All About Us by Tom Ellen

A chance encounter on Christmas Eve leads to the journey of a lifetime in this powerful and emotional love story, perfect for fans of Josie Silver, David Nicholls and Jojo Moyes.

One moment in time can change your life forever…

Ben’s always loved the holidays but with his marriage to Daphne on the rocks, this year they’re missing their usual magic. So when his old flame Alice gets back in touch, Ben can’t help wonder: did he make the right choice all those years ago?

Yet everything changes on Christmas Eve when a twinkly-eyed stranger sells Ben a mysterious watch, the hands frozen at one minute to midnight. Opening his eyes the next morning, Ben is astonished to find that he has been catapulted back to 5th December 2005: the day he first kissed Daphne, leaving Alice behind.

Now Ben must make the biggest decision of his life, all over again. But this time around, will he finally find the courage to follow his heart?

All About Us is a deeply moving novel about love, loss and heartbreak — and how, with the help of a little magic, it’s never too late to find the one you’ve been searching for.

Paperback, UK, 400 pages
Expected publication: October 15th 2020 by HQ
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

My Review

This is a wonderfully enchanting re-imagining of A Christmas Carol, with memorable characters and a moving story.

The author grabbed my attention from the very first page and I couldn't put the book down after that. As Ben travels back in time and revisits key moments in his life, we join him on his journey rediscovering the past with fresh eyes. He develops a lot as the book progresses and he re-examines his decisions, regrets and mistakes. His relationships with Daphne, his mum, his best friend Harvey and Alice are explored in different ways, and show how people and experiences shape us.

The book was also incredibly emotional and it moved me to tears more than once. I loved it and don't hesitate to give it 5 out of 5!

This Lovely City by Louise Hare

"The drinks are flowing. The music’s playing. But the party can’t last.

London, 1950. With the Blitz over and London still rebuilding after the war, jazz musician Lawrie Matthews has answered England’s call for help. Arriving from Jamaica aboard the Empire Windrush, he’s taken a tiny room in south London lodgings, and has fallen in love with the girl next door.

Touring Soho’s music halls by night, pacing the streets as a postman by day, Lawrie has poured his heart into his new home — and it’s alive with possibility. Until one morning, while crossing a misty common, he makes a terrible discovery.

As the local community rallies, fingers of blame are pointed at those who had recently been welcomed with open arms. And before long, London’s newest arrivals become the prime suspects in a tragedy which threatens to tear the city apart. Immersive, poignant, and utterly compelling, Louise Hare’s debut examines the complexities of love and belonging, and teaches us that even in the face of anger and fear, there is always hope."

Hardcover, 400 pages

Expected publication: March 12th 2020 by Harper Collins

I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

My Review

Louise Hare brings post-war London to life in this exploration of the arrival of the Windrush generation. People invited across the world to new homes who then weren't welcomed by the British people. The story follows Lawrie who has taken a chance to come to London in search of new opportunities and the people he meets along the way. His discovery sparks the tension that has been held within the community.

Equally important to the story is his girlfriend Evie, who has lived with racism all her life and a mother who has always made her feel guilty for ruining her life. As their stories converge the author explores many themes, from widespread racism, to the women whose husbands returned from the war different men and those trying to rebuild their lives without men. This story highlights a society that was starting to become more progressive but still had double-standards when it came to sex and race.

This was an interesting story that kept me guessing until the end but was a little slow at times. I would give it 3 out of 5.

The Author

Louise Hare is a London-based writer and has an MA in Creative Writing from Birkbeck, University of London. Originally from Warrington, the capital is the inspiration for much of her work, including This Lovely City, which began life after a trip into the deep level shelter below Clapham Common.

Still Me by Jojo Moyes

Blurb

"Louisa Clark arrives in New York ready to start a new life, confident that she can embrace this new adventure and keep her relationship with Ambulance Sam alive across several thousand miles. She has been hired by the superrich Gopniks—Leonard and his unhappy, much younger second wife, Agnes—and finds herself amid a never-ending array of household staff and hangers-on. But Lou is determined to get the most out of the experience and throws herself into her job and this very privileged New York life.

As Lou tries to keep the two sides of her world together, she finds herself carrying secrets—not all her own—that cause a catastrophic change in her circumstances. And when matters come to a head, she has to ask herself Who is Louisa Clark? And how do you reconcile a heart that lives in two places?"

Hardcover, 475 pages
Published January 25th 2018 by Michael Joseph

My Review

We had our hearts broken with Lou is Me Before You, and stumbled through a world without Will in After You, now in Still Me, Lou is starting to become the best and bravest version of herself. The story continues directly from the last book as Lou has just arrived in New York to start her new adventure working with the Gopniks, a family caught up in a whirlwind of socialite events and backstabbing among the elite of New York.

Lou has grown so much as a character by the time she's in this book; she stands up for herself, fights for what she wants and still does it all with a unique sense of fashion!

I was gripped by the way her relationship developed with Sam, still living back in London. I also enjoyed her family's antics. However, the relationship I enjoyed reading most of all was between Lou and Margot De Witt. Does anyone else wish they could meet a smart, sassy older lady to be their mentor and friend?

I think it's a mark of how good this book is that I bought it a year after it's release and it was still only available in hardback - I just couldn't wait any longer! It was definitely worth the wait and I can't recommend it enough as a moving and satisfying conclusion to Lou's story. 5 out of 5


The Author

Jojo Moyes is a British novelist.

Moyes studied at Royal Holloway, University of London. She won a bursary financed by The Independent newspaper to study journalism at City University and subsequently worked for The Independent for 10 years. In 2001 she became a full time novelist.

Moyes' novel Foreign Fruit won the Romantic Novelists' Association (RNA) Romantic Novel of the Year in 2004.

She is married to journalist Charles Arthur and has three children.

This is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay

The Blurb

"Adam Kay was a junior doctor from 2004 until 2010, before a devastating experience on a ward caused him to reconsider his future. He kept a diary throughout his training, and This Is Going to Hurt intersperses tales from the front line of the NHS with reflections on the current crisis. The result is a first-hand account of life as a junior doctor in all its joy, pain, sacrifice and maddening bureaucracy, and a love letter to those who might at any moment be holding our lives in their hands."

Paperback, 280 pages

Published April 19th 2018 by Picador (first published September 7th 2017)

With thanks to Stacey for lending me her copy!



My Review

Told in short, sharp diary entries, this is a blistering examination of life as a junior doctor. I gasped, laughed and winced my way through the book. I actually laughed out loud a lot at the way Adam Kay describes the mishaps and awkward situations he encountered as a junior doctor, so I had to keep stopping to read each section to my partner so he knew why I was laughing.

That said, there are some heartbreaking moments in this book, both in terms of events that happened to his patients and the rigorous and isolating life that he was leading as a junior doctor. It was devastating reading how someone so dedicated, like so many healthcare professionals, was driven to the point where he felt he could no longer continue in the profession after years of training and hard-work.
A must read for anyone and everyone! 5 out of 5 from me.

The Author

Adam Kay is a writer and comedian.

He writes extensively for TV and film. His first book "This is Going to Hurt" is out now.

The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert

The Blurb

"Seventeen-year-old Alice and her mother have spent most of Alice’s life on the road, always a step ahead of the uncanny bad luck biting at their heels. But when Alice’s grandmother, the reclusive author of a cult-classic book of pitch-dark fairy tales, dies alone on her estate, the Hazel Wood, Alice learns how bad her luck can really get: her mother is stolen away―by a figure who claims to come from the Hinterland, the cruel supernatural world where her grandmother's stories are set. Alice's only lead is the message her mother left behind: “Stay away from the Hazel Wood.”

Alice has long steered clear of her grandmother’s cultish fans. But now she has no choice but to ally with classmate Ellery Finch, a Hinterland superfan who may have his own reasons for wanting to help her. To retrieve her mother, Alice must venture first to the Hazel Wood, then into the world where her grandmother's tales began―and where she might find out how her own story went so wrong."

Hardcover, 368 pages

Published January 30th 2018 by Flatiron Books

With thanks to Netgalley for sending me a copy to review.

My Review

This is a riveting, enchanting tale with elements that feel like a traditional fairytale, where there isn't always a happy ending. 

Alice is a spiky, independent character with anger issues and a bond with her mother that means she doesn't need anyone else, which is good when they have spent all her life running and hiding.

When her mother goes missing, her friendship with Ellery Finch grows, but his obsession with her grandmother's fairytales means she always keeps him a little at arms length.

The story is mysterious and chilling at times, and it is hard to know what is real and what isn't for the reader as well as Alice. The descriptions are magical and eerie, and the setting almost becomes a character itself. I also really enjoyed the snippets from her grandmother's fairytales.

I was completely enthralled by Alice's story. This is a world to get lost in, if you dare. 4 out of 5 from me.


The Author

Melissa Albert is the founding editor of the Barnes & Noble Teen Blog and the managing editor of BN.com. She has written for Time Out Chicago, SparkLife, MTV and McSweeney's.