Review: The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes

The greatest love story is the one you least expect . . .

Alice is stifled, bored, and misunderstood.

So when she meets wealthy and handsome American, Bennett Van Cleve, she is quickly swept off her feet.

Marrying him and moving to America seems like a great adventure - but life as a newlywed in stuffy Baileyville, Kentucky, is not at all what she hoped for.

Until, that is, she responds to a call for volunteers to start a travelling library, surprising herself by saying yes, before her husband can say no . . .

Led by feisty and rebellious Margery O'Hare, this unlikely group of women travel far and wide on their mission to bring books and reading to those that need it, and Alice finally finds the freedom, friendship and love that she's been looking for.

But not everyone approves of what they are doing, especially her new father-in-law. And when the town turns against them, will their belief in each other and their work be enough?

 

Review: I decided to read this novel on audiobook and I am glad  that I did because this books takes place in Kentucky but with an English main character and the narration really brought this alive, the contrast between the accents and the contrast between Alice's way of life before and after her move to Kentucky. 

This book is very much a plot driven book and so even though Alice is the main character and the person that we get to see the story unfold with, this book is about the whole community and it is also about the magic of libraries and the librarians who share their love of books with the people in that community. I love that this is such a love letter to books. It is just so wonderful to see on the page the power that books can have in so many different ways for so many different people. I loved seeing these librarians overcome the obstacles that they have to face and seeing them sharing their passion through the snow and the blistering heat and that was my takeaway from this novel, books are magic, libraries are the keepers of the spells. 

Alice was an interesting character to spend time with over the course of this novel. She has string beliefs but she has been held down by the men around her her entire life and so when she begins to be able to show her strength it is a truly magical thing. She is appropriately surprised by the people and the way of life she finds out in small town Kentucky, as she would have been in the days before Wifi and YouTube. I loved the way she grows over the course of the book and I love the community that she finds with the people surrounding the library. 

There are some care warnings that come with this book for domestic abuse definitely so just be aware of that when picking this one up. I felt like it was dealt with really well as part of the story and felt that it was fully explored in the context of the society and the time and so to me it just felt like part of the plot and part of showing the importance of having that community behind you. 

I really enjoyed this novel, I really recommend the audiobook but highly recommend the book as a whole. 

To order your copy now, just click the link: UK or US

Review: Still Me by Jojo Moyes

The third Lou Clark novel by Jojo Moyes, following the Number One international bestsellers Me Before You and After You.

Lou Clark knows too many things . . .

She knows how many miles lie between her new home in New York and her new boyfriend Sam in London.

She knows her employer is a good man and she knows his wife is keeping a secret from him.

What Lou doesn't know is she's about to meet someone who's going to turn her whole life upside down.

Because Josh will remind her so much of a man she used to know that it'll hurt.

Lou won't know what to do next, but she knows that whatever she chooses is going to change everything.

Review: Wow! As soon as I started reading this book I got goosebumps because it was just so thrilling to be back in Louisa Clark's world once again. This book starts in such a fun way with Lou at border control, about to enter the USA, everything she is doing and feeling is so relatable and instantly you remember why you love her as a character so much. There are so many classic Louisa moments in this book, from genuine moments of honestly an heart to moments of insecurity and some really clumsy and or drunken mishaps. She is a great  character and I am so pleased that Jojo Moyes has decided to bring her back for a third time, long live Louisa Clark. 

Of course there are some new characters to meet in this book as well and most of them just happen to be New Yorkers, which is great fun to read about as well. But what Jojo Moyes has done is recognise that there are so many people from so many other countries who live in this city and the characters really reflect this, I think she made a really good choice here! Fear not, we get to catch up with Louisa's lovely family as well, when we got to hear from them through phone calls and visits, it really did feel like I was speaking to home as well, these characters have been so brilliantly written to feel like family to the reader as much as to Louisa. 

Then there is the fact that the majority of this book is set in Manhattan. I loved seeing the city through Louisa's eyes and visiting places with her that I have visited myself. It has that little bit of "Devil Wears Prada' about it because obviously Louisa is new to the city but must find her way around and get into the rhythm of New York so that she can get on with her new job, and there are some very funny moments that come out of this. One of my favourite things is that she frequently stumbles across the difference between purse and handbag, something that I can really relate to and something I'm glad was included in this book. 

In terms of the plot, I would say that this, the third in the series is a little more upbeat than the previous two novels and the plot is therefore a little slower in pace. It is very much all about Louisa's new start and I loved the fact that Jojo Moyes keeps it simple and really does focus in on that. She doesn't go too far into the ins and outs of the consequences of visas and plane fares and that makes for a real escapist read. The plot certainly did keep me turning the pages though as I listened to this audiobook in one day, only stopping it once when I had to call in at that library!

All in all this book was just fantastic. I really don't even think you would need to have read the other two books in the series in order to enjoy this book because it is definitely a story in itself about a wonderfully optimistic English woman making a life for herself in a fabulous new city and everything that comes with it. I feel satisfied and comforted having finished the book. I feel like I have lived through the experience with Louisa and I am ready to go right back to the beginning and start it all again! 

I highly recommend you grab yourself a copy of this book now: UK or US (US publication is 1/30)