Member Reviews
love Giovanna's story telling. It's always heartwarming and the characters are people you'd imagine you want to be friends with. Will continue to follow her work and read her stories!
Thank you to Penguin Michael Joseph UK and NetGalley for a digital copy in return for an honest review.
I don't often read books with such hard themes but this one touched on grief so well. It took me a while to read but I did enjoy it. Although not my usual style, I'd definitely read some of Giovanna's other books!
This book tells the story of 3 friends who lost their best friend who embark on an adventure together. This adventure tests all of them. The story made me laugh out loud and cry many tears. I highly recommend. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this beautiful book.
I Love Giovanna's stories and this one didn't disapoint.
The story is about three friends who have recently lost the fourth to cancer and how they deal with this together and alone. The story really explores friendship and is really well written.
Pia has died young and her friends and husband deal with this in their own ways. It highlights other issues in their lives and when they find a letter from Pia urging them to obey her “rule” and set off on a trip together. This they do and this is the start of a journey for them all.
Sensitively and well written
Ive really enjoyed Giovanna Fletchers books and this didn't disappoint I'm looking forward to reading more in the future.
I must firstly apologise for the amount of time it has taken me to provide a review of this book, my health was rather bad for quite some time, something that had me in hospital on numerous occasions and simply didnt leave me with the time I once had to do what I love most.
Unfortunately that does mean I have missed the archive date for many of these books, so It would feel unjust throwing any review together without being able to pay attention to each novel properly.
However, I am now back to reading as before and look forward to sharing my honest reviews as always going forward. I thank you f0r the patience and understanding throughout x
I have to say this isn't my favourite book by Gi I've read and the weakest of hers so far. This book focuses on three friends, Zaza who has found herself engaged and in a relationship she's not quite sure is for her, Vicki an overwhelmed mum of two who's struggling with motherhood and raising her kids and a man (can't remember his name) who has lost his wife to cancer, they decide to make a stand and respect Pia's last wish and go on a trek across Peru which will change the course of their lives. There is a lot to like in this book such as the way Gi talks about grief and the struggles of motherhood but it's very slow and at time it lost my attention, I didn't enjoy the trek part personally and found it a bit boring which is sad as it's a large part of the book. I think I might recommend this but not as one of her best.
Emotional and uplifting story of love, loss and the joy of connecting with friends, with a lovely writing style and fun, relatable characters.
When Mike loses Pia after 17 years together, she at least has time to discuss her plans and leaves notes to help her loved ones through the difficult times ahead.
One of these notes prompts Mike to embark on a journey to Peru with former housemates and best friends Vicky and Zaza.
Whilst grieving together, they all face challenges of their own, and the trip is just the tonic they need to put everything in perspective and to mend the bridges that have grown between them.
Wanted to love it, but it wasn't for me. This is definitely an outlier though as I've really enjoyed her previous works, it was just somerthing about this that didn't work for me
A beautiful story about love and loss and the joy that taking the time to reconnect with your friends and yourself can bring. Self-care and understanding and using your emotions was paramount to this story and it felt very genuine and caring.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for approving me for this book.
I felt the writing was done well in this book but there was just something missing for me and I couldn't get into it and enjoy it as much as I hoped I would.
Thank you so much to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for a chance to read this book!
This was my first book I have read of Giovanna’s and it gave me so much more than I was expecting. I laughed and at points came close to crying - it was a real rollercoaster of a book and one I didn’t realise I needed to read. It reminded me of my love of travel and adventure, and of the fragility of life. This is a true reminder of the need to embrace each moment.
Zazza, Vicky, and Mike, all need this trip to Peru, and so do we as readers.
I love G Fletcher so couldnt wait to pick this up. This pains me to say but I found the premise to be very similar to other books I have read - mainly thinking about PS I love you - so it didn't feel particularly original. It was also very very slow going, especially at the beginning.
Then when the expedition happened, it felt very similar to Fletcher's own experiences going on her charity treks. But by the point the trek happened in the plot, I really was a bit 'over it' as it took so long to get there.
Overall, I didn't enjoy this book at all, and even though it had some emotional themes, I didn't feel emotionally connected to any of the characters. Disappointed with this as I was looking forward to it.
I honestly don't know what took me so long to pick this up! A story of love, hope, grief and new beginnings; I adored this read. I like all 3 of the main characters and was delighted with how things ended. I could relate to them in some form, and I wanted to be part of their friendship group. So heartwarming.
Be careful reading this - I am now inspired to go on a mountain trek "to find myself, "thanks to this fabulous read.
Life can sometimes make us all feel stuck in a rut, but thanks to Giovanna Fletcher's writing style, this book gives us time to pause, reflect and re-establish where we want to be.
A perfect read for all seasons and would make an ideal read as the new year approaches.
Do yourself a favour, and pick up a copy today!
This was emotional, powerful and beautifully written. It deals with some difficult issues in a sensitive way and the characters are extremely loveable
Beautifully written with characters that I could connect to, this book made me cry and smile and laugh in equal measure. It even almost made me want to go on a trek!
Awww, I loved this book, it was so heart-warming and emotional, and I also got majorly jealous of the travel parts of this book! I found it really insightful in handling grief and also the power of communication with your friendship groups. It's been a useful reminder to me around mental health and how to communicate my own thoughts and feelings.
Overall, a nice easy read and one I thoroughly enjoyed.
What a truly beautiful book.
I've never read any of Fletcher's book so had no idea what to expect and I have to say it did not disappoint.
A book of loss, of discovery and of rebuilding again. It was well written and thoughtful in its handling of loss and grief.
Loved it and definitely she'd some tears as I read.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest review.
It’s taken a lot longer than I had anticipated but I loved it and I COMPLETED it.
I remember when I’d read a whole book in a day. 😂
Now I sneak pages in between building @lego , swimming lessons, working, cleaning and the constant chaos of life. I’m sure many of you can relate!
One of the first books I was ever sent for review on my blog 9 years ago was @mrsgifletcher Billy and Me from @michaeljbooks - I’ve always loved her writing.
Walking on Sunshine was no different, her ability to create characters that you easily connect with and relate to gets me every time. From Pre parenthood to now. It has been a real journey Gi!
I love being immersed in another life momentarily, it’s a nice form of escapism from the daily grind.
I even found myself applying for the @coppafeelpeople trek after, I related to Vicky so much and the trio as a whole.
Having lost my brother to cancer in the last year their journey was a real reminder that it’s OK not to be OK, it’s normal to feel like the world has stopped spinning. Like you’re living a real-life Groundhog Day, working, parenting. Coasting by as if everything is normal, everything is the same. When actually they’re not. They’re not at all and everything isn’t OK.
I took a real journey of self-discovery with this group of friends. I may have even shed a few tears along the way!
When mike's wife here dies, Zaza and Vicky come together to help Mike rebuild his life. Pia has left instructions that they must follow traveling to Peru help them my get over their loss. This was a beautifully written story.