesting is that he doesn’t succumb to the typical materialistic lifestyle. Bex’s first few meetings with him are tense because he comes across as arrogant and imperious, but he has his own problems. Along with the stalker ex, he has an autocratic father who thinks he knows best who his son should date. That’s where Ben’s charm and positivity come in handy, balancing JP’s more serious side.

The chemistry between Bex and JP is slow and rewarding as they dodge misunderstandings, evildoers, and their own doubts. When they discover what they want and get out of their own way, they make a great team.

There are other characters that need honorable mention, such as JP’s stepmom, Francesca, who is a wonderful mother figure to JP and an instant friend to Bex. Ryan is Bex’s boss and is funny and supportive, living vicariously through her during her trip. And last, but not least, is the bride to be, Bree, who, in all her wisdom and awesomeness, reveals JP’s ex’s lies, while not having to pull out her bridezilla.

I recommend this refreshing story about being young and carefree as we navigate our own paths, explore new relationships, and choose what really matters in life.

Thank you to Ms. Murphy for the opportunity to read this book with no expectations of a positive review.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Siobhan Murphy is a writer and photographer based in the UK. She writes (and reads) both light-hearted romantic comedies and contemporary women’s fiction/Bookclub fiction.

Her writing hours are sponsored by Earl Grey tea, chocolate bars several glasses of wine. When she is not writing, reading, or working in her photography day job, her hobbies are eating haribo sweets, talking nonsense and walking into rooms wondering why she is there.

She loves to travel, laugh at the absurdity of life, and enjoy a glass of wine with good friends. She loves a good TV binge session, especially shows like Grey’s Anatomy, Virgin River, Emily in Paris, or This is Us. She can be an emotional wreck who often runs out of tissues and when she was a child, her dad had to constantly reassure her that programmes on the TV weren’t real. The upside of this is that she can legitimately class her habit of binge-watching RomCom films as ‘research.’

Siobhan loves to escape into books and live in other worlds. Like most writers, she has been an avid reader from the second she hurtled into the world (well perhaps a little bit after that). Over the years she’s drifted around the world in search of adventure, hoping to figure out what to do with her life. She is not sure if she has the answer yet but writing certainly comes close. Though she suspects her long-suffering family, and her liver might not agree.

She’s impulsive and easily bored, so she’s turned her hand to many jobs over the years. She’s worked in places as diverse as the High Commission in Nairobi; a market stall selling cheese in the UK and an 80ft racing yacht in Australia. Been a secondary school English teacher and a Barista with no discernible talent for making coffee. She’s done admin work for a number of businesses but discovered that offices aren’t really for her. Her favourite job was as a bookseller for Waterstones, she loved recommending books to customers and applying those 3 for 2 stickers that people find so hard to remove. For the last 19 years she’s been a professional photographer, taking portraits of humans – often the really, really small ones.

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