It is six years since Kate Eberlen published Miss You, a novel about two people who seem destined to fall in love but never quite get the chance to meet. I was reminded of its plot when I received London, with Love by Sarra Manning an have to say I enjoyed her novel in equal amounts. Manning’s plot starts in 1981 when characters Jen and Nick are teenagers preparing for their A Levels. The novel weaves in and out of their on-off-friendships and carries on until the present day, when Jen and Nick, now into their fifties, are still in touch. The descriptions of 1980s and 1990s London, the cultural scene and technological advancements are brilliantly described. Readers are in for a treat as the the ‘will they, won’t they?’ plot foregrounds what I think are the strongest aspects of the book: the amazing city that is London.

Thank you to the publishers and to NetGalley for the free ARC that allowed me to produce this book review.

I have read quite a few stories of a similar premise over the last few years but actually really enjoyed this from Sarra. I particularly enjoyed how she wove aspects such as 9/11 into the storyline but the last third felt very rushed, however the overall book felt about 100 pages too long in my opinion.

I think the timings could potentially have been rejigged to give an overall better flow but loved Sarras writing style!

Thank you for this ARC ✨

This tells the story of Nick and Jenny who meet as teenagers. It follows their lives, university, careers, love interests. They fall out with each other several times but they always tend to be drawn back to each other, in times of great trauma they run to each other.

Will they remain friends over the years? Will they fall out again or will they end up with their happy ending?

I loved this book from start to finish-it’s just gorgeous.The story of Jen and Nick, starting when they are in their teens and continuing to the present day,is beautiful.Highly recommended.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in return for an honest review which reflects my own opinion.

This was a delightful book, it was such a romantic story which starts in 1980 and goes through to present day. The fashions and the fact that there was no Wi-Fi, mobile phones or internet and nit even many computers around at that time made this book so interesting. I loved the main character Jen and was desperate for her and Nick to fall in love . The descriptions of the tragedy of the twin towers was brilliant and really graphic. I loved this book and throughly enjoyed the ending. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

This is such a fantastic love story and really made me wish I was back in London again. Highly recommend

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Oh god, what can I say except that I was hooked for the first third and was really enjoying myself thinking about getting maybe slow-burn second chance romance to end up having a depressing swallow back your own vomit because you’re over 30 and you haven’t found anyone better than some trash teenage crush.

It just does not make any sense in my mind that a successful 30 year old woman couldn’t get over a boy she was pinning for when she was 16. He was a douche back then as a teen and he still is almost 20 years later.

Nothing evolved over the years, just the same back and forth and seemingly it was all “wrong timing” but I would dare say it was more likely due to incompatibility and childishness with a lot of “miscommunication”.

The resolution of this story over a little 10min talk on a bench and everything is ok, with all the bagage and history, makes it the most laughable thing of all.

Mostly, I’m annoyed that London didn’t feel like London. Camden didn’t have any of the punk/alternative feel of the early 90s/00s. The two mains keep meeting over the years randomly as if they were living in a tiny town instead of living in different parts of London. (I’ve been in London for the past 8 years and I’ve never stumbled twice upon the same acquaintance. I don’t even randomly stumble upon people living in the same borough as me…. What are you all on about?!). Also, we’re before social media was a thing (90s and early 2000s) so both of them keeping tabs on each other and whatnot is completely unrealistic.

Overall, it had a good start and then it lost itself in some boring mundane loop of daily tasks, a random meet-up of our mains that ends up badly and then repeat the same process a few years later for about 20 years. There’s no romance at all, it’s actually just quite a toxic and depressing relationship that wasn’t even one in the first place. Disappointing.

Recently, I have read a few novels with a similar premise to London, With Love where the main characters seem destined to be together, but the outcome is unknown. Not all writers manage to do this well, but here Sarra Manning has got it just right. I was interested in the story itself, and not obsessed with how it would all end.
Jen and Nick meet in 1986 while doing their A levels at Barnet College and become friends (though she does have a bit of a secret crush on him). Over the following nineteen years, they dip in and out of each other’s lives, never quite on the same page, though their mutual attraction is there for all to see.
The story is told entirely from Jen’s point of view, which means we only see Nick through her eyes, never get his perspective, and only find out what is going on in his life on the occasions they bump into each other. Sarra Manning weaves real historical events into the narrative, along with a soundtrack and popular culture references that help to ground the story in time and place.
The characters are well drawn, even the minor ones, and we see Jen and Nick mature as the story progresses from insecure teenagers to fully functioning but flawed adults. The title is apt, as the author has painted a loving portrait of her home city and its transport system. I am a fan of Sarra Manning’s writing anyway, and I really enjoyed London, With Love. Thanks to Hodder and NetGalley for a digital copy to review.

A spectacularly gorgeous book. Sarra Manning has such a talent for making you feel seen, and her characters positively ring with truth and authenticity. One for the keeper shelf.

I loved this book, yes it's a classic 'will they, won't they' romance but it's also so much more than that. Those children of the 60's/ 70's will relate, those who have ever lived in London will relate. The story follows the life of Jenny/Jen/Jennifer from college through to 50, her trials and tribulations and life in various parts of London (mostly). Her best friend Nick is in an out of her life but his presence never quite leaves and throughout the book you are willing them to finally get together, but it's never the right time! Jen experiences the terrors of 9/11 in new York and then again in London 7/7. That day in London sums that day up perfectly for anyone who was in the city that day, so many little things I'd forgotten. Thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for my arc.

I liked the book overall but there were times I was so frustrated with the characters and felt like not finishing the book but if you like a slow burn then it’s definitely for you. I liked the character build up of Nick rather than Jennifer’s who annoyed me so much by the end. But at the end was quite happy with the things they turned out. I also liked how the writer has included all the things that’s happened in the real world so this story felt very real to me. This could be very relatable to someone’s real life.

This is a story told over twenty years, starting on 9th September 1986 in North London, and over the course of the book, it brings us right up to the current day – including Covid.

It’s primarily a trip that you take with the two main characters Nick and Jen from their first encounter at college right through the ups and downs of their platonic friendship.

I absolutely loved this story, and think its mainly because I’m of a similar age to Jen and although my 80s music of choice was more Nik Kershaw than The Smiths (I wasn’t cool enough!) the soundtrack, the fashion and the makeup all took me back to when I was a teenager longing to be bought Iron Maiden lipstick from Miss Selfridge! That wasn’t the only difference, I was very much a Saff London girl from Lewisham (just up the road from New Cross where Kirsty lived!) and poor old Jen almost broke out in hives when she had to travel cross the Thames from North London to my manor!!!

You know when you get to a certain age, and you meet up with school friends for dinner and drinks and collectively take a trip down memory lane, but there’s always someone in the group who remembers a story that you had completely forgotten about? This book is exactly that!!! You are quickly drawn in, and feel like Nick and Jen are real friends, and you’re all exchanging stories over a glass or two of Pinot, whereas back in the 80s in those sweaty basement clubs where condensation would have been dripping off the ceiling, we would have been drinking Snake Bites!!!

I can’t fault this book at all – if you lived through the 80s you’ll absolutely adore it, and if you didn’t you’ll also love it, because you won’t believe the hairstyles, the clothes and the fact that even “back in our day” we too suffered with teenage angst!!!!

In spite of my gripes with Nick, I found myself reading well into the middle of the night to find out how it all ends and if Jenny gets her HEA, so yes, I think London, With Love is worth a read.

Set throughout the 80s and 90s, this is a love story about coming of age, discovering yourself while paying homage to London and British culture.

The good:
These were my decades! I loved the music and culture references that took me down memory lane... Woolies! Listening to tracks in HMV and virgin mega store, having to use phone boxes!!!
Jennifer's growth as a character. She went from shy to wild to lost to finally settling into her skin.
Writing style, fast pace, dry humor.

The bad:
It obvious the author knows and loves London. However I did find the repeated descriptions and details of bus and train routes tedious after the first 50%
Nick. Unfortunately, he spent the majority of the boo being, well, nasty. Which made it hard for me to feel excited about the romance. The only thing we really learn about him is that he's pretentious, got good hair, and gets what's he wants by doing very little.
Jens wild stage. I just didn't like her. Sorry.

The middling:
I don't entirely agree that using the 9/11 events was a bad thing. I think the shock of this event did cause a lot of people to look at life in a different way so the influence it had on the relationship was plausible.
However, then using the 7/7 again seemed over the top.

Therefore my overall rating is 3 stars.

I enjoyed the majority of this book, which embedded the author’s love of London deep within its narrative, but what I didn’t like, I REALLY didn’t like.

Let’s start with the good… I loved watching Jen/Jennifer/Jenny grow into an ambitious career woman after progressing from shy to wild to uncertain. Through it all, she remained hard-working and determined which was admirable to watch. As her story unfolded, it was striking to visibly see how a person’s life contains so many versions of themselves. This is often forgotten in real life as there the change is more gradual and less obvious. I also appreciated the reminder that a person can do lots of different things all in one life, taking themselves in countless directions.

The romance between Jenny and Nick was actually rather sweet but it didn’t really feel romantic until the very end. Prior to that they just took it in turns to pine after each other. Nick wasn’t very likeable for a considerable chunk of the story, with ‘pretentious’ being a very accurate word to describe him. For this reason, it was sometimes annoying to watch Jenny still being hung up on her unrequited adolescent love when really I wanted her to move on from him. As Jenny was always in love with Nick, their love story was more about Nick falling in love with her and then growing to deserve her love. I liked how they went their separate ways so that when they did eventually come together, they were perfect for each other.

And now to the bad… I did not appreciate the insensitive inclusion of terrorist attacks to drive the plot forward. Having Jenny and Nick’s declaration of love being prompted by witnessing and experiencing 9/11 in New York left me with an uncomfortable feeling. It was a thoughtless decision on the author’s part to use it as a plot device. This tactlessness was emphasised by using 9/11 to kill off Jenny’s former friend, Priya, who she had just made amends with in the previous chapter. Jenny and Nick are also in London when the 7/7 bombings occur, which similarly prompts them to reunite. The use of such devastating terrorist attacks to spur the couple to act on their feelings detracted from an otherwise lovely romance novel. Personally, I preferred when the storyline focused on objectively insignificant moments that were significant to the main characters. Keeping this approach throughout the novel would have been a more endearing and authentic way to portray their love story.

Overall, this was a sweet coming-of-age story and moving romance that was unfortunately undermined by the insensitive inclusion of certain historical events.

Thankyou for giving me the chance to read this book in advance. Set 80-90s which is my era, demonstrates long term friendships and love. Really enjoyed it

We meet our protagonists Jennifer and Nick back in London in 1986 and we follow them throughout half of their lives. Jen/Jenny/Jennifer has a teenage crush on her best friend Nick but on her 18th birthday their friendship falls apart.

I liked the first 50% of this book much more than the last half. I liked Jennifer but Nick was an entirely unlikeable character for most of the book. I don't want to spoil anything but I really felt like some of the other characters were merely used as plot devices for the main characters angst and weren't given much of an afterthought apart from that.

Two particular world events were also used in the book again, as a plot device for the main characters interaction and I thought that was pretty distasteful. One maybe I could get over but two was a bit ridiculous.

Overall I did enjoy this book but I found myself skimming the last 10% and just wanting to get it over and done with.

If you liked One Day or Ivy and Abe then you will enjoy this book.

Jennifer and Nick have been friends since they were sixteen, when their shared passion of music would mean hours spent in Nick’s , and their friendship has been on/ off for many years, at one point there was also a very passionate kiss on New Year’s Eve.

Everything changes when they are both in New York on 9/11, Jen is able to show Nick how she really feels, how she has been feeling since she was a teenager. But it is not their time yet- will it ever be?

I loved this book so much, I didn’t want it to end. It reminded me of One Day- plus the music and London.

London with Love - First book I’ve read by Sarra Manning. Such a page turner of a book, I couldn’t put it down until I’d finished it.. Really enjoyable story set in the 80’s and 90’s - totally my era. Rating in my top 3 books so far this year.
Thank you NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton

Jen (formerly Jennifer) has started college and looks upon it as a new start. She is actually making friends and there is a beautiful guy called Nick in one of her classes. Everything is going swimmingly until the night of the Smith's gig in Brixton. Everything changes after that and she makes a new friend in Nick.
Throughout their teens they are best friends until Jenny overhears two of her friends talking and walks away.
As the years roll forward she encounters Nick every so often and not always in the best circumstances. He is there for her when she needs him, but he is still the same pretentious person that she grew up with and makes her feel less than she is. He always has a teeny blonde in tow, the opposite of redhead Jenny (yes another name change). Over time they becomes friends alongside their respective partners and things are fine until they are not. It's not until Jenny is in another country with the unthinkable happens and Nick happens to also be there that she turns to him for help. But is it the right time now?
I picked this up because I love London and love reading about it. This is a lovely book, very readable and peppered with places I am familiar with. I loved the ebb and flow of their relationship and the references to actual events.
Read this, it will make you laugh and cry.