The story follows Will and Fran who are friends since they were seven, they start dating in high school but one day Will has to leave the country. It has been 25 years since they have met/spoken to each other.

One day Will finds Fran in a café and they rekindle their friendship. As many things were left unsaid between them, there are a lot of small and major secrets they kept from each other.

I've racked my brain trying to come up with a way to convey my thoughts on this wonderful book. Clare Swatman has created another emotional story. This is a beautiful, poignant and inspiring tale of true love. The fact that it is such a sad novel had me a little shocked because that cover and blurb had me believing it was a romance through and through...and it is but it is also so much more than that.

Heart-achingly emotive and beautiful story, Clare Swatman has surpassed herself with this total gem of a book. Gut-wrenching, tear-jerking, poignant and worth every tissue I went through. Ms. Swatman beautifully manages to balance sorrow, love, humour, hope, hopelessness - oh so many elements - and has crafted a book that made me feel all the things. The journey was heartbreaking, but I was smiling as I read the last few words..Read this and lose a bit of your heart to Fran and Will's story.

The first 25% of this book? Not the greatest, not the worst. I was really confused about where the story was going since it seemed like everything had already happened. Fran and Will bump into each other one day in a coffee shop after not having seen each other in a quarter of a century. They were once one another’s true love and had always thought they’d marry each other, but then Will’s mom died and he moved across the world. There’s no question of whether they will rekindle the romance or not, they dive right into a relationship again immediately. I was left wondering where to go from here? Surely we can wrap the story up and call it a day? Right? Right? WRONG!

HOLY SMOKES the rest of the book is a giant whirlwind of emotions. This is the first book to get me to tear up in a WHILE! Every chapter feels like a rush, but in a good way. There’s so much left to do and say, and who knows how much time left? So many JUICY secrets and events were happening. I just had to know what was coming next, but at the same time I didn’t want to reach the inevitable ending. I knew it would come anytime, clearly Clare Swatman has no regard to my emotions. She’s proved this many times throughout this book.

I give this 4.5 stars, just under 5 for the slow start. This is such a moving and powerful book. I loved every character by the end of it. Highly recommended!

A really sweet, warm romance, perfect for winter nights reading by the fireside. Recommended to anyone who enjoys this genre. Lovely chracters, great pace.

I didn’t dislike this book but I didn’t love it either. I think my main issue is that I really didn’t care for Fran as a character. I felt that she was overly judgemental considering the secrets she had kept from Will for over 25 years. At times I found the whole concept of forgiveness a bit hard to believe, those were life changing developments!

I was drawn in by the bright coloured cover and second chance romance but this book was a lot heavier than that. I do feel the author took a lot of care when discussing some tough subjects and the research showed.

I didn’t enjoy this book, but maybe that’s just due to my own preferences. I prefer my romance novels to have likeable characters and happy endings, whereas this story has characters you’ll struggle to like, and themes like terminal illness and adoption. I must admit I did skip some chapters as I wasn’t that interested in the characters to follow their story completely due to their actions and attitudes

I’d seen reviews for this book ranging from 1/2 a star to a full 5 stars so I had no preconceptions prior to reading It s it could have been terrible or it could have been brilliant. I fell somewhere in the middle but more towards the bottom end sadly. I found the protagonist Francesca so annoying and selfish and desperate. Sometimes this is fine in a story as it’s good characterisation, but it just spoiled this book for me as I started wishing I didn’t have to read it from her point of view. There were some good chapters but a lot of it felt overly cliched. Not the worse book I’ve read by any means, but I didn’t feel overjoyed with it when I finished it. I don’t think it’ll be one that sticks around for long.

This book was lovely! This reminded me a bit of Love Rosie! Such a gorgeous book and a pleasure to read

Some people are just made for each other…When seven-year-old Fran first met Will they knew instantly that they were made for each other. For eleven years they were inseparable, but then, at the age of eighteen, Will just upped and disappeared.

Twenty-five years later Will is back.
Is fate trying to give them a second chance?

Still nursing the heart break from all those years ago, Fran is reluctant to give Will the time of day. The price Will must pay is to tell the truth – the truth about why he left, the truth about why he’s back…

And Fran has her own secrets to hide. The time has come to decide what Fran and Will really want from life – before it’s too late.

Unashamedly romantic, Before We Grow Old is a book full of love, laughter and tears, and you’ll be rooting for Fran and Will from the moment you meet them. Let Clare Swatman whisk you away for the love story of the year. Perfect for fans of Sophie Cousens and Isabelle Broom

Thanks Netgalley for a arc copy of this book for a honest review..

I wanted to like
Before We Grow Old sadly I didn't 2 1/2 maybe I should of dnf the book but I powered through

Happy Reading 📚
Lisa

Oh well Clare nearly broke me with Dear Grace, but she truly shattered my heart in this one. Lots of twisty surprises along the way and as each declaration unfolds it always comes as a shock.
Loved the bucket list idea and how inventive it got,
A truly heart warming story with some characters you root for.
Thoughtful and surprising,

Will have you turning pages well into the wee hours.

This book is beautifully written but will make you weep so have plenty of tissues. The ending is a wee bit sad but overall it’s a lovely read.

The dynamics between the characters are interesting. The book explores adoption and terminal illness both massive topics so it’s quite a heavy read.

I love how it’s written between past and present but I feel there might be a few too many twists near the end of the book.

Definitely a book to read with a large box of tissues, tea and biscuits!

Childhood friends and then boyfriend and girlfriend. Circumstances rip them apart to opposite sides of the globe. But a chance meeting rekindles the friendship and then romance. It is never going to be happily ever after as a brain tumour casts a big shadow.
Secrets, half truths and omissions come out. Can they cling on together or is it one to many things to cope with?

This is the first book I have read by Clare Swatman, so I didn’t have a level of expectation ahead of reading. I really like the cover, this absolutely caught my eye and made me want to have a read.
The book itself follows Will and Fran, starting as young teenagers in love, until Will moves away and then picking back up many years later. As with most relationships there are things left unsaid, on both sides, that need to come out before things can possibly move forward. Some of the secrets are bigger than others, and to say there is some hypocritical anger on Fran’s side would be an understatement. In terms of the characters, I quite liked Will he came across like a good guy. But I could not warm to Fran at all, she actually infuriated me (which is a testament to the way Clare has written those characters in to the book).
Overall I do think there will be people that really enjoy this book, and although I found it easy to read, I am not sure it is the ‘love story of the year’ that I was expecting.

I had high hopes for this book but the second chance romance did not deliver. There are many things which happened in this book I wasn't a fan of but I'm sure others will be. Couldn't connect to the characters but definitely wanted to give it a chance. Not my type of rom com but I'm know other readers will love it.

A story of teenage love, regrets, grudges but above all love and friendship.
Fran and Will had been friends and then lovers for years, he moved away and there was no contact for 25 years. Following an encounter in a London cafe they rekindled their friendship but was true love still going to stand in their way?
A well written novel with likeable characters, tissues needed.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Boldwood books for the opportunity to read this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review

Wow this book was an emotional rollercoaster and was so much more than just a typical love story. I had previous read a couple of books by this author so was
Looking forward to reading this one. It really pulled at
The readers heart strings whilst at
The same time restoring faith in the human condition and how when the chips are down everyone pulls together and if two people are
Meant to be together then nothing will stand in the way and what is meant to be will be against the odds. This story also covered a lot of
Sensitive and life changing issues and brought them to
The fore and covered them in a very sensitive and heartfelt way. This book tore my heart to pieces and then put it back together again and left me thinking about it a lot and is a book I won’t forget for a long time.

One stunning read. I've only previously read one of Clare’s books before (Dear Grace- one of my books of the year) but only a few pages in and I knew this would also be a treasure of a read- and yes I was right. Fran had a neighbour as a child whom she loved and spent all of her time with- Will. Then one day after Will’s mother had died- his father took him and his brother away- to Australia and Fran never really had a chance to say goodbye or to tell him of her predicament. Twenty five years later someone bumps into her and its Will. He later confesses that he had been looking for her and hopes they can rekindle their friendship and possibly more.
Be still my beating heart. Oh my! A love story quite unlike any other. I won’t give anything away but I think someone was peeling onions nearby…. Beautifully written and with that wonderful warmth and depth of character that can only come with such skillful writing and very well thought out plot. Fran is an admirably strong character. Some say that we only get in our lives what we can cope with- and this situation although fiction does happen and my heart goes out to those that deal with such things. Respect. Sometimes we need that affirmation in life that there is good out there no matter what and that people really do care. One to perhaps take you through the gamut of emotions in a good way and then out the other side to see the world slightly differently to treasure every waking moment as you never know what is around the corner. A read to treasure and most certainly one to remember. Stunning doesn't do this justice

#blogtour

dnf’ed at 20%

there were themes and lines in this book that i really didn’t agree with. the characters treated each other badly and this really wasn’t the book for me.

i’m sure certain fans of second chance romances will find this book enjoyable .

Not my favorite as a rom com depressing, and not very uplifting like I thought it would be I have a hard time reading books like this I need a happy story or mostly happy

What a brilliant story, happy endings don’t always have to exist but it’s a skill to be able to do that. Whilst I don’t usually read romance novels, this was great! We’ll written and story development was at the right pace, you can tell there were personal touches throughout the book and maybe the issue hits close to home but tears were almost shed! Highly recommend