How much trends in the publishing industry have changed in the last decade. There was a time when authors giving their characters a lot of backstory was a huge 'no-no'. I can no longer count the number of novels I've read in recent years in which backstory makes up the bulk of the narrative. Consider Yourself Kissed, by Jessica Stanley is a case in point. Instead of focusing on fleshing out the characters and making them come alive on the page in the present, a potentially entertaining meet-cute tale is spoiled (ie. made dry and tedious to read) by containing roughly seventy percent of irrelevant backstory.

This novel is hard to rate. There are a lot of characters — arguably too many — and none of them, including the two main characters, very likeable or rounded.

Many thanks to the publishers and to Netgalley for the ARC.

This isn’t just a good debut it’s a really great book. Not my usual read at all but I found myself really absorbed in the story. The writing is superb and the representation of real life is second to none. It made me think about my own actions and how they might impact my wife and new family, and how I can be a better person to make her feel more than “just mum”. The ending was excellent and this will definitely be one to watch next year!

I thought this book was fascinating and I read the entire book in a day (train delays!), it’s incredibly hard to really describe what it’s about other than to say it’s about Coralie and her life. She could be any of us, the detail was fascinating, the ebb and flow of her relationships- with her brother, her dad, Adam, Zora. It was all throughly engrossing and very authentic. To have all been so recent and so within my memory was also Intriguing. I really enjoyed it and would definitely recommend

I love a long beautiful love story especially one that spreads across a long span of time. You really get to know the characters. I highly enjoyed this one!