.•*Book Review*•.

Love Almost by Hayley Doyle
Pub Date: January 7th

Thank you Netgalley and Avon Books UK for my early e-arc!

_____________________________________

》Chloe and Jack are soulmates. But life has other plans…

Chloe is deliriously in love for the very first time. But when Jack, her boyfriend of five months, is killed in a tragic accident, she is left reeling. Their relationship was amazing – but it never really had the chance to get started.

Grieving but determined, Chloe decides to live life for the both of them and makes her way through the list of things they’d planned to do together – this time on her own.

A heartwarming read about falling in love and coping with loss. 

_____________________________________

▪︎Chloe and Jack's romance was cut short. Completely shattered by tragedy. Going into this I tried to prepare myself as best as I could for total heartbreak. Chloe spent so little time with Jack before he passed away (think honeymoon phase of dating!) But you could feel the love she had for him was much bigger than anything they could of had. It only continued to grow as she began to tackle the bucket list they were supposed to journey on together.

This story is raw and emotional and though I enjoyed it, it was a bit too slow for me. I tend to struggle with slow burns, always have, always will!

That aside, I flew through this book because I thought there would be a big reveal at some point but this book is soley all about love, loss, and grief. There is something so beautiful about it though and I can see where some people said it is special.

I liked this story. It had definite P.S. I Love You vibes. With that being said, there were a few places where I believe it fell a bit short. There were a few times where Chloe would be arguing with someone, and the argument will stop rather abruptly. I also felt like some of these arguments were unnecessary, and just added in there to add some drama. This made it difficult for me to connect with the characters. Some of the things I did like was Chloe finally connecting with her neighbors, students, and Jack's family. Overall, I enjoyed the story and will try this author again!

How long does it take to really know and fall in love with someone? The story stars with a glimpse of Chloe and Jack’s relationship. The two are together for 5 months before he dies suddenly and then the focus shifts to Chloe and how she copes with the loss of someone she thought she loved and the loss of the future and life they had planned. I felt for Chloe throughout this book, grieving a love/ almost love but also having to deal with people who don’t quite get it because the relationship was still fairly new. The book was heartbreaking at times but also had some really lovely moments once Chloe started working through and processing her grief. There were also some interesting, sometimes difficult well rounded supporting characters. A well written, compelling story from start to finish.

This is a perfectly wonderful book about love and loss and the complicated nature of grief. The author tackles these topics beautifully and with heart.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to the author, Avon Books UK and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was an easy read, although I did keep stumbling over the use of "me" instead of "my". Yes, it's supposed to make the protagonist relatable and girl-next-door Scouser, not too polished etc. I just found it annoying. The premise is intriguing, certainly not a typical romance, and tackles some heavy topics in a good way. The characters were well developed and relatable, including supporting characters .However, I was a bit puzzled at the fact that the protagonist seemed to still be so aimless in her mid-30s - the description of her would have suited a mid-to-late 20s better. I got bogged down in the middle third of the book, and found it very slow going, but overall a worthwhile read.

This story follows Chloe Roscoe, a thirty-something, who's been in a relationship with the man of her dreams Jack Carmichael for five short months. The pair travel together, 'reckon' they love one another and have just moved in together when Jack is killed in a tragic accident. Armed with a list of plans the pair had in place, Chloe decides to go ahead with them in honour of Jack. There's a hilarious skiing incident, an Italian meal, and an adventure to find the meaning behind a photograph to keep Chloe distracted from the grief of losing a loved one. There's a certain 'journey of discovery' path that Chloe leads after he has gone where she is given a fresh perspective on her life, her job as a teacher, and the things that bring her joy.

This has a unique theme of grief - Chloe's family, friends and Jack’s don't really empathize with her grieving process, and the phrase 'it was only five months' is tossed around frequently. Her grief and their relationship are subjective to her alone. She's not only grieving the man she loved, but also the missed opportunities that come with being with someone long-term. It's an emotive and moving story, and whilst it is a slow-builder, it's got a warming burn to it. Chloe's friend Beth is a tad annoying, and the use of Liverpool dialect felt a tad strained at times, hence why I'm not rating this higher.

If you're a fan of One Day, you might like this, it channels the bittersweet notion of making the most whilst you can, and a look at love and taking a chance too late. A stand-out quote that seems to be equally loved by lots of reviewers is 'So, word of warning for anybody who- like me- has fallen into the habit of taking photos of a rainbow salad; two glasses of wine by candlelight: feet on a beach: don’t. Take photos of people. You will never, ever, ever care about your toes painted neon pink on the sand, ever. But you’ll wish you had more photos of the person you loved.'

*Thank you to Netgalley and Avon Books for my review copy

Chloe and Jack were together for 5 months before he died. Chloe is left reeling from the loss, and in order to find closure, she sets out to tick off all the plans that she and Jack made when they were together.

I’m a sucker for books that will leave me sobbing, and when I read the synopsis for this book, I knew I had to give it a try.

Ok so, it didn't make me cry, BUT it was still a pretty touching story. We get to follow Chloe as she grieves a relationship that was just getting started, so not only do we see her grief the loss of her partner, but we also see her grief the future they both lost. Yes, it was sad, but there were still humorous moments and lighter scenes. Read if you liked PS I Love You or Forever Interrupted and books about British characters.

Thank you Avon books and NetGalley for my gifted copy.

Thank you so much to @netgalley and @avonbooks for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
.
I just finished this book in two sittings. It was a tale of love, loss, grieving, and finding oneself.
.
This book is emotional and raw, as we join Chloe on her journey of self discovery, following the unexpected loss of her boyfriend.
.
For me, I really enjoyed the side characters. I always enjoy a book that portrays more than just romantic relationships. This is a story that encompasses family and friends as well, so making the side characters a main point in the story made it feel more realistic.
.
All in all this was an enjoyable, quick, and emotional read. Pub day is January 7th. Be sure to check it out and I look forward to reading your reviews!

''I RECKON I LOVE YOU, CHLOE ROSCOE.
This is what we were. What we will always be. Not love. But almost. ''

Chloe and Jack were in love. Just moved in together. But then he died. Jack hasn't spoken about Chloe to his parents or his friends yet, and nobody knows who Chloe is and how serious they actually were. But Chloe is 36 and after all that time she has found her true love. Only for it to be taken away from her.

I love how the story progressed. It starts off with Chloe learning how to cope and deal with missing Jack, but it goes deeper and she widens her search from finding peace to finding herself. She first searches for some kind of a sign of affirmation that their love did exist, that she didn't imagine it, that she wasn't irrelevant to him. She is desperately trying to get that confirmation. So she goes through a lot to find peace and comfort. She goes from shock to feeling desperate, to feeling absolutely lost in life all together, to the point where she almost ruins all her relationships.

It shows us that we sometimes get caught up in grief, totally normal and that we sometimes forget to reach out to others who also have their sadness to deal with. We just go through it at different times, or through different aspects of our lives. People tend to have it together, but appearances are just appearances.

I guess the story also sends a message that you never know what people are going through. Use your words wisely. Show more kindness. And always be honest with your loved ones because you never know how you might help someone learn the truth about who they are.

Characters: Every character introduced was presented in the right way so that we understand their stories. We were given tidbits of their deep struggles and lives so that we understand them and their roles in this story. The relationship between her and her bestie was so raw and honest, it was amazing to witness it. Oh, and Justin! Justin was my cherry on top of a sundae at the end. I was a bit annoyed with her parents, especially in the beginning but it all kind of went away once I got deeper into the story. You start to slowly understand everyone's point of view, and that is what life should be about anyway. Understanding each other, even though we walk different paths in life.

I have to admit the last 10 minutes of reading had my eyes watering. It's definitely not how I imagined it would end, but it ended PERFECTLY. I am definitely picking up her other books.

Who would like it: Anyone who enjoys love stories, but isn't afraid of reading an unconventional one, If you'd like to get more insight into a different kind of a love story, that hasn't even begun properly, and want to learn more about how one deals with loss.

TW: death, grief

I read this book as an E-ARC via NetGalley.

When Chloe meets Jack, she knows what she wants in life. She is in her 30s and ready to find the person she wants to build a life with. After a few months, the pair are happy and living together when tragedy strikes. Jack is killed in a road accident, leaving Chloe grieving and trying to process what happens next as well as what she and Jack were and could have been.

I was drawn to this novel by the premise of it, and that is really what stayed in my head as I was reading. I felt for Chloe and understood her confusion and frustration at her situation and how other people were reacting to it. Other characters looked at a 5 month relationship as not yet too serious, but for Chloe, this was the one that was meant to last and she doesn't know how to deal with that (I don't know that anyone would).

Doyle's exploration of Chloe's grief was definitely interesting. What Chloe feels she needs is some kind of answer or explanation, at least just to know how Jack felt about her, but that is hard to know or find without Jack. As I read, I wondered how she would find whatever it was that she needed so that she could process what had happened and continue with her life.

Although the premise drew me to this novel, I struggled to be gripped by this book to begin with. I felt for Chloe, but I was unsure whether this was a book for me, especially as Chloe was (understandably) not in a good place and I didn't particularly like any of the other characters during the first half.

By the end, this wasn't a book that I loved, but it was a good read and I am glad that I stuck with it. Personally I preferred the second half of the novel, and this is where I began to get into it. I liked the characters that we meet and get to know in the second half, and I felt more attached to Chloe and wanted to find out what happened to her.

Overall, I'm still not sure this book was entirely for me. However, this novel has an interesting premise that gave me something to think about and I began to become more attached to Chloe and wanted to see a good ending for her.

Love, Almost will be released on 7th January.

Love, Actually is a book about finding yourself after losing someone you love.
Chole met Jack 5 months before his tragic death and she is having a hard time finding closure. Her relationship with Jack was still so new she barely knew his friends or family but she knew she had a connection and she spends the next few months finding answers to all her unanswered questions about Jack and if he truly loved her.

I really actually enjoyed this book and felt a connection with Chloe and her grief. I can’t imagine what it would be like to lose someone so quickly into a relationship but it is not hard to begin to feel your heartstrings being pulled.

I revived this ARC from Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

A fantastic feel good story that manages to have you in tears one minute and smiling the next. I was hooked allthe whole way through and didn't want it to end. Just what I needed and I'm already recommendeding to all my family and friends beautifully written

Drama teacher Chloe is deliriously in love for the very first time. Following a wonderful holiday to Thailand, Jack, her boyfriend of five months, is killed in a tragic accident, and Chloe is left reeling. Their relationship was amazing – but it never really had the chance to get started. Grieving but determined, Chloe decides to live life for the both of them and makes her way through the list of things they’d planned to do together – this time on her own.

If I am brutally honest, I really didn’t “get” this book – it was a quick read as I was desperate to know what was going to happen. Convinced there was a twist I kept coming up with my own theories, waiting for the big “reveal”, however there isn’t one, and I discovered this is a book about love, loss and grief.

Chloe is a nice character, but I didn’t fully understand her, there were a few other characters in the book who came and went during the story (the people who had a flat in the house conversion and also Justin who I adored), but I felt they didn’t really have any relevance to the story.

Falling in love quickly, Chloe and Jack are together just a short five months before a tragic accident takes Jacks' life and Chloe is left to grieve him without the understanding of the people around her understanding. If there is one thing I know about grieving it is that no two people grieve a like, and this is what is baffling to the people around Chloe. How could she be having so much grief for a person she barely knew. The dynamic of this was interesting, especially on Jack's parents' part, who barely knew Chloe and certainly had no idea how close she and Jack were.

Love Almost is a heartbreaker of a read, so be sure to have tissue handy. I was prepared for sadness but not to the extent I actually felt it. Chloe's grief is raw and honest and if you have ever felt the hard loss of a loved one, it could be a trigger for someone. You travel with her on a journey of what could have been, how she imagines things would have been if Jack were still there, and then you watch as she realizes hope and that her life isn't over just because Jack's is and that it is ok for her to move on and live her life.

Love Almost is a great read, but I would not necessarily call it a true romance, to me, it felt more like a book of struggles, recovery, and change. It is a quick read, that is if you can read through the tears you shed while you read. If you are a fan of PS I Love You or just tearjerkers in general this book is a must-read.

This book really grabs you in the feels. Such an intense love that is torn away too soon. It made me laugh and cry at the same time, watching the main character navigate through life without her love. Great read.

Imagine grieving after someone who really matters to you passes away, Now imagine how it is after you've only just realised you've fallen in love and the feeling is beyond belief and imagine you've only being dating five months and then he dies..
What a loss and we know the loss will never leave you in your whole life!

We know sometime times grieving gets easier but at the most vulnerable times of your life, the smallest thing makes you remember that person and in the meantime you feel like crawling away and never coming out from under the blanket.

In this book Chloe spent only five months dating Jack before he was killed in a tragic accident, gone forever. Nobody in her life including her mum, Dad and family/friends and of course Jack’s own family couldn’t empathize with her grieving process. They thought she didn’t know him enough to suffer from losing him.

But we all know that each relationship is as unique as our finger prints and some people fall in love very quickly and stay like that forever. This is how our main Northern lass character feels and she stumbles through dates that should have been with him that had been planned together and sees life through different eyes. She takes down each ticket, each reservation they had planned from the magnets on the fridge and goes it alone.

Chloe doesn’t only grieve for him and what she lost after a few short months together, she grieves for the chance of lifetime long relationship they can build, the trips and adventures they should spend together, dreams and hopes for the future.

Chloe is a teacher, certain about her life choices. She believed in Jack, he was the one. Her heart agreed with her mind. After losing him, she realizes it’s time to find out how she will take her life forward.

Its sad and emotional and isn't an uplifting book.
Its about reinventing yourself in a world as a single person again and dealing with grief and letting go day by day.

Its got the same vibes as PS I Love you.. kinda
I'm giving it four stars

Special thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for sharing this review copy with me in exchange my honest review

Sorry just couldn't get into this book I found it hard going from the start - no reflection on the writer I just didn't gel with it

Tilly Mint as her Dad calls her, or Chloe Roscoe as most people know her, is a 36 year old teacher, recently moved from Liverpool to London, mourning the sudden loss of her boyfriend Jack. The trouble is Chloe has only known Jack 5 months and this seems to exclude her from any proper status in the grieving stakes.
Via the life depicted on their fridge door, where photos, bills, tickets and invites reside, Chloe slowly, painfully and haphazardly embarks upon a mission to live out the life she was due to enjoy with Jack until the point at which she is ready to let go and move on.
I absolutely adored Hayley Doyle's debut novel Never Saw You Coming, which was warm, touching, quirky, funny and original. How on earth I thought is the author going to be able to replicate or better that? Given that her follow up was written towards the end of a second pregnancy, into the newborn phase of motherhood and during the global pandemic, it is mind-blowing to have succeeded and created another tremendously touching and hilarious tale of learning to live again.
Doyle uses a lightness of touch and a freshness to her novels that embraces the reader and tempts you into another world featuring extremely loveable characters. They are loveable, not because they are perfect but because they all have flaws. This particular book is immensely enjoyable because it looks at grief from different perspectives, that of a father, a girlfriend, the in-laws, the best friend, the brother, the mother and an ex. It is sensitive but not overly sad and speaks more of hope than desperation without being unrealistic. Oh and did I mention that you are guaranteed to laugh a lot along the way?
I didn't want any distractions and didn't need any superfluous 'hooks' to completely engage me in Chloe's journey to learn more about herself, relationships and those around her.
I loved the use of the photo of the man in the shopping trolley, taken in Thailand, and hung as a canvas print on their shared kitchen wall, and the use of the items stuck to the fridge, to work almost like a list for Chloe to complete and tick off one by one, as she moves from wanting to hide to emerging into the world that carries in around her.
I am in awe of Doyle's writing ability to entertain and empathise and literally cannot wait to see what novel 3 is going to be about.
Love, Almost is another favourite read of 2020 for me, from a favourite author, and this is a genuine and honest review written by someone completely unconnected to Hayley Doyle but equally a genuine fan.
Read it, you will love it!

I try to read something light onto the last day of the year, nothing heavy. As I was browsing my book, I started with this one. This book will be out on January 7, 2021.

Love, Almost is a story of Chloe who thinks she finds the love of her life with Jack. Then five months into the relationship, Jack is killed in an accident and sent Chloe into tailspin. While she does the things they planned to do on her own, she discovers herself back while grieving and finally moving on.

While I do enjoy reading this one, I find it a bit slow. The start got me interested with how Jack died and how will she cope and move on from here. Chloe is hanging on to her relationship with Jack after death while jeopardising her relationships with her family and friends. With the five months they spent together, she tries to questions whether what they had was real. As we hang on to love lost, does not matter whether it is 5 months or 5 years but you still put in the same time and effort into the relationship . But as time goes, we may lost the feeling but the memories lingers on. Though it did not tug my heart as I expected, it was still a good read, heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time.

Thank you NetGalley and Avon Book UK for the advanced e-ARC in exchange for an honest view.

DNF @ 33%

I do think this is a book that a lot of people will pick up and enjoy, but it ultimately just wasn't for me!

Most of my issues with this book come from me comparing it to another book with a very similar plot. Love, Almost didn't hook me as quickly as the other one did, so getting invested in the story was difficult - why was everyone so surprised about her relationship with Jack? Why didn't they accept it at first? Objectively I know this is because of plot purposes, but these were things that stuck out to me.

I think I would have enjoyed this more had I picked it up at a different time of year (right now my reading brain is tired), or had I not known that this is more about the main character dealing with her grief (which, not sure how you get around that, except to not read reviews).