Back To Reality by Mark Stay and Mark Oliver

About the Book: 

The bestselling '90s nostalgia time travel comedy

Jo's world is about to change forever, and it’s about time

Her marriage is on auto-pilot, daughter hates her, job sucks and it’s not even Tuesday.

As Jo's life implodes, a freak event hurls her back to ‘90s Los Angeles where, in a parallel universe, she’s about to hit the big time as a rock star.

Jo has to choose between her dreams and her family in an adventure that propels her from London to Hollywood then Glastonbury, the world’s greatest music festival.

Jo encounters a disgraced guru, a movie star with a fetish for double-decker buses, and the biggest pop star in the world... who just happens to want to kill her.

Back to Reality is a funny, heartwarming story about second chances, with a heroine to rival Bridget Jones and the rock n roll nostalgia of Keith A Pearson.

The novel from the Bestseller Experiment podcast presenters Mark Stay and Mark Desvaux. The Two Marks went to more gigs in the '90s than in any other decade and are currently working on a time machine to see Prince in concert.

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Praise for Back to Reality:

“Like if Nick Hornby wrote a time travel, body swap adventure!”—New York Timesbestselling author Mimi Strong

“Everything the world loves about British comedy. For those who wished Simon Pegg wrote novels, you now have the Two Marks.”—USA Today bestselling author Shannon Mayer

“Written with an authentic touch and plenty of good humour. A tough book to put down.”—Mark Dawson, USA Today bestselling author of the million-selling John Milton series

“A compelling story where the comedy compliments the drama and keeps you turning the page… A delight.”—Bestselling author of The Dublin Trilogy, Caimh McDonnell

“I LOVE IT! It's Back to the Future meets Freaky Friday.”—#1 Kindle bestselling author of Hot Mess, Lucy Vine

“Crackles with all the addictive energy of a pop hit, and the heart of a soul classic.”—Samantha King, bestselling author of The Choice

“Like a book version of Hot Tub Time Machine with fabulous female characters and great music.”—Kate Harrison, author of the bestselling 5:2 series

“If you love time travel and rock and roll, you'll love this book!”—Julie Cohen, author of Together

“Sliding Doors meets Back to the Future in a story to make you sing with joy.”—Karen Ball, Speckled Pen

“A magnificent book! Loved every page. Beautifully written.”—Callan McAuliffe, actor The Walking Dead

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What Amazon readers are saying:

★★★★★ 'A real page-turner overflowing with humour.'

★★★★★ 'All kinds of funny, from laugh out loud to quiet snorts of recognition.'

★★★★★ 'I miss the characters so much I think I’ll start reading it again!'

★★★★★ 'Pure pleasure to read. You won't put it down until you reach the last page.'

★★★★★ 'An absolutely cracking read. It's funny, it's clever, it's heartwarming, and completely impossible to put down.'

★★★★★ 'It's —Spinal Tap meets —Back to the Future meets —Freaky Friday.'

★★★★★ 'Funny, fast and massively entertaining. Hugely recommend.'

★★★★★ '—Back To Reality has it all; It’s funny, it’s thrilling, its thought-provoking and inspiring, but be warned, once you start reading this book you won’t want to put it down.'

★★★★★ 'Think —Peggy Sue Got Married meets MTV. Funny and warmhearted. Highly Recommended.'

★★★★★ 'This book reads like the best comedy movies. Great pace, humour and loads of action. Recommended for fans of Douglas Adams and Helen Fielding.'

★★★★★ 'Belts along at a cracking pace, at times reminding me of Douglas Adams.'

My Review:
This book has some of just about everything happening. It's written or told by two authors, both named Mark. It has lots of comedy, a trip, dreams, relationships, body-swapping, and so forth. So it has a big range of topics and "fun." The downsides- the characters are rather shallow at times, some issues are beyond cliche. I guess that is supposed to make them funnier, but even with comedy on the screen, I don't care for that when it doesn't feel real. I do like the musical aspects. 

Politics. Just no. I was ready to quit listening when it got into that. However, I really did like the funny parts. The voicing was just fine for this book. No issues there. 

My audio copy came from Overview Media. 4 Stars

About the Authors: 

Mark Stay co-wrote the screenplay for Robot Overlords which became a movie with Sir Ben Kingsley and Gillian Anderson, and premiered at the 58th London Film Festival. Author of the fantasy novel The End of Magic, he is also co-presenter of the Bestseller Experiment podcast and worked in bookselling and publishing for over twenty-five years. He lives in Kent, England, with his family and a trio of retired chickens. He blogs and humblebrags over at markstaywrites.com

Mark Desvaux writes fiction as Mark Oliver. He also authors inspirational non-fiction and online courses, and is a professional speaker in the fields of self-development and spiritual growth. He is chairman and co-founder of the charity Foodshare. As a bestselling recording artist (Urban Myth Club), Mark's two critically-acclaimed albums have led to appearances at festivals such as Glastonbury (which he tries to mention on every podcast). He lives on Vancouver Island with his family, surrounded by the beautiful mountains and seas, with chickens, bees and very tall trees.