I devoured this book. Although I had an inkling about what was going on quite early it didn't detract from my enjoyment at all. Not your run of the mill love story but boy did it pack an emotional punch.

"Robbie and Emily they have been together for decades. Now, their joints are creaking and their eyesight is failing - but their love for each other is as fresh and fierce as the day they first met. They have had children and grandchildren, lived full and happy and intimate lives.

But they have been keeping a secret since the day they met, when their lives changed forever. Over the years, the sacrifices and choices they made have sealed their fates together.

Did they do the right thing? Read their story, and you decide."

A lovely sounding story, and I enjoyed it to a certain extent.
However, without giving spoilers, once the secret was revealed I could not finish the book.

I am in charge of our Senior School library and now during this time of lockdown, I am looking for a diverse array of new books to furnish their shelves with and inspire our young people to read a wider and more diverse range of books as they move through the senior school. It is hard sometimes to find books that will grab the attention of young people as their time is short and we are competing against technology and online entertainments.
This was a thought-provoking and well-written read that will appeal to readers across the board. It had a really strong voice and a compelling narrative that I think would capture their attention and draw them in. It kept me engrossed and I think that it's so important that the books that we purchase for both our young people and our staff are appealing to as broad a range of readers as possible - as well as providing them with something a little 'different' that they might not have come across in school libraries before.
This was a really enjoyable read and I will definitely be purchasing a copy for school so that our young people can enjoy it for themselves. A satisfying and well-crafted read that I keep thinking about long after closing its final page - and that definitely makes it a must-buy for me!

Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.

After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley.

I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
Natalie.

Finally read this - and why did I not do it sooner. A lovely read, delving back into the past to discover why choices were made, paths taken, and a twist as well. What's not to love. Recommended.

This is not a great love story.
This is a story about great love.

An emotional and beautifully written romance by Julie Cohen.

A captivating and very original love story.

Together begins in 2016 and eventually unravels all the way back to 1962, when Robbie and Emily, the couple in question, first meet. I was deeply intrigued because all the characters are introduced early and what *has* occurred is very clear (people are no longer together, have passed away, Emily is estranged from her family) but it is not obvious why these things have happened, and how things ended up how they have. It is a testament to Julie Cohen's storytelling skills that she was able to implant enough information to get you hooked and keep reading, but not give anything away too early. While I did eventually guess the final twist, it was still executed very well. It's not a sentimental story at all - rather, it makes you think about life and the nature of love itself, and how we really don't choose love, it chooses us and we are powerless when it does.

Everything about Together felt very realistic and honest - I loved the dialogue especially, which flowed effortlessly.

Together is a compelling novel about love and secrets - I found it very hard to put down!

With thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC.

Thank you to Orion for my copy of this book via Netgalley. I first heard about this book in May from my friends Lara and Sam at Hillingdon Library. We were at a book launch in London and we were chatting about our recent reads and this came highly recommended from both but it also had a warning of controversy.

This book is about the love of Robert and Emily. The story is told backwards. We start in the present day and work our way back to when they met. I think that this was very clever. It made you fall in love with the characters before you find out their secret.

Once I found out the secret I was torn. In fact, months later I am still torn and I think I will always be torn which is the beauty of this book. It will leave an imprint on you . It is one of those epic stories that once read will never leave you.

I have to thank Sam and Lara for making me read this book because even though my feelings are mixed I do not regret reading this book one bit. It affected me more than I thought and I have thought about it many times since I read it in the Summer. I delayed writing my review to see if I could come to a decision on how I feel but I’ve realised that isn’t going to happen.

So while I would recommend reading this book I will give you the same warning that I was given, when you find out the secret it will affect you. It will make you question everything and most probably leave you feeling torn just as I am.

Together couldn’t have started better. I cried on the first page - which I think is a first in my reading career, and an amazing accomplishment by Julie Cohen to pack that emotional punch into so few words. But perhaps it’s appropriate to start sobbing, as this is a book written backwards. You meet Robbie and Emily at the end of their long romance, then follow the tale back to its shocking beginning. You’re invested in them from the start, as you can see how much their love has weathered storms, and in that respect there’s a touch of The Notebook to it. But it’s clear from early in the book that this lovely couple are keeping secrets.

There’s a certain jigsaw puzzle delight in working out how everything fits together and it’s very skilfully done. But while the backwards timeline works well as a breadcrumb trail of clues, I found the dangling of the ‘big secret’ slightly heavy handed. At the end I felt more a sense of intellectual satisfaction as the last piece clicks into place, than the emotional climax I’d been expected - the tears of the first page didn’t return at the end. But it’s a delightful story, with some original and wonderful characters, and the unusual format makes it a fun read.

Love is always right.... right?

Emily and Robbie, a couple still very much in love. The two of them together, compatible. They have secrets, the big stuff they don't really talk about. They have children and grandchildren too, now comes the big question: can their secrets remain secret?

None of the twists and turns could have been foreseen. A story told backwards, the characters sharing and recalling a lifetime's worth of secrets, hopes and dreams. The story of love, togetherness and faith in destiny and promises. A beautiful story that glosses over the bitterness, the burden that comes with keeping secrets and the regret that engulfs one completely when one even begins to contemplate such choices. No- this is a book that embraces life, stories and memories- it's the story of a determined, once in a lifetime, kind love between two of the most self assured people. A story confidently and lovingly told.

I enjoyed it in spite of myself- I didn't think I could, seeing as I didn't agree with any of the choices the couple made.

Interesting mystery, quiet plotline, lots of flashbacks. I read it through mostly to find out what the main characters were so secretive about. The social and cultural dilemmas were interesting. Nice summer read.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book and it was a really pleasant surprise for it kept me on my toes throughout and while I knew there was a twist coming I really didn't ever guess what it was going to be.

Oh this book is poignant
Told backwards and so emotional
Great

From the outset of Together we know that Emily and Robbie have secrets. Secrets so incendiary that even their beloved sons haven't been told. We meet them in Maine in 2016, when health worries during their twilight years threaten to reveal all they've kept hidden for so long. From coastal Maine, Julie Cohen then takes us on a beautifully clever, tightly spun trip back in time to leafy England during 1962. Each chapter a perfect vignette, a snapshot in time, gradually revealing the true strength of the couple's love and devotion.
The structure of Together is novel (reading the story backwards works brilliantly!) but it was the strength of Cohen's characters that ensured I devoured Together in a couple of sittings. Emily and Robbie are flawed - human - from different sides of the track, making the reader desperately hope that the couple's secrets aren't as bad as they fear. One of the best books of the summer. Enjoy!

I didn't know much about Together before starting it, but I found myself wrapped up in Robbie and Emily's story. It's told from present day and jumps back and forwards in time, reaching right back to the early days when they first met and eventually revealing to the reader that 'thing'(for want of a better word and to avoid giving anything away) which they're both seemingly running away from, and which they're so secretive about.

The story took a little while to really grab me, with the first quarter of the book being enjoyable but feeling like nothing particularly special. However, as the novel continues so we see more of this 'mysterious element' that's affecting them both, and Emily and Robbie's love story (though I'm glad to say not a typically soppy, over-dramatic love story) develops more, I found myself enveloped into their world and really invested in their life.

I found myself captivated by the characters in this novel, both main and supporting characters, and their respective relationships with the two main characters. I found it an extremely poignant story which pulled at my heartstrings and left me feeling more than a little reflective. It certainly makes you think about what makes a relationship special and worth fighting for, and how one element can change everything.

The words in the synopsis say a lot about this -

"This is not a great love story.
This is a story about great love."
- and I agree. I hugely enjoyed Together; it's a beautifully written story and I would definitely recommend it.

A wonderful, heartfelt & beautifully written book. For me, there are few books that genuinely bring a tear to my eye but this one did just that.
Together is a moving and cleverly written book that will tug on your heart strings. highly recommended.

WOW what a book. I simply loved it. Brilliant characters and such a clever, clever storyline. One of my favourites of 2017 (and I'll be telling everyone to read it!) The story starts in the current day and goes back in time. The main characters of Robbie and Emily are just incredible and I loved their story.

The story starts in 2016 and goes backwards in time. Robbie and Emily have been together for years (and what a love story theirs is!) They have two sons and family around them when they tell them their dad and granddad has dementia. Robbie has always been the strong one so it comes as a blow to their son Adam.

As the story goes back in time we find out how they met and their lives before and after. Early on we are told of a secret (I was guessing up all sorts of things - all of them wrong!) and the story has a huge twist that I'm still thinking of long since finishing the book.

Wow! I just loved this book. I really expected not to like it but as I delved further into the story I wanted to know more.
It's an interesting read which takes you backwards in time through the love story of Emily & Robbie. Very cleverly told & kept me guessing righ up to the last pages.

Fabulous, fabulous, fabulous ! I really loved this book ! Such a heartwarming bittersweet read. 10/10.

Together is the emotional, beautifully told story of the great love between Robbie and Emily. They are desperate to keep hidden some great secret from their past and from the off the author had me speculating what it could be. What were they hiding, why was it so bad that Emily's family had disowned her and the couple considered themselves safer when people from their past died? It is a very cleverly constructed novel, working backwards from the present day, moving through significant periods in their relationship. Each part reveals just a little more of their story, adding understanding to what the reader has founds out before. I admit to being stunned by the final and heartbreaking reveal, I would never have guessed. Together is the first book I've read by Julie Cohen and I loved it - it certainly won't be the last.