I’d like to thank Joe Thomas from Headline for inviting me to take part in the blog tour and for sending me a proof copy. By the middle of the book I was emotionally invested in most of the characters and couldn’t get enough of the story. Someone who’s been waiting in the wings too long, but who’s about to dust off a long-ago secret dream and overturn everyone’s expectations of him—especially his own. Ted finds the incriminating photos, Giles says he’s leaving him and within 5 mins of dialogue he’s packing his things. It’s never to late to follow that dream or change your life, with a bit of self belief and confidence we can do anything.

But perhaps there is another Ted slowly blossoming now that he’s no longer in Giles’s shadow—funny, sassy, more uninhibited.His parents, his sister and his best friend, Denise all try to provide emotional support and distraction. Fans of the musical “Kinky Boots” and Byron Lane’s Big Gay Wedding will have their hearts stolen by Becoming Ted ! For as book as long as it was, it genuinely felt like the different elements of the book could've been fleshed out more (though who knows how long this book would've been if that had happened). To find pleasure in the simple act that brought him a little happiness - the courage to be something else on stage and win over hearts with his appeal. It's been ten years since painter and decorator, Oskar Kozlowski left Poland, and he feels like Lancashire is home.

He has a dream and this time he’s not going to let anyone stop him achieving it, not even that inner voice that tells him maybe he’s just not good enough. The amount of gaslighting, disparaging comments and belittling sentiments that crushed Ted's self-esteem and self-worth were truly upsetting and even more painful to see how much Giles refrained Ted from being who he wanted to be.Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to provide an unbiased review. Ted’s boyfriend of 20 years breaks up with him and Ted goes on a journey of self discovery that includes becoming a drag Queen, shattering family expectations, and finding new love. I really tried to see the positive, but when the negatives are too blatantly obvious for me to ignore, I can only let out a long exhale that the worst is over and hopefully move on.

My enemy with Matt Cain was the writing and the choices made to make this story stand out in a positive light, rather than the unsavory results that it garnered for me. Sometimes when we think we love someone we make excuses for their bad behaviour, and we hide parts of ourselves that we're told are 'too much'.Unfortunately he doesn’t even like ice cream – he never has although he has never voiced this to his family (whose motto is ‘Family First’) – guilt and duty keeping him silent. This is the story of Ted, a 43 year old gay man and his journey of fulfilling his dream of becoming a drag queen, following the breakdown of his marriage.