I've read many books by this author and this is another of her books that didn't disappoint. Her stories always pull you in and she has a way of making you care about the characters.

This book is written beautifully and wonderful characters.
It is a beautiful story of family and friendships.

Here and Now is my first read from Santa Montefiore although I have quite a few in my TBR. Her covers are always gorgeous, this one included. I enjoy when the title of a novel makes an appearance in the story and this one did so that made me happy!

The story is about Marigold and her family and the small village they live in. Marigold is a pillar of her community and is a true example of kindness. Marigold memory starts to fail her and as her condition deteriorates her family and community gather round her.

I struggled to relate to Marigold, the main character, quite as well as I related to her daughters and I think that was down to age difference. Some characters just like all families and small communities were more likeable than others and Daisy was probably my favourite throughout this touching story.

My first book by this author, and I enjoyed it a lot. Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the review copy.

This was a brilliant read and is being featured on my blog for my quick star reviews feature, which I have created on my blog so I can catch up with all the books I have read and therefore review.
See www.chellsandbooks.wordpress.com.

Montefiore is an author who is known for her stories about family dramas and secrets that are revealed while following the story of two heroines in different times. This book is not like that. This is a book about something that is happening here and now, it’s about memories, and how easy it is to lose them.

It’s a family story, how relationships between parents and children are mingled, how young people find love. And it’s about condition, that can strike any one of us. Any one of us could have problems with our memory, but for some it’s not just a memory loss. We must be vigilant that not all forgetfulness is due to age, it can be a sign to something much bigger. Montefiore has given a good idea how somebody with dementia might feel. She gives a good description of how dementia operates - our memory is like a bookcase, the lower shelves carry older memories and upper shelves carry newer memories. Dementia is like an earthquake that’s shaking the bookcase. At first the upper shelves lose the books and one by one the lower shelves lose books/memories. For some the memories go slower, for others quicker.

It’s a good book. Not many authors have dared to talk about dementia, but this book gives a good idea, what it is and at the same time offers a sweet family story.

A different style of book but just as brilliant as all her others. Marigold is one of the pillars of the community, she runs the village shop and post office, on many committees and has many friends. Her husband Dennis, a very talented carpenter is also as much admired in the village.
Marigold looks after everyone and loves doing so, when she starts to get a bit forgetful it is put down to aging although she is only 66. Gradually these 'fogs' get worse and harder to hide. The family are in denial that anything is wrong until the diagnosis of dementia is eventually made and can't be hidden any longer. Nan who lives with them won't accept it, Dennis eventually realises things will only get worse, Suzie is so selfish she only thinks of herself and Daisy back home after a failed relationship and life in Milan is the one to pull them together. Finally the whole village are behind the family and do what they can. If you know anyone with dementia this is a must read, if not it's a heart warming story of love and understanding and not just for families like Marygolds.

Here and Now by Santa Montefiore was a beautifully written book, with such sensitivity and with true empathy which was shown throughout this book by Santa the author. However, I would recommend you have a big box of tissues by your side. This book was a very hard read for me as my mum has just been diagnosed with Dementia and oh boy! it's a long and sad road.......we as a family is all going down at the moment and many other families. Hence why I said this was a very hard book for me to get my teeth into. But, I am glad I did read it even though it took me a while.

If I could give this book 10 big gold stars I would. I highly recommend it. (SNIFF) Just beautiful!

Big Thank you to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster UK for providing me with a digital review copy of Here and Now in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to #Netgalley and Simon and Shuster for providing me with a digital review copy of #HereandNow in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and not influenced in any way. In this book we follow Marigold (known as Goldie), her husband Dennis, daughters Suze and Daisy on her journey to being diagnosed with Dementia. This book was not an easy read for me but I’m really glad I did read it. I never give synopsis of books as I think you should read the book yourself. This book was beautifully written and I could not put it down.

I cried and cried as this story was a cathartic experience that helped me to refocus after some difficult times.
I loved it, it's not a fun or entertaining story but one that talks to your heart and makes you feel for the characters.
The characters are amazing and I loved the empathy of the author toward their issues and the sorrow.
The plot kept me hooked and I followed the changes and was moved to tears.
At the same time it's a book that talks about families, love and changes showing you how strength and love can help you to overcome difficulties.
It's a poignant, emotionally charged and engrossing read, highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Absolutely brilliant, this book moved me to tears.

I am a great fan of this author, I have now read 4 of her books and loved them all, but this particular story was so beautiful, sad but at the same time uplifting that it did actually make me cry as I read the last page.

It is the story of a family living in a close-knit village in the countryside. Dennis and Marigold, known as Goldie to her friends and family, have two daughters Suze and Daisy. Suze is a blogger, living at home but with a long-standing boyfriend known as Batty. Daisy has been living in Italy with her partner, Luca, for six years but at the start of the book has returned home to live having split up due to Luca’s refusal to get married or start a family.

Goldie runs the local shop and is well-loved throughout the village. As is customary in a small place, everyone knows everyone else’s business and the various stories and characters are so vividly described that you almost feel that you are living there too. I feel that this author’s characters are always so brilliantly written that I can enjoy the book just through their day to day lives.

However, the theme running throughout the book is dementia and the awful way that this terrible disease can slowly take over someone’s life. Goldie is only 66 and, to begin with, just starts forgetting things. She starts writing lists to remind her about everything. Goldie desperately tries to hide her loss of memory from her family and friends, but as the story progresses, this becomes more and more difficult. Daisy notices the worsening of her mother’s memory first as she has been away and can more easily pick up on the differences in her mother’s behaviour.

However, what, made this book so outstanding is that there is so much hope and love for Goldie from everyone connected with her and the title of this book is so appropriate. Goldie learns to live with the ‘here and now’ and not to regret what she has forgotten.

I cannot remember a book that has moved me so much before, and as I said earlier, it made me cry but in a pleasant way. I would recommend anyone who knows of someone with this terrible condition to read this, I am sure that it will help them to cope. Maybe my reaction to this is even more pertinent since I am a 66-year-old woman, and it really made me think how lucky I am and how dementia is something that can affect anyone at any age.

Dexter

Elite Reviewing Group received a copy of the book to review

4.5 stars

I’m pleased to share my review for the latest book by Santa Montefiore on my book blog today. Thank you to Simon and Schuster for a digital review copy – my thoughts are my own and and not influenced by the gift.
Occasionally I become so involved in an emotional story that I find myself crying. The last book to do that was The Sight of You by Holly Miller until I read the last few pages of Here and Now and found myself properly crying – this was not just moist eyes, but proper tears. So my first suggestion is when you buy the book (because you should), is to stock up on tissues too.

This is the first book I’ve read by Santa Montefiore and before you ask, I’m not sure why either. I requested the review copy via NetGalley back in March as the UK headed into lockdown and Simon and Schuster kindly approved it.

Marigold is a wonderful character, much loved by her family and neighbours and community. The way the story is written to show how her little episodes of forgetfulness become more serious is a heartbreaking tale uplifted by how her family and friends help her to stay happy. Marigold has been looking after her mum, her husband and daughters for many years, now they need to work together to help her.

The book is beautifully written, full of wonderful characters, some happy and some grumpy (Nan), humour (moles, christmas puddings etc), love (pink roses) and romance. At the time of reading this in July 2020, many of us are currently anxious about the global pandemic, a virus we cannot see whilst we also have an unseen condition which steals the memory of people that we currently cannot protect ourselves from. However, as the title suggests, we need to live in the here and now, to enjoy the small things – the birds singing, the food we eat, time with family and friends.

Thank you to Santa Montefiore for this wonderful story, I look forward to reading more of your books in the future.

Marigold is the heart and soul of her family. The one who's kept them glued together all these years. She's a hard-working woman, running a small business, but as possible retirement looms, she still has an adult daughter living at home, another returning to the nest, a retired husband and an elderly mother to care for. All the while, slowly noticing, something is wrong with her mind as simple tasks are forgotten about and can't be recalled. 

What's striking is how ordinary the characters are, making them both relatable and likeable. They could be friends, neighbours, just common people going about their everyday lives. So, it's not surprising, they are confronted with similar issues. In this case, it's the heartbreaking decline of a loved one suffering from dementia.

Here and Now is the first contemporary novel I've read by Ms Montefiore and it's same standard and quality I've come to expect when picking up one of her titles. The beginning starts slow revealing the idyllic setting before we slowly begin to see the challenges of Marigold's life. The poignant narrative will tug at your heartstrings as the story unfurls. The author captures the emotions of those close to Marigold perfectly, leaving readers to wipe away their tears. 

This novel wasn't an easy one to read for me, but I'm sure am glad I did.

***arc generously received courtesy of Simon and Schuster UK via NetGalley***

I found this book quite emotional and moving from a personal perspective. We meet Marigold, a lady in her 60's who has dementia but has the love and support of her family as well as the larger community.

I’ve just about mopped up the tears that I cried while reading this book. Marigold is in her sixties, lives in a small village and owns the post office and shop. Everyone depends on her. She lives with her husband, Dennis grown up daughter, Suze and Gran. Daisy the oldest daughter lives in Italy but has just returned home.
The story begins with Marigold starting to forget things and the people around her getting annoyed with her until everyone realises it’s not normal forgetfulness.
The book is written very sensitivity and is very good at explaining the stages of dementia and what it means to Marigold. It’s not a book of doom and gloom. It’s a book full of the love that families and friends have for each other.
It’s lovely to see how Suze and Daisy grow and mature through the book as they realize that they now have to put their mum before themselves. And who wouldn’t want to be married to a man like Dennis?
Marigold’s mother provided the humour.
The villages and their different characters added to the story.
There are lovely moments between Marigold and her father and some of his words have stuck in my head like, “ What’s wrong with now ? “ I don’t think a I’ll ever forget that line as it will come back to me if I’m complaining about life.
So once again a brilliant book from Santa Montefiore, she knows how to tell a story.

Thank you to Netgalley, Simon and Schuster and Sante Montefiore for this advanced readers copy in return for my honest review. This one is a weepy for sure, have the tissues ready as it will definitely pull at your heartstrings.

Enjoyable read. Would recommend to friends and family. I could sympathise with characters (important for any fiction novel!) and looked forward to picking it up and reading the next few chapters! Interesting plot line and a good ending. Will look out for more novels by the author. Thank you.

Another great story from Santa Montefiore! Marigold is happily married, living in a small village and running her little shop. Her daughter Daisy has just moved home from Italy with a broken heart and between her, Suze Marigolds other daughter and Nan Marigolds mother she has a full busy house. She looks after everyone and is the go to person in the village, on many committees and helping out friends in need. But she has started to forget things and gets confused about silly things. Eventually her family and friends begin to notice and do their best to help her. They also have their own lives, trying to build careers and in Daisys case an interesting love life.
This is a warm but heart wrenching story. It follows Marigold as she goes into decline but also looks at how her family and friends cope with the change in her personality and in their own lives. It's the first book in a long time that left me with tears in my eyes.
Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

Lovely read a mom and daughters love story entertwined with a medical condition in the family.I have read most of Santas books over the years and this one was as enjoyable.

This is very different from anything I have read from this author before. I am a big fan of her work and have read most of her books. I love them for their escapism and gentleness, so was very surprised, probably in a good way by this offering. Firstly, ten out of ten for the research obviously carried out allowing what seemed to me to be the perfect depiction of someone coming to terms with a suspicion and later diagnosis of dementia. Having lost friends to this disease it seemed pretty spot on to me. It also provided comfort by giving an insight from the sufferers point of view which was incredibly moving. I especially liked the passages concerning Marigold’s chats with her father. Those were some of the most emotional pieces of writing I have ever read. In fact overall I don’t think I have ever cried so much when reading a novel. So, as you may have gathered, it is not the usual happy reading you would expect from Santa Montefiore. However there is much to be admired and it does make a huge impression on you, especially perhaps being almost the same age as the central character and being able to relate to the decline of one’s memory! The character depictions are varied, detailed and convincing. I hope if I ever were to have a serious illness that my husband would be a Dennis! Seeing the reaction of friends and family in their different ways to Marigold and her illness was enlightening and the depiction of village life and the sense of community was very heartening. So, in summary, a book to be very much admired, but maybe not one to read if you want the usual promised distraction from the woes of everyday life. It is not a novel you will forget about -I have found myself thinking back to it often and the different characters. Oh, and definitely keep the tissues handy!

Sent from my iPad