The Road Trip – Beth O’Leary

Link to book (GR) – The Road Trip by Beth O’Leary

Link to book (StoryGraph) – The Road Trip by Beth O’Leary

Overall rating – 5 out of 5 stars.

Oh my goodness, as per usual a book written by Beth O’Leary was absolutely excellent! I was crying with tears of laughter reading this book, it was so good.

Whilst the book focused on Addie and Dylan mainly, we were able to meet an AMAZING range of side characters, Deb and Marcus who were a brilliant addition to the story. Every single character added another layer of fun, excitement, joy, sadness, and level to the story and they were so well written. They were all really well written to have their flaws and be open about them, which was really refreshing to read and I loved how that was portrayed through the split POV.

And as usual the writing was absolutely excellent and I cannot fault it, I love how this author writes and this book was no exception. I felt as though I was wrapped up in a fluffy blanket whilst reading this, it was just such a joy to read.

The fact, as well, that this book basically took place in a yellow mini is an absolute testament to the authors ability to craft a plot that was still so interesting and compelling, whilst relying on flashbacks and memories. It just demonstrated to me that books don’t always need to flit around the country or the world, they can just happen and be static and still be so bloody good.

I also really loved how each layer of the story was separate but still woven together to form the book and the way it all fell together at the end (with a happy ending, my fave!!!!)

And the stop/start of the chapters for then and now was really cleverly done as this helped to build up the intrigue and atmosphere of the story and definitely helped the book move along at a good pace. I never felt like it was dragging but it also felt like I’d consumed a good, long enough book.

It was such an entertaining read I literally could not put it down!!!!

Until next time, Em xxx

The Flatshare – Beth O’Leary

Link to book – The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary.

Rating – 4 out of 5 stars

Oh my goodness, this book was so adorable I absolutely loved it! It completely warmed my cold, dead heart and left me with the most incredible fuzzy feeling after I finished reading it. I honestly wish I hadn’t waited so long to pick it up, it was so worth the read.

Starting off with our characters, I found that they absolutely carried this book – not that the rest wasn’t up to standard though! The split POV worked really well for them and I found myself wanting to read as quickly as possible so I could see how Leon felt about Tiffy’s notes and vice versa. And, the supporting characters were pretty fab too, the author had clearly put work in to add as much life and soul to the story as possible.

And the story itself was actually inventive, I loved the idea of the flat share and how their relationship developed just through notes, it really was heart warming and very cleverly written. I also really enjoyed the side plots with Tiffy’s ex and Leon’s brother being in prison, it really fleshed out the story and added value to the main plot.

I also really enjoyed the writing style of this book, it was super easy to read which is not a criticism at all. The whole thing just flowed really nicely and felt like everything slotted together to create such a lovely tale. The writing was really good and I just didn’t notice the time passing when I was reading, so that’s always nice!

The Flatshare was just a super entertaining story and I loved every second of my read through, I found myself laughing out loud, gasping in shock and really rooting for the characters and that was all down to the authors storytelling and character building.

My only wish is that it were longer as I wanted more of Tiffy and Leon!

Until next time, Em xxx

The Switch – Beth O’Leary

Link to book – The Switch by Beth O’Leary

Rating – 4 out of 5 stars

This book was an absolute joy to read, I loved it! From just reading the blurb I was instantly excited to read it and it definitely didn’t disappoint. 

Throughout the book we mainly focus on our two main characters, Eileen and Leena, who were both gold! They were written to be funny, heartfelt people who you just couldn’t help but love and want to be best friends with. And the supporting characters were given the same level of attention by the author, who wrote them to be the perfect accompaniment to our two leading ladies.

One of the best bits about having two leading characters, for me, was how the chapters bounced between the two of them. It worked really well with the premise of the book and really aided my visualisation of the story. 

And the story itself was fabulous! I loved it, and I loved the whole premise. It felt fresh and different, and it was just a truly lovely story – plus it had a happy ending which is literally the best thing ever.

I also found The Switch to be incredibly easy to read, it felt like an easy going book, one you could just get lost in and sit there with a small smile on your face the entire time. It made me feel warm and fuzzy inside when I finished it. 

On the whole, I loved reading The Switch and I definitely will be doing a reread at some point in the future!

Until next time, Em xxx