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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I read this on a recommendation of someone I respect. It’s slow going but worth it.
It’s not that this book was bad, it’s just that I lost interest. Or that I truly never developed interest.
I had the speed bumped up to 3.0 at the end if that tells you anything, and I still couldn’t tell you what happened. This should have been a DNF but I kept thinking it had to get better, right?? I was wrong.
They meet and have a three day “whirlwind romance full of chemistry”. Did we read the same thing??? There was the tiniest bit of tension but mostly a play by play of every conversation they ever had. But ooh they banged on the beach in public so boom they must have had chemistry. Then they go six years without seeing each other and she’s assigned to work at his estate (without knowing it’s him) and they “fall right back into it”. LOL no.
Ash was an asshole. She’s supposedly the love of his life and the one that got away, but he repeatedly leaves her to reassure his ex? Big red flag for me. He doesn’t tell Dad that she’s more than a fling? Again, I understand he doesn’t have a great relationship with him but still, big red flag.
I had the speed bumped up to 3.0 at the end if that tells you anything, and I still couldn’t tell you what happened. This should have been a DNF but I kept thinking it had to get better, right?? I was wrong.
They meet and have a three day “whirlwind romance full of chemistry”. Did we read the same thing??? There was the tiniest bit of tension but mostly a play by play of every conversation they ever had. But ooh they banged on the beach in public so boom they must have had chemistry. Then they go six years without seeing each other and she’s assigned to work at his estate (without knowing it’s him) and they “fall right back into it”. LOL no.
Ash was an asshole. She’s supposedly the love of his life and the one that got away, but he repeatedly leaves her to reassure his ex? Big red flag for me. He doesn’t tell Dad that she’s more than a fling? Again, I understand he doesn’t have a great relationship with him but still, big red flag.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
lighthearted
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Ellie (Knapley) from North London is a furniture designer who meets Ash (real name: future Viscount Ashton Berkeley from North Wales) in Lisbon, Portugal while interrailing. In their three days together they go from strangers to friends to lovers, bonding over having complicated relationships with their parents and passions that are not aligned with the expectations of said parents - he loves astronomy ✨and she loves gardening 🪻. Most importantly, they are both grieving the deaths of their childhood best friends - Ash’s best friend Taran died from leukemia and Ellie’s best friend Stella died of an accidental overdose. When their time in Portugal is up, Ellie leaves to go meet her controlling parents and makes plans to ditch them to meet Ash a week later in Madrid. She writes her contact info on the inside cover of ACOTAR, and loans him the book that is the last connection she has to Stella. When seven days pass and Ellie desperately searches and waits for him in Madrid, he never shows and she never understood why - his brother had broken his spine, his parents demanded he return home ASAP, and the book was stolen… leaving him without a way to contact Ellie. Heartbroken and bereft, she disassociates and follows the path set by her parents until claiming her own happiness by pursuing a career in gardening. Six years later, she takes a job at Berkeley Hall, Ash’s ancestral home given to his family by a king five centuries ago. As Ellie and Ash learn that time does not heal all wounds, their miscommunication reigns supreme and they have to decide whether the connection they had - and might have again - can overcome the pain of broken promises, plans, and lost time.
I liked the beginning of this story when they were getting caught up in instalove as they explored new places and shared their pasts together. I wish this part was longer with more time together before separating so that their pining over the years made more sense. The six year time jump was where it fell off a bit for me. I’m all for a second chance romance, but what frustrated me is how they did not learn ANYTHING from the missed first chance! Actually, this is a third chance romance because the miscommunication strikes TWICE!
How could they not have shared last names or numberS - plural - in Portugal so she would have a way to reach HIM and not just the other way around? Their lack of communication and the way they went from “I can’t forgive you for leaving me without a trace” to “oh my gosh I’ve missed you so much, I actually still love you” not once, but TWICE, with each of them having a chance at being the scorned partner was frustrating. Was the first giant lack of communication that led to six years of no contact not lesson enough for these two? Ellie leaves Berkeley Hall and chooses to stay ignorant for two more years until she becomes obsessed with the “what if?” of Ash not marrying his friend and must figure out the truth in ONE DAY. They were somehow more mature (but certainly not more emotionally intelligent) when they first met than nearly a decade later.
Ash not making Ellie feel secure by continuing to be so close with his friend/ex/almost fiancé was also frustrating. He seems like a man who lets life happen to him rather than one who goes after what he wants. I was attracted to the way he was in his best moments, but him at his worst moments would drive me nuts as a partner and I could say the same of Ellie. Ellie’s past experience being groped by a classmate’s dad was a reveal I wasn’t expecting and gave one more reason to dislike Ash’s dad for making her relive that power dynamic. Ash not fitting in with his wealthy family and finding comfort with Taran’s family growing up explained the code-switching in his accent, but I didn’t really notice a different in the narrator’s delivery, so I was confused why it was such a big deal to Ellie. BTW I think the narrator sometimes sounded like Emma Watson.
The ending of Ash selling his family’s estate to live off-grid in the woods, abandoning his family’s legacy, which was exactly what Ellie had wanted, made me imagine a child messily wrapping up a present and then putting a pretty bow on top 🙈
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Death, Drug abuse, Death of parent
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Really a beautiful story.
I related a lot to Ellie’s issues with her parents, mostly because I’m also a people-pleaser and boxed myself in on their account for many years.
This book came into my life at the right time.
I also loved the talk about how small your own problems feel in light of the expansiveness of the universe.
Lovely.
I related a lot to Ellie’s issues with her parents, mostly because I’m also a people-pleaser and boxed myself in on their account for many years.
This book came into my life at the right time.
I also loved the talk about how small your own problems feel in light of the expansiveness of the universe.
Lovely.
Content Warnings
Minor: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Suicide, Terminal illness, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Classism
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No