This is the story of Abby who gets a new job, Its a story of starting a new life, new adventures whilst trying to mend a broken heart. Abby works in PR and is offered the job of a lifetime but it is half a world away in Salt Lake City leaving her old life and friends behind. When she gets to Salt Lake City she meets Kyle and so it begins. I so wanted to enjoy this book, the elements of the story had so much promise, however, I felt it fell a little flat and grew a little bored. Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book as an ARC

Abbie Potter has been trudging through life ever since she went through a heart-breaking marriage and divorce and the hassle of dealing with unruly football players at a London football club. When the opportunity of a lifetime comes up to be the PR and publicist for a new, much smaller team she is reluctant but eventually jumps at the job offer. Only catch; it's in Salt Lake City, almost half the world away from her old life and family.
Not long after touching down in the US she comes head-to-head with Kyle Miller, a sweetheart, a heart-throb, and the seemingly perfect man? Things all seem to be working out in her new life...almost too well. Can she hold everything down while she carries a secret she has shared with only one other person in her life while still handling everything else?

My rating for this is actually 3.5 stars, but I rounded up.

Half the World Away is a classic romance. Girl needs a change, girl gets job away from home, girl moves, girl meets guy, guy seems great, secrets and lies ensue as well as sabotage, and ultimately everything everyone is hiding comes to the forefront and is revealed. Even though it was somewhat predictable I still thoroughly enjoyed reading Abbie's journey. She was a very relatable character in the fact that she is just trying to handle everything that is going on and trying her best. My favourite character though was honestly her best friend Rose.
The story started off light and breezy, touching very briefly on some important topics but for the most part were glazed over until closer to the end. They are touched on again, but I wish the topics were discussed a bit better. It was sort of like "this is what happened" then "oh okay, lets just get help", when that isn't the process for a lot of people. especially when they carry trauma for so long. But I am still glad the book touched on the topics it did because many people still see these as taboo topics (abortion specifically).
Another bit of beef I had with the story was the immaturity of the characters despite being in their late-twenties and thirties. I'm 26 and I don't think I would take some girl I just met at her worth when she's telling me things about a guy I'm interested in. Just confront the guy? Just tell the truth? Maybe have a conversation before jumping to absolute doubt and anger when you don't know the full story? Not many adults I know act this way, and it kind of screams teen romance to me so it kind of took me out of the story.
The story did give me a travel bug, which sucks because it still is scary times in the world right now with COVID. But it instilled the knowledge and ideas around just taking the chance when you are offered it because you never know how that is going to end up! It could be the best decision of your life.
It was also a very easy read, it took me a bit to read this because life got busy, but when I did read it I read 8+ chapters at a time on most occasions. It is definitely a great book for a debt author and I can't wait to see what else Rebecca Banks does now that she has this book out.

Thank you to Net Galley and Literally PR Ltd. for the (technical) eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Half the world away tells the story of Abby who moves to Salt Lake City to restart her life. There she meets Kyle and must decide whether or not it’s time to open herself up and move on. I received this novel as an advanced reader copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book literally makes you want to say Yes to new adventures...
Be it seeking a new job, new cities and new places to explore, new foods, new friendships, and even new love.

I loved Abbie's development and self-discovery, taking back the control of her own life. And

My soul was in need of a rom-com like this one.


<I>*Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review *</i>

Ever wanted to go half way across the world and start anew?

This book gives off all of those vibes. Abbie starts a new job moving from England to the US to start again, afresh. We've all been there at one point. Plus, Kyle is a very sweet character.

Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon for the earc in return for an honest review.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
I wanted a light rom-com, easy to follow and get lost in type of book and Half The World Away delivered.
This is the story of Abbie Potter a PR who works in the world of sports and who needs a change of scenery. After a failed marriage and a job that feels like a dead end, Abbie needs a new start and this comes in the form of a job in Salt Lake City, on the other side of the Pond. Abbie decides to fully embrace her new life and dives straight in.
I have enjoyed this story very much. While the writing is east to follow, the characters are likeable and well developed, the book does also deal with some serious themes. I liked Abbie and absolutely adored her best friend Violet. Rose is such a good friend, and she embodies someone who can help you have a good time, but also be there when you really need a shoulder to cry on. Kyle, the love interest seems like the ideal boyfriend. I have enjoyed reading about their budding love story.
The atmosphere of the book is brilliant, and I enjoyed discovering Utah with Abbie and Kyle. The Music scene and the football references add to the charm of this book.
This book was lovely, and I look forward to reading more from this author.

The blurb was interesting hence my wanting to read it but the story fell flat and the characters, dialogue, and descriptions in the book were bland and predictable.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book received from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I enjoyed this look at an Engliswoman, Abbie Potter, moving to Salt Lake City and discovering America and a new romantic interest as she moves into a new job. As her new romantic interest, Kyle, undertakes to introduce her to sights and activities of his home city, I started thinking that I would like to visit Utah and explore the beautiful places that Abbie and Kyle visit.

There is a bit of plot about shenanigans happening on her new job that was pretty easy to figure out, but the book was still fun to read.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.

Maybe because I had just finished watching Ted Lasso, but I found this book to be a charming look into the world of competitve soccer. I loved how the relationship developed and how Abbie and Kyles relationship when through so many twists and turns. Great, quick, heart warming read!

Fluffy, warm, quick read. It was mildly entertaining but I struggled with being engaged with the characters, their chemistry, Promising premise that fell a little flat for me.

Half the World Away is a romcom written by Rebecca Banks. It is about Abbie Potter who take a chance and moves from England to Salt Lake City, Utah, to seek a fresh start after a divorce and job she hates. I didn’t love this book. I wasn’t engaged with the storyline (even though I have season tickets to my local MLS team and avidly read romcoms - you’d think it would work for me, but no), and I didn’t connect with any of the characters. Recommended with reservations. I DNF’d it at 50%.

I loved the cover and the blurb and began the book with high hopes. I enjoy taking a chance on debut novels now and then. The writing was rather good, although I felt the pacing was a bit off sometimes. But overall rather good and enjoyable read.

*Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and Rebecca banks for an ARC in exchange for an honest review*

What a debut!! I did not realize this was Rebecca Banks' first novel. I am so blown away by how good it is!!

"Half The World Away" is about Abbie Potter, who is a British PR rep for The London Football Club. The book opens with a scandal regarding one player who has been arrested for sexual assault of a minor. When the player gets released with no consequences, Abbie decides she has had enough and turns in her resignation. Almost immediately, she is offered a job in Salt Lake City, Utah. With many reservations about leaving London, she accepts the job and moves half a world away. Abbie thrives in Utah with new friends, a new boyfriend, and many successes at her new job. But as her life seems TOO perfect, it appears someone is trying to sabotage her and everything falls apart.

This book is a romance but very clean. Everything is behind a closed door which works for some readers and not for others. Abbie is a wonderful character who is extremely relatable to anyone who has tried to change their life for the better. I enjoyed every moment of her journey to find herself. The author does an amazing job describing various locations in Utah, and I definitely am imagining a visit there soon!

There are some triggers in this book including abortion, sexual assault and depression.

2.5 stars

This was a bit of a miss for me.
I didn't felt like the main characters had any chemistry and in romance that's a problem for me. Also I couldn't connect with Abbie, between her basically brushing off the case of sexual assault in the beginning, were she says she felt bad for the girl, but didn’t do/say much else about it, and also her she describing Kitty being neat to having an "OCD" I just couldn’t fully care about her.
Also the side characters consistently did things that didn't fit with their "personalities" in the book and left me thinking like why are you acting like that?
I think there were too many ideas here and not so great execution. Still this wasn't a bad debut book from this author and I'm sure that the next one will be much much better.


Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a lovely read, warm, enveloping and beautifully romantic. I’d happily recommend and read more by the author in the future as I particularly enjoyed the writing style

This is a sweet read where music merges with sport in a tale of love and new starts.

I really liked the setting of this story. I felt that Banks vividly portrays the American setting of Salt Lake City, especially when Abbie explores the surrounding areas. Despite the weather not always being the brightest, I could not help but picture the glorious sunshine – perfect escapism! In addition to the landscape, Banks adds to the American vibe with so many references to food. The characters seem to eat most of the time, so take warning if reading brings on the munchies – because this book will seriously get you craving!

Thank you so much Netgalley for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. I loved this book so much. I was done with a big assignment and needed to read a book to get me relaxed and this was the perfect fit for it. I didn’t even have to put an effort into reading it, because I felt like the story just flowed through me. It was wonderful. Once I picked it up, I had a hard time putting it down. I read in the author’s acknowledgments, a line thanking the readers for reading this in their free time. That was not correct in my case. I made time for the book because I liked it that much. I loved Rebecca Banks’s writing and would definitely be keeping an eye out for any future works of her!

DNF at 33%

Honestly I had high hopes for this book at first and the first few chapters were fine, but then I was 14% into the book and I still hadn't met the love interest. I am all for developing the character but it seemed like we got a lot of info about her right off the bat and then the *instant* she met Kyle it was right to flirting, Also, Kitty's character was predictable, right off the bat when she warned her away from Kyle I was on to her. Also, Abbie just believed her right off the bat. I don't know the writing style paired with the plot just wasn't working for me. I was initially put off when Abbie just brushes off the case of sexual assault in the beginning, against a 17 year old and just feels bad for her but doesn't really do/say much else, like I understand she doesn't have much say which is why I continued, Then she described Kitty as "OCD" for being neat which I also wasn't a fan of.

Generally, I think this book fell short of my expectations so I just could not finish it.

Thank you for the opportunity to review.

I enjoyed this novel by Rebecca Banks. It has a different premise than other books in this genre. Abbie is a publicist for an English football team. Sick of the toxic workplace culture she quits, and another job falls in her lap. Unfortunately it’s in Salt Lake City in the USA. Abbie decides to take a chance and take the job. The novel is a fairly light read, but fun and interesting. It was interesting learning about Salt Lake City and other parts of Utah. Thanks to Literally PR limited and Netgalley for an ARC of this novel.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

My rating: ★★★½

Firstly, I loved the main theme of the book, which was about Abby's fresh start in life. I feel like I haven't read many books that are about that, and it can turn out in a great story if you do it right, which I think that Rebecca Banks managed to do so.

It was easy to connect and relate to Abby, and I feel like this is the main reason why I liked this read and thought it was an entertaining one.

However, I do feel that the drama between her and Kyle stretched out a little too much and it felt flat to me at some point. It didn't ruin the reading for me, and I'm almost giving it four stars, but if it wasn't for that, it could've been a huge favorite for me. Overall, a great debut! Congrats to the author!