Highly predictable, but good story about a woman looking for her Mr. Right who is right under her nose. I enjoyed the premise of a secret admirer writing anonymous letters to Ava beginning six years prior. As suddenly as the letters began, they mysteriously stop after she is stood up by the letter writer. Ava has never forgotten him or gotten over what might have been had he shown up.

When the letters begin arriving again, Ava is filled with hope that the outcome will be much different and begins an investigation to determine who the admirer is. So, this story is quite predictable in that it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out who the letter writer is, but the bigger questions of why he didn’t show up six years ago and why he is resuming the letter writing now were significant and needed answering.

With her best friends, Max and Gwen along for moral support, Ava creates a list of potential suspects and begins to meet them to see if they are the one. Ava has a lot of trust and abandonment issues so I was more interested in what would happen once she learned who he was. In addition, Ava is developing a story reuniting a couple who missed their happily ever after fifty years ago, which really appealed to me and left me anticipating the outcome of that more than Ava learning who her admirer is.

The story moved at a decent pace and held my interest for the most part, though I was thoroughly frustrated with Ava for pushing the love of her life away. I understood why she does, but it still annoyed me. Perhaps if Ava had gotten out of her own head sooner, she would see what everyone else could clearly see standing right in front of her.

My Final Verdict: Fans of chick-lit romances as well as stories of second chances will enjoy this book. I recommend this story to all readers who enjoy a happily ever after and don’t mind a bumpy ride getting there.

Very cool idea for a book, and an excellent execution of that idea. A thoroughly enjoyable read. Recommended. .

A lovely read. Ava had a secret admirer 6 years ago and she is still in love with him. It affects her getting involved with anyone. She needs to find out who he is in order that she can get her life in order. I loved the characters and the funny and sexy scenes.

Things just aren’t going well for Ava. She’s unlucky in love, lost out on a job to her awful colleague and her best friend’s girlfriend hates her!

Just when things seem at their worst, an old secret admirer pops out of the woodwork. Ava had received letters from ‘Mr Writer’ six years earlier and despite those letters stopping, Ava has never really been able to get over this anonymous admirer. Who is Mr Writer? Should she put her trust in him again after her let her down 6 years previously? Could she cope with further rejection? Is it wrong to use the situation as a story to push herself ahead at work? So many questions are milling around in Ava’s head…

If you’ve ever had a secret admirer, you’ll know what an odd experience it is. There’s someone out there who knows you, someone who might be your perfect match, someone who you may never have thought of in that way before. Would you want to know who that admirer is or would you be scared that their identity could prove to be a disappointment…?

Just The Way You Are is a heart-warming story with an intriguing premise. The plot is well-constructed and well-paced. It will grab the reader’s attention, as will the little sub-plots that help push the book along (particularly Ivy’s story).

The characters are appealing and likeable. Ava is a great protagonist and Gwen and Max are certainly the type of friends that everyone needs by their side – supporting Ava through the rough patches in her life. Even the antagonist (Maddie) is great fun to dislike!

Just The Way You Are is chock full of friendship, romance and fun. A great read for fans of romances and ‘chick-lit’.