"Everyone remembers their first love.
Holly certainly remembers Alex. But she decided ten years ago that love wasn't about mix tapes and seizing the moment - though she's not exactly sure it's about secret dates with your boss, either.
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 big city, and he's almost certain that moving to London has nothing to do with Holly. Almost.
How do you know if it was meant to be or never meant to happen at all?"
Following the story of Holly and Alex, we’re taken on a journey of their relationship both past and present. They’ve known each other for years and it’s not always been smooth sailing. He loved her but thought she was too good for him and not interested, she loved him but thought he wasn’t interested. When Alex moves to London, he gets in touch with Holly and their friendship is left to blossom but can they pick up where they left off and finish what they started?
This was the first book I’ve ever read (apart from the dull university textbooks) that have been written by more than one author and, I’ll be honest, it’s been quite the revelation. I loved the idea of it but I love it even more in practice. It really helps you to feel like you’re being told the story from both parties involved whereas usually the story focuses on one side.
It was set in Greenwich and surrounding areas which is another thing that I really enjoyed about this book. I know it’s really silly but when a book is set in an area I know, it makes it so much easier for me to get into the book as I can picture the scene really clearly and, as I live in Greenwich, this definitely made it easier.
The difference in tones of voices and writing styles is subtle and very complementary to each other. I think that if this book had been written any differently, I probably wouldn’t have enjoyed it nearly half as much. It was written in a casual tone of voice which is undoubtedly my favourite. I like to read books that are written in such a way it feels like a friend telling me a story (I really don’t think I’m explaining this well at all), with the language used and pauses taken.
There are funny elements to this book and I definitely chuckled more than once whilst reading this, particularly at the jogging scene to name one of many. Of course, being a ‘rom-com’ book, there’s a certain element of wanting to bang their heads together but it wouldn’t be a rom-com without that, would it?!
The characters in the book are well developed and portrayed. Sometimes I feel like a character is supposed to be bitchy but then their dialogue says something utterly different – not the case with this book. I loved that there was a character called Melissa, simply because that’s my name (well, Melisa/Melissa).
If you’re looking for a light-hearted read that you’ll be able to relate to in some manner, whether it’s a lost love or a lost friendship, this book is a great option. It’s brilliantly written, it’s funny, it has great structure and flow, and is, in all honesty, a great book.
Waterstones: http://fave.co/QESdY8
Amazon: (Paperback) http://fave.co/QESwlD
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