Rebecca is an architect whose life revolves around her job. Ben has travelled the world and now he’s back in London trying to find a purpose in his life. During the opening of their mutual friend’s bar, they meet and their lives change. One year later, Rebecca and Ben have moved in together and everything seems perfect until one night a blurted-out secret ruins everything. I was completely absorbed in this book: it is romantic, moving but also funny and unpredictable and I couldn’t put it down! (NP)
As teenagers Holly and Alex were inseparable as best friends. They were also each others' first love, except they never really got around to telling one another and messed up the whole happy-ever-after, going their separate ways - Holly to uni and a job as a PA in London while Alex stayed in their home town to become an English teacher at their former school. They haven't been in touch for eleven years but when Alex makes a move to an inner-city London school, he finds himself in contact with Holly again. And despite the years the best friends are as tight as ever. This is a quintessential romantic comedy - although with slightly more emphasis on the comedy than the romance.
Although co-written, there's never any sense of disjunction in the narrative, with a seamless flow and style throughout, and both Alex's and Holly's chapters are equally brilliant. In fact if the two authors' names weren't on the cover it would be easy to assume this was a
single-author novel. And the writing itself is really natural, fun and dynamic. Whilst Alex and Holly are at the centre of the story, there are some wonderful cameos not least by Alex's best mate, Kev, Holly's friend
and work colleague, Jemma, and Holly's mom. I did expect a bit more of a finale to the story and although it's fairly obvious what happens after the story ends, it would have been nice to have an epilogue just to give us a glimpse into that reality. Nevertheless this is a great read,
hugely enjoyable, uplifting and feel-good that delivers in all the ways you would expect. (JC)
