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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
This would have been a 5 star read for me had it not been for the first third of the book which was so littered with music references that it threatened to put me off.
I understand that music is at the heart of this novel and the heart of the relationship between Alison Connor and Daniel Lawrence and that without it, it wouldn't makes sense. I simply preferred the other 2 thirds where music was still important but not overwhelming the storyline.
Allison's childhood is impoverished in many ways whereas Daniel's, the boy she falls for at a party, is not. Growing up in Sheffield it is clear that Alison has to look after herself albeit with the protection of her older brother Peter, until life becomes unbearable for him. The tale of this brother and sister is traumatic. Full of bigotry, homophobia, violence, alcohol addiction and squalor these two are survivors. But only one can get away and that is Alison, who having suffered one final act of abuse, leaves and breaks Dan's heart.
Alison ends up a McCormack, living a very comfortable existence with Michael, a surgeon. They have two grown up girls and live in Adelaide. Dan meanwhile is a music journalist living in Edinburgh with longstanding partner Katriona and they have a grown up son Alex. Dan also has a houseboat in London, the Crazy Diamond. The two are literally worlds apart.
Alison makes the big time as an author and all of a sudden the pair begin a Twitter exchange of meaningful songs. With lots of travel, deception and heartbreak this is an unusual love story spanning decades. It is also a wonderful embodiment of human relationships and the power of love.
Will there be a happy ending? Read and find out!
I understand that music is at the heart of this novel and the heart of the relationship between Alison Connor and Daniel Lawrence and that without it, it wouldn't makes sense. I simply preferred the other 2 thirds where music was still important but not overwhelming the storyline.
Allison's childhood is impoverished in many ways whereas Daniel's, the boy she falls for at a party, is not. Growing up in Sheffield it is clear that Alison has to look after herself albeit with the protection of her older brother Peter, until life becomes unbearable for him. The tale of this brother and sister is traumatic. Full of bigotry, homophobia, violence, alcohol addiction and squalor these two are survivors. But only one can get away and that is Alison, who having suffered one final act of abuse, leaves and breaks Dan's heart.
Alison ends up a McCormack, living a very comfortable existence with Michael, a surgeon. They have two grown up girls and live in Adelaide. Dan meanwhile is a music journalist living in Edinburgh with longstanding partner Katriona and they have a grown up son Alex. Dan also has a houseboat in London, the Crazy Diamond. The two are literally worlds apart.
Alison makes the big time as an author and all of a sudden the pair begin a Twitter exchange of meaningful songs. With lots of travel, deception and heartbreak this is an unusual love story spanning decades. It is also a wonderful embodiment of human relationships and the power of love.
Will there be a happy ending? Read and find out!
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
slow-paced
3.5/ i loved this book so much it was so fun especially the change in setting and pov i love books when we get both of the ppls pov, this book took insanely long because it was hard for me to catch up after not reading for a pretty good time but the ending always hook’s me up the most and makes me wanna change my rating but anyways i loved it smmm, i deff recommenddd it !!!
really enjoyed it. will do a reread soon so i can gather my thoughts and write a proper review on goodreads.
I really, really enjoyed this book! I particularly loved the flashbacks to Sheffield in the late 70s/early 80s, and the song choices were fantastic. I highly recommend listening to the playlist of them all together on Spotify afterwards or when reading the book too.
Despite this glowing review - it loses a star as I felt the two main characters were just really unlikeable but then, perhaps, that was the author’s intention. They seemed to ignore their responsibilities and their (mostly) loving families and partners all in the name of love which, although seemingly romantic to them, felt really quite horrible!
I actually would be quite interested in a “what happened next”. Where would Ali and Dan live? How would Stella, Thea and Alex carry on and take their respective parents new relationship? And Michael and Kaitelin? But then; would it be a good ending if it didn’t leave that up to your imagination?
Despite this glowing review - it loses a star as I felt the two main characters were just really unlikeable but then, perhaps, that was the author’s intention. They seemed to ignore their responsibilities and their (mostly) loving families and partners all in the name of love which, although seemingly romantic to them, felt really quite horrible!
I actually would be quite interested in a “what happened next”. Where would Ali and Dan live? How would Stella, Thea and Alex carry on and take their respective parents new relationship? And Michael and Kaitelin? But then; would it be a good ending if it didn’t leave that up to your imagination?