LAD by Andrew Webber @mrandrewwebber

4.5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK HERE
On Amazon.com HERE
On Goodreads HERE

How I discovered this book:  Via an Amazon browse, looking throught 'Customers who bought this also bought' lists.  The title appealed to me, and the red of the cover made it stand out.  I'm rarely pulled in by review quotes, but the actual description of the book appealed.  Available on Kindle Unlimited.

My review:

Now THIS is proper lad lit, not those soggy stories written by David Nicholls et al, and I'm sure that Danny, the anti-hero of this darkly humorous drama would agree.  Danny's a hard drinking, sharp dressing and (most of all) chick pulling estate agent wheeler-dealer.  Women are for conquest only, his world revolving around material acquisition, banter with the lads, football, the gym, and nights out in the sort of places that make me want to go and sit in a darkened room, alone, for the rest of my life.  But Danny's world is changing, as his friends move on, and somehow the old life is losing its glister....  

This book is so well written, I had to tear myself away from it to do things I had to do, but still read it over the space of about 20 hours.  It has just the right amount of pathos and humour, it's realistic, current, and just flows.  All the characters leap off the page at first meeting.  When Danny's life starts to fall apart, I expected a predictable rock bottom followed by a learning curve, but I was pleasantly surprised.  By the end of it, I was on his side (anything but the awful Sarah - dying to write more but don't want to go down the spoiler road!).  I was glad it ended how it did ~ but I wanted to read more ... come on, Mr Webber, I'm sure it would run to a sequel....

The only slight downside for me was the psychological stuff about why Danny was the way he was; I found that too spelled out, too clear cut; I like to be left to make up my own mind.  Aside from that, I think that sometimes men like Danny are like that simply because it's the way they're made.  On the whole, though, it's a great story, well plotted, a cracking read, and I recommend it!