It’s been 7 years since Holly Kennedy’s husband Gerry passed away and he left 10 letters for her to open every month in the year following his death tIt’s been 7 years since Holly Kennedy’s husband Gerry passed away and he left 10 letters for her to open every month in the year following his death to help her through her grief. Now Holly is in a new relationship, her life is back on track, kind of, until she takes part in a podcast - telling her and Gerry’s story and the magic of his letters. Now she is being contacted by a group of terminally ill people calling themselves the PS I Love You Club and they need her help but will her involvement bring her back to the darkest time in her life?
For fans of PS I Love You, this story might be a sweet yet emotional return to the life of Holly, her friends and family, and her memories of Gerry who served the ultimate romantic move by leaving behind letters for his wife, even when he was no longer around. I wasn’t sure about this at first and if the continuance of the story was a good idea, as it feels like things for Holly are still very raw, she isn’t fully healed from Gerry’s loss and then when the club approach her she’s very prickly - and I understood this as there is an element of feeling these people took something from Gerry by ‘stealing� his idea without permission from Holly, it felt like a gut punch at the start.
However, the more the story progresses and Holly explores the journey of her grief further and the person she is now compared to the Holly Gerry knew, she and the readers realize how much she needs the club and vice versa. She ends up learning more about Gerry and why he wrote the letters and understands his process more while helping others with their own letters.
The only thing I wasn’t completely sold on in this book was Holly’s relationship with Gabriel - maybe it’s because we just had to accept Gabriel from the start, we didn’t see the beginning of their relationship, just the rocky middle part. I think I wanted something bigger and more romantic for her and I felt like Gabriel just wasn’t that.
The end felt a little bit rushed and I would have liked to have seen Holly next steps take place more in the end of the middle, so the middle I guess was a bit drawn out and it took a while for a bulk of the initial club moments to happen and for Holly to make certain decisions.
But I enjoyed this. I listened to it on audiobook narrated by Amy Huberman who did a lovely job....more
I received a copy of this book from the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
CW: Eating disorder, emotional abuse, death
Dinner Party starts with just that as Kate hosts her family for an anniversary dinner dedicated to the memory of her twin sister. As she sits at the table with her two brothers, Kate can’t help but think of all the tensions and things left unsaid, while her own mental health dips in and out. The story then switches between past and present as we learn bout Kate’s childhood, her sister and her adult life.
This is a very character focused novel where we get a lot of slices of Kate’s life and her interactions with the important people that shaped who she was. We also learn what it’s like for her to grow up as a twin, and despite their differences, how severe that untethering is when her twin dies in a tragic accident.
A big part of this book focuses on Kate’s eating disorder and how affected a lot of her life including college and relationships, and how in her early thirties it has resurfaced as she has fallen into a toxic relationship with a married man. I think the book personally could do with a content warning at the start to make this more clear for people as I was surprised that the book focused so heavily on an ED but thankfully wouldn’t be affected by it personally. There is also a very toxic relationship between Kate’s mother and pretty much all of her family - it’s clear her mother is a narcissist and likes to bring down her family while also drawing them close. While the end of the book did see little steps made in everyone confronting this behavior, it still wasn’t quite enough for me as I felt the mother was such an awful character and I hated how she treated her children.
Once I was past the initial first chapter which for some reason was slow for me, I read the rest of the book very quickly and easily. I think Sarah Gilmartin is able to create flawed characters going through their own trauma very well, and telling a story in a pretty addicting way but I do prefer her second novel Service over this one....more
Abi has just finished her school exams and is now entering that summer between secondary school and college life - and with dad working away for threeAbi has just finished her school exams and is now entering that summer between secondary school and college life - and with dad working away for three weeks, she has the house to herself and the freedom to make some choices to step out of her sheltered upbringing like going to the local underage disco, and finally talking to the cute local boy who works in the chipper.
This was a very sweet story about a sweet girl and there's so much in it that I think would really resonate with another teen reader from Abi's journey with learning more about her Afro hair texture and styling, make-up for her skin and her loneliness at not having a lot of Black female role models in her life and how much she yearns for one. There's also just the normal teen dilemmas from first crushes, uncertainty about the future and friendship that everyone can relate to as well.
I do think some of the writing is very simple and there were times I felt the characters, particularly Abi, read a lot younger - 15 more so than 18 - but I actually found the story as a whole so heartwarming I didn't mind and at the end of the day I'm also not the target audience for this story anyway so I think teen readers won't mind this....more
I received a copy of this book from the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Róise, Maggie and Harley are all celebrating their bI received a copy of this book from the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Róise, Maggie and Harley are all celebrating their big 3-0’s and still living life as if they are college students in a moldy, falling-down house share, shared custody of a turtle called Barnaby and a lot of romantic exploits and dramas still following them around. All three also still mourning the death of their friend Lydia, whose death was sudden and happened before an argument could be resolved.
This book is chaotic and heartwarming showing female friendship at its finest and its worst, and a combination of sad girl/messy girl. Perfect for fans of Caroline O’Donoghue’s The Rachel Incident or Ghosts by Dolly Alderton.
The pacing and the style of the writing is easy to fly through and you almost feel hungover yourself as you travel along on the girls� nights out from pub to nightclub to…museum. Grief is a big element in this book as the ghost of Lydia is with them all the time from her room which still holds her vibrator (and yes, Harley thinking about using it was a bit of a step too far), as well as the echoes of their last argument with her and the forgiveness that can never be shared.
Each girl is going through their own stuff - Róise is still reeling a bit from her past relationship but ends up entering a sexual relationship with her boss Adam (who is actually a pretty decent guy) and her issues may end up stalling it before it’s really begun. Maggie, the lesbian of the group, is in a toxic relationship with her ‘friend� Cate who keeps her at arm’s length but also pulls her in every chance she gets. And then Harley definitely takes too much drugs, likes her landlord/dealer a little bit too much and could probably do with making better, healthier decisions with her sex life.
The book feels more character focused than plot as we follow the girls from one exploit to another, or one mistake to another. TW for some descriptions of disordered eating (stemming from anxiety rather than body image), abortion, and heavy drug and sexual content. I would have liked to have seen a bit more character growth throughout rather than a lot of it being shoehorned in at the end in the last chapter even though it was nice seeing the girls all a bit healthier and happier....more
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