This is a gorgeous book full of warmth and hope. I fell in love with the characters completely. I thought Frank and Libby had a lovely relationship and the introduction of Dylan, Esme and Peggy just rounded the story off beautifully. I loved the idea of the hunt for the girl with the red hair on bus 88 - and thought the similarities between Libby and the girl were carefully written to keep the story flowing. A beautiful story from Freya Sampson and I’ll be recommending to all.

What a book, I couldn’t put it down! I adored most of the characters but mostly Frank and Libby from there first meeting you just know they will have a wonderful friendship.
This has made its way to my book of the year, I smiled from start to finish.
Thank you Netgalley and Zaffre for this arc

Absolutely devoured this book in a day. Love the premise, love the writing, love how parts were predictable and parts weren't, loved the generational diversity, the different sorts of characters - overall, simply beautiful. Highly recommend!

The Girl on the 88 Bus by Freya Sampson

Libby meets Frank on the 88 bus, just when her life is falling apart, having split up from her longtime partner, loosing her home and her job. Frank is eighty and Libby is thirty and he tells Libby, on her travels on the 88 bus, about trying to find the love of his life 60 years ago to thank her for changing his life but he lost her details and he is trying to find her before his dementia takes hold or he dies.

This is a beautiful book to read there are so many emotions this book will invoke for the read on Frank and Libby’s individual journey and many sensitive issues are handled beautifully a hankie may be advised. 4.5/5

After having loved Freya Sampson's debut The Last Library, I was so excited to read The Girl on the 88 Bus and am thrilled to say it's just as much of a hug-in-a-book as it's predecessor. I absolutely adored it.

With loveable characters and a touching and ever so heartwarming plot it was an absolute joy to read. Focusing on a past lost love, it really pulls at the heart strings and highlights exactly what it means to be human. Each character brings something wonderful to the story and it's ending leaves you with a warm fuzzy feeling and with the urge to hop on a London bus and get talking to strangers!

The perfect feel good read, that's quintessentially British and perfect to read this jubilee summer!

This is an absolutely brilliant book. I loved Freya’s first novel and was really excited to get this on NetGalley.
It’s the story of Frank, who met a girl in 1962 on the bus and Libby who meets him on the same bus route decades later. Frank is still looking for the girl he never forgot and Libby’s life is in turmoil. We follow them both as they search for answers and become wonderful friends.
There is so much warmth and heart in this book. Freya has a knack for making an extraordinary story, from ordinary people. I loved the supporting cast, the way the story developed and the ending. I’m exhausted now as I’ve stayed up late into the night to finish it. It was that good.
If you love an uplifting story this is for you, I highly recommend it.

Who knew a small idea from passing conversation would lead to a fantastic read?
From the beginning of this novel we are taken to 1962 where this man Frank at the age of 22 meets this vibrant woman. He was to meet her but he has lost his ticket. Of course he moves on with life however he always goes back to riding that bus in the hopes of finding her. When one day he bumps into this woman that looked like her, Libby. He retells this story of how this beautiful young lady had helped change the course of his life and he would love to thank her for it.
Libby, having a not so good time of life as it is herself has decided to help him find her and we get to be lucky enough to go along with them in this journey!

The beginning of this novel had automatically captured my attention. Not only is the plot unique, cute and interesting but the writing style is so warm and easy to read and follow where you would want to read it all day if you could.
Libby comes across a range of diverse characters, her sister Rebecca develops as a person, slightly that is. And the others she meets (I don’t want to give too much away) but it’s no surprise the way situations unfold to make life that extra bit complicated for Libby. This novel did have my eyes water in particular scenes towards the end. I really could not stop reading this. Hearing Peggy’s story and her narrative as well in the odd random chapter was that extra bit of colourful ness you love to have in a novel. They where so close and I thought this novel was going to be 100% predicable however it had a nice twist.

When it comes to giving birth I swear I must think in the traditional / correct way because from my experience it actually is 110% spot on. This quote in this novel: “You you gets these days are so used to planning and controlling everything, and you approach giving birth in the same way, with your books and birth plans and all that malarkey. It’s nonsense (LOL proved to be very true! Thank god I never bothered with much of that)
…
Well, you can forget all that right now. A baby’s gonna come the way a baby wants to come, and there’s not much you can do besides lie back and let Mother Nature do her work”
Praise be indeed. Spot on advice.

I enjoyed this novel immensely with the way it is written, even the annoying characters such as Simon as it does help Libby to grow throughout this novel. A realistic novel with a realistic heart felt novel that will keep you wanting to know more!

Thank you to the publishers for sending me this novel in exchange for my honest review.

A really sweet and occasionally tear-jerking read about the unlikely friendship of a recently single young woman, an elderly man with worsening memory loss and a Mohican-wearing skinhead with a kind heart. As my Welsh Gran likes to say, 'That's lovely!'

Well written, full of likeable characters all different in there own qwirky way.
Loved it..
The friendship between elderly pensioner Frank and young Libby is heartwarming and a tear jerker. .

Thanks to # NetGalley for the advance copy in return for an honest review.

The Girl on the 88 Bus by Freya Sampson

Libby Nicholls arrives in London after her 8 year relationship with Simon ends. On the way to stay at her sister's house she meets Frank on the 88 bus who tells her he has spent the last 60 years looking for a girl he met fleetingly but who changed his life. Libby helps Frank to try to find her and along the way makes new friends and a new life for herself without Simon.

This book is an utter JOY! Freya Sampson has smashed it again - intriguing story, fabulous characters and real heart. Read it in one go and missing Libby and all the characters already. Very VERY highly recommended!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

This is such a wonderful book I read it all in one sitting, I just couldn’t bear to part with the characters and the world Freya Sampson had created. It’s such a normal, everyday world, but with an adding spark. There’s a warmth to the story, to the characters, to their journey that you can’t help but be pulled into.

This is Freya’s second book (I haven’t read her first) and yet it feels like it’s something she has been honing for years; the writing is glorious. She is definitely going to be an author I keep my eye on in the future.

Frank is possibly one of the cutest fictional characters I’ve come across. He’s got his problems but his whole life has been focussed on finding the woman he fell in love with sixty years ago. In another author’s hands, this might have sounded a bit creepy, but there’s a tenderness here. Freya has hit the right balance between believable and sweet. There’s an old-fashioned quality about Frank; he reminds me of the way people used to talk about gentlemen in the early-mid 1900’s. He’s charismatic and kind and loving and sincerely hopeful. The main character of Libby is very well written too. I identified with her on so many levels, and she coped with so many things being thrown at her, juggling so many different plates that she’s a very inspiring character. There’s a cast of supporting characters such as Dylan (the caring but closed-off punk), Rebecca (her perfectly polished sister), Pauling (her overbearing and controlling mother), Simon (her meddling ex), Hector (her energetic but loving nephew) and a whole lot more besides; some have small parts and others have large, but they all perfectly compliment Libby and Frank’s story.

This has caused the very definition of a book hangover. I have so many other books waiting to be picked up and read, but I’m not quite ready to leave the world that Freya has created. It’s a love story, a rom-com but with a difference. It’s got so many layers to it that it entertains you, fills you with joy, makes you think, makes you cry, and overall, makes you happy and fills you with hope.

** also titled THE LOST TICKET

I absolutely adored Sampson’s previous book, THE LAST LIBRARY, so much that this was an automatic must read.

I loved it so much!!

I adored all the characters and each of their storylines. I liked how Frank and Libby’s stories linked up, how their relationship developed and how their lives changed. I also really liked the other characters that were introduced and how they impacted on the storyline.

Such a feel good book that’s so heartwarming! I really did not want this to end - I could’ve easily read 1000+ pages on these characters!

I loved Freya Sampson’s debut novel last year and was excited when I was approved to read her latest novel and what a gorgeous novel it. I read it in an evening and was torn between wanting to rush through it so that I could find out how it all ended and taking my time so I could enjoy all the lovely descriptive details.
Libby has been dumped by her boyfriend who also happens to be her employer so she is temporarily homeless and moves to live with her sister and act as an unpaid nanny to her nephew. On her way, she meets Frank who tells her the story of how he met a red haired girl 60 years ago on this very bus route and has been looking for her ever since. Libby is inspired his story and offers to help him in his search. She is also helped by Frank’s punk rocker carer Dylan who is not as scary as he seems despite his appearance.
This was a lovely story about how chance conversations can have a huge impact on someone’s life. The main characters are all brilliantly written. I especially loved the character of Esme who has Down’s Syndrome and said exactly what she thought about things. She reminded me of a girl I knew who had a very similar manner and outlook.
The book has a lot of humour but that is balanced by some sadder parts especially involving Frank’s increasing dementia. I love the author’s attention to detail which makes all of her characters and the locations seem so real. I would definitely recommend this book.

The Girl on the 88 Bus by Freya Sampson is adorable, crammed full of heart-warming moments.

In April 1962 Frank meets the love of his life on a London bus. They make plans for a date at The National Art Gallery but Frank loses the ticket with her number on it. Ever since then he has travelled on the 88 bus in search of the red-headed stranger.

Libby has moved to London after a relationship break up and meets Frank whislt travelling to her sister's house. When Libby hears of Frank's plight she is touched and wants to help, but with Frank's advancing dementia will she be able to help him before it is too late?

"She was standing at the bus stop, wearing a pair of wide-legged trousers, what loooked like a man's tweed jacket and a black beret, sat on a sideways angle to reveal a shock of red hair underneath. The whole ensemble was unlike anything he'd ever seen a girl wear before, both boyish and feminine at the same time. From his seat at the front of the top deck, Frank caught a flash of green eyes under the beret and felt his heart quicken."

I loved The Girl on the 88 Bus so much! Frank was an adorable character and felt very real. I loved the way he and Libby interacted throughout the book. Libby's own family is toxic, her mother is overbearing and her sister is extremely unlikeable. Libby finds her own family through her search on Frank's behalf.

There are parts of the book that are almost unbearably sad but I am going to be recommending it to every one I know.

"Old people might seem boring, but that's because you're not listening to them properly."

My first five star review this year. What a read. I'll be suffering with a book hangover for a while after finishing this. This story was so beautiful, so wonderful and so heartbreaking. I loved it. I just fell in love with Libby, Dylan and Frank. What amazing characters. If you're looking for a love story with many layers and with a difference, do not let this little gem of a book pass you by. Freya Sampson has herself a new fan.

If a hug were a book - This one is so feel good (and a bit cheesy!) but in a lovely way.

Libby’s total jerk of a boyfriend breaks up with her and she moves to London to stay with her sister while she figures out a plan. She gets on the 88 bus and meets an elderly man, Frank, who quickly chats her up. He tells her the story of how he met a girl on that bus 60 years prior, and got her number, but lost it before he could contact her again. He’s been riding the bus for years since hoping to spot her. Libby, desperately needing a distraction, decides she wants to help him find her.

It’s a book that covers unexpected friendships, tumultuous family relationships, and the importance of connecting with strangers. This made me want to go ride the bus for fun and leave my phone at home!

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy and the chance to read this ahead of publication in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an arc of 'The Girl on the 88 Bus'.
What a lovely book! It's a book that I didn't want to end. It's well written with such realistic and endearing characters. Frank, Libby and Dylan's stories will make you laugh and cry - and everything else in between. Highly recommend this beautiful book.

I absolutely loved this book. The story was original, fast paced and engaging and the characters of Libby, Frank and Dylan were so well crafted. The ending is not too predictable and whilst it is sad in parts, leaves you with a warm feeling.

Thanks to Bonnier Books and Netgalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for a review.

This book was a complete joy and I loved the stories of Frank, Libby and Dylan in their search for the girl on the 88 bus. The characters in the book were engaging and I found myself entranced in every page.

This was a book I wanted to finish but at the same time I didn't want it to finish and now I feel quite bereft at the thought of not being in the bus with them all!

What a gorgeous read, filled with love, humour and sadness too - a real life-affirming story about how chance encounters and kindness of strangers can change lives. The characters that Freya has created are realistic and you can really relate to them! I adored Frank and his story about the red-headed girl on the 88 bus. I thought the description of his dementia was handled sensitively and with realism. Dylan is a character that demonstrates that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover and I loved how Libby grew throughout the book - there were lots of moments when I cheered the characters and many times when I shed a tear. So I would definitely recommend and will be sourcing Freya Sampson's debut to read also!

**Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read an advanced e-copy of this book. All opinions are my own **