I unfortunately didn’t like this one at all and I really loved the authors last book. I knew the story dealt with loss but I had no idea how long it would stay in that part of the story and just how sad it would be. This absolutely is not for me and definitely not what I look for in a Christmas book. The author is a really lovely writer and I still really look forward to seeing what her other work will be like.

Sometimes a book affects you and this was one of those books for me. I cried, felt sad, felt nostalgic, felt every season, emotion, friendship and romantic feeling. I was so engaged with Celeste and her journey to self discovery and love. Just fabulous

This is the second book I have read by this author and I enjoyed this one as much as the first. It begins with a prologue where we meet Celeste and her best friend Hannah and how they become friends.

Hannah, dies in a tragic accident which leaves Celeste, Vik and all the friends devastated. Celeste finds a list that Hannah has written which is a task for every month of the year. Celeste is determined to complete it. Hannah was engaged to Vik who has inherited a mansion house which he has to renovate. The friends help him.

It is set mainly in London and Dublin. This was a lovely story and enjoyed it very much, Emily does not use bad language which for me is a plus.

I can recommend this and give it 5*

I loved the previous book by this author, so was super excited to read this new one.
It certainly didn’t disappoint and loved this heartwarming book. I went through a range of emotions but was glad that the happy ending put a big smile on my face.
A lovely read and one that I’d recommend.

What an absolutely brilliant book
Loved it from the first page to the last
This book will have you laughing and crying and not wanting to finish
Thanks NetGalley

This story is certainly tear jerking, dealing as it does with the utter devastation felt when the main protagonists best friend passes away, but it is also a hopeful and at times joyful read. I enjoyed the emphasis on growth and relationships, and I hope it will encourage me to be braver and try new things next year.

Not quite as good as Baby It's Cold Outside but still a good read. It was heartwarming to see Celeste complete her resolutions and grow within herself. She was a very likeable character. Though it's quite predictable the ending tugged at my heartstrings.

I thought this was a Christmas read, given the title and the festive cover. However, the first thing to say about it is it could be read any time of the year as the story spans a full calendar year. It’s all about Celeste, who decides to fulfil her late best friend’s New Year’s resolutions over the coming year. Will her life change in the process? This was a lovely read, which I couldn’t put down and actually read in two sittings. It just grabbed me. I really loved Celeste, and was rooting for her. If you like romantic fiction, this should firmly be on your radar for 2023. I highly recommend it. Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a free copy in exchange for an honest review. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (4.5 stars)

A wonderful light read - with a will-they-won’t-they romance. Likable, believable characters and a lovely storyline.

Irish Celeste and her best friend Hannah both live in London. They met in Dublin and after Celeste was shunned at school by her friends New Years Eve 1999, she was invited by Hannah to a New Years party and had spent every New Years Eve together since.
Hannah dies in an skiing accident and Celeste understandably struggles to come to terms with her grief. She does enjoy spending time with Hannah's fiancé Vik and her other joint friends. Vik then moves from London to the country, Celeste feels alone again and reluctantly aggress to spend the first New Years Eve with Vik at his new house with Hannah's friends old and new friends including Patrick who Celeste had met once before in 1999.. Whilst there, Celeste and Vik come a cross a book which Hannah had written in a resolution list. Deciding it would be a good way to honour her friend, Celeste decides to undertake her list and take her out of her comfort zone and try something new.. Luckily for her, she undertakes some of these with Patrick who lives just around the corner from Celeste in London.
This an amusing story of self discovery, female friendships, loss and romance, Good to read at any time of year but especially Christmas.

With thanks to Michael Joseph Penguin and Random House and #NetGalley for this preview read.#ThisyeasForMeandYou

A lovely uplifting book, cosy and perfect for curling up with on a winter's evening. The characters are really engaging, the premise of the book is poignant and really a lesson to live each day fully!

Well this book was just delightful. It was heart warming yet sad at the same time. I loved Celeste as a character and following her year of resolutions in honour of her friend was just lovely. An absolute pleasure from start to finish

This book I enjoyed very much. It was fresh and entertaining and I read it in one sitting. Highly recommend.this one. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

The start was just too sad and too close to home for me to continue reading and enjoy especially at this time of year

This Year's For Me and You by Emily Bell

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to NetGalley and Penguin and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Blurb

Hannah and Celeste have been best friends since they were eighteen, when they made a pact to spend every New Year's Eve together.

From Dublin to London, the two are inseparable: that is, until tragedy strikes.

When Celeste discovers a list of Hannah's New Year's Resolutions, she is determined to make her way through them and honour her friend's memory.

With the help of an old friend, Patrick, Celeste kickstarts her life one adventure at a time.

My Opinion

A charming book that will play with your emotions. Overall this is a heart-warming book but we also see Celeste as she faces the grief of loosing her best friend. This book isn't overly festive and so would work at any time of year. Sometimes we all need to venture outside of our comfort zones.

Rating 4/5

I really enjoyed the writing and most of the characters within this book. I think the author did a really good job of describing how different characters cope with grief, loss and work burnout. I didn't really enjoy the romance of the book as I felt that it wasn't really there and there wasn't any chemistry between the characters involved. I genuinely thought Celeste would end up with a different person because they had better chemistry but alas she did not. I think this was too much of a slow romance for me that maybe that is why I didn't feel any chemistry between the lovers and it felt much more like a distant freidnship.

Overall, it is decent writing and details life after someone's death in a graceful manner.

What a flipping lovely book!!

This story has some many different elements and somehow they fit so perfectly together. Grief, friendship, high powered jobs, adventure and romance, this book has it all.

There’s the perfect amount of Christmas and new years vibes that this still feels like a festive book, even if the plot spans the whole year. This is differently a book I recommend picking up.

This is the most perfect Christmassy read to warm your cockles on a cold winter’s day! Okay, so it’s not without some teary moments, but following Celeste’s journey through the pain is worth every tissue. So many lovely moments, it’s pretty much the perfect hot chocolate with ALL the trimmings, and even the odd Christmas cookie on the side.

What a beautiful thought invoking book!! Totally loved reading this, and enjoyed the journey I was taken on!
Celeste always celebrates New Year’s Eve with her best friend Hannah, they are both from the Dublin area in Ireland, and this year it’s just the two of them in London, cheering in the new year and sharing their resolutions, before the next year brings unexpected change. Can Celeste deal with what is thrown her way?
This is brilliantly written with real wisdom and knowledge of the psyche and the mortality of humankind. Thought provoking, warm, and a perfect read for this time of year!! Celeste and her friends and family are great characters, this book draws you into their lives beautifully.
I loved it and recommend it highly!!
Thank you NetGalley for the early read.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book; probably something melodramatic and schmaltzy but it was a really good read.

Celeste is a great name for a fairly unremarkable heroine but we learn about her as we go through her story, narrated in the first person by her, from what others say about her. to her.

The majority of the novel is written in the first person present which isn't my favourite tense and is definitely trendy rather than having a great deal of literary merit. It did allow an easy transition between the present and the past without taxing the read too much.

What the author did do brilliantly was conjure London and its vibrancy and vast number of options for activities, showing it is possible to find pretty much anything there. The lovely comparisons to Suffolk and the Dublin area were vivid without bashing London for being a big smoke while showing some of the drawbacks to quieter, more isolated living.

There's plenty of emotion but nothing particularly OTT. It portrays a loss and how a person reveals different aspects of themselves to each person they know and how no one knows everything about anyone.

I enjoyed this and found it flowed very nicely; a feel good book that shines hope on a darkness.