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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
Feel a bit naughty that it has taken me this long to get round to reading this. Now that I have I cannot wait until book 2 comes out. I love how effortless it is to read!! So proud of my cousin! :-)
I read the first 4-5 chapters of Billy & Me and I had to stop. I really wanted to like this book but the characters were so bleak and it most of all felt like I was reading online fanfiction.
Such a feel good book. If you're a sucker for a romantic story this is the one for you.
This review was originally posted on Star Crossed Reviews I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.Thank you to Penguin for accepting my request for this book via Netgalley. I have a few of Giovanna’s books on my TBR pile but this is the first one I have read. I will admit that I totally requested this book because Giovanna is married to Tom Fletcher in McFly.
Sophie May lives in the little village of Rosefont Hill. Sophie works in the teashop on the hill run by Molly. Molly has helped Sophie turn from this shy introvert to someone who isn’t afraid to chat to the customers or make friends. Sophie didn’t go to university or take a gap year like everyone else she went to school with. Sophie stayed at home where she was needed and got a job. Sophie blames herself for something that happened in her past. I have to say that, without telling you what it was, Giovanna got those feelings perfectly. I have had a similar experience at a similar age and I can say I understood Sophie perfectly.
When Billy first enters the teashop Sophie has no idea who he is. This scene was funny and cringe-worthy all at the same time. At first I really liked Billy but as the story progressed I really started to hate him. Not all of it was Billy’s fault but I really wanted to slap him.
There are some real tear-jerker moments to this book that will have you grabbing those tissues but there are also many moments that are so sweet and romantic you can’t help but get swept away.
I really enjoyed Giovanna’s writing style and was soon as I finished this book I picked up the Christmas Novella, Christmas with Billy and Me. I look forward to reading more of Giovanna’s books in the future.
Sophie May lives in the little village of Rosefont Hill. Sophie works in the teashop on the hill run by Molly. Molly has helped Sophie turn from this shy introvert to someone who isn’t afraid to chat to the customers or make friends. Sophie didn’t go to university or take a gap year like everyone else she went to school with. Sophie stayed at home where she was needed and got a job. Sophie blames herself for something that happened in her past. I have to say that, without telling you what it was, Giovanna got those feelings perfectly. I have had a similar experience at a similar age and I can say I understood Sophie perfectly.
When Billy first enters the teashop Sophie has no idea who he is. This scene was funny and cringe-worthy all at the same time. At first I really liked Billy but as the story progressed I really started to hate him. Not all of it was Billy’s fault but I really wanted to slap him.
There are some real tear-jerker moments to this book that will have you grabbing those tissues but there are also many moments that are so sweet and romantic you can’t help but get swept away.
I really enjoyed Giovanna’s writing style and was soon as I finished this book I picked up the Christmas Novella, Christmas with Billy and Me. I look forward to reading more of Giovanna’s books in the future.
fast-paced
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Bookish Sophie is living in a little village and working in the local teashop when Billy Buskin walks in to her life. In the area to film yet another adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, Billy takes an instant shine to Sophie, despite her not having the faintest idea who he is. But there’s a reason Sophie never ventured far from home, can she really build a life with a famous actor and will she ever live up to his exes?
Billy and Me is quite a sweet little book about a village girl who finds herself in a world she doesn’t belong in. At first I was a little dubious about the celebrity wife author angle, but it is clear Giovanna Fletcher has taken inspiration from her own experiences. Sophie doesn’t want to change her life but she can’t just carry on being a teashop girl when all eyes are on Billy.
Sophie is a quiet, mad haired girl whose closest friend is the old lady who runs the teashop she works in. We know her dad is absent for some reason and her relationship with her mum is rocky. But she won’t leave her comfort zone. This lovely, kind, timid person at the start reminded me of a few people I know and she made me smile, looking after all the gossipy ladies even if she was too scared to do anything for herself.
I got a bit frustrated about her attitude once she gets to London. She has this wonderful, caring boyfriend who is happy to support her in whatever she does…so she decides to work in a crappy coffee chain. I can understand the idea of wanting independence but it just came across as a huge waste of opportunity. She’s in London and she doesn’t have to pay rent! She also came across a bit immature in handling Billy’s sex scenes. He’s an actor…the way film and TV is going these days, having fake sex people is pretty much taken for granted. I don’t doubt partners feel jealous and insecure now and then but this was a bit over the top.
I did get a bit bored in the middle but to be honest, I have no patience with celebrity lifestyles and I could see where the whole thing was going. Paul was incredibly obvious in his manoeuvrings and the narration decided to spell it out for the reader just you can’t work it out from what he says to Sophie. However I really liked that parts that were more about Sophie, her love of books and baking and her family and friendships in her home village. I’d certainly read a second book if it ventured away from the celebrity side of things. Oh and Giovanna seems to really like exclamation marks; she had characters exclaiming over sentences that didn’t need them which made some of the characters seem a bit manic at times. But there were lots of great observations about celebrity culture and its impact on the people close to them.
Billy and Me is quite a sweet little book about a village girl who finds herself in a world she doesn’t belong in. At first I was a little dubious about the celebrity wife author angle, but it is clear Giovanna Fletcher has taken inspiration from her own experiences. Sophie doesn’t want to change her life but she can’t just carry on being a teashop girl when all eyes are on Billy.
Sophie is a quiet, mad haired girl whose closest friend is the old lady who runs the teashop she works in. We know her dad is absent for some reason and her relationship with her mum is rocky. But she won’t leave her comfort zone. This lovely, kind, timid person at the start reminded me of a few people I know and she made me smile, looking after all the gossipy ladies even if she was too scared to do anything for herself.
I got a bit frustrated about her attitude once she gets to London. She has this wonderful, caring boyfriend who is happy to support her in whatever she does…so she decides to work in a crappy coffee chain. I can understand the idea of wanting independence but it just came across as a huge waste of opportunity. She’s in London and she doesn’t have to pay rent! She also came across a bit immature in handling Billy’s sex scenes. He’s an actor…the way film and TV is going these days, having fake sex people is pretty much taken for granted. I don’t doubt partners feel jealous and insecure now and then but this was a bit over the top.
I did get a bit bored in the middle but to be honest, I have no patience with celebrity lifestyles and I could see where the whole thing was going. Paul was incredibly obvious in his manoeuvrings and the narration decided to spell it out for the reader just you can’t work it out from what he says to Sophie. However I really liked that parts that were more about Sophie, her love of books and baking and her family and friendships in her home village. I’d certainly read a second book if it ventured away from the celebrity side of things. Oh and Giovanna seems to really like exclamation marks; she had characters exclaiming over sentences that didn’t need them which made some of the characters seem a bit manic at times. But there were lots of great observations about celebrity culture and its impact on the people close to them.