The premise of the story was good. It deals with the lives of family carers which is a topic not often included in novels. At times it was quite emotional and I did find a couple of hearty chuckles unexpectedly came out of my mouth. However I felt the novel was sluggish. Especially for the first third or so.

Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK Audio for this audiobook ARC.

This has to be one of the loveliest books I have read this year. From the very start I was drawn into Violet Strong’s life and her self imposed isolation. When her sister visits, Violet has to confront the fact that she is estranged from her family and all of her childhood friends and acquaintances.
Something dramatic happened in her past which drove her from her home, and her family. Slowly the facts and fears, truth and unhappiness are revealed to the reader.

This book made me laugh and cry. I adored the main characters, and the trouble that Violet has to face up to, is devastating.
Violet’s book blogging and specifically her love of Anne Shirley of Avonlea made this a wonderful read for me,

I’m not really a ‘spoiler reviewer’ so will just have to say that if I were fortunate enough to have a friend like Violet, I would feel blessed.
Jessica Ryn has created a village and characters whose hopes and fears will resonate with many readers, and are an inspiration for us all to be ‘More Anne’, look out for each other and share the load.
Ten stars ⭐️

When I think about what to say about this book, a very relevant quote within it springs to mind: 'Books are safe places where you can become someone else for a little while ....' However, In the case of this book, I can't think of anything I would like less than being Violet for any length of time. It's an endearing enough story about the struggles carers face, along with the perspective of some of those being cared for; and I really felt for Violet throughout the story, especially when interacting with her mum, who is a pretty unlikeable character for most of the story. I’m not a carer, but it reinforced my respect for family carers and how much they sacrifice to care for someone they love, and although I grew to sympathise and admire the selflessness of the carers, I did think the story dragged at times.

I was a little underwhelmed with the mystery of what the “bad news” was - especially since this had been built up as something significant repeatedly throughout the book (to the extent I was sick of hearing that Violet thought she was 'Bad News' and wondering why).

Many thanks to NetGallery and HarperCollins UK Audio for allowing me a copy of the book, which is greatly appreciated.

A really fun book with some great characters!

Would definitely recommend to friends

Thank you to Netgalley/Publishers for a copy of this!

This was such a different book from what I am used to. I have never read a book with the main Protagonist working on care. As someone who also does it was quite refreshing.

I felt like I could relate to violet a lot with her love of writing and reading and her feelings when she was uncomfortable. I really felt for violet throughout the storyline, especially with her mum. She really didn’t deserve all the negative feelings she had and names she kept getting simply for a mistake when she was a child especially since it wasn’t her fault.

I was rather pulled in especially with the vague way the author wrote about her past. Although I was a little underwhelmed with what the “bad news” especially since this was repeated a lot through out the book.

Overall it was a really lovely heartwarming story with the pain of losing people you love. I really loved a lot of the characters, especially Tammy. She was the reason I loved this. She was so sweet and caring and her and violets friendship was so sweet.

Thank you netgalley and the harperCollins publishing for allowing me to listen to this as an arc.