I have read and enjoyed Zoe Folbigg's books before so I was looking forward to reading this free ARC from Netgalley and Boldwood. On the whole this book was okay. I found some of the characters irritating, the writing waffled at times and the timeline was confusing. A sub plot based in England wasn't required and I almost felt it was part of another book. However, the cultural backgrounds of the characters were interesting.and the ending bright everything together.

I was very excited about this book until I realised I read it years ago. I liked it a lot back then :). But it is currently sitting in my Little Library- I do recommend my neighbours to pick this up.

This is the story of an online love affair between Cecile in Norway and Hector in Mexico. I liked the vast difference of the two countries and the background story of the two characters.
Hector is obviously a very flawed man as he kept up this online affair even after he was married. He didn't choose his wife very well as they didn't seem to love each other and as she grew further away from him towards his one time friend he did the same with Cecile..
There is also Kate who lives in England who was a girlfriend of Hectors twenty years ago and he cheated on her.
Although I liked Kate's story I didn't see the need for it. So three countries and two different timelines which I did find the different dates quite confusing.
An OK story but i was expecting more.

This book is worth persevering with, it took me a little while to get into it, but the writing is lovely and very evocative. The characters are flawed, not always likeable, and the hops in the time line do sometimes make for a slightly confusing read. Overall however the end is deeply satisfying and moving and I would recommend. Many thanks

🌍🖥The end justifies the reading journey💻🌎

4-4.5🌟 stars
That ending made the sad parts all worthwhile!

Having enjoyed the author's Five Days, I was looking forward to Under One Sky. Like the earlier novel, this one did not grab me until a ways into the story. But then I was hooked. All three viewpoints, from Cecilie in northern Norway, to Hector in Mexico, to Kate in suburban England, drew me in to their lives. Hector was the most difficult character for me but, really thinking about how difficult he had it growing up without his parents and escaping from Benny's shady influence, I eventually liked him too.

Good plot, flawed but interesting characters, some vivid descriptions of the natural beauties of the Arctic: rocky romance that I would recommend to readers who don't mind heartbreak on the table along the way.

Thanks to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for sharing a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest opinion.

Shared on 2/28/25 on Goodreads and Waterstones and with Barnes & Noble and BAM. To be shared with kobo and Google Play upon publication.

This novel mainly follows the love story of Cecilie and Hector, who are separated by an ocean and a series of life events.

I’m going to start by saying I liked this book – very much.

I did something I don’t normally do before I read it, which is look at other reviews as the star rating seemed rather low. Having read it myself, I think I know why, but I don’t believe it’s an issue with the book. The cover and blurb give the impression this book is a standard romance novel, possibly chick-lit territory. And I think some reviewers are probably disappointed because they haven’t got what they expected. I think this novel leans more into the literary fiction genre. Okay, it’s not at the level of The God Of Small Things or anything, but to me it was more reminiscent of Arundhati Roy’s style than a pulp fiction beach read.

It has time, place and perspective shifts (some of the latter I was less keen on, especially the momentary jumps to minor characters), lots of introversion and reflection, description of minute detail, exploration of cultural differences, and none of the paciness of a lot of popular fiction. Reading this novel takes a bit of effort, but in my opinion, it’s well worth it. There are shades of Gabriel García Márquez and Virginia Woolf in the narrative style, and I loved the evocative, contrasting descriptions of Norway and Mexico.

Sure, there are moments where the author slips into stereotypes (Manic Pixie Dream Girl, anyone?) and the language is a little overwrought. Plus, I understand why the Kate story is there but I’m not 100% convinced by the need for it. But this is a beautifully- AND cleverly-written novel with a satisfying resolution that got my cold, dead heart to actually feel something, which is quite an achievement. 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5.

Thank you NetGalley and Boldwood Books for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Under One Sky by Zoe Folbrigg is a romance about two people who find connection despite the huge geographical distance between them. Cecile lives in Norway where she splits her time between three jobs in the small town where she grew up. She's never travelled outside Norway so the last thing she expected was to find friendship with a man from Mexico, but when she strikes up a conversation with Hector in an online music forum she soon finds herself wondering about his life. Hector is trying to break away from a tragic past and Cecile would have to take a huge leap out of her comfort zone , but the connection they both feel is too strong to resist.
There is also a third POV character, Kate, an English woman who met Hector when they were both teens. I honestly do not see the point of her character in the book, she adds nothing essential and just seems like a way to pad out a quite flimsy story. The book moves back and forth in time quite a bit and this was sometimes hard to keep track of, I found myself having to flip back to check far more often than I should have. I persevered because I wanted to see how the stories would tie together but unfortunately that did not pay off in any way that made up for my frustrations while reading. Unfortunately I just think this one is not for me.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

Thank you to the publisher for my ARC digital copy and the opportunity to read Under One Sky but I’m afraid this one wasn’t for me. It was well written but I found it very confusing as it jumped between Norway, Mexico and England, plus I felt that there was a lot of extraneous detail the reader didn’t need to know , information that wasn’t necessary and added to the confusion but nothing to the story. Told from the perspective of the three main characters, Cecilie, Hector & Kate, I felt it should have had great potential but for me it simply didn’t gel. I almost gave up at 25% and then again at 59% , however , in order to give a fair review I managed to read to the end, but it was a struggle.

I really liked the story, but the writing style just didn't work for me. I really wasn't invested in the characters and the outcome until about 60% thru. I'm glad I stuck it out cause I loved the ending! The time jumps and the way viewpoints changed just confused me sometimes, and I had to go back and figure out when we were. I just spent a lot of time confused. Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for my digital ARC!

I thought I would love this book but, unfortunately I didn't. It was confusing and muddled and the names were hard to get my head around. My thanks to netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

we all know people fall in love online. and this is one telling of this. but sooo much more beautiful and seemed soo much more genuine because you get to know them and are witnessing the love bloom.
they both have their foibles. they both have things they need to fix,heal, contend with. there is also a mystery character Kate who i admit i couldnt figure out who she was and why she was in this book. until i did and suddenly it all made perfect sense.
zoe's books are lovely. a proper elevated romance of a read that go one step deeper than the usual trope filled romance(nothing wrong with them might i add!)
i really felt for Cecilie. she seemed so held together and strong but at the same time so soft and afraid. she never wavered in her need to be in control or seen as having it all together. but there was such a tender side to her too. plus she was in Norway and this place had a special place in my heart. so it felt like i was going back there. and boy do i miss it.
Hector had my heart too. and i really felt we got to know his culture well enough to have empathy for him and what he was dealing with

When you say things like this in the blurb: Perfect for fans of David Nicholls, Jojo Moyes and Mhairi McFarlane! then what did you think was going to happen... yes of course i snap this book up and devour it.

This story is told from three perspectives from the Arctic Norway, Mexico, and England.

Cecilie is a young woman who's never gone any further than the country she was born in; she lives a happy life and isn't too involved in anyone else's life. She finds solace in Hector, known as The Mexican by many in Cecilie's life, but it develops into something deep. Enter Kate, a woman struggling in her marriage but has a connection to Hector.

There's a lot of time hopping and it can be a bit confusing but the story follows Cecilie and Hector meeting in a chatroom and how their relationship developed.

Initially, seeing this book available on NetGalley I thought that I would love this story but unfortunately I didn’t. The first thing that through me off was how Hector was labeled as “the Mexican” by multiple other characters instead of being called by his name. There was no need for that. It’s disrespectful and racist. I also didn’t like how hector still reminisced about another girl on his wedding day. I stopped reading at 24% after Benny said the “f” slur.

This story is told from three different perspectives, from three different countries.

The author describes the scenery well, especially in the Arctic and you can envisage all the areas described.

As I read through I got to know the characters better and connected to them more, however I did find myself confused by the timeline.

I often needed to check what date we had flashed back to and unfortunately the story just didn’t flow well for me.
I realised that this book originally came out quite a few years ago, I have read subsequent books from this author and really loved them, I wanted to love this one too, but the jumping around didn’t make for an easy read.

Kate’s character seemed like something extra slotted in, not really necessary for the telling of the story.

I appreciate trying to encompass different cultures, but I didn’t understand a lot of the Mexican references so that left me a little confused too!

Overall I did enjoy this, but I think it would have flowed better if the flashbacks were in a better order.

Cecilie Wiig is living a small life in one of the most beautiful places on Earth. She strikes up an online conversation about a mutual love of Depeche Mode with Hector, who lives in Mexico.
There is a third main character, Kate, who lives in England and we're kept guessing as to her relevance to the story.
Cecilie and Hector have a beautiful romance - but will they ever meet?
Switching between Norway and Mexico, it's important to read the chapter headings to keep track of the timeline.
I loved this book. One of those rare occasions when I was sad to leave the characters behind.
This is my first Zöe Folbigg book and I'm excited to catch up with the rest!

Cecilie Wiig is into many things - books, Depeche Mode, coffee. When she starts chatting up Hector Herrera on a Depeche Mode forum, she never dreams that she would fall for him. But fall she does. And Hector feels the same for her. The only problem is, Hector resides in Mexico and Cecilie lives in Norway - oh, and that one “thing” that happened that they don’t like to talk about. Miles are nothing when you are in love, and Cecilie and Hector embark on a journey of finding themselves and each other through personal losses and journeys. It only then, will they find out if they can overcome these things and end up supporting each other through some of the darkest times.

This book was a really good read. It was a little slow going for me in the beginning, but when I was able to get into it fully I really enjoyed how well the characters came together. The main character, Cecilie, is independent, strong, and works 3 jobs to keep herself busy. A strong feat for anyone, but throughout her character development I believe it makes her even stronger in the end. You can almost relate to some of her heartache and wanting to be done with different situations - (ie: hanging on for as long as she did, wanting to keep supporting Hector and holding out hope for him) and rooting for her in the end.

'Under One Sky' is an okay read but I found the writing style and time periods confusing. As a result I felt like this jumped around too much and I was never too sure where in the story I was. As the book progressed, this did become clearer and I ended up getting into the book and enjoying it but I thought the first half was too confusing to enjoy. The plot is also quite slow, in some ways this is nice but in others it was frustrating and I felt like an injection of adrenaline was needed.
This is told through the eyes of Cecelie and Hector which allowed us to get to know them and discover their story which was nice. There is also a third character's perspective in this and to be honest I am not sure why. They did not add anything to the plot and if anything detracted from the enjoyment of reading about Cecelie and Hector.
On the positive side, I really liked the characters of Cecelie and Hector and it was a pleasure to get to know them. This is set mostly between Norway and Mexico and again I enjoyed these locations and the balance in temperatures and landscapes.
This was an okay read but there is room for improvement.
Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for an advance copy.

I absolutely love Zoe's writing style, and it felt like home returning to her literature, which she writes so honestly. I really liked the premise of the novel, and it had me intrigued from the word go. I wanted to know more about Cecilie, who she was as a person and what her ambitions were, and I most definitely warmed to her as a protagonist. I just wanted the best for her. I giggled, I felt every feeling in such a short novel and this is down to the way Folbigg writes - she captivates me every time.

Something fell slightly short for me - something I can't quite put my finger on, which is why I have rated this read a 3 star.

2.5 Stars

I read The Three Loves of Sebastian Cooper and Five Days and loved them both. When I saw Zoë Folbigg had released another book and I read the blurb I was all "count me in!". This one is about love across the miles and it resonated with me because my second marriage was a long-distance relationship. Then imagine my disappointment when I found out this is a re-release of 2018s The Distance.

This isn't a bad book but sadly for me, it didn't work. I'm usually okay with multiple timelines in a story, it is actually my favourite format but I found this one a tad confusing to follow. I did like how the writer introduces one of the characters (view spoiler) I also liked the way Folbigg writes her characters and the way they were brought to life. However, this is not one of my favourites by the author but she will still be an auto-buy/read for me.

Overall this was just an okay read but I loved finding out more about the differing cultures. It was readable but I didn't like it quite as much as the author's other books.

It's not really a review because I didn’t finish it. Just wanted to share my thoughts. I’m sorry, but I couldn’t connect with the writing style or the characters. With multiple characters introduced at once and difficult-to-pronounce names, I found it hard to follow the story.
Not sharing my review on any other platform.