July 2025
ISBN 9781761630323 (ISBN10: 1761630326)
ASIN B0DWNGSF94
My Review:
I listened to this on audible.
Wow …, well I wasn’t expecting that ending. Though I couldn’t see how it could end. Jess pulled it out the bag with the final chapter.
Two beautiful characters drawn together without realising they were part of an experiment.
What would you do with your time if you were told it was short?
Angus is entitled, rich and arrogant playboy whose life revolves around parties, whilst Layla as a stressful overloaded job as a lawyer with employers who expect more and more from their employees. She has no time for a life outside of work due to workload pressures and can’t see a way for it to improve.
Entering the experiment as a way to give there lives propose, both drop into pits of despair upon receiving their death date.
Angus not sure what to do with a long life whilst Layla feels like she’s stopped living when greeted with her death date.
And they can tell no one, they can only talk to those running the experiment.
Angus’s mother a rich pompous woman with a big ego annoyed me. I was conflicted between her attitude to Angus and Angus to her. I felt she’d created the man he’d become, yet he had to take the blame for their failing mother and son relationship. Jilly and Angus were really as bad as each other.
Angus, until he met Layla had enjoyed a life of leisure, parties, girls, drugs, luxury cars….
But he becomes embarrassed by his wealth, the life experiment makes him think that this lifestyle has no purpose, no meaning. We all know Money can’t buy love and happiness. Lying to Layla helped him feel like a normal human being, not the privileged playboy son of wealthy parents.
Thank goodness for Layla’s sister Maya.
I love how uncomplicated a read this is, a handful of clear characters that flow from chapter to chapter easily.
I loved the voices , Maya being very northern resonated with me and Layla softly spoken. It was so easy to relate to the characters, to like them to want it all to be ok but knowing it couldn’t be with their death dates hanging over them.
About:
A poignant, life-affirming love story about two people whose lives are turned upside down when they enter an experiment that predicts when they will die. For fans of Beth O’Leary, David Nicholls and Matt Haig.
When OPM Discoveries puts out an ad seeking participants for The Life Experiment, a study that claims to help people searching for meaning, Layla and Angus are among those who apply. Little do they know they’re about to be told when they will die.
Layla, a corporate lawyer, has foregone all relationships for her career. Growing up on the poverty line, Layla fought tirelessly to better her circumstances, but stuck in the monotony of long hours, impossible deadlines and the London rat race, she wonders if happiness can be found behind a desk after all.
Angus, an esteemed Fairview-Whitley, is struggling with his family’s expectations after the death of his brother and a failed investment. Unsure what to do with his life, Angus is frozen in a cycle of late nights and lazy days, watching time pass him by.
Unaware that they are participating in the same experiment, Layla and Angus meet by chance the day they get their results. Their attraction is instant, but can they open their hearts to more when their time might be brief?
