Still Me – Jojo Moyes

Contemporary Fiction
5*s

2019 whilst being a little poor on the actual reading front has been a great year in respect of the audio book having followed on from great success I had with this format especially with non-crime fiction genre.

Still Me is the last part in the trilogy written by the fabulously talented Jojo Moyes which started with Me Before You which I read as back in January 2013 where Lou Clark takes on a job being a nurse/companion to a quadriplegic man. This story was so popular, being later made into a film that Jojo Moyes bought Lou Clark back for more adventures. In After You we see her living a new life, meeting new people and coping with grief and her journey kept me company during my walks home from work and preparing food that I missed Lou Clarke so very much when this book finished and felt that the narrator Anna Acton now encapsulated the story for me so despite having a physical book it seemed obvious to continue in audio format.

In Still Me Lou Clarke has takes up a new job in New York through an old friend. New York is new and exciting and although Lou misses her boyfriend Sam in London, at times he seems very far away. With a whole new cast of characters in New York and this really is how Jojo Moyes captures the hearts of her readers – they are so well drawn, multi-layered and as far removed from clichés and stereotypes that lesser authors employ. There is no doubt in my mind when I was listening that Lou Clarke was a real woman, with problems not so very different to those that I have suffered, and despite being a fair bit younger than I am, it still manages to feel relevant as the cast of characters takes in the whole spectrum of people. We have the fussy old woman with her beloved dog, the unfriendly housekeeper, the spoilt rich wife, the personal trainer, the jock, the vintage clothes shop owner to name but a very few.

So although the characters are the chief pull of course even the most captivating of studies can’t stand up without a plot. Perhaps this novel has more of the general romance pitfalls than the previous two books, chiefly misunderstandings that are left to fester rather than spoken about on both sides, but despite this I was still swept along hoping for a good result for Lou whether that be a good man or no man at all. Pleasingly the latter is always a possibility especially as we also catch up with Lou’s brilliantly portrayed parents and sister as they come to terms with life not following the predictable route they thought it would. In fact Lou’s mother and her father’s reaction to life’s changes provided some of my favourite comedic moments in the book.

I finished Still Me quite some time ago but I won’t forget Lou Clarke in a hurry. It takes a special kind of skill to pen a story that has all the ranges of human emotions without it tipping into the sickly sweet arena and for someone like me who has an antipathy to ‘romantic’ tales that is high praise indeed!

First Published UK: 24 January 2018
Publisher: Penguin Books
No of Pages: 496
Listening Length: 13 hours 37 minutes
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Amazon UK
Amazon US

After You – Jojo Moyes

Contemporary Fiction
5*s

I read Me Before You way back in 2013 and loved it. You are right, this isn’t crime fiction and nor is it particularly gritty but even though Jojo Moyes was telling the story about a young woman who falls in love with her boss, a quadriplegic, I found it an irresistible read.

In 2015 Jojo Moyes bought out a sequel, called After You and I considered whether to read it and decided it would ruin the original for me (something that I always dread with sequels) and so I ignored it. And then… in 2018 a further episode to Louisa Clarke’s life was published called Still Me. At this point, a colleague read the entire trilogy after hearing about Me Before You and asked my advice on if it was worth a read. I said yes and then she raved about the other two books, and I cracked and decided to listen to After You as an audio book. My previous rambles on audio books will confirm that light-hearted contemporary fiction is my preferred listening fare.

So how was it? In short I loved it. The narrator Anna Acton is perfect for telling the next episode in Louisa’s story as she learns to live with the emotional fall-out from Me Before You. The narrator manages to get the humour to come across in her voice without it ever feeling forced and the sadder parts are also almost underplayed allowing the author’s words to work the magic and complementing them rather than overegging the pudding so to speak.

Louisa isn’t the same young woman she was. She’s more thoughtful and suffering but she also has something special to offer. What I love is although she’s undoubtable a ‘good person’ she isn’t so good it’s sickly. Jojo Moyes created a ‘real’ woman character and then has developed her, realistically to deal with the next chapter in her life.

What makes Jojo Moyes such a wonderful author – I am now a confirmed fan – is that she manages to take her readers (or listeners) through the entire gamut of emotions and I travelled unashamedly through Louisa’s despair, her hope for others and then bit by bit herself, her sympathy, her embarrassment and her joy. They are all held up for examination and our inspection. I may be considerably older than Louisa but in many ways the story she tells is a timeless and relevant to us all.  Yes, there is romance and love and all those nice things which are all made entirely palatable with a rich seam of humour to take the edge off the sweetness. I have walked and listened to Louisa laughed at her observations, winced at the embarrassment of wearing an awful Irish costume as part of her job in the airport bar, loved it when she got one over on the pompous boss and wept alongside her when life unfairly conspires against her.

I loved meeting Louisa again as well as catching up with the Traynor’s and some new characters too, all as rich and as powerful as the original book, perhaps more so because on the surface the ingredients appear to be less obvious. In fact I loved it so much that I hadn’t finished this one before I bagged the audible version of the next book in the series, I wasn’t going to miss out any longer.

First Published UK: 24 September 2015
Publisher: Penguin Books
No of Pages: 411
Listening Length: 11 hours 8 minutes
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Amazon UK
Amazon US

Night Music – Jojo Moyes

Contemporary Fiction
3*’s

Isabel Delancey’s husband Laurent is killed in a car crash and for the first time in her life she has to provide both emotionally and financially for their two children, the teenage Kitty and her younger brother Thierry. After a visit from the lawyer Isabel realises that she is going to have to move house.

Meanwhile in Norfolk a house becomes vacant at just the right time and Isabel moves her family from London to the depths of the country and a derelict house. Matt and Laura McCarthy are her neighbours but what the unworldly Isobel doesn’t realise is that they have wanted the house for years. The reader can easily predict that the McCarthy’s are not going to take the loss of the house without a fight and sure enough their twisted sense of ownership leads to some serious unpleasantness, however their teenage son is more interested in getting to know Kitty.

As the renovations start on the dilapidated Spanish House Isabel faces one crisis after another but slowly we witness Isabel’s slow realisation that she has to behave like an adult and actually start looking after her children. Thierry who hasn’t spoken since his father died needs help and Kitty is too young to be expected to look after both her mother and brother. At night Isabel plays her beloved violin whilst accepting that she can’t jet off round the world performing as she used to.

Out of all the Jojo Moyes books I’ve read this falls most firmly into the chick-lit category with the beautiful and talented Isabel ripe for that knight in shining armour, however, the plot had sufficient unexpected twists to keep my interest and that was coupled with the author’s trademark interesting, but on the right side of believable, characters. The author takes so much care over her minor characters so that I felt that I knew so many of the villagers; I could visualise the village shop presided over by the gossipy sweet gay men.

This really is perfect holiday reading with the book moving along at a good pace with different strands of the story coming to a satisfactory conclusion although I don’t think this has the depth of her more recent novels.

Click on the book covers to read my reviews

Friday Finds (May 16)

Hosted by Should be Reading

FRIDAY FINDS showcases the books you ‘found’ and added to your To Be Read (TBR) list… whether you found them online, or in a bookstore, or in the library — wherever! (they aren’t necessarily books you purchased).

So, come on — share with us your FRIDAY FINDS!

So this week somehow I have some new finds from NetGalley, they were requested some time ago (of course!)

Now That You’re Gone by Julie Corbin

Blurb

When the body of Isla’s brother, an ex-Marine and private investigator, is pulled from the River Clyde, she is convinced he was murdered. When the coroner declares Dougie’s died of accidental drowning and rules out foul play, the police are happy to close the case. But Isla has other ideas.
Determined to find out what really happened the night Dougie died, and why he was even in Glasgow, she starts looking into his unsolved cases. What she finds will put her in grave danger and force her to question everything she thought she knew about those closest to her . . .Amazon

I also have a copy of The Winter Foundlings by Kate Rhodes. This is the third in the Alice Quentin series, this is actually two reads as I must read A Killing of Angels (the second in the series) too.

Blurb

The girl’s body lay on the steps of the Foundling Museum. She was dressed all in white, and tagged with the number 12.
Britain’s most prolific child killer, Louis Kinsella, murdered nine children before he was caught and locked away for life in Northwood high-security hospital. Now someone is carrying on his work. Four girls have disappeared in North London. Three are already dead…
Psychologist Alice Quentin is working at Northwood, hoping for space and time away from her hectic London life. But she’ll do anything to save a child’s life – even if it means sitting down with a charismatic, ruthless killer and putting herself in greater danger than ever before. Goodreads

I have acquired a copy of The Lie of You by Jane Lythell

Blurb

To the outside world, Kathy is the very picture of a happy and fulfilled modern woman. She has a beautiful baby boy, a clever, handsome husband and a glamorous, high-powered job.
But not everybody is fooled. Her employee, Heja, knows the truth: the cracks in Kathy’s marriage, her self-doubt, her fear of failure at work. Heja is perfectly placed to destroy Kathy’s life. And if she succeeds, she can claim the one thing she wants most…Goodreads

and I have been lent a copy of 84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff which my friend found (before me) at the book sale we went to a couple of weeks ago.

Blurb

It all began with a letter inquiring about second-hand books, written by Helene Hanff in New York, and posted to a bookshop at 84, Charing Cross Road in London. As Helene’s sarcastic and witty letters are responded to by the stodgy and proper Frank Doel of 84, Charing Cross Road, a relationship blossoms into a warm and charming long-distance friendship lasting many years.

The same kind friend has also lent me a copy of Night Music by Jojo Moyes

Blurb

The Spanish House is a hotch potch of designs, Georgian, Gothic and Moorish, as if whoever started it had simply got bored. It has long been known to locals as an architectural folly, and is now nearly derelict to boot.
When its reclusive owner dies intestate the Spanish House is left to his city-dwelling niece. For Isabel, recently widowed, the house is a potential lifeline – the only hope she has of providing for her two children without having to sell her most treasured possession. But for neighbour Matt McCarthy, the house is revenge – on the family who ruined his father. For his wife it’s the key to the perfect family life, while a struggling property developer sees in it a whole new future.
As desires clash and intertwine, lives and loves are demolished – and the Spanish House becomes a true folly indeed . . .Amazon

What have you found to read this week?

Friday Finds (March 28)

Hosted by Should be Reading

FRIDAY FINDS showcases the books you ‘found’ and added to your To Be Read (TBR) list… whether you found them online, or in a bookstore, or in the library — wherever! (they aren’t necessarily books you purchased).

So, come on — share with us your FRIDAY FINDS!

First up this week is a book that I am picking which I will probably save for my holiday The Peacock Emporium by the inspired Jojo Moyes. Bibliobeth has written a fantastic review of this book which I highly recommend you read if you fancy this one.

Blurb

Athene Forster embraced the Sixties like few others. Nicknamed the Last Deb, she was spoiled, beautiful, and out of control. And within two years of her marriage, the rumours had begun again.
Thirty-five years on, Suzanna Peacock finds refuge from her mother’s shameful legacy in her shop, the Peacock Emporium. Within its magical walls she discovers not just friendship, and an escape from her troubled marriage, but the first real passion of her life.
But the spectre of her mother still haunts Suzanna, setting in place a series of dramatic events. Only by confronting the past will she finally be able to face the future . . .

Next is a multi-layered crime novel that I found on Rebecca Bradley’s blog, Someone to Watch Over Me by Yrsa Sigurdardottir

Blurb

Berglind hurried to her son and pulled him forcefully from the window. She held him close and tried at the same time to wipe the windowpane. But the haze couldn’t be wiped away. It was on the outside of the glass. Psi looked up at her. ‘Magga’s outside. She can’t get in. She wants to look after me.’ He pointed at the window and frowned. ‘She’s a little bit angry.’ A young man with Down’s Syndrome has been convicted of burning down his care home and killing five people, but a fellow inmate at his secure psychiatric unit has hired Thora to prove Jakob is innocent. If he didn’t do it, who did? And how is the multiple murder connected to the death of Magga, killed in a hit and run on her way to babysit? Amazon

I purchased (for free) a copy of Ghost in the Machine by Ed James after seeing a great review of the author’s latest book Bottle Neck on the blog There’s Been a Murder

Blurb

Detective Constable Scott Cullen of Lothian and Borders has only been three months in CID as a full DC. He is assigned a Missing Persons case which has stretched his uniform colleagues. Caroline Adamson – a young, recently divorced mother from Edinburgh – has disappeared whilst on a date. The more Cullen digs into her disappearance, the more he unravels her private life. Who was she on a date with? What happened during her divorce from Rob Thomson? As Cullen’s own private life gets messier and the relationship with his DI deteriorates, Caroline’s body turns up and he finds himself hunting for a ghost in the machine. Goodreads

From NetGalley I have received a copy of The Mysterious Affair at Castaway House by Stephanie Lam, I had to request this for the title alone! This debut novel is billed as a gripping read laced with mystery, secrets and love

Blurb

It’s 1965 and eighteen year-old Rosie Churchill has run away to the beautiful but run-down Castaway House in the seaside town of Helmstone. But when she uncovers a scandal locked away in the walls of the old house, she soon comes to realise that neither her own troubled past nor that of the house will stay buried for long. . .
In 1924 fresh-faced Robert Carver comes to Castaway House to spend a languid summer in the company of his much wealthier cousin, Alec Bray. But the Brays are a damaged family, with damaging secrets. And little does Robert know that his world is about to change for ever.
As Rosie begins to learn more about Robert, the further she is drawn into the mysterious history of the house, and their stories, old and new, entwine. NetGalley

This is due to be published on 28 August 2014 by Penguin Books (UK)

What have you found to read this week?

Four Fantastic Books Published Today (February 27)

Well today is a great day for new books!

To read my reviews click on the book covers

First up is The One Plus One by Jojo Moyes

Blurb

One single mum
With two jobs and two children, Jess Thomas does her best day after day. But it’s hard on your own. And sometimes you take risks you shouldn’t. Because you have to . . .
One chaotic family
Jess’s gifted, quirky daughter Tanzie is brilliant with numbers, but without a helping hand she’ll never get the chance to shine. And Nicky, Jess’s teenage stepson, can’t fight the bullies alone.
Sometimes Jess feels like they’re sinking . . .
One handsome stranger
Into their lives comes Ed Nicholls, a man whose life is in chaos, and who is running from a deeply uncertain future. But he has time on his hands. He knows what it’s like to be lonely. And he wants to help . . .
One unexpected love story
The One Plus One is a captivating and unconventional romance from Jojo Moyes about two lost souls meeting in the most unlikely circumstances. Goodreads

This is one emotional read but utterly satisfying. Jojo Moyes is one of those writers that has the power to make you really care about the characters she has created so much so they become your friends. A publisher’s dream for Penguin Books.

Next up is Mrs Sinclair’s Suitcase by Louise Walters

Blurb

Forgive me, Dorothea, for I cannot forgive you. What you do, to this child, to this child’s mother, it is wrong…
Roberta likes to collect the letters and postcards she finds in second-hand books. When her father gives her some of her grandmother’s belongings, she finds a baffling letter from the grandfather she never knew – dated after he supposedly died in the war.
Dorothy is unhappily married to Albert, who is away at war. When an aeroplane crashes in the field behind her house she meets Squadron Leader Jan Pietrykowski, and as their bond deepens she dares to hope she might find happiness. But fate has other plans for them both, and soon she is hiding a secret so momentous that its shockwaves will touch her granddaughter many years later…Goodreads

A fantastic dual time-line novel with the modern day Roberta finding out about Dorothy’s life at the time of World War II. Who couldn’t forgive Dorothea and why is the big question at the heart of this novel published by Hodder & Stoughton.

Next up is the debut novel by Sarah Hilary, Someone Else’s Skin one of my favourite crime novels written this year, published by Headline.

Blurb

Detective Inspector Marnie Rome. Dependable; fierce; brilliant at her job; a rising star in the ranks. Everyone knows how Marnie fought to come back from the murder of her parents, but very few know what is going on below the surface. Because Marnie has secrets she won’t share with anyone.
But then so does everyone. Certainly those in the women’s shelter Marnie and Detective Sergeant Noah Jake visit on that fateful day. The day when they arrive to interview a resident, only to find one of the women’s husbands, who shouldn’t have been there, lying stabbed on the floor.
As Marnie and Noah investigate the crime further, events begin to spiral and the violence escalates. Everyone is keeping secrets, some for survival and some, they suspect, to disguise who they really are under their skin.
Now, if Marnie is going to find the truth she will have to face her own demons head on. Because the time has come for secrets to be revealed…

This is just my sort of crime fiction, one where there are a myriad of storylines, expertly handled and with likeable characters to compensate for the baddies! This book was so much more than I had expected!

And lastly out of the fab four is the superbly creepy A Pleasure and a Calling by Phil Hogan published by Doubleday

Blurb

You won’t remember Mr Heming. He showed you round your comfortable home, suggested a sustainable financial package, negotiated a price with the owner and called you with the good news. The less good news is that, all these years later, he still has the key.
That’s absurd, you laugh. Of all the many hundreds of houses he has sold, why would he still have the key to mine?
The answer to that is, he has the keys to them all.
William Heming’s every pleasure is in his leafy community. He loves and knows every inch of it, feels nurtured by it, and would defend it – perhaps not with his life but if it came to it, with yours… Goodreads

This book has haunted me since the day I read it and I know I am going to have to pick it up again to experience the sheer cleverness of the tale of a boy who started by hiding in wardrobes and finished up living amongst unsuspecting families.

The One Plus One – Jojo Moyes

Contemporary Fiction
5*’s

Well Jojo Moyes has done it again! By that I mean she has made me fall in love with the characters, made me laugh and made me cry. There I was on my sick bed giving into my emotions at a particularly sad part of the tale, when the doorbell rang. Not only had I been suffering with a high temperature meaning I was sweaty, my hair stuck unflatteringly to my head and in my most comfy pyjamas, I then had to answer the door to the DHL man. He looked seriously concerned probably because the red blotches from crying looked even more alarming against my deathly pale skin,  so I muttered ‘a virus’ signed on the magic machine and scooted upstairs, straight back to this book.

So what is it about? The One Plus One is very different to both The Girl You Left Behind and Me Before You; although the storyline keeps you reading in exactly the same way, the underlying plot is in many ways less defined. This isn’t about war-time or living life as a quadriplegic, there is no ‘big issue’ instead The One Plus One looks at the more mundane, but perhaps because of that, the more significant issue of hope.  At its root the story is that of Jess Thomas who is trying to improve the lives of two children, her daughter Tanzie and her step-son Nicky.

This book provides a social commentary on many issues covering the core subjects of low income families seemingly fruitless struggle to improve their lives and those of their children, blended families and the way that it isn’t uncommon to live in an unusual mix of relationships as well as the gap in perception between those better off members of society.  It also packs fractured family relationships, parental illness and bullying, so there is plenty to get your teeth into!

Jess Thomas is one gutsy character, optimistic against seemingly impossible odds, a single mother since Marty left two years previously. She has a cleaning company with her friend, a second job in a pub and a paperback book addiction (all bought from charity shops) and although she adores the children, like so many mothers is so busy working she doesn’t always have time to enjoy them.

Ed Nicholls is having women problems, he is also the director of an up and coming software company has two homes and several cars. When Jess meets him while cleaning his home the enmity between them soon becomes apparent but in a strange twist of fate they are forced to spend quite a lot of time together….

This is very much a character based story and the characters Ed, Jess, Nicky and Tanzie all take turns in narrating events.  This is one book where this device works well to give a rounded picture of each of their individual personalities.  Jess and her family are instantly likeable the depiction of children of that age an authentic one, Moyes hasn’t fallen into the trap of making the teenage Nicky in the mould of the popular cliché, yes he is sullen at times but with good reason, but he is far more like the teenagers who came through the door of my house than many I come across in books.

I don’t want to say anything else as I don’t want to spoil the story for all of you who are going to pick it up, but I can’t conclude this review without saying that this is one  author who has an unerring eye for detail.  She perfectly captures the quirks of human nature and has the ability to tell a cracking story, one that will have you laughing one moment and fighting back (or not bothering if you are poorly) the tears the next. I would thoroughly recommend this one.

I received a free copy of this book from Penguin Books UK in return for this review ahead of publication on 27 February 2014.

“I don’t understand how our family can basically do the right thing and yet always end up in the crap.”

Other books by Jojo Moyes:

Click on the links to see my reviews

The Girl You Left Behind

A dual time-line tale set in France during the First World War and London in the present day.  Sophie and Liv’s lives are linked by a painting.

“Conned any other women out of their valuables lately ?” she says quietly, so quietly that only he will hear it.
“Nope. I’ve been too busy stealing handbags and seducing the vulnerable.”
Her head shoots up and his eyes lock on hers. He is, she sees with some shock, as furious as she is.”

Me Before You

Will Traynor is a quadriplegic whose life is changed when Lou Clark is employed to help him.  This grim sounding story-line is lightened to unrecognisable heights by Jojo Moyes’ expert writing which lightens the mood while sucking you and then Bam! you’re in a sad bit and sobbing….

“Do you know how hard it is to say nothing? When every atom of you strains to do the opposite? I had practiced not saying anything the whole way from the airport, and it was still nearly killing me.”

WWW Wednesday (February 19)

Hosted by Miz B at Should be Reading
To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…
• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

I am currently reading The Fall and Rise of Lucy Charlton by Elizabeth Gill

Blurb

1920, Durham. Since she was a child, Lucy Charlton has dreamed of working with her father in the family solicitor’s firm. But a scandal shatters her dreams and, when her father disowns her, she finds herself on the streets, fighting for survival.
Joe Hardy has returned to London after the Great War to find his life in tatters – his father is dead and his pregnant fiancée has disappeared. Then Joe learns he’s unexpectedly inherited an old river house in Durham from a stranger called Margaret Lee. With nothing left for him in London, he makes arrangements to travel north and claim it.
Lucy’s determination has finally secured her a job as a legal secretary, campaigning for the rights of the poorest in society. As Joe arrives in her office to collect the keys to his new home, she promises to help him uncover information about his mystery benefactor. But before long, the past comes back to haunt them both, with shocking consequences…NetGalley

I have just finished The One Plus One by Jojo Moyes which I will be reviewing later in the week. Jojo Moyes has an amazing ability to make this reader both laugh and cry by writing about characters that I fall in love with.

Next I will be abandoning the loveliness and returning to the psychopaths by reading Unravelling Oliver by Liz Nugent

Blurb

Oliver Ryan is a handsome and charismatic success story. He lives in the suburbs with his wife, Alice, who illustrates his award-winning children’s books and gives him her unstinting devotion. Their life together is one of enviable privilege and ease – enviable until, one evening after supper, Oliver attacks Alice and beats her into a coma.

In the aftermath, as everyone tries to make sense of his astonishing act of savagery, Oliver tells his story. So do those whose paths he has crossed over five decades. What unfolds is a story of shame, envy, breath-taking deception and masterful manipulation.

Only Oliver knows the lengths to which he has had to go to get the life to which he felt entitled. But even he is in for a shock when the past catches up with him. Amazon

What do you have to read this week?

Tuesday Teaser (February 18)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My Teaser this week is from The One Plus One by Jojo Moyes

Blurb

Jess Thomas wants . . .
. . . to be more than a single mum getting by day after day
. . . to do her best for her gifted but sensitive daughter Tanzie
. . . to find a way back from the loneliest place on earth
Ed Nicholls is hoping . . .
. . . he won’t go to jail
. . . there’s a way back from the biggest mistake of his life
. . . something or someone will make it all go away
Jess and Ed are . . .
. . . two strangers looking for a little kindness
. . . two lost souls with a lot to learn from each other
. . . about to find out that one plus one makes more – so much more – than two.  Amazon

Teaser

Things they had found while cleaning people’s houses:
False teeth
An escaped guinea pig
A long-lost wedding ring (they were given a box of chocolates for this)
A signed photograph of cliff Richard (no chocolates; owner denied all knowledge)
Money.

‘She thought I worked too much.’
‘They never say that on Jeremy Kyle’

Me Before You – Jojo Moyes

Contemporary Fiction
5*’s

When Lou Clark loses her job in a cafe she ends up working for Wil Traynor a quadriplegic and this is the story of how the experience changed her outlook on life. Describing this book is difficult as the subject matter sounds grim, but the writing and the humour, particularly between the lead characters, lifts the story and makes this a truly memorable read. That said there are some sad parts and I certainly had a lump in my throat more than once.

I chose this book having read Jojo Moyes latest book The Girl You Left Behind which was also brilliant.
I really enjoyed this book, Jojo Moyes has a real flair for writing with great characterisation including the minor characters. As well as the central tale there are themes of family relationships, education and living life to the full potential. A perfect book in every respect.

Related articles

• Book review: Me Before You by Jojo Moyes (notthesink.wordpress.com)
• My favourite authors: Jojo Moyes (sarahjauslin.wordpress.com)
• Eleven Reasons to Read Me Before You. (elevenreasons.wordpress.com)