My Thoughts: I absolutely loved this book, it came out of nowhere and I absolutely fell in love, I'm going to be completely honest and tell you this wasn't the straight up romance I was expecting BUT, that's not a bad thing, I loved reading about Arden and Mac's past relationship and the fun element too it, it was a bit of a taboo relationship, but that factor left me event lore invested because I needed to see where/how it ended.
The fun parts to the past, made the current day relationship even more heartbreaking, because I just wanted everything to work out.
The parts where Arden was re-igniting her university friendships with Rebecca and and Dom were my absolute favourite because it brought to the surface that if the friendship is genuine then it can past regardless of what happens.
James was adorable and I adored him from the minute he was introduced.
This was a really hard book to review because the bits that surprised me were the bits that made this a 5 star read and I'd hate to be the one to spoil this feeling for anyone.
Just please please go out and buy this book!
🐧❤️

My thanks to Random House U.K. Transworld Publishers/Corgi for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘You, Me and the Movies’ by Fiona Collins in exchange for an honest review.

Arden Hall is visiting a friend in hospital and unexpectedly comes across Mac, the handsome film professor that she fell in love with thirty years previously while she was studying at Warwick University. Their love affair had been all-consuming but it couldn’t last. Now he has been badly injured in a car accident and is unable to speak. However, seeing Arden he manages to say a short phrase that she immediately recognises as a reference to a film that they had watched together. This triggers Arden’s memory of their relationship.

The novel moves between Now and Then. Each of the ’Then’ chapters focuses on one of these classic films including ‘The Birds’, ‘Casablanca’, ‘Pretty Woman’, and ‘The Witches of Eastwick’. Each film also illustrates aspects of their relationship.

I found this a delightful, bittersweet romance that was especially notable to me as a life long film buff. I also appreciated that its past chapters are set in a part of the country that I know well including Warwick University.

I was amused that Arden commented that her full name sounded like that of a stately home to her as indeed there is a 17th Century manor in North Yorkshire with that name.

I feel that it will be a novel well suited for reading groups given the scope that it offers for discussion, including of how films can have an impact on our lives, as well as on issues linked to loss and relationships with family.

A beautifully written and highly engaging novel that I would certainly recommend.

I don't know why but I thought this book was set in 1950's America ! It's not, so it was different to what I expected.

The story is told both from the past and the present, with Arden reminiscing about her previous love along with "The List" which is a list of movies.

I enjoyed the storyline and the difference in Arden's personality as she matures due to her experiences. I also enjoyed the list of movies as I had seen most of them, so understood the references. I hadn't seen The Birds, and had always wanted to and have now watched it thanks to this book! And an officer and a gentleman is now on MY list!

A poignant read about love, loss and hope.

Wow!! I did wonder if this book would affect me and boy did it. Worthy of the 5 stars.

Beautifully written by describing memories of the classic movies they watched and debated over. I didn't get to sleep until early early morning and I'm still thinking about the storyline and how vividly it came across. Love the choice of movies chosen for "the list" and how Arden came across as immature young lady into a knowledgeable young woman due to the emotions felt by her affair with a university lecturer Mac and the movies she watched with him for his Films Study course that she wasn't even part of.

The story held my attention to see who Arden would chose in today's narrative, whether it would be Mac or Mac's neighbour James.

Make sure you have some hankies ready at the end.

I found this book a little confusing in the way that it jumps back and forwards in time. I prefer a book with a linear narrative, and in this case, the time-jumping made me wonder where the plot is going and what the main story arc actually is. I was also lost when it came to some of the movie references, and I think this book would have been more enjoyable if I had seen the movies it was referencing too. However, as the book goes on, Arden and James' friendship helps me to follow the plot a little better, and invest more in the characters. I think I might have given up on this book a while ago, but their friendship kept me reading, as I wanted to see what happened to them. This is a very emotional story, with lots of ups and downs, but I don't quite think it was for me because I did find it confusing and there wasn't much action to keep me hooked. But I am glad that I made it to the end, as I enjoyed the ending.

I had not come across any books by Fiona Collins before, but liked her idea of using films to drive the plot along, so decided to give You, Me and the Movies a try. Told in the first person, this is the story of Arden Hall. Quite by chance, when visiting a friend in hospital, she meets an old boyfriend from her student days who has been recently injured in a car accident. He recognises her, but is unable to say very much so whispers cryptic clues to films they watched together, and triggers flashbacks to a time when she had her whole life ahead of her. The story alternates between present day and her time as a student at Warwick University. We gradually piece together the details of her relationship with Mac through the list of ten films that they watched together. I had seen all the films (though quite some time ago) which helped me make sense of the references; I’m not sure it would work so well if you were unfamiliar with them, and it was a trip down memory lane – I’m definitely going to watch them all again now.
This is not a light-hearted romantic comedy; it deals with some fairly serious issues like coercive control, infidelity, guilt, grief and lack of parental love. I found the first half of the book quite slow and depressing, and Arden a fairly unlikeable character, but gradually I began to see light at the end of the tunnel. It made me smile and made me sad, but despite the sadness I really loved the ending. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Beautiful, sad, entertaining and touching. Despite the egotistical main characters, this is a book filled with warmth and love. Ultimately uplifting. I loved it.

While visiting college friend Dominic in hospital, Arden finds ex lover and College lecturer Mac Bartley-Thomas in a neighbouring bed. He’s suffered serious head injuries in a car accident and is unable to speak other than the occasional mumbled word, but the pair manage to remind each other of the list of films they watched together during their affair.

An interesting tale, flitting between Arden’s current life and growing friendship with Mac’s neighbour James, and the story of her time with Mac and how the films came to represent her relationship with Mac. At times it felt a little laboured, as if trying to fill a few extra pages, but overall an entertaining story and enjoyable to read.

A good book to read to remind yourself of some of the classic films from before the Millennium.

DNF at 15%

This is a case of it's not the book, it is me.

My head is not in the right space for this book at this time.

Sorry, and thank you for the opporutunity

Unfortunately the writing style of this novel didn't work for me and I just couldn't get sucked into the story.

There was a lot of internal dialogue and 'conversation', at least in the beginnings of the novel, and I felt it distanced me from the happenings of the story.

I've always been a fan of the movies, and the old classics are special to me, so to read a book that referenced so many fantastic films was great!
Arden is a woman who is in a dark place, after the end of an awful marriage. She has shut herself away from everyone who cared about her, partly because her ex-husband made her, and partly because she feels shame at being so weak.
A twist of fate finds her visiting a friend in the hospital, and finding someone else there she knew before.
Mac - a film lecturer from her university, and her big love.
He's older and injured.
Unable to speak from injuries sustained in a car accident, they begin to share evenings together as she visits him, and revisits the past, recalling a list of movies they watched together, cataloguing their affair with each other.
Of course, she doesn't have him to herself. She shares her Mac with James, his neighbour.
Together, they ensure his visitor chair is never empty, and build a special friendship, sharing secrets about each other, that they've never told another soul.
Mac used to talk about Arden finding her Bigger Love, but she never believed him...

I really enjoyed this book. It was a little predictable with the ending, but sometimes you just want simple stories that don't have huge twists in them.
Saying that, it isn't a simple romantic story in the least, dealing with issues such as loss and separation, and the relationships between parent and child.

A recommended read.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK for an arc, in exchange for an honest review.

Arden is in a dark place following the ending of her abusive marriage to Christian. She is struggling to move on and get 'the old me back'. She feels guilty over how Christian treated her son Julian, and also because his possessiveness meant she pushed her friends away. One December night she bumps into her best friend Becky, and a visit to hospital to see their friend Dominic, changes everything for Arden. She sees another patient and realises is is Mac, her Big Love. She returns to see him and learns that he has suffered brain damage following a car accident, and is unable to speak. But seeing Arden ignites a spark in him and he utters his first words - a reference to the first film they ever watched together. Arden then thinks back to the time when she first met Mac. Having escaped a cruel mother, she begins life at Warwick University and is immediately drawn to Mac - a Film Studies lecturer. She has always loved films, and they begin an affair that is passionate and that makes her feel beautiful. As the story flips from Now to Then she recalls all the films they enjoyed together. On each visit to hospital, Mac utters a line from those films and Arden remembers who she used to be - unapologetic and fearless. Ultimately doomed to end in heartbreak, their affair nevertheless taught her how to love and seeing Mac again reminds her that she can love again. She rebuilds her friendships and makes peace with her past, and in doing so opens her heart to love again. A clever and sweet story of survival and hope.

My thanks to Netgalley and Transworld for a copy of You, Me and the movies for an honest review.
I was hooked by the write up for this book as I’m mad about old films..All those mentioned I’d seen so I felt involved with the storyline, and made me want to watch most of them again.
I thought it would be quite a lightweight tale but It dealt with serious themes of loss and having to make hard decisions in life.
I will be recommending this to others

Loved this. The story skips between past and present and is all tied together with memories of different movies. Loved it.

This one is definitely another kind of story.
I loved all the references about all those moments and movies related and I'm proud to say that I've seen more than half of them.
Now the story between Arden and Mac was a bit difficult to read for me because I rarely read cheating books when one of the characters is married, let alone student teacher one. But once I've blocked that though away, I enjoyed the story overall.
With all the ups and downs a person can have during their lives, this book it's interesting and well written.

While a great story, (have tissues avaliable), if you want to be gripped by a book, this wont grip you as it's predictable in places but if you just want to escape into a good easy read, this is it

I’m just gonna put it out there. This book is classified as a romance, but it felt more like a self discovery story to me. Yes, this centred around a romance. But I honestly felt like I was reading Arden’s story of growth, pain, change and her friendships.
Arden had her ups and downs, just like anyone does. Her life took unexpected turns that didn’t give her the big amazing life Mac imagined she’d have. But she kept going. She lived for her son. She had the courage to change in the face of adversity, for her son. She found the courage to renew friendships she thought she’d lost and didn’t deserve.
Those actions speak so much louder to me than the romantic connection and memories from her time with Mac. With each chapter swapping between the past and the present, you get a sense of who Arden was, while experiencing who she is now.
I may have imagined it, but it felt like the chapters written about the past were written in a reflective style. Whereas the ones set now felt like there were written in the moment. If I did imagine it then I’m sorry! But I did feel like there was a difference in the writing style which helped to grow and develop the story.
The main thing I loved about this story was the deep meaning and value of friendships that’s displayed throughout the book. The messages coming through during these times were so intense that it caused me to reflect on my own friendships, past and present, to see how I could be a better friend to others.

I loved this- a beautiful, feel good book- this gave me all the feels! A story of love, of life and all it’s ups and downs. Brilliant.

A love story in every sense of the word. A great read. Gives you that warm fuzzy feeling that only love can give you.
Thank you to both NetGalley and Random House for gifting me this book to read in exchange for my honest unbiased opinion

Some of the reviews of this book have said that it is like 'One Day' but with movies. Having never read that book only seen the film I don't know how true that really is. What I would say though is that I really loved the story of Arden and Mac, who are 'reunited' 30 years after their intense affair when Arden was a University Student and Mac her Film Studies lecturer. Their present day conversations revolve around film references, which is the only way that Mac seems able to communicate with Arden after an accident has left him in a hospital bed with a serious brain injury. These film references in turn take Arden and us the reader back to the height of their affair, and to the girl that Arden once was, before marriage family and ultimately, divorce, changed her forever. We seen a young student full of hope and enraptured by first love only to be devastated and downtrodden by lie, broken relationships and the drudgery of day to day living, but it is also about the power of forgiveness and the possibility of new beginnings at any age.