A heart-warming, emotional read, with some beautifully written characters, romance and friendships. The darker themes of death, grief and heartbreak are dealt with sensitively and I enjoyed the narration, even if I did shed a few tears!

This was book went from a fun, happy book to an emotional story and ends in a hopefull positive way (but also a bit sad).
Since the main characters work in a hospice it is about dead a lot, so if you don´t like that this book is not for you.

Such a heartwarming, easy listen with some heartfelt moments. Really enjoyable listen and would recommend.

So sweet and heartwarming. I really enjoyed listening to this audiobook while I pottered around the house. Light enough that I could get on with housework but with poignant moments that made me stop. Wonderful.

In a Nutshell: Minor focus on the notes, major focus on the notekeeper’s personal life. Has some good moments and ought to click with the right reader. Will work better if read with the heart and not the head. This was not my kind of book (unlike what I had assumed), so I’ll be somewhat lenient.

Story Synopsis:
After losing her young son in an accident two years ago, Zoe fled her hometown of Sydney, Australia without informing anyone (not even her husband David) and arrived in the UK to forget her grief. Currently working as a hospice nurse, Zoe is also an unofficial ‘notekeeper’, helping patients to write final notes to their loved ones. Her new boss, Ben, isn’t happy about her getting personally involved in her patients’ lives. However, the two of them have more in common than they realised. Just as things seem bright again, grief looms around the corner.
The story is written in the third person limited perspective of Zoe.

Where the book worked for me:
😍 The prologue is excellent and set the right tone for the book. (Too bad it didn’t continue that way.)
😍 There are plenty of UK and Australian locales explored through the scenes. I enjoyed the vividness with which these scenes were written. The places appeared stunning even to those who might not have seen them in real life.
😍 It does offer a good message about living in the moment and not letting life go by with unresolved grudges.
😍 Such a pretty cover with one of my favourite shades of blue in the background!

Where the book left me with mixed feelings:
😐 Zoe is supposed to be in her mid-forties, but she is penned more like someone in her twenties. (No offence to that age group; I am just talking of the character’s voice.) Her constant “giggling” got on my grumpy nerves.
😐 I loved *almost* everything connected to the notes: how they provided closure, how they ranged from emotional to funny, how they were written for and delivered to varied people (and ‘non-people’),… The process fit in well with the key idea of the book, and made sense with Zoe’s personality and situation. However, I didn’t like how Zoe read the notes aloud to the intended recipient. Even if she had written them, surely the right thing would have been for her to hand them over to the person and allow them to read the same.
😐 Ben having a twin was a novel experience. I haven’t read many women’s fiction novels where the male lead has a twin sister. Their rapport was excellent. But during some crucial scenes near the end, she gets totally side-lined. It was implausible! (Something Zoe did during these scenes also BUGGED me, but as that is a major spoiler, I can’t go into more details.)
😐 While the ending was too convenient, it was the right level of hopeful and bittersweet.

Where the book could have worked better for me:
☹ The character development is quite ad hoc. People are angry, people patch up, again they are crabby, again they are lovey-dovey. Many scenes proceed mainly by virtue of the character’s mood swings. This is not the writing I expect from established authors.
☹ For a book where three main characters work as nurses in the hospice care facility, there is surprisingly little about the actual care. Most of the “working hours” are depicted with the characters chatting with each other and passing remarks on various people. There are even offensive remarks about a staff member’s rumpled appearance. I would have preferred a more detailed insight into what goes into a nurse’s work balanced with the lighter side.
☹ While Zoe’s role as a nurse is good, she still is intrusive at times. She is perceived to be a professional superstar, but her domineering nature overpowered her niceties. Moreover, she is highly judgemental and interfering in her personal life. As she was our central character, I tried my best to like her more, but after every few pages, she did something that pushed her down my esteem once again. Most importantly, she spoke of closure and forgiveness to her hospice patients, but she herself didn’t follow the same with David. Her treatment of David was horrible, and I can’t believe the story clearly expected us to side with Zoe after how she behaved with him. It was totally unconvincing.
☹ I had assumed this to be an emotionally impactful drama with a focus on handling grief and finding joy in life again. The book does have that, but these elements are overshadowed by the romance. I wanted more focus on the notekeeper’s professional life than her personal upheavals.
☹ There is a supposed ‘twist’ in the situation of two of the key characters, but there are so many blatant clues to this that most readers will see it coming as clearly as an elephant in the savannah; there’s just no subtlety to the hints. (Keep in mind that I was listening to this at 2x speed and I still caught a multitude of these hints. If I had been reading this, I would have been more annoyed at how obvious the writing was.)

The audiobook experience:
The audiobook, clocking at a little more than 13 hours, is narrated by Sofia Zervudachi. She was amazing, proving the right voices and emotions to all scenes. If this is your kind of book, and you are an audiobook reader, then you can certainly opt for the audio version of this one. Newbie audiobook listeners might also like to try this on audio as the narration is quite straightforward, with a single timeline and limited characters ensuring no confusion if you are not used to this format.


I don’t mind stories being formulaic; that is to be expected in this genre. But I do prefer them to have a greater emotional impact rather than proving only a surface-level exploration of feelings. Relatable, likeable characters would have been a bonus.

I can see how this book might be a tearjerker for a few readers. I'm anyway not much of a crier while reading - it takes a lot to get me going the ‘sniffly’ way, especially for predictable books. But if you are someone who loves romance novels, who always keeps tissues at hand while reading women’s fiction, and are okay with straightforward, somewhat schmaltzy stories, you will enjoy this far more than I did.

2.5 stars, rounding up for the excellent narration and for the fact that I was the wrong reader for this book.

My thanks to Bolinda Audio and NetGalley for the ALC of “The Notekeeper”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the audiobook.

I found this story quite bittersweet- of Zoe fleeing her homeland of Aus as she runs away from a family tragedy, and finds herself in Bath working as a hospice nurse where she fulfills her passion of giving her patients a good death.
The narrator was excellent and overall an enjoyable listen.

Narrated by Sofia Zervudachi
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Fantastic voice and did a great job with all the characters

Story by Hannah Treave ⭐⭐⭐

The premise of this book is really lovely. I wish it focused more on the notes and less on the relationship between Ben and Zoe as he was an absolute dick. No matter how hard I tried I just couldn't take to him and didn't buy into the relationship between the two.

I enjoyed this but there was a few inconsistencies. The narration was also a bit slow for me so I had to speed it up. A nice story though & look forward to more by this author.

Thanks to Netgalley and Publisher for an ARC copy in exchange for an unbiased review. Zoe had suffered such heartbreak in Australia that she felt she needed a complete change of scenery to help her recover. She was a Nurse in
a Hospice and found great pleasure in asking her patients if they wanted to leave a message for loved ones to be given after their death. When the Hospice was sold to a bigger company as a second Hospice her note taking was banned and she reacted badly to this. The book covers many patients stories along with that of Zoe's. She had formed good friendships with her colleagues. I found this a very moving and interesting read that I would highly recommend.

Although on my netgalley shelf, the audio never came up on the app and despite various tries I could not acess it to listen to.

I was drawn to this story by the idea of writing notes for people at the end of life..it sounds like a really difficult and draining subject but in this book it wasn’t…

Zoe left her home and husband in Australia after the death of her son. She could not forgive her husband and throws herself in to a new life as a hospice nurse. She has started helping patients to write notes for a loved one or an animal or just a note to the universe in order to help them find peace at the end of life. Ben manages the hospital. After an initial period of hostility a relationship begins to blossom.
I listened to this on audiobook and I thought the narrator was excellent. She had a voice which matched the subject and was able to conjure up accents beautifully, though I wasn’t entirely sure about Ben’s voice…
I really have mixed feelings about this book. It certainly wasn’t what I expected though it felt that way at the start. I thought this might be a little more serious contemplation of end of life, about mindsets and about finding peace. As such I anticipated a difficult and soul searching read..The romance of this story shifted this to a different level and made this really more romantic fiction. I felt that this was a lighter read than I enjoy and at times I felt it was too light for the subject matter. At other times I felt that it was great that the writer had taken difficult subjects and almost normalised them by putting them in a romantic novel. In the first half of the book I felt like giving up ..this didn’t have the depth for me; but then I really had to know what was going to happen. The ending is probably predictable and I was really surprised that as a nurse, Zoe hadn’t recognised some of the things that was going on with one of the characters…
This does have some lovely messages about seizing life, making peace and showing love in your lifetime and I think will be very popular with readers of romantic fiction who like a book that comes with a box of tissues.
With many thanks to Bolinda Audio and Netgalley for my digital copy of this book.

What a beautiful story. The narrator was very good and managed the accents well - Zoe is a nurse who wants to give everyone she nurses at the end of their life a good death. She believes in writing down their words so she can pass them on to their loved ones and can give them closure. She is running away from her own heartache and carries around the last words of her 7 year old son who died. The reason she came to the UK. She eventually finds happiness with the boss of the hospice, But will it last?

This story was so emotional but beautiful with it - showed what a difference leaving something for your loved ones to remember can be so powerful - it made my cry but also appreciate love and life.

The only thing I found incredibly annoying was when the book said "she laughed" or she "sighed" those sounds were made!! Arghhh - sorry a petty point!

Lovely read,

There are a few inconsistencies throughout. Silly things like she through up in the sink then looked in the bowl...
I had to listen to it sped up - the narrator pace is so slow! Once it is sped up it is a much better read.

That aside the narrator is good, with the general story and the character accents. Makes the story easy to follow.

Easy reading, set in a hospice it can be emotional at times obviously. A story of letting go, forgiveness, loss, love and starting over. The note keeper is a nurse who gives her patients support when they need it however she fails to take care of her own wellbeing. Thank you #NetGalley for the audiobook to review.

Oh gosh what an emotional read. Being set in a hospice I suppose it was always going to be - but this story was more about the main character Zoe than her patients. I don't want to give anything away but this poor girl has really been through the mill and then some. Brought tears to my eyes but also made me smile at times. The ending was hopeful though. So well written - beautiful. Will look out for this author in the future.

This had me in floods of tears. Absolutely gut wrenching. When tragedy befalls Zoe she runs away from Australia and moves to England. She becomes a hospice nurse taking down the last words of those who are dying. This is definitely not an easy read but it is definitely poignant.

The Notekeeper is a beautifully written book that I could imagine as a Sunday night tv series. Despite being heartbreaking at times, there is a lot of humour and joy in the book that makes you connect with the characters and invest in their story.
Zoe moves from her native home of Australia and becomes a hospice nurse in the UK. She leaves behind her husband, but is really running from a tragedy she cannot deal with. As her patients spend their last days under her care, she takes down their last messages and passes them on after they die. The novel follows Zoe’s story and the love and joy she delivers through these letters.
I really enjoyed this audiobook and thought the narrator added so much warmth and fun to the story. I guessed what would happen at the end, but it did not detract from my enjoyment.

At times The Notekeeper made me so emotional I couldn't speak past the lump in my throat, at its best moments it was a really emotional read, dealing with death & the feelings faced by those left behind. Zoe, our main character, has faced unimaginable loss &, although she ran from it, she has been putting her life back together with grace, care & humour. That is until Ben comes along & turns it all on its head.

I struggled with the relationship between Ben & Zoe, the pacing felt off & Ben felt like two different people, moody & sharp one minute then caring & soft the next. The last part of the book left me a little flat. There were some fabulous supporting characters: Miles & Mrs Harper being two firm favourites & I would have loved more of Mrs Harper & Ricky's storylines.

I would have loved the focus to stay more on notekeeping & the hospice with less 'romance' as this element didn't ring true for me. I struggled on where to place this book, usually books that make me cry are instant 5 star reads because they get to me. The Notekeeper flipped backwards & forwards for me.

The narrator was fantastic, each character was easily recognisable from their voice & the emotion was delivered incredibly well.

3.5 rounded down

This book started off so well. I felt all of the emotion and loved Zoe's role in passing final messages to loved ones. I thought it was such a lovely thing to do and the fact that each persons story was unique made it all the more special. I even enjoyed the initial crosswords between Zoe and Ben. I liked that they were both fiery and clearly had their own reasons for acting how they did.

Unfortunately for me the book quickly slid downhill. Without spoiling it for anyone I found the storyline between Ben and Zoe fall into the predictability category. I had foreseen all that was going to happen even the ending which took away some of the enjoyment for me.

I felt this book would have been better without the romance element. I would have liked more time with characters such as Ricky and Mrs Harper, as well as the letters Ben delivered. These were the golden moments for me that filled me with so much emotion.

Overall it was a good read but it didn't live up to my expectation.

This was a beautiful and emotional read which dealt with themes of death and grief in a compassionate way. Loved all the characters, and the romances and friendships in the story - but definitely one that needs tissues as I cried more than a few times! Definitely an author I’ll look out for going forward!