You and Me, Always by Jill Mansell

You and Me, Always

Published: 28th January 2016

Publisher: Headline

Pages: 368

Available in Hardcover and on Kindle

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Blurb

On the morning of Lily's twenty-fifth birthday, it's time to open the very last letter written to her by her beloved mother, who died when she was eight.

Learning more about the first and only real love of her mum's life is a revelation. On the same day, Lily also meets Eddie Tessler, a man fleeing fame who just might have the ability to change her world in unimaginable ways. But her childhood friend Dan has his own reasons for not wanting Lily to get too carried away by Eddie's attentions.

Before long, secrets begin to emerge and Lily's friends and family become involved. In the beautiful Cotswold village of Stanton Langley, nothing will ever be the same again...

Review

You and Me, Always is only the second book I’ve read by Jill Mansell but already her writing style has added her onto my must-read list. Luckily she has an extensive back catalogue for me to read so I look forward to many hours of enjoyment from this authors books.

At the start of You and Me, Always we meet Lily on her twenty-fifth birthday just as she is about to read the last letter written to her by her mother, who died when Lily was eight. This was a very bittersweet opening for me as you could feel the lost love between mother and daughter and this made me a shed a little tear but as the chapter progresses Lily is given some joy when she finally learns the full name of her mother’s true love Declan Madison and decides she wants to contact him and find out just why he was so special to her mother. Later that day Lily gets another birthday surprise when she meets film star Eddie Tessler sitting in her friend Patsy’s kitchen, after which Lily’s life becomes a little more hectic.

As Jill introduced the other characters into the story I felt like I had become part of their little gang and had a sense of belonging as I watched Patsy go on yet another comical and disastrous date, as Coral struggles with having feelings for a new man for the first time since her husband Nick died and as Lily and Dan playfully avoid their true feelings. Lily is the main character in this book but I loved how the other characters all have things going on in their lives too, making the village of Stanton Langley feel very real and somewhere I loved reading about.

When newcomers Declan and Eddie arrive in the village Lily’s world is turned upside down. Declan helps Lily to remember her mum and she feels a real connection to him, probably wishing he was a real dad. Film star Eddie falls for Lily and introduces her to a life of film premiers and red-carpet treatment, but is this the life she really wants or does she just want a quiet life back in Stanton Langley with that special someone. One thing is for sure she’s not prepared for facing her past and things that have been kept secret for far too long.

You and Me, Always is a novel which is jammed packed with drama from the start, with many likable characters, all set in the scenic village of Stanton Langley and I loved reading every page. It’s a novel about friendship, love, loss and just how to deal with secrets that are maybe best kept hidden. It’s a novel I thoroughly enjoyed  and would recommend to anyone who is looking for a drama filled read which will make you laugh and cry (or that could be just me) and overall leave you with a warm cosy glow when you’ve finished. A well-deserved 5 out of 5 and I cannot wait to read Jill’s next one.

Thank you so much to the publishers and Netgalley who provided me with a copy for review purposes.