Blog Tour: 'Losing It' by Emma Rathbone

Twenty-six year old Julia Greenfield has long suspected that everyone is having fun without her.
It’s not that she’s unhappy, per se. It’s just that she’s not exactly happy either.
She hasn’t done anything spontaneous since about 2003. Shouldn’t she be running a start up? Or going backpacking? Or exploring uncharted erogenous zones with inappropriate men?
Trapped between news of her mother’s latent sexual awakening and her spinster aunt’s odd behaviour – Julia has finally snapped. It’s time to take some risks, and get a life.
After all – what has she got to lose?
Today I'm excited to be part of the blog tour for author Emma Rathbone's new novel, 'Losing It'! When I first read something about this book it already sounded like an interesting read; something a bit different from my usual lovely chick lit novels, and sometimes it's good to give something else a try! I also work as an editor for Chick Lit Club and on 8 October we hosted an extract from the novel over there, so be sure to check that out and also visit some of the other stops on the blog tour; you can find all the website links on the blog tour poster that has been added to this blog post. 
Twenty-six-year-old Julia Greenfield is determined to finally do what everyone else seems to have done before her: lose her virginity. It's time to change things up a bit, do something spontaneous, but where to start? Julia decides to get away from Washington, where she lives, and when she discovers she can't go to her parents, who have rented out their place to others while they're travelling, she ends up at her aunt Viv's house in North Carolina. Aunt Viv doesn't lead the most exciting of lives, but Julia is sure the two of them can make it work, one way or another. There's nothing left to lose and it's finally time for her to take life into her own hands; whatever it may bring her along the way...
I have to say I am still not 100% sure how I feel about this novel, and I don't know whether that feeling is going to become much clearer, which is why I decided to just start writing my review and see where it gets me! 'Losing It' focuses completely on twenty-something Julia, who used to be a competitive swimmer trying out for the Olympics, but now has not much going on in her life, including the fact that she is still a virgin. She decides to turn her life around a bit by moving in with her aunt Viv for the summer, determined to lose her virginity and who knows what else will happen? We follow Julia as she moves in with her aunt, starts a new job, goes on a few dates; the story progresses at a relatively comfortable pace and different things happen to Julia. However, it continued to be a bit unclear to me where the story was going exactly; several things were going on, but at the same time it felt as if not that much was going on.
Julia is a fascinating character; I definitely wouldn't describe her as warm and likeable, but she's realistic and I think all of us will be able to relate or recognise ourselves in her, one way or another. She's a bit awkward, and so is the story, but that also distinguishes it from a lot of other stories. There's something about this novel and the author's writing style that pulled me in and kept me interested, even though it's certainly not like the light-hearted and uplifting chick lit novels I prefer to read usually. Overall, I'm still not completely sure how I feel exactly about 'Losing It', but I'm glad I got the chance to read it and I am sure there are readers out there that will really enjoy Julia's story. Nonetheless, my interest was grabbed and I'm curious to see what author Emma Rathbone will come up with next.

Rating:8/10

For more information about this book: Amazon.co.uk / Amazon.com / Goodreads
Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review.