“Anna Alessi – history expert, possessor of a lot of hair
and an occasionally filthy mouth – seeks nice man for intelligent conversation
and Mills & Boon moments.
Despite the oddballs that keep turning up on her dates, Anna
couldn’t be happier. As a 30-something with a job she loves, life has turned
out better than she dared dream. However, things weren’t always this way, and
her years spent as the ‘Italian Galleon’ of an East London comprehensive are
ones she’d rather forget.
So when James Fraser – the architect of Anna’s final
humiliation at school – walks back into her life, her world is turned upside
down. But James seems a changed man. Polite. Mature. Funny, even. People can
change, right? So why does Anna feel like she’s a fool to trust him?”
Anna is haunted by her past and, though she thinks she’s
over it, she’s really just spent years blocking it out, a fact she realises
when she decides, thanks in part to her friends, to go to her school reunion
and face her demons. It turns out the people in her past don’t remember her so
can she start afresh and prove she’s changed as those from her past prove they’ve
changed too? Maybe…
When she goes to the school reunion, she sees James and Loz;
James being the main character from her past that broke her down and Loz being
his sidekick. Neither of them recognise her (she’s lost a hell of a lot of
weight and truly blossomed, in all senses, by all accounts) and Laurence tries
to make a move, causing Anna to make an excuse and leave, with the hope that
she’ll never have to see them again.
Oh, how wrong she was! She ends up having to work with
James, a situation she is definitely not a fan of. She decides she can either
be nice and give him another chance or make his working life difficult. Turns
out she can’t stick to the option she chose and I’m so glad that’s the case.
They build a friendship that’s by no means smooth but, oh
jeez, you feel compelled to keep reading in the hope they work it out. If they
were my friends in real life, I would definitely have bashed their heads
together at various points in the book.
Whilst Anna and James are attempting, and sometimes failing,
to sort out their differences, Anna’s sister Aggy is in the process of planning
her wedding – something that doesn’t go to plan either but, thanks to a
surprising helpful hand, Aggy gets her wedding after all, even if it’s not the
one she’d been dreaming of.
In most stories, when the lead female has been hurt in the
past it’s usually some stupid guy who didn’t realise what he had and left or,
worse, cheated and then left. Anna’s story is so different to that. Without
giving too much away, she wasn’t just hurt by the guy she liked, she was
publically humiliated too, in front of a school hall of judgemental, rude,
teenagers. Yes, it involves a boy but not a boyfriend.
It was nice to read a story whereby the lead character has
literally been to their lowest point possible and made it through, growing into
a strong woman that men adore and want to be with whilst women want to be her.
Anna’s not perfect but that’s part of her charm and what makes her character
such a joy to read.
It’s also touching to see the way James reacts when he finds
out just how much of an impact his actions had on Anna; genuine horror and
remorse. The length’s he goes to in order to win back her trust and become the
friend to her that she needs also makes for great reading.
There are twists and turns throughout which keep you on the
edge of your seat and turning the pages, a fine testament to McFarlane’s
exceptional writing skills. This would be a great read for anyone who has been
belittled by another human and made to feel worthless and not good enough
because it’s inspirational and shows that you can become the butterfly you
always wanted to be.
Although it’s based around a horrible topic, ‘Here’s Looking
at You’ had me smiling, laughing, and full of happiness. Okay, fine, I’m not
that tough – I also shed a tear or two as well. I can’t recommend this book
enough and I’m going to have to read more of Mhairi McFarlane’s work in the
future!
*paid for by myself*
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