Book Review - Just The Way You Are by Lynsey James - Blog Tour

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Title: Just The Way You Are

Author: Lynsey James

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Carina

Publication Date: 8th May 2015

Rating: 5 Stars

Dear Ava,

How do you start writing a letter to someone, six years after breaking their heart?

Ava is unlucky in love as well as in life. The new office bitch has landed the dating column Ava wanted, and she can't remember the last time she had a second date. It's a good thing she has best friends Max and Gwen to pick up the pieces.

Deep down, Ava knows the reason why one date never turns into two – she's in love with someone else. Someone she's never even met.

It all started six years ago, with a letter from a secret admirer, Mr Writer... but then they suddenly stopped and Ava was heartbroken.

Now the letters have started again and Ava knows it could mean winning back the dating column at work. This time she's determined to unmask Mr Writer... and find out once and for all if he's Mr Right or Mr Very Definitely Wrong!

Dear reader, 

How do you start writing a review for a book you have fallen head over heels in love with?  I'm hoping you know, as I'm not sure I have the skills, or know how to turn how much I love Just The Way You Are, into a usable review.

This is easily the most romantic book I have read this year (so far). I was gripped from the first moment, where we meet Ava. 

How do I describe Ava? Well she is unlucky in love, and has just lost out writing the dating column for the magazine she write for. After a humorous incident in the interview, she is given as a consolation prize, a new role - Wedding columnist. Just one small problem she hates weddings, especially after the amount of times her mother has been married.

Ava, although not having had a boyfriend in years, is in love. She has been inlove for the past 6 years with the secret admirer who wrote her letters at university, nicknamed Mr Writer. Mr Writer starts writing new letters to her after a gap of six years, at a time where Ava could be starting a new relationship, with a handsome new colleague at work. 

Max and Gwen are Ava's best friends, and like all good best friends should, they encourage her to go on a quest, to discover the Mr Writer's identity once and for all.

With the quality of the writing, I was falling in love with Mr Writer myself. His letters are designed to make Ava feel incredibly special, and it is so refreshing, to in this modern technology driven time, to receive hand written letters from a secret admirer. 

I'll be honest, I did work out who was sending the letters quite early on, but I was enjoying the story so much, and was so gripped reading, that I didn't mind one bit that I was correct. The journey to the reveal was entertaining. 

There is a secondary love story in Just The Way You Are, its a beautiful, featuring an older couple, that Ava is trying to help. 

I cannot stress enough how refreshing a voice Lynsey James has, and what a glorious writing style she has. I don't think there was anything I didn't like about this book (apart from perhaps the characters you are meant to dislike, and even in those cases, they were written with a great deal of humanity, and you could see weaknesses too). 

This is an amazing début novel, and I hope to see a long writing career for talented Lynsey James. If I could give this book more than five stars then I would, as it is, it deserves every single star it can get.

Thank you so much Netgalley and Carina for the e-arc of this book. This was my honest opinion. Thank you again to Carina, for allowing me to be part of the blog tour for this amazing book. This is my first tour and I'm delighted to be taking part.