Thursday 28 January 2016

Book Review - You and Me, Always by Jill Mansell

Amazon UK
Title: You and Me, Always
Author: Jill Mansell
Format reviewed: Ebook
Source: Netgalley
Publisher: Headline Reviewer
Publication Date: 28th January 2016
Rating: 5 Stars


On the morning of Lily's twenty-fifth birthday, it's time to open the very last letter written to her by her beloved mother, who died when she was eight.

Learning more about the first and only real love of her mum's life is a revelation. On the same day, Lily also meets Eddie Tessler, a man fleeing fame who just might have the ability to change her world in unimaginable ways. But her childhood friend Dan has his own reasons for not wanting Lily to get too carried away by Eddie's attentions.

Before long, secrets begin to emerge and Lily's friends and family become involved. In the beautiful Cotswold village of Stanton Langley, nothing will ever be the same again...

I have been a huge fan of Jill Mansell for far more years than I care to count, and I am so glad that I am. Pretty much every single book she releases is brilliant, and You and Me, Always is no exception,. 

As You and Me, Always started I was a slightly apprehensive that it would be a very sad book (which isn't what I was in the mood for), but it couldn't have been any further from that. It is a wonderful romantic comedy, the key elements of it come into play on Lily's 25th birthday. 

Each year on her birthday, she gets a letter from her mother, who passed away when she was only eight years old. This years letter is the last one, and with it there is a present and her mother talks about her first love. 

From this letter we get a great introduction to the main characters who feature in the book, and on the same day Lily meets a famous actor, who is hiding out in her friend's cottage. Dan however doesn't like Eddie (the star), and tries to put Lily off. 

We get to see all of Patsy's disastrous online dating efforts, watch out for a moment on a tandem bike, and also discover Coral starting to feel a bit more ready to start dating again, two years after the death of her husband.  

There are many close knit friendships that was get to observe in the village of Stanton Langley, and some of the surrounding area is stunning.  I loved seeing what was going on in the village and the way the characters clearly care about each other. 

You and Me, Always was a pleasure to read, and I loved every second of it. It is a great introduction to Jill Mansell's books if you have never read any of them before. 

Thank you to Netgalley and Headline for this review copy. This was my honest opinion. 

Happy Publication day to Jill Mansell. You and Me, Always is out today, in ebook and hardcover. 

1 comment:

  1. Yup, love Jill Mansell too. Fab review, Rachel. Thanks so much for sharing. :) xx

    ReplyDelete

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