I have been Marian Keyes since the beginning. I had to look up when her first book Watermelon had been published (1995) to work out how long our relationship was – over 20 years. The women in her books were making the same mistakes and me and my peers, and now twenty years later, the characters are older and wiser, but then so am I.
 
I had The Break for a few months before starting.  And this is one of my strange habits with books from authors I love. I don't want to binge the book, for it to be gone too quickly. I want to savour and enjoy every sentence.
 
The Break is told in two timelines; the present day and starting from twenty years previously, until the timelines meet. The story of a marriage that has perhaps gone stale isn't new, but the actions to prevent settling for just that feels novel and fresh.
 
As always there is more than meets the eye to any Marian Keyes' novel, and in this case there is an side plot involving the complexities of abortion in Ireland that really resonated with me, especially in light of the recent referendum to repeal the 8th amendment.
 
The book made me cry, it made me angry, and it made me laugh. What more could I ask for?
 
Next time I won't wait so long to read a new Marian Keyes' book!
 
VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

IVY AND ABE was my next book to read.  I try to read books in order of publication date - as it happens the e-book was published in February and the publication date of 28 June 2018 is actually the date for the paperbook.
 
I remember seeing a quote declaring IVY AND ABE was "THE romance of the year”. But when the epigraph mentions Stephen Hawkins, and a quote from It’s a Wonderful life, and the first chapter opens in 2026 - woah, what is going on?!  I went back to the book blurb - got it. Let’s begin...
 
An amazing and heartfelt story of the lives and lives of Abe and Ivy. I was fully engaged from the get-go and as the first section ended I was holding back the tears. Not only was the story an emotional rollercoaster, it included a multitude of stories from travelling in the UK and around the world which sparked my own wanderlust. And with the different eras it offers both a historical and a contemporary story.
 
With books like this, the substance of the story and the quality of the writing has to outweigh the novelty of the premise, which is why The Time Traveler's Wife holds the bar so high. I'm glad to report that this book does both and is an incredible read.
 
A timely reminder of love in all its glory.
And I have to agree - it is the romance of the year!
 
VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
 
Thank you so much the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a complimentary electronic copy in return for an honest review. 
 

I loved the Rosie Project, so when I heard Graeme Simsion with his wife Anne Buist (his very own Rosie?) had written a book together I couldn’t wait to read it. 

The two storytellers intertwined beautifully with the point of view changing at the beginning of each chapter.
And by chapter seven I was searching the Internet for 90-day Camino pilgrimages. It was hard to put down and I found myself forgoing evening television to continue my journey with Zoe and Martin. It was a delightful book to read.

​HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Many thanks to Two Roads and NetGalley for providing me a complimentary copy of Two Steps Forward in exchange for my honest review.