It's Been a Pleasure, Noni Blake

De: Claire Christian

Narrado por: Ione Butler

"A vibrant story of self-discovery...sure to capture readers' hearts."—Publishers Weekly, starred review

A sparkling, feel-good tale about starting over, for anyone who's spent too much of their own life making other people happy.

What if you made yourself your number one priority?

Of all the women and men Noni Blake has pleased in her life, there’s one she’s often overlooked—herself. After the end of a decade-long relationship, Noni decides it’s time for that to change. She’s finally going to prioritize her wants and desires and only do things (and people) that feel good in the moment.

As she embarks on a pleasure-seeking quest that takes her halfway around the world, she discovers that maybe she can have everything, and everyone, she’s ever wanted.

Effortlessly hilarious and relatable, Claire Christian spins a fresh, uplifting story about starting over as a thirtysomething woman who’s been living life for everyone else. A story of self-discovery for the ages, Noni’s journey serves as a reminder that life is what we make of it—so why not enjoy it?

"Funny, refreshing and empowering."—Lindsey Kelk
"Pure pleasure...sexy and joyful."—BookPage, starred review

What a journey!

The story wasn’t what I was expecting, but Noni’s laugh out loud adventures and the epiphanies of her quest were such a trip. I really enjoyed joining her on her journey! Also, the narrator is Australian so pretty much everything sounds cooler with that accent.

Gut Bustingly Funny and Relatable

Where was this laugh out loud, light, funny, and relatable story when I was going through my divorce many years ago?! Definitely not a deep read, but a perfectly lighthearted "chick flick" of a book ♡

I had no idea

I never suspected, when I began this book, that it would be eye-opening, would be therapy, would be life changing. Maybe it won’t be life changing, because just listening and feeling aren’t enough to change a life. But it has made me think about things in my own life. It has made me really look at myself.

I never suspected, when I picked out this book, that it would turn out to be profound.

I want to know the person whose mind was able to write these words. She could be my guru.

I want to spend six months halfway around the world, and meet strangers, and say yes to adventure, and change my miserable ordinary life. I’d like to be half as brave as Noni Blake.

The story was fabulous. The narration was wonderful. I’ll now sleep with British words and Australian accents dancing in my head.

Loved it.
This one will stick with me.
Thank you Claire and Ione.

I will listen to this one again. Maybe many times.

Fun because it’s not real life

You know the Family Circus cartoon, where the kid travels a loopy dashed line all over the page to get home? Yeah, it’s like that; a humorous story about the journey being just as important as the destination- and the fun to be had in the twists and turns along the way… except with shagging.

It’s more fun and entertaining than sexy or explicit, but there is a ton of shagging as Noni sets out to check men and women off her “should have boned” list. She’s like an Aussie Bridget Jones, complete with her colorful friends, who are fully supportive of her pleasure-tour walkabout. There’s cheeky bits about turds rolled in glitter and David Bowie’s prodigious Labyrinth codpiece. There’s big and little life lessons from the basic idea of seizing the day (carpe diem! .. or maybe carpe d!ck?) to wise tips like “always wee after sex.” And, considering how many old friends and complete strangers Noni beds in quick succession, there’s zero angst about STDs, and relatively low fallout. I also appreciated that this book avoided LGBTQ-centric angst or the stereotypical, 80’s jazz-hands gay BFF… the LGBTQ characters and storylines were organic and grounded.

So, as long as you don’t mind casual shags and occasional F-bombs, or think too deeply about how this plot would play out in the real world, this is an entertaining listen.

good book

I really enjoyed reading this author.  I look forward to reading more books by this author in the near future.