Promise Me: The most heart-warming novel of 2023

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A light hearted read full of awful people that seem to have been written in to provide shock factor and depth, but instead they just provided heavy amounts of annoyance. Lou was such a lovely character and her relationship with cantankerous Edgar was heartwarming and took me back to my days as a care worker. De personages waren heerlijk, hadden allen een geheel eigen karakter en de verhaallijnen waren interessant. Jill Mansell started writing fiction while working in the NHS, after she read a magazine article that inspired her to join a local creative writing class.

From Lou’s lovely personality to the grumpiness of Edgar, the charm of Remy through to the absolutely adorable four legged Captain Oates. Lou is een weekend op bezoek in het pittoreske dorpje Foxwell als ze op de parkeerplaats van de supermarkt kennismaakt met de chagrijnige Edgar Allsopp, die, nadat hij haar heeft beschuldigd van een poging tot beroving, nogal wat dringende verzoekjes voor haar heeft.Wanneer het zonnetje schijnt en de vogeltjes hun mooiste melodieën ten gehore brengen, leven we toch weer een beetje op.

Handsome and charming, with women falling at his feet, Lou is determined that she will not become another notch on his bedpost. The characters are all so well developed and they are not all perfect either they each have their flaws, may that be with our grumpy old Edgar who many find rude or the lovable Lou who although hardworking and caring only took Edgar up on his offer for her own gain but she was not the only one. Natuurlijk kan een beetje romantiek niet ontbreken, maar juist door de rest van hun leven ook zo'n duidelijke plaats te geven, raak ik ook invested in die romances, leef ik met ze mee en gun ik ze de duidelijke liefde van hun leven! Hoe voorspelbaar ze ook zijn, het is steeds weer een feestje om haar boeken te lezen en zo dus ook ‘Het zonnetje in huis’. Edgar, the old man set upon living life to the fullest before he passes away, does push her to her limits; but, she knows that despite the pay-off she believes she'll receive after, she just wants him to find a bit of happiness, no matter how late in life it comes.

Wie had kunnen denken dat de excentrieke Edgar Allsopp de oplossing zou hebben voor Lou’s problemen? The main characters of the book Jack and Tilly have opposite outlooks on life as it seems, with rumours that Jack lives an escape-laden life but the more they get to interact the rumors are disabused and Tilly finds herself in a dilemma, whether to believe what is being said about Jack or not, all the while Jack is not telling.

There’s laughter, love and friendships abundance in this gorgeous book with a few moments in between that made me tear up a tiny bit (it wasn’t tiny, I cried like a baby realising it has to grow up and eventually pay bills). Her aforementioned new book set to be released on 15th of this month, without giving much away, it is expected to be a fictive novel which should be very interesting to read given it will be a follow up on the success of last year’s book ‘The Unpredictable Consequences of Love’ which was released in January 2014. It did have me in tears at certain parts of the book, but there was still plenty of fun, love and laughter throughout.

I received a free copy of Promise Me, by Jill Mansell, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Her novel Rumour Has It spent eight weeks in The Sunday Times ' hardback bestseller list in 2009 [5] and the paperback ranked third in The Sunday Times ' bestseller list. Through all the ups and downs, the supportive close-knit community, where nothing stays secret for long, is just what she needs to get back on her feet and help to distract her from risking what is sure to be another disastrous romance. Jill Mansell is a incredibly talented author who has delivered flawless books over and over again and her latest novel Promise Me is no exception.

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review as part of the book tour hosted by Random Things Tours. In 2012, To The Moon And Back was shortlisted for the Romantic Novelists Association's Contemporary Romantic Novel award. We have the warmth and depth of emotion that we are accustomed to in Jill’s novels but there is also a modern spark to this storyline too. When he offers Lou the job she explains that she already is caring for a woman in the town she lives in.The story moves just at the right pace and the author knows when to add something to laugh or to build a tension.