Thank you NetGalley for my advance copy of this book. I enjoyed getting to know the characters in this book and enjoyed the message of helping each other and of enduring friendship. I really appreciated the nods to Giovanna’s other books (Billy and Me), I love it when authors do this. My rating is really 3.5 stars but unfortunately can’t give half stars. I like this authors writing and would recommend.

This was a weird one for me, whilst I thought it was cute and a lovely concept, it just felt so farfetched and odd to me. Not to mention, I utterly despised Zaza's fiance, and hated that the overall message at the end was that it was her fault he was so toxic during her grief. But it was cute, and I semi enjoyed it

I have read all of Giovannas books and they just get better and better. I just wanted to keep reading. Thank you for writing such good books.

Firstly thank you to Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book.
Pia has died leaving behind her extremely loving husband Mike and her friends Zaza and Vicky.
Mike is lost he now has this empty hole that he can't begin to know how to fill.
Zaza is questioning everything about her life including her engagement to Liam. She's hurting after the loss of her friend and nothing is right anymore.
Vicky has two extremely demanding children and a husband who works a lot while she stays at home with the children. She's lost who she was before she was a stay at home mom and is struggling with that and her grief.
The three embark on a trek in Peru in Pia's memory along the way there are laughs, dramas and giggles. There's heartbreak and an attempt at healing in the only way each individual knows how.
As always Giovanna's writing is on point, she made me happy, made me giggle, while making my heart break and made me feel sadness along with the characters.
Definitely worth a read!

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.

Thank you to net galley for providing me with an advance copy of this book- I thoroughly enjoyed it, laughing and crying throughout. This books will take you on a adventure with the characters and you be fully committed to the story from the start. Giovanna is a fantastic author, I always looking forward to reading her books.

Mike, Zaza, and Vicky, friends since university. Vicki has a successful career in beauty journalism, Vicki is mum to 2 small children and married and Mike was married to their friend Pia until she died from cancer. This affects the friends in different ways and the story is told from their different views throughout.
A little slow to start but picked up later.

My first Giovanna Fletcher read and it was very enjoyable.

Mike, Zaza and Vicky are struggling to come to terms with the death of Pia, the girls are dong all they can to support her widower and he in return is doing all he can to help her dearest friends through the pain of her loss.

Then they come across a note from Pia encouraging them to have adventures….. and before they know it they are dragging themselves out their comfort zones and embark on a life changing trek, where they learn to come to terms with her loss and also learn so much about themselves.

A lovely tale of love, loss, friendship and a life changing journey. An easy and enjoyable read.

This novel also reminded me of my own trek of a lifetime … maybe it’s time for another!

She’s done it again! Another fantastic book which deals with topics of grief and self-love. A story of the importance and power of friendship.

A lovely story of friendship, grief and overcoming individual problems. It was incredibly sad at times but nicely written!

So well written! Beautiful, raw and so relatable. This books deals with so many tough topics in a way that is both sensitive and welcoming. The grief you feel after losing a loved one, the emotions you bottle up as you try to get on with day to day life and even how to address things you haven't even admitted to yourself.

Wonderful. A tale of true friendship ,love and grief. A harsh trek in Peru leads to all the 3 main characters facing their problems and fears.

What a lovely book, sad with lots of happy smiles throughout.

The book is about friendship and every chapter is based on a different friend. Pia was Mike’s wife who died, but left behind friendships that would do anything for each other. Zaza is the high maintenance friend and Vicky is the mummy. They embark on a trip to Peru in honor of their friend/wife Pia. The story shares all the ups and downs of the trip.

Great book, recommend. 4.5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy. .

I thought the story was written well but I couldn't really get into it,. I didn't really connect with any of the characters and struggled to finish it

Not one for me, sorry.

Thank you for the ARC

Wow! What a book! I honestly enjoyed this book so much. Do not mistake how long it took me to read with anything other than distraction.
The book was well done, touching on the topic of grief which is something that in some point in our life we will all experience.

The story is about about three friends & how they cope with their grief after their best friend dies. I found myself relating so much to the character Vicky who is an exhausted, burnt out mum of two beautiful children. It’s scary how much you can see yourself in characters sometimes, especially when you don’t like what you see.

This story was honestly so heartwarming & made me feel happy & sad all at the same time.

Thank you G for writing this book!

I’ll be sharing a more concise review on my bookstagram page tomorrow :)

This was a pleasant read and I found it to be well written. I did find it a but of a drag in places and couldn't quite get into it as much as I would have liked.

Sorry, but this was a DNF

I really couldn’t get into this story, I have read stories that deal with grief and loss that are far better than this.

I found it hard to really like any of the characters.

If I was younger and had children I maybe would’ve enjoyed this, which is why I don’t want to be really harsh with the score. I’m simply not the target audience.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me an arc of this book in exchange for my review.

This book was such a joy to read. The first book by Giovanna that I have read and I must admit I didn't think I would enjoy it as much as I did. I fell in love with all 3 main characters and cared deeply about what happened to them. I could particularly relate to Vicky, although my own children are all grown up now, but I too feel like I have lost myself and this book has certainly made me think about my own relationships with my family. It also made me cry which I certainly didn't expect and I loved reading about different cultures and food. Definitely recommend this book!

My favourite books of Gi’s yet (and I’ve read them all)! As well as being a feel good easy read, Walking on Sunshine has all the emotions as we follow the three main characters on their journey (literally!) through grief and re-discovering who they are and what they want. I found the characters likeable and relatable, and was invested in the story from the start.
Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.

In a Nutshell: Sorry, but mine is an outlier review. I expected a lot from this novel but my expectations and the story were on two different tracks that simply couldn’t merge.

Story:
You could call this a story of three friends getting over some emotional losses with the help of each other.
Mike has lost the love of his life, his wife Pia, to cancer. He’s struggling on his way back to normalcy, if there can be a new “normal” after such a heartbreak.
His two best friends are Zaza and Vicky. Zaza has commitment issues with everything except fashion and makeup brands. She is newly engaged but her commitment-phobia seems to be wrecking her potential happiness with Liam. Vicky is a stay-at-home mom who struggles with self-identity. She misses the days she had a career and can’t seem to reach the level of mom perfection she aspires to. In the process, she begrudges her husband Nick for his independent career away from the kids.
Pia has left the three of them a list of activities to be done after her death. The three friends use this list as a way of accepting the loss and healing their lives. But when the latest item on the list sends them on a trek to Peru, the trio faces some tricky situations and their bonds appear to start breaking. Will this trip heal them or split their group?

As can be guessed, the question I raised at the end of the summary has a very easy and predictable answer. So this isn’t a book about what will happen at the end but how will the group reach the end of their journey in this story. The book has shades of ‘PS I Love You’ by Cecilia Ahern (another book I didn’t enjoy but it was better than this one).

The story can be divided into three broad phases:
1. Pre-trek
2. Trek
3. Post-trek

I enjoyed the first phase. It was pretty well-written and gave me a great idea of what to expect from the characters. From the second phase onwards, the writing took a downswing. There are many idiotic situations and over-the-top reactions, none of which help in endearing the characters to the reader. I found this phase pretty farfetched and stretched. I skipped and skimmed my way through the second phase because I was bored out of my head. The final phase is decent but it is too short to make much of an impact.

Considering the plot, I had expected the characters to make a deep impact on me. But none of them, except for Mike, and to a certain extent Vicky, seem believable and I couldn’t connect with any of them except Mike. (Pia would have been a great character to know, but she had hardly any active role in the story except as a constant presence in the background through her letters and the anecdotes.) Zaza was mostly infuriating, immature, and self-centred. The writing style also didn't work much for me because the chapters are quite short and when this combined with the constant change in first person povs, the voice changes become too frequent and muddling.

I was in the mood for something touching and light, so I had assumed this book would work well. I really tried to like it, but sometimes, expectations can be such a killjoy. I’ve never read a Giovanna Fletcher work, but looking at the ratings for this book and her other works, I think I need to try some other work of hers before I can make up my mind about being the right kind of reader for her works. This book has some pretty positive reviews, so please go through those before you take a call on this.

Overall, it may work for some readers, but really sorry, it didn’t work for me.

My thanks to Penguin Michael Joseph UK and NetGalley for the ARC of “Walking on Sunshine”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.