Holly has learnt that life isn't about seizing the moment. She might have harboured dreams about travelling the world as a teenager, but she let go of those - just as she let go of Alex.
But what if the feelings never really went away?
Alex wants to make every moment of his new job count. It's a fresh start in a new city, and he knows that moving to London has nothing to do with Holly. Well, probably.
How do you know if it was meant to be. or never meant to happen at all?
A brilliantly funny, feel-good story of first love, second chances and everything inbetween, perfect for fans of romantic comedies like Love Actually, Notting Hill and Bridget Jones.
My opinion: As soon as I saw the cover of this book I knew I had to read it. I know, I know, my pretty book shallowness has hit again. But it's brought me to some great books recently, and this one is no exception.
Holly and Alex were best friends as teenagers in the nineties.They had told each other everything, apart from the fac that they had feelings for one another. They manage to fall out just before going to uni and never see each other again. Spring forward to 2010, in their late twenties Holly and Alex's paths cross once again. Only this time Alex has followed his dream to London to teach in a London Borough and Holly is a PA with a boyfriend she adores and sees a future with.
The book not only tells the story at two different points in time, but also from two different points of view. Laura Tait writes Holly's story and Jimmy Rice writes about Alex. This is such a clever concept and I was really looking forward to see how this would work. I was very pleased that it worked as well as it does and it felt pretty seamless to read. I think the best thing about this approach was getting the male characters thoughts from a male point of view, whilst still keeping a clear female feel for Holly.
I immediately liked both Alex and Holly and was rooting for them both. Although at times it was shaky, I felt emotinally attached to both of them. I felt that the book was well paced and although I had an inkling how it would end up, I didn't know how it would get there. I really enjoyed reading about Holly and Alex getting to know each other again and becoming best friends once more. I could relate to a lot of the book as my best friend through high school was male - although we were never in love with each other as far as I know! It made me reminisce about all of the good times we had before he met his now wife and was no longer allowed to speak to me (deep breaths, don't get me started!!).
I'd definitely recommend this book and really enjoyed reading it. I hope that Laura and Jimmy write together again as it worked so well with this book and I think it's a great concept. I will certainly be keeping an eye out for more from them!
My rating: Four stars
I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review
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