Sweet book, which makes you think. I adored Anna and Adam, their foibles and weaknesses made them more appealing and realistic. Lovely flowing style and an enjoyable read.

Thank you to Netgalley for a pre publication copy. In return for an honest review! #thelifewealmosthad #netgalley

Anna and Adam fall in love on a beach in Ailirica when they're both on holiday and it truly is love at first sight. They, as everyone does, have their own struggles and at times they feel like theyre loosing each other. So Adam books a holiday back to the place they fall in love to try and rekindle their love!

It was the title and the cover which drew me to this book as well as the synopsis. However after reading it I really don't think the cover does it justice.

This book covers some very emotional but modern topics which are often unspoken in the face of grief. These include accidents aboard, travel insurance, coma, infertility, miscarriage and affairs amongst other things.

This author is fantastic. Her writing just jumps off the page at you making you want to read on. One minute you think you know what's coming and then BANG its turned a different way. Surprises at every corner but written with real power and empathy.

The only thing I would comment on is that at the beginning their were a few chapters where the point of view changed between characters and they just repeated what the last character had said in the previous chapter but this was only a few times.

This is not a quick read particularly towards the end purely due to the subject matter you will find you have to be in the mood to pick this book up. Although it is well worth taking the time to delve in. You won't be disappointed.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

A heart-wrenching and immensely poignant love story that is exquisitely written, highly moving and hard to forget, Amelia Henley’s The Life We Almost Had is simply sensational.

Love wasn’t something Anna was looking for. Although relationships weren’t exactly off the cards for her, she wasn’t actively seeking to fall in love – until Adam came into her life and turned her entire world upside down. Having swept her completely off her feet, the connection between the two of them was intense and the chemistry was off the charts. Anna had never felt like this about anybody prior to meeting Adam and she thought that she had truly met her soulmate. Anna had been positive that she had finally met the one person with whom she was going to be spending the rest of her life with and she had begun to plan their future together. However, Anna soon realised that even the most carefully laid plans do have a habit of going awry…

Forever is a very long time as Anna discovers. She might have thought that she was going to grow old with Adam, but years later cracks start to appear in their relationship. Is Adam really as perfect as she thought he was? Does their relationship have an expiration date? Or are they just going through a rough patch and she will go back to being madly in love with him? As the cracks begin to get bigger and bigger, the chasm between the two of them widens and when a cruel twists of fate tears them asunder once and for all, it looks like there is simply no going back and that they will be lost to one another forever.

Yet, when Anna realises that she needs Adam more than ever, she vows to do whatever it takes to ensure that she wins the man she loves back. But the road to her one true love is fraught with danger and despair and getting him back might have potentially destructive consequences for the rest of their lives. But how far is Anna willing to go for love? Is she prepared to do whatever it takes to win Adam back? Is a second chance worth all this heartache and upheaval?

Time is definitely not on Anna’s side, but will she make the right choice? Or could her decision to fight for what she wants end up having serious repercussions for them all?

The Life We Almost Had is a brilliantly written tale that aims for the heart and does not miss! Amelia Henley has written a superb tale that will have readers sobbing their hearts out as they find themselves completely and utterly enthralled by this intensely emotional tale.

A beautifully told love story readers won’t forget in a hurry, Amelia Henley’s The Life We Almost Had is not to be missed.

Really interesting take on a rom com that ventures into science fiction. I didn't hate it but I didn't love it either as bits were just a little too far fetched for me! Interesting plot overall kept me reading to the end however!

3 stars, likeable leads in Adam and Anna, an interesting, yet unbelievable, plot twist. An easy ready.

I love a good rom com, however I wasn't to keen on the scientific element of this book. The storyline was good and people who enjoy the scientific elements will enjoy this, however its nor my cup of tea.

Not my usual read but enjoyable definitely not what I expected, a love story with a twist! Loved the characters and relatable story lines, realistic relationship that relates to what happens to most couples and not the usual romance/love story that’s already been written before. Took me a while to get stuck into the story but otherwise enjoyed the story and a four star rating from me. Will be looking out for more books by the author and the other book The Art of Loving You. Thank you so much for the ARC looking forward to reading more books under this publication

The Life We Almost Had by Amelia Henley

This is a book described as a rom-com but I'm not really sure about that. It could be very loosely described as a second chance relationship book. It is a sectional book looking at different parts in the characters relationship

The book was not what i expected. I personally didn’t gel with the main characters. It was a bit far fetched in parts and I couldn’t really enjoy this story. Sorry just not for me. 2.5/5

SPOILERS AHEAD!



This was nothing like what I expected, and unfortunately I mean that in a bad way. I went into expecting a rom -com with some kind of drama. What I got instead was something quite bizarre. It’s impossible to discuss without spoilers, so please don’t read on if you’ve not read the book or are not seeking spoilers, as I will be discussing every element of the plot including the ending.


So, we start off with Anna writing a letter to Adam. Something bad has happened to separate the two of them in some way, but you don’t know what. It then jumps back to how they met - a chance meeting on holiday which starts what seems to be an immediate and unforgettable love between the two. You get a really lovely section where the two of them are happy and in love and determined to make it work. But then it jumps ahead, and they’re struggling to conceive, and they’re bickering and moaning and just generally have lost their spark. So Adam being the sweet and kind man he is, books them a holiday to return to where they first fell in love, trying to get back to where they were. When they get there, Anna surprises him with the magical news that she’s pregnant, and it all starts to become a bit more cheerful and uplifting than it has been up to that point (books about people moaning at their spouse rather than actually communicating are a particular hatred of mine).

They then decide to go on a yacht trip, but unfortunately they tempt fate by performing that bit from Titanic at the front of the yacht, and it starts to sink. Adam rescues Anna by swimming her to shore, but then decides to be the idiot hero and goes back to save another person even though his newly pregnant wife is begging him not to. So, he gets back to the yacht, gets smashed over the head with a pole, nearly drowns, is rescued, but is then left in a coma with a 3% chance of survival, and Anna has a miscarriage due to all the trauma. Conveniently, a local scientist is researching consciousness, and reckons he has a device that will allow Anna and himself to see what, if anything is going on in Adam's mind. It uses a functional MRI, but not like one in a hospital. This one has massive magnets, so there is a bit of a risk at letting anyone use it. But Anna decides to go ahead, and when she uses it she enters an alternate reality inside Adams brain, where the accident didn't happen and they didn't lose the baby and they work out their communication issues. Local scientist is worried though, because the massive headaches and nosebleeds Anna has after using it are bad, and he also thinks he might just be grieving and imagining the whole thing in her head. Anna gets really addicted to being in the 'alternate reality', especially once she has baby Harry, and so they begin to talk about not letting her use it anymore due to the risks to her physical and mental health. Adam hears them saying its bad, and the next time she enters his consciousness to say bye, he takes them to the yacht accident, where he dies. She comes out of the dream state to find him flatlining in real life, and she lets him go. After the funeral, she runs off to some address she's remembered from one of the dreams, which turns out to be a children's home, where she finds Harry, her and Adam's baby from the dream world/his consciousness, who somehow now exists in the real world and was dumped on the doorstep the day Adam died. Her and Harry head off to travel the world, with Adam joining them as a breeze or a leaf or a beam of sunlight depending where they are.

So, as you can see, it is definitely not just a rom-com with a difference. It becomes almost like science fiction at some points, which I didn't necessarily hate, but it just seemed like the science bits weren't really fleshed out, and were just a bit of babble designed to get Anna into the dream world. If I'm honest, the bits where she's in the dream world were probably my favourite in the book, as that's where you got to see a bit of the magic of their relationship, which you also saw at the start when they met and which is what drew me into the book. The issue is, that initial magic is completely gone within a few chapters. Instead, Anna is constantly whinging and moaning, and neither of them has the guts to just talk about what's going on, so you have this huge section where they just lose all of their spark and it becomes dull and a real slog to get through. And then suddenly everything is ok when they go on holiday? It was all a bit unrealistic, and you just knew something was going to happen. Although to be fair I didn't expect a yacht sinking, but at least it was a surprise.

Then, Anna entering Adam's consciusness started, and it all just got a bit daft for me. I mean, I've just read a book which has a similar theme (The Two Lives of Lydia Bird), so it might just be that because I enjoyed that one so much, this one fell flat. But it just seemed too far fetched and odd, especially when it culminated in him dying anyway. And then the baby from his consciousness being real at the end, and Anna adopting him? I mean, what the hell was that? It was just all so jumbled and odd. To me, this is a book of three parts - the meeting and romance (which I loved), the marriage (which I hated), and the accident and its aftermath (which made no sense at all). Each of the sections was really distinct, there was no cohesive narrative which made the plotting feel quite poor. Plus, the spark of their relationship was gone within a few chapters, which sucked considering that was what drew you in in the first place.

All in all, not one I enjoyed. Bad plotting, poor characters (Anna was a nightmare for most of the book) and a weird plot twist culminated in a disjointed and uninteresting read for me.

Disclaimer - I was fortunate enough to be provided with an advance reading copy of this book by NetGalley. This has not affected my review in any way, and all opinions are my own.

Amelia Henley is arguably better known under her real name of Louise Jensen and her psychological thrillers, so I was most intrigued and excited when Anne Cater asked me to be a part of this blog tour. I don't read that much romantic fiction but when I do I really enjoy it. The Life We Almost Had is an absolute triumph and came along at time when I have not been feeling too great. I was completely swept away by the story of Anna and Adam and of course the supporting cast.

If this review is a bit vague in terms of the plot then that is deliberate on my part. This story needs to be savoured by the reader and I am loathe to give any spoilers whatsoever. Suffice to say the cover almost belies the content and the depth of this story and run of the mill romance story it is not.

Anna and Adam met on Anna's Honeymoon. Only she isn't married, having been left for another. So the fact that she mets Adam was probably somewhat of a surprise for her. At first the sparks of a blossoming relationship could just be put down to a holiday romance but it so becomes clear that this is going to be so much more and back home as a couple the thing that Anna wants most is a baby.

I loved the fact that although this was a romantic story there was still tension throughout and suspense across the pages and the relationship was told in alternating chapters by Anna and Adam. A typical relationship and love story is not the order of the day here. It actually confronts and challenges the reader and provokes thought and discussion. For that reason it would make a tremendous book club read.

Beautiful and poignant this made my heart ache and then filled with hope. I had such a broad sense of emotion whilst reading this and a real sense of 'What If'. Full of loss and sadness there is also hope and I have to say the final chapters came at me like a sledgehammer.

I adored the writing style and quite simply everything about this remarkable story and I would love for you to read it too.

Not your run of the mill romance.
I really enjoyed this- more than I thought I would!
This is not the author's usual style of writing- but I think she did an amazing job as she used her usualy suspense genre and wove that into this book.
I would give this book as a gift!

Not the book I expected, but loved it! Not your typical romance, which makes a nice change.

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

The Life We Almost Had written by Amelia Hanley (aka Louise Jensen) is not a usual romance story.

Anna after discovering that her fiancé was cheating on her, decided to call off the wedding and go on what should have been her honeymoon with her good friend Nell. She wasn’t looking for love, and wasn’t interested in a holiday romance, but then Adam came crushing into her life swiping her off her feet.
But life isn’t always easy, and fate sometimes has other plans in store, but can love actually be eternal? Will love always find a way?

I have to admit that writing this review isn’t easy for me, cause I really can’t and find impossible to put into words how much I loved this book.
Firstly I want to praise Louise writing style, I think it’s not easy to dive into romance once you are so used to write thrillers, but yet she has done it wonderfully. She even used her writing style to create suspense in the right chapters and it just made it impossible for me to sleep throughout the night cause my mind was still wondering what could be happening next. I found myself utterly immersed in the characters feelings and I cried, I laughed, I felt love and so many more feelings with them.

Secondly, but not least important, I admired the author personal strings with the book, I won’t and I can’t go to much into the details as I might spoil it for you all in case you are planning to read it, but it just made everything so much real.

This is my favourite read of 2021 so far and I won’t be able to forget about this story for a long time!

I highly recommend this book if you have read An Unfinished Story by Boo Walker

I enjoyed the first part of this book but then it seemed to get a little far fetched. I did read it until the end but didn't change my mind about it. The far fetched bits really put me off and just didn't resonate with me.

It was definitely different to what I imagined it to be.

It`s an amazing book that will warm your heart and break it many times... It has everything... love, loss and friendship and most important is so easy to relate to the story. Also, a completely unexpected twist. Highly recommended!!

This is not your typical love story, an unusual twist of love and loss. Such a beautiful story with an unexpected twist.

This is a truly magical, romantic read that will leave you longing to meet the characters.
You can see the sparks fly when Adam and Anna first meet. They are perfect for each other. The story takes the reader on the bumpy road of a real relationship.
This story will have you reaching for the tissues and your heart breaking.
Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.

On the books you definitely need to read! This was fun, serious and just had the perfect balance. Must be added to your tbr if it isn’t already!!

I was expecting this book to be a feel good romp based on the cover and I could t have been more wrong! I think I would have enjoyed the book more if I was expecting it to be dark, which unfortunately reflects my rating. There is a twist that’s somewhat unexpected. You need to be in the right frame of mind for this read!

Found it hard to connect with this book, as I had been expecting a love story and something 'different' if not light based on the cover with its swirly font and bubblegum colors. Did not anticipate the darker turn this book took, which is really not my cup of tea, and had I known, I would not have requested this book for review