Member Reviews

This is a really lovely story about two best friends who’s bond runs deep. Hannah and Celeste have always lived closely together with their lives running parallel but one of the girls dies unexpectedly the other is left to cope alone. An uncovered list of New Years resolutions helps the grieving process and givers Hannah the ability to move on. Shades of PS I love You in here and all the better for it. A really great read!

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Celeste is grieving for her best friend Hannah, whose life was cut tragically short. When she finds Hannah's list of New Year's resolutions, she decides to carry them out on her behalf. Through doing this, she begins to change her own life for the better, including meeting someone special. Sympathetic, well-drawn characters and an unusual storyline make this a good read.

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What a lovely story this was, it was heartwarming, poignant and funny too. It kept my attention and I became very invested in the characters' lives. I loved the moments of humour in the book which sat so well next to the sadness, the author really did portray the difficulties of moving on with life after losing someone you love very well.

The characters were wonderful and I really liked them all, I could have been friends with this group. Celeste really comes across well, she is kind and understanding to everyone, except possible herself at times. However, her journey through the year following Hannah's death makes her open up to life and other people. It was magical to see. I loved Patrick and Vik especially and felt for them as they two struggled with their own battles. A really great group of friends and it just shows how important it is to have friends who are there for you.

I highly recommend this story, it was such a rewarding read. It portrays grief, change, healing, and love really well and on top of this it is fun and so romantic; well who wouldn't fall in love with Dublin at Christmas! This book is definitely one to add to your to-be-read pile.

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Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy. Celeste is still struggling with her grief months after her best friend Hannah dies unexpectedly. The strength of her grief is brought home to her when she attends a New Year’s weekend party at the old country house that Hannah was supposed to have shared with her boyfriend, Vik, because New Year’s Eve was something she’d always celebrated with Hannah. But at the party in the deepest moment of her grief Celeste finds a possible way to keep Hannah with her and perhaps find a way to move on, through Hannah’s New Year’s resolutions. There she meets an old acquaintance, Patrick, who it seems has his own struggles. Through the next year Celeste learns just how much life can change.

A very uplifting read that is both poignant and moving at times with sympathetic and real characters that draw the reader in for what is an absorbing read and a good addition to Emily Bell’s works.

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A beautifully poignant read.
Celeste is grieving the unexpected death of her best friend, Hannah. She is stuck on some sort of hamster wheel, unable to get off, and truly process her loss, until she decides to take a step she's been dreading.
New Years Eve was always their night. Regardless of who was in their life, this was a time they has spent together for many, many years, and the first one without her is looming.
Attending a New Year's Eve party at Hannah's boyfriend, Vik's, place she is surrounded by people she loves. People who loved Hannah, too, and she is presented with a list. Hannah's resolutions for the year that she never got to really start, let alone complete.
The story follows Celeste as she ventures into her zone of discomfort while attempting to complete Hannah's list, with the help of several key people along her way.
We see grief, depression, change, healing, and love, in many forms, within the pages of this book.
I thoroughly enjoyed every page. All the characters, not just Celeste, had their own battles to win and fears to overcome, each interconnected with another in some way or another. It just goes to show, that we might the catalyst for our own changes, but we should never be without our support networks.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

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A happy sad story . I loved it . Friendships mean so much and traditions that we make with friends and the main character Celeste had to work through it all. She had been cheated on but she did find love and peace. She also completed some good challenges . I loved the sound of hot yoga. A really enjoyable read and a peaceful ending.

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I loved this book. Its one of those books that you wish you could forget as soon as you finish it to be able to read it again afresh.
When Celeste's best friend dies unexpectedly, she struggles to move on. On New Years Eve she finds the list of resolutions that Amanda made the New Year before she died and goes about completing the list. As someone who loves a list, the idea really appealled to me and I enjoyed all the adventures.
The group of friends, the list of resolutions and the ending made for a book that I loved.
The over-riding message the only constant is change. Embrace the changes when they arise.

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"This Year's for Me and You" is another lovely story of friendship and love from Emily Bell. The settings are London, Suffolk and Dublin as a group of 30 somethings deal with the sudden death of one of their number. They are a mixture of career high-fliers and parents who are trying to handle their loss in different ways. At the heart of the story is Celeste, (dead) Hannah's best friend, who starts to discover that she didn't know Hannah as well as she thought she did. As Celeste tackles Hannah's New Year resolutions she finds out more about herself and becomes less of a workaholic.

Heart-warming and thought-provoking.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publishers for the opportunity to review this book.

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A nice easy reading story. Best friends Celeste and Hannah have always spent new years eve together but when Hannah has a tragic accident Celeste decides to get more outgoing and comes up with an idea to set herself a challenge to try something new every month for a year. Plenty of interesting characters and some lovely locations that draw you into the story. A perfect novel to cosy up with a nice cuppa

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This was a lovely uplifting read with some poignancy and a lot of warmth. Celeste is still struggling to come to terms with the loss of her best friend Hannah after a tragic accident, New Year’s Eve was a special time for them so when she finds a list of Hannah’s unfulfilled resolutions on the first one after Hannah’s death Celeste commits to completing them. The resolutions themselves were not too complex but it was good to see how they made Celeste feel and how they helped her reconnect with other friends she’d retreated from since Hannah’s death. The other characters were a great mixed bunch and Celeste’s own romantic back story was relevant, her work life was interesting but it was good to see her challenge her routine. Overall this is a warm-hearted read for anytime in the year not just the festive season.

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I can’t even begin to describe how much I adored this book. I read it in a single sitting because I couldn’t bear to put it down. It’s beautiful, heartbreakingly sad, laugh out loud funny and scorchingly romantic. This ticks all the boxes and will be a huge hit this winter.

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