– Guest review contributed by Show This Book Some Love –

Rating: 7.5/10

I have to say I was a little disappointed that I didn’t end up bawling at the end of this book. Everyone I talked to about it said that they sobbed. Perhaps it was the trailer that spoiled it for me, perhaps it was my high expectations of sadness based on other’s reviews, but I was sorely disappointed in the crying sector.

Don’t get me wrong, this book was sad, but I spent most of the book anticipating being sad, and that ruined the experience for me.

I just wasn’t that invested in the characters either. I liked them, but I didn’t feel any passion towards them. I don’t think their back stories were developed enough. I mean, who has just one traumatic event that makes up their entire character? Nobody. And I didn’t exactly like that Louisa was expected to change and improve, yet Will didn’t have that same expectation thrust upon him.

Sure, he was supposed to get over his disability and go on to lead an exciting life, another point that made me a little frustrated with the story because he was supposed to change based on his disability, not based on who he was as a person.

However, I was drawn in. I liked the drama of the story, I liked hearing what each character had to say. The writing wasn’t exactly the most amazing thing I’ve ever read, but it was effective. For example, “When Will first told me what he wanted, he had to tell me twice, as I was quite sure I could not have heard him correctly the first time.”

Moyes descriptions and lack of complete and direct statements kept me, as a reader, speculating what the next plot point would be. Unfortunately, I found the plot predictable. This again may be attributed to the fact that I had heard so much about this book beforehand. Either way, there were no surprises.

I will, however, be seeing the movie. I plan on taking my roommate and hoping she doesn’t soak through the sleeve of my t-shirt in the theater. And I’m terribly intrigued as to what Moyes writes in the sequel, After You. I haven’t heard much about it, but it seems fascinating that there will be more to come after the climax of these character’s lives has come and gone.

Jojo Moyes has had a lot of varied experiences, however she’s spent the majority of her time as a journalist and a novelist. You can read more about her here. She’s from England, as I’m sure you will pick up on instantly once you read any or all of this book.

This guest review was contributed by Show This Book Some Love. Features clear and concise reviews. It reviews a wide variety of genres and approaches each book from an unbiased perspective, reading each book through to the end even if the reviewer doesn’t like it.