This one was just ok for me. Nothing stand out and pretty un rememberable it enjoyable enough at the time. The voice was also pleasant.

I got about halfway into this book before it annoyed me too much and I had to give up on it. I was quite enjoying the idea of Lou and her friends turning grouchy octogenarian Edgar into a nicer, happier person, and that element of the plot was quite heartwarming and engaging, although I did have a problem with one incident where Lou hurts herself and even after three months of living with her, Edgar does not give a hoot. This goes beyond grumpy, it's borderline sociopathic. I struggled with a lot of the characters in general though - Lou seems too good to be true, Remy is so ridiculously hot that women throw themselves at him like he's starring in a 1990s Lynx advertisement, Sammy and his insistence that he's a great singer when literally everyone is sick of hearing him sing is plain annoying. When Della and her family came into it though, I didn't like the direction the plot was heading. Sure, it's a heartwarming, feelgood book so it was probably all going to work out in the end, but I didn't want to go through that particular frustrating journey with these particular characters. I skipped to the end to check Captain Oates had a happy ending, and then left it at that.

I’ve been absolutely loving Promise Me by Jill Mansell. Edgar and Captain oats really make me chuckle and give me A Man Called Ove vibes. Can’t wait to see if there’s a happy ending or not!

A heartwarming story, characters are well written and relatable. Well set scenery, and as was relatable felt like you know them all, would recommend.

I really enjoyed this book. I absolutely loved the characters, who doesn’t love a grumpy old man with a good heart! It was fairly predictable but super enjoyable and heartwarming.

I really enjoyed this story, and found myself thinking about it long after finishing it. Lou, the main character was lovely and kind and always thinking of others. She was good friends with brother Sammy and Remi and I really liked the relationships between them all. When lou began looking after a grumpy old man, I loved the way they began to interact and form a delicate relationship. There were many twists and turns which kept me engrossed in the story. Very enjoyable.

Another Jill Mansell belter which had me laughing out loud from the first few pages. I think that as I listened to it as an audiobook with such a great narrator, Katherine Press, made it even more hilarious and if Edgar doesn’t make you laugh from the very beginning, then there is something wrong with you. It’ll definitely cheer you up if you’re having a bad day.

Lou loses her job and her home in Birmingham and begins a new life in the village of Foxwell in the Cotswolds as a carer for grumpy old Edgar. Her mission is to make him enjoy life more…but will she succeed and what shenanigans will they both get up to along the way?

Pick up this latest book by Jill Mansell and have some fun with Edgar, Lou, Remy, Sammy and Jess along the way. It’ll make you laugh and there may be some tears, but overall, you’ll have a great time in Foxwell!

Thank you to NetGalley and Headline Audio For the opportunity to listen to and review a copy of Promise Me by Jill Mansell.

Promise me was the perfect audiobook to listen to, I loved the narrator and really fell in love with the characters.
Lou bumps into grumpy old man Edgar while in the Cotswolds visiting an old school friend. A carer by profession Lou finds herself, naturally, wanting to help the old man. However when the weekend comes to an end Lou goes back to her own life in Birmingham and Edgar is left alone again in the big house in the village. When things in Lou's life go wrong leaving her both homeless and jobless, Edgar manages to wear Lou down and persuade her to come back to the village as his live in carer. And so the story follows both of them as they fall a little bit in love with life again, Lou meeting some very charming young men and Edgar realising that there is more to life than being grumpy!
This book gave me so many feels and I would have loved for the story to continue more!

TW abuse, death of a loved one, alcohol abuse, drug use (mentioned),

Another wonderful story from Jill Mansell, this title is full of her usual story-weaving magic!.

As always, there are more than just one main storyline occurring throughout Mansell’s novels, but the stories all intertwine in the most wonderful ways. I loved that Foxwell was the heart of these stories, it was so easy to paint a picture in my mind of the village and it’s inhabitants, and how we saw a variety of different characters emerge and develop in this setting.

All characters were well developed, the dialogue was authentic and real, and even the characters you wanted to dislike, you couldn’t quite manage to!

The narration for this audiobook was fantastic, I really found it relaxing and easy to listen to, whilst still experiencing an array of character’s voices/accents, a skill I think is quite hard to perfect in audiobooks.

Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to listen to this book, I give it 5*s.

Wow, this was such a brilliant read. I loved every second of it. I just couldn't put it down so I had to stay up very late to finish it. From the start, I just knew I was going to love this book. Especially when I realised it had a moody old man character. I just love dry humour and this book was a perfect fit for me. I listened to the audiobook and loved the narrator it really made this book all the more enjoyable. This book has some deceitful characters which means only one thing we are in for a roller coaster ride of drama. I loved all the changes in the character's personalities. People were changing left, right and centre. There was never a dull moment. This book was so cleverly written with a great will she won't she romance. Who is genuine? Who is false? And who will surprise you? Eek, a very interesting story. And what was best is the story followed so well and was very easy to follow and connect with.

Only the highest of praise goes out to the author, narrator and publishers for creating such a fantastic story that I highly recommend reading. I can't wait to read more from this fantastic author.

The above review has already been placed on goodreads, waterstones, Google books, Barnes&noble, kobo, amazon UK where found and my blog yesterday https://ladyreading365.wixsite.com/website/post/promise-me-by-jill-mansell-headline-5-stars under my name ladyreading365

Oh Jill, what a pleasure it always is! Such a heartwarming story on so many points. The characters are well written, very relatable! The scenery is really well set as well and made me want to go to the village! I just felt that I knew them all!

This is an amazing and touching women's fiction book, which I absolutely loved and adored. It is the best book I have read this year!

The story is about a lovely woman called Lou who loses her partner, her house and her job, and then she ends up working for a grumpy, but sweet old man called Edgar. As soon as she meets Edgar, her world and his are turned upside down, and they both grow together, with their friendship blossoming as the weeks go on. Other people start to come into their life, and soon, Edgar is no longer alone, as he is surrounded by friends, and his little soulmate doggy. His life is full, but who can he trust? Will Lou be able to find love again? Maybe the one she is looking for is closer than she thinks.

I loved all of this book, especially the character of Lou, as she was just so sweet and loving and kind.

The narrator of the book was fantastic, and I loved her voice.

This book would appeal to anyone who loves sweet and heartwarming stories that are easy to read, and which will make you both laugh and cry. This is a great book, which I highly recommend (but get the tissues ready).

If you loved A Man Called Ove, you will love this book!

Many thanks to the author, narrator, publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book.

What a delightful story!
I thoroughly enjoyed the audiobook and the narration too.
The story was perfectly written and kept me enthralled and kept me awake too!
I loved Lou’s story and I think it was well executed.

I haven’t read a Jill Mansell novel for a long time so listening to this audiobook felt like I was greeting an old friend. I loved the characters apart from Edgar being very rude to Lou and her just taking it. The rest of the time he was likeable, especially when he became a little nicer. The narrator was good especially as Lou. Some of characters were very Bristol in their accents. Yes the ending is predictable but that doesn’t take anything away from the book. A lovely story.

This book was my first by Jill Mansell and has made me want to read more by her.
This novel tells the story of Lou who goes to work as a live-in help for an elderly man called Edgar, who's a bit of an old grump. Put it this way, in a curmudgeonly contest, he'd beat Victor Meldrew. Nevertheless, I felt myself rooting not only for Lou, but for Edgar too. The book has a colourful cast of characters. including a cute canine, In some novels, if there's too many characters, I find myself getting them muddled, but not in this book. They were so well drawn, so different that that never happened.
It's a wonderful story with so much emotion. I hate it when reviews give away spoilers so I won't. Suffice it to say there were moments of real heartache in this book - one moment in particular.
With regards to the audiobook in particular, initially I did not like the narrator. The opening words are Edgar asking, 'How much?' and her voice saying this really grated on me. But I quickly got over this as I got engrossed in the story, and by the end of the book, I really enjoyed her narration. I would happily listen to other audiobooks with this narrator.
Thank you both to Headline and Jill Mansell for the ARC of both the audiobook and ebook of Promise Me.

A heartwarming story of how being a thoroughly beautiful person inside and out is its own reward. Beautifully written wonderfully orated, an absolute joy

This was an easy read, a decent story, relatable and with a good sprinkling of humour.

Lou the main character is a likeable lead, especially with her patience in trying to tame her cantankerous old boss, Edgar Allsopp. Throw in a couple of love interests and a toxic dead husband, along with some entitled money grabbers, this book has a bit of everything, including a bit of fantasy. It is also delivers on emotion as well, well worth a read.

I am an avid Jill Mansell and she absolutely does not disappoint with the brilliantly witty Promise Me.
The plot is based around the lovely Lou who visits her friend Sammy in the Cotswolds after she loses everything, her job, her home, she needs to get away. She bumps into the superbly grumpy Edgar who literally hates everything and everyone. He grumps his way through life and loses housekeeper/carers like they are going out of fashion. Add to all of this a wonderful dog called Captain Oats and great relationships and humour ensues.
Jill Mansell has a style that creates the perfect laugh out loud read, or in this case listen. I had to keep listening when my timer stopped. Restarted the timer and listen some more. A bit like" just one chapter" but in an audio.
This a truly heart warming book. that uplifts you as you read. I got very frustrated with Edgar at times and wondered how on earth Lou manages to put up with his shenanigans. If you're in a reading slump then this perfectly crafted book will pull you right out of it.
The Narrator Katherine Press is the ideal voice for Promise me. She brings the characters to life so vividly that you feel you are right there on the side-lines watching each situation evolve. I was completely drawn in and loved every minute.

Beautiful, just stunningly beautiful.
I promise you there is no better book to start this years reading with.
It gathers you in right from the first few pages and keeps you in a big warm hug right until the end cover. Perfect
I read as a physical book and then listened to the audiobook. Both are fantastic but I particularly enjoyed the audio

I wasn't sure about this book at first as I couldn't really engage with the narrator. I didn't really like her characterisation of the men within the book and it put me off a little bit. However, I persevered and was soon much more involved with the story and the events happening in the book. I really liked the character of Lou and the fact that the author gave her more depth than your usual rom-com female lead. I really enjoyed the village setting and the cast of supporting characters, including the delightfully grumpy Captain Oates!! This was my first book by Jill Mansell, which I know is a bit ridiculous as she is such a prolific writer. I fell in love with Promise Me in the end so will definitely pick up more by the author, although probably not any more audiobooks necessarily (although it will depend on who is doing the narration).

Thank you to NetGalley for my audiobook in exchange for an honest review.