The A to Z of Everything by Debbie Johnson - Blog Tour

Paperback, 432 pages
Published April 20th 2017 by Harper Collins
With thanks to the publisher for sending me a copy to review.

Blurb:

P is for Paris where it all began. J is for Jealousy where it all came undone. But the most important letter is F. F is for Forgiveness, the hardest of all.

Sisters Poppy and Rose used to be as close as two sisters could be, but it’s been over a decade since they last spoke. Until they both receive a call that tells them their mother has gone – without ever having the chance to see her daughters reunited.

Andrea, though, wasn’t the kind of woman to let a little thing like death stand in the way of her plans. Knowing her daughters better than they know themselves, she has left behind one very special last gift – the A-Z of Everything.

My Review:

Let me start by saying I love the cover for this book. It's so pretty and I like that different parts of the cover are raised to add texture to the book.

This book reminds me a little of P.S. I Love You by Cecilia Ahern, but instead of a husband speaking to his wife, this is a mother trying to reunite her daughters who have refused to speak to each other for over a decade by leaving a collection of messages and memories to try to remind them of what it means to be sisters.

The story is told from the past and present, leading from the girls' childhood through to the event that divided them for years. It also told through the letters, videos and cassette recordings Andrea leaves for them to try to bring them back together.

I think my favourite character in this was Andrea, even if she was speaking from beyond the grave. Her warmth, humour and vitality leap from the page and her messages were very moving. I also liked her friend Lewis who supports her to the end and beyond and is the kind of friend we all hope to have. Rose and Poppy on the other hand were quite frustrating. They have gone to opposite extremes of their personalities so that they are not living their lives to the full.

I'd be interested to know what other people think about the reason for the rift between them; as upsetting as I could imagine it was, I thought that Rose overreacted to be honest and was a hypocrite about it all. This meant that I felt more sorry for Poppy than for her. Although Rose did also have to cope with some difficult relationship problems.

Despite my frustration over the reason for the rift, I really enjoyed following their story. This is a funny and poignant story of love in all its forms and I would give it four out of five.

About the Author:

Debbie Johnson lives and works in Liverpool, where she divides her time between writing, caring for a small tribe of children and animals, and not doing the housework. She writes romance, fantasy and crime - which is as confusing as it sounds! Her first humorous contemporary romance, Cold Feet At Christmas, a seasonal tale of snow-bound fun, was released by HarperImpulse last year, and became an Amazon top ten best-seller. You can also find her supernatural crime thriller, Fear No Evil, featuring Liverpool PI Jayne McCartney, on Amazon, published by Maze/Avon Books. Debbie also writes urban fantasy, set in modern day Liverpool. Dark Vision and the follow-up Dark Touch are published by Del Rey UK. Debbie blogs at www.debbiejohnsonauthor.com. She lives with her family in Merseyside and is available to write features.

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