Promise Me: The most heart-warming novel of 2023

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I did have someone. She left, same as all the rest of them.’ He pointed at an area beneath a chair. ‘You missed a bit.’ Just the weekend. Heading home on Sunday.’ Scribbling the number on the notepad, Lou was briefly tempted to get it a bit wrong. But no, she couldn’t bring herself to do that; it wasn’t the kind of person she was. Aan het einde van dit boek, neemt Jill ons mee in een wel heel bijzonder perspectief. Dit is de eerste keer dat ze dit doet in een verhaal. En ondanks dat ik een traantje moest laten, vond ik dit heel erg speciaal. I don’t know. He lives in a big house at the top of the hill. It’s Sammy,’ Lou explained to the man sitting at the table. ‘He’s asking who you are.’

Lou had been expecting a tiny cottage, maybe a bit dilapidated to match the dented grey Mini with its dusty tyres and scratched paintwork.MY REVIEW: Hurrah! The new year can now officially begin, because we have a brand spanking new read from Jill Mansell to devour. He pointed to an old grey Mini and she accompanied him over to it. When she’d put the bag of shopping in the boot, the old man shook his head and said, ‘Oh for God’s sake.’ Jill Mansell is one of Britain’s most accomplished authors. She has authored books which have had huge success not just in the United Kingdom but the world over. She has written many books which are of the romantic comedy genre. To prove her success, the writer has had over ten million copies of her books sold worldwide. She was raised in the Cotswolds UK and when she went to school, she attended Sir William Romney’s School in Telbury. Before she opted to be a full time writer in 1992, she worked as a clinical neuropsychologist at Burden Neurological Institute in Bristol. She worked in the medical field for close to 18 years. She is a family lady and lives with her partner and children in Bristol. She began writing when she was a child, she used to write a lot but she never imagined that one day she will be doing it for a living. She is inspired by the love she has for her readers since she cannot imagine failing to publish another book, that is what keeps her grounded. No, I’d just like to sit here like a lemon for the next twenty-four hours. Of course I want you to help me up.’ It's frustrating reading a book full of adults who just don't seem to have their stuff together and not because they are still on their way to figuring themselves out (fair and can happen at any moment/age in your life) but just because they are somewhat cruel, enjoy being spiteful and act as though they aren't aware of how negatively they impact others around them - even though the internal monologue and narration provided, proves that they are all more than well aware.

Rekindling old flames, sweet second chance love stories are one of my favorites romance themes after enemies to lovers which always comes at the first place! I love this author, and this book certainly didn’t disappoint. We are taken on a wonderfully heart-warming journey of love and friendships with the main character Lou. Lou is visiting her childhood friend, Sammy when she bumps into grumpy 80-year-old, Edgar Allsopp. Edgar isn’t the easiest man to get on with, but he seems to take a begrudging shine to Lou and makes her an offer she can’t refuse. I loved Lou’s character and connected with her straight away. I’ve worked as a carer and have come across many grumpy old men like Edgar in my time and knew right from their first meeting that they would end up being friends. Dit verhaal bracht mij pure ontspanning. Het kwam precies op het juiste moment. Rijkelijk gevuld met feelgood, doorspekt met humor, soms wat voorspelbaar én toch ook een beetje hartverscheurend. Jill Mansell heeft weer een succesformule op het papier weten te vangen die het begin van de lente inluidt. I loved both of the characters a lot and I truly wished their HEA but Didi was already engaged with Aaron and after the love triangle problem seemed to be solved when she broke up, Shane found an adorable actress to date which pissed me off a little! En ondanks de voorspelbaarheid van het genre, weet Jill je in dit verhaal toch weer te verrassen met wat leuke en spannende twists in het verhaal.Wie had kunnen denken dat de excentrieke Edgar Allsopp de oplossing zou hebben voor Lou’s problemen? Hij biedt haar een baan en een dak boven haar hoofd in het dorp Foxwell in de Cotswolds. Jill weet als geen ander personages met elkaar te verbinden middels verschillende verhaallijnen en dat vind ik persoonlijk echt een grote kracht in haar verhalen. Overigens was hij meteen mijn meest favoriete personage in dit boek. Wie kan er nu niet houden van een heerlijke oude brompot als Edgar? En wat zit er schuil achter zijn humeur?