Tag: romance

Book Review

Moon Reads: Revolve

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Revolve by Bal Khabra

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px Grey

Nothing is perfect, and as such, the reviews in this blog are chaotic. My main aim is to share my thoughts, joy and opinions on a book, not make a publication perfect review. This blog endorses authenticity, showing up and joy over perfection. 

Surprise, this is the book I read first of the series but it is actually the third one which comes to show one of the strengths of this series, that each book is in itself a standalone despite making references to what has happened in the previous ones (since the partners are "new" to the team they won't have context so this is handled nicely o the reader gets context without feeling like overexposure). 

The reason I chose this book was because it wasn't just hockey but it had artistic skating. But why was that relevant? Because for part of my teenage years I start with artistic roller skating and then moved to inline hockey (as I couldn't find a partner and the coach also coached hockey). And of course because both where done on ice at official levels, I would try to skate loads in ice rinks when I could afford it. 

So I came at Revolve with cautious hopes, could it talk about two things I loved deeply and also give me a good romance?

The answer was yes. So much that I would end up really liking the whole series and going back to the other books. 

Revolve follows Sierra Romanova who had an accident during a competiton on the ice and that left her with panic attacks when she enters the rink, but she wants to reclaim what that accident took from her and prove that she can do it. But her previous partner has a new partner and no one seems to want to partner up with her, and it's too late in the season...

Enter stage (rink) left, Dylan Donovan, playboy hockey player and the bad boy from the team, who goads her back into skating and proving him wrong. And maybe he also has something to prove as he is kicked out of the team for his chaos. Hockey is his dream and he wanted to follow Aiden and Elias, so he needs to win his way back and maybe skating with Sierra will help this happen.  

Dylan seems to just love pushing Sierra's buttons but then he starts caring and at the same time, it is one thing to push her buttons and another to let her suffer a panic attack, for which he seems well versed in handling, whcih shocks Sierra. And as Sierra slowly tackles her panic attacks, her fear and starts becoming once again a star in skating, Dylan also has to face his own reasons for being so reckless and for acting out so much. 

I enjoyed both the hockey and the figure skating, and both Sierra's and Dylan's story was really sweet and chaotic (Dylan reminded me a bit of my current partner, he seems super chaotic and feisty but is very sweet and caring at his core, and Sierra was a bit like myself in some ways). 
This is also the hardest review to write becuase I read the book the longest ago so I remember less specifics and the ones I do are pretty much plot spoilers I'd like to avoid since they were important to the story, but I will say that Sierr'as previous partner gets his comeuppance given he was the reason she had her accident.
 
And their epilogue to me was actually the sweetest of them all. 

So I hope you get to love this series and enjoy it, while I go dive into Embrace and get a review ready probably in a few weeks.
Book Review

Moon Reads: Spiral

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Spiral by Bal Khabra

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px Grey

Nothing is perfect, and as such, the reviews in this blog are chaotic. My main aim is to share my thoughts, joy and opinions on a book, not make a publication perfect review. This blog endorses authenticity, showing up and joy over perfection. 

We're now on the second book from the Off the Ice series.

In this one we follow Elias Westbrook (Aiden's best friend) just after Collide, when they've been drafted into the Toronto Thunders, but somehow he has become quite popular for his good looks and the perception that he is a ladies man, and yet he has not made his first career goal at all, just a lot of assists. And he honestly just desperately wants to escape the attention and focus on the game. 

On the other hand we have Sage Beaumont, a ballerina who has dreamt since she was a kid to be like Misty Copeland and therefore wants to perform in the Swan Lake. But it turns out that your social media popularity matters when it comes to being able to secure the lead role for it. 

So when the chance present itself, and they get photographed together with speculations that she's his new conquest and potentially a more serious one, they both react very differently. For Sage this is the chance to get that media attention she needs while helping deflect the speculation on Elias' love life. Whereas Elias remembers how bad it was for everyone who has been caught int he press and his won experience with it, so he doesn't want to pursue a fake relationship since he doesn't think the pressure is good on Sage. 

But he can't seem to get her out his mind, with her blunt tongue, her incessant teasing and her approach to life, he may be less into faking it and just trying his best to not fall head over heels for her. Whereas Sage is practical, she just aims for independence and that ballerina position and Elias is throwing some changes into her life that she doesn't know who to react and what to do about them. 

I liked this one a bit better because it's very obvious from the beginning that the fake dating is everything but fake, but it was also super interesting to see how the fact they call it fake takes some pressure off on some aspects of the relationship and then on others it causes a lot of worries of how they are "performing" that relationship.  For me that part and how it is written made me ponder a lot of what we tend to perceive as a good relationship whereas what may actually be one that is just not as flashy or good for social media.

This one felt way more homey and cuter than Collide. Where Collide is indeed a collision of personalities, Spiral is all about that spiral into love and both of them are spiralling fast and without any brakes on. 

It is not my favourite but damn it was so close to being top of the list from the series. And honestly, I finished it and the fourth book arrived so I cannot wait to continue with the series (perfect timing). I can't remember the last time I was into a romance series as much as I am loving Off the Ice. 

Elias is actually such a softie and he is so sweet, whereas Sage is a lot of spikes and attitude in part because she has had to be the responsible one and ot protect her life and her brother. IT was really lovely to see the softening the nicenes from Elias, and also to understand slowly why Elias is so soft and wants to protect others. 

So I guess the short one is that Spiral is soft fake dating that'll make you feel like a hug.
Book Review

Moon Reads: Collide

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Collide by Bal Khabra

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px Grey

Disclaimer: Receiving a review copy from the publisher does not affect my opinion of the book. If you think I review it highly it is due to me knowing my taste well and therefore not requesting books I won’t enjoy. And I am not obligated to review the book if I do not like it, so you may not see bad reviews due to me preferring not to hype down a particular book. I only do reviews of books I disagreed with if I think it is worth bringing a topic or warning to light. 

I have been fighting WordPress for a while since their silly paragraph block won't load or let me write, so I am using their "verse" one, so, sorry for the weird formatting if this shows weird. 

I will admit Collide was not my first read from the Off the Ice series, but rather I came to it after reading another one out fo order, woops.  But I wanted the reviews to be in the right order. 

Collide follows Summer Preston who is utterly dedicated to her lifelong dream of becoming a sports psychologist, so much that she chose a very hard professor to be the one that lets her submit her research and promotes her, because she believes what she is trying to work on is worth the eye of her professor. But she instead gets told that she has to do a specific paper and that causes her to have to work with Aiden Crawford.

Aiden is the captain of the hockey team, and he takes the hits for the chaos his team mates cause, which means he is the firing line and may not be able to play if he doesn't participate in Summer's research. 

Summer doesn't love hockey and has some issues with it due to things that have happened in her past that make her consider it a problem and not something she wants to be involved in so having to deal with a cheerful life is simple attitude Aiden drives her mad, whereas she has everything set to schedule and working like clockwork. 

But as they start working together on the research they start understanding each other a bit better, but they still don't want to admit that they may be a good fit. 

The read was quite fun and I liked that despite the college life view and the fact that sex is prominent, Aiden was courteous and Summer was fully fleshed, She wants to achieve her dream and she cannot understand why there are so many blockers. She has good faith and believes in merit, whereas Aiden understands merit is but one part and there's more to things. 

Admittedly, Summer had more plot pieces to show than Aiden but it just meant her complications threw some interesting challenges for him, not that she was trying to do so, but the way some of the  issues get resolved was also really good and at least one of them was something I was like "I wonder if" and it totally was, but I didn't feel frustrated that I was right, the romance was sweet and I already knew they'd end up together and what type fo relationship they have since I had read ahead (because the supporting characters for each story have their own story and show in the other books, so you get an almost continuous line of their life stories and the lense just focuses more on one specific set of characters). 

As the first book to introduce you to the world, I liked it quite a lot and still wanted to read more, and it does show you a lot of what is to come not just for Summer and Aiden but for the rest of the team. 

So I'd recommend this as one of those just Romance series and it is something very rare for me to do in regards to books as I don't readmuch Romance, but Bal Khabra has won me over for her series.
Book Review

Moon Reads: Hopeless Necromantic

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Hopeless Necromantic by Shiloh Briar

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px Grey

Disclaimer: Receiving a review copy from the publisher does not affect my opinion of the book. If you think I review it highly it is due to me knowing my taste well and therefore not requesting books I won’t enjoy. And I am not obligated to review the book if I do not like it, so you may not see bad reviews due to me preferring not to hype down a particular book. I only do reviews of books I disagreed with if I think it is worth bringing a topic or warning to light.

I read most of this while in the queue for a concert (to see Lights in case you cared), and let me tell you that almost everyone that was near me in the queue was interested and we had a really good chat about it (they were sad it wasn’t out yet, but pre-orders were made). And it was super fun. Plus it is out now!

Sikras is a tired exhausted thirty something necromancer just trying to make aliving by offering his necromancy services to the people who think Death came too soon and need their family member, partner, or what not brought back to life. He otherwise passes time with Benjamin, his living skeleton companion who was part of the royal army back when he was human.

Helspira is a hopeful demon, who escaped the demon world and is trying to prove demons aren’t that bad or at least not all demons. And the best way to prove this is to become a hero, so she is part of the royal army and ends up becoming the escort for Sikras and Ben.

Their mission is to reattempt (after a few failed attempts already) to defeat another necromancer who has been rising an undead army that threatens the kingdom.

No one, not even the Queen who requested them to go on the mission, has much hope for Sikras to succeed, but they have to try. And Helpsira has to believe they can actually succeed.

And so we follow their little adventure, where they all suddenly start showing more of who they are and their secrets, and some tough questions come to Sikras about his life choices. He has many to regret and many he needs to ponder or make, because even as a necromancer, there is a lot of life to live and to deal with, maybe even more than death.

The humour in this was a winner. Part of the reason a lot of people ended up interested in it was my facial expressions while reading and my giggles and laughs over it. It is also, incredibly emotional and heartfelt. IT is like the friend who comes and brings snacks, a blanket and some comedy films to cheer you up. It is a romance, and it is a lot of laughing, and it is a a D&D adventure type of thing (think a bit of a Baldur’s Gate 3 romp around).

It will also ask what is to be alive, and what living means. Some interesting questions. I wanted to hug all 3 main characters throughout the book, and I wanted just to have them win and go on with life, but also be best friends forever, and it was so wholesome (despite the necromancy and the dead and you know, the impending doom). Helpsira is a cinnamon roll and a ray of sunshine. Ben makes the best side kick and just a lot of snark and fun from him, and then Sikras with his doomed life and his sadness and you absolutely want to fix him (or for someone to fix him, *cough* Helpsira *cough*) and live a better life, because despte his chaos he deserves good.

There is a lot packed into a small book, and it is absolutely worth reading for the smiles it will put on your face and the lightness it will leave you with after you finish reading it.

Book Review

Moon Reads: Paladin’s Grace

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Paladin’s Grace by T. Kingfisher

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px Grey

Nothing is perfect, and as such, the reviews in this blog are chaotic. My main aim is to share my thoughts, joy and opinions on a book, not make a publication perfect review. This blog endorses authenticity, showing up and joy over perfection.

I will start this review with two clarifications, this was not my first T. Kingfisher book (Nettle & Bone was and I enjoyed it very much), and that I did not read this on paperback but rather listened to the audiobook narrated by Joel Richards, who did an amazing job narrating the book.

The first thing we learn is that Stephen is a paladin, but of a dead god, one that died all of a sudden (and apparently the only one that has). And Paladin’s for different god’s do different things, and Stephen’s Saint of Steel was all about fighting and giving his Paladin’s the gift of basically becoming berserkers that do their holy duty and then leave a trail of blood and death once the job is done. Normally their job is to defend and collaborate with others. But now that their god is dead, the few leftover paladin’s are left broken since the majority died when their god died, consumed by grief and the berserker gift.

Stephen’s doing his best to cope by helping the Temple of the Rat (another god who doesn’t have paladins but that welcomed them and makes use of them to help everyone), and it is while finishing one of his duties for them that he finds Grace in an alley and they witness an assassination attempt go wrong. And somehow, the chance encounter becomes a repeated meeting due to circumstances.

Now they need to navigate a web of politics, treachery and a killer who seems to love separating bodies from their heads.

The novel is delightful, Grace is a perfumer trying to make a life for herself, and Stephen is a sweet man trying to do his duty and be kind, and he’s slowly falling in love with her while they try to investigate the assassination and the murders that keep happening in the city.

I don’t even know how to describe the story, but I loved all the bits, including Stephen knitting socks to pass the time, and the introspective of trying to find a purpose after his god died (how do you live and make a life when your purpose died suddenly. It is a lovely romance but it is also a murder mystery and there’s politics and intrigue, everything to make a good book.

Book Review

Moon Reads: Sad Girl Hours

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Sad Girl Hours by Anna Zoe Quirke

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px Grey

Nothing is perfect, and as such, the reviews in this blog are chaotic. My main aim is to share my thoughts, joy and opinions on a book, not make a publication perfect review. This blog endorses authenticity, showing up and joy over perfection.

I can’t remember the exact reason I bought this one, but it felt like it’d be my kind of book. A good dose of cuteness, some sadness and lots of emotions. And I was right, this was a delight to read (despite dealing with heavy topics) and it felt like a warm hug or eating a nice apple pie fresh from the oven (not at burn your mouth temperature but at good temperature).

The story has two points of view, one from Saffron who suffers from seasonal affective disorder (SAD) who is dreading autumn and winter coming. She had to take time off the previous year from uni and can’t afford to do it again or it will make becoming an astrophysicist difficult or impossible. And also she’s somehow managed to keep it secret from all her friends and the people online that follow her for her short bubbly videos on astrophysics in a way that is easy to understand. She’s scared that if people know, they’ll dismiss it like her family does or they’ll stop liking her. And then she meets Nell.

Nell is our other point of view, who is proudly autistic, studying to become a poet, and a lover of autumn and winter and all the coziness they can provide. So she becomes determined to show Saffron that they’re not bad seasons with a bucket list of things to do to showcase how good it is to have the seasons come.

Of course as they start doing things like jumping on piles of leaves or lighting candles and having a cosy day in, Saffron and Nell both slowly start to develop feelings for each other but neither is sure of what exactly is going. And they both are trying to balance their own personal issues with having a fun time, becoming better friends and university.

There is a lot of fun but also some seriousness on caring for yourself and also how others care for you. I think this was a lovely little book to read and I’d recommend it as a nice autumn read. Do be mindful that it discusses SAD, family not taking this into account and being mean and not helpful, and obviously the spirals that can happen in your head about it.

Book Review

Moon Reads – Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter

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Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Fawcett

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px Grey

Disclaimer: Receiving a review copy from the publisher does not affect my opinion of the book. If you think I review it highly it is due to me knowing my taste well and therefore not requesting books I won’t enjoy. And I am not obligated to review the book if I do not like it, so you may not see bad reviews due to me preferring not to hype down a particular book. I only do reviews of books I disagreed with if I think it is worth bringing a topic or warning to light.

This book was the perfect excuse to pull some cute cat plushies because why not, I have my own brand of “stray” cats.

I loved this book, probably even more the Emily Wilde’s series (and I enjoyed those a lot). And I am so so thankful to Orbit for the review copy because I was able to read the book before it came out and then I raved about it to other people (I do circus arts and I have an informal “book club” where we all read different things but weekly we talk about what we each read and recommend books to each other and this book has been one I’ve recommended a few times).

Anyway, to the actual review of this book. The short version of the review would be that this felt like I was reading a mix of the film and book versions of Howl’s Moving Castle (book version including the other two which rarely ever get included, but are so good), with Agnes being a little like Sophie and Havelock being like Howl. There is also like in the books, a much more involved sister and it is just very satisfying and wholesome and worth reading. Very cosy, very cute, you will want to visit a cat cafe and maybe watch Howl’s Moving Castle or read it afterwards.

Now the longer version, we start our story with Agnes trying to find a place to move into after a mage battle destroyed her previous shop front and the landlady she had cannot afford to fix the damage. Winter is coming and she needs a warm space for the cats and herself as she runs a cat charity to pick up strays. But most places she sees aren’t accepting her because she has cats. Until she finds the perfect shop, but she thinks she can’t afford it, despite being drawn to it over and over. Finally she decides to give in and just check it out, and somehow things work out in a way that is scary but feels meant to be. She’s quickly moving in and everything is pretty smooth, but then she starts getting weird visitors that go through her charity and into the basement of the shop.

To no one’s surprise, turns out she is a front for the most known mage ever Havelock, who is super famous and sought after. And well, as you would expect chaos ensues, with a magical battle between Havelock and another mage and our poor Agnes who loves keeping track of things and organisation struggles. But she’s practical and despite the fact she doesn’t agree with magic and mages, she will make the most of this chaos thank you very much.

She then goes on a mission (if you’ve seen Howl’s Moving there’s a scene that’s very similar to Sophie cleaning Howl’s Castle and it was so satisfying to read) to make things work out for this weird arrangement. But in some ways, she seems to be adopting Havelock as one of her strays and maybe, just maybe falling in lvoe with him despite her misgivings on magic and mages and the fact she thought she couldn’t love someone other than her husband who passed away two years before.

There’s a whole plot that I don’t want to spoil, but I definitely can say that this was adorable, very satisfying to read and honestly 100% worth it. I’d recommend it for the cosy factor, the magic, the Howl vibes, the pastries, the cats and the romance.

Book Review

Moon Reads: The Isle in the Silver Sea

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The Isle in the Silver Sea by Tasha Suri

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px Grey

Disclaimer: Receiving a review copy from the publisher does not affect my opinion of the book. If you think I review it highly it is due to me knowing my taste well and therefore not requesting books I won’t enjoy. And I am not obligated to review the book if I do not like it, so you may not see bad reviews due to me preferring not to hype down a particular book. I only do reviews of books I disagreed with if I think it is worth bringing a topic or warning to light.

If you are new here, let me start by saying that Tasha Suri is one of my absolute favourite authors, and therefore this book has been an anticipated read since I knew of it (back when Tasha was obsessed with The Green Knight film and all those posts of medieval books), so of course I asked Orbit for a review copy, I probably begged. And they kindly let my soul be happy and have it. This review is therefore fully about my love of Tasha’s writing and having a review copy doesn’t change my opinion of it (or make me rate it higher, go check all my reviews of her books from the past).

The Isle in the Silver Sea is a standalone fantasy book (I am surprised since Tasha likes trilogies and epic stories), which is still incredibly epic. It is like being wrapped in a medieval fairy tale, being transported to an old London and then to a set for Merlin or The Green Knight.

The story follows Simran and Vina, who are incarnates, reincarnations of characters from tales, that are destined to re-enact and live their tale to provide life to Britain. Fated to fall in love and then doom each other, over and over, through lifetimes.

But neither of them is ready to simply follow their tale, and even less to doom each other when they realise that an assassin is targeting tales and their incarnates, and they may be next. And so they need to find a way to survive, and ponder if fate can be changed, if tales can be rewritten.

As always, the cast of characters is a whole thing here, and we find a rich world for them to exist in, starting with our main tale for this story, “The Knight and the Witch”, which is a tale of doomed love. But as you read through the chapters (divided between the points of view of Simran and Vina), each one has a snippet of some writing that is related to the tales, so you get more of the world building (and honestly, I think on a second read they would be even more significant).

Tasha deftly builds a Britain and London that is rich in history and yet also completely different, wrapped in tales and lore. And yet, as you read, as you come closer to the end, the currents of what motivates some people here and makes them think they’re British or “English”, also run a current through the story here, parallels and yet, hope lives eternal.

This was my commute book, and oh how I regretted that, because I did not want to stop reading. I dreamt of Vina and Simran, of their world, their tale, their story. I yearned for them, fought with them, dreamt with them. This is a tale that is very much alive and absolutely worth reading. Tasha gets better with each new book, each new story is a craft honed even further.

I cried at it, I hoped, and desperately wanted things to be, for their tale to make it, for life to have a chance. And in the end, I absolutely loved it. I was speechless; I had no more to say or do because this book was perfect.

So all I can ask, is that you give this exquisite tale a chance to wrap itself around you.

Book Review

Moon Reads: Ophelia After All

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Ophelia After All by Racquel Marie

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px Grey

Nothing is perfect, and as such, the reviews in this blog are chaotic. My main aim is to share my thoughts, joy and opinions on a book, not make a publication perfect review. This blog endorses authenticity, showing up and joy over perfection.

For the life of me I have no clue how I ended up with this book, but when I was doing my book clearing before the move I decided to get through this one because it didn’t feel too samey like others that had not made the cull.

Ophelia After All follows Ophelia who is known to be a little boy crazy and full of crushes, but also she has a good hand in growing roses, and a bit of a romantic heart.

So she is quite surprised when she is suddenly having the same kind of feelings she has for the many boys in her life, for a quiet and cute girl, Talia. This starts making her doubt herself and her own identity because everyone knows she’s boy-crazy. And as things start getting a bit out of control, including in her friends group partly due to her and to her friends figuring their own doubts out about things, she feels like life is spiralling out of control.

There were a few things I found quite refreshing about the book, which will put us into spoiler territory, so maybe skip this paragraph if it matters to you. One of them was that it isn’t all revolving around Ophelia, her group of friends has their own dramas and doubts and they in part fail her while she is full of doubts, but equally, she isn’t there for them either. And they all notice this slowly, specially as she shut them out while she was doubting herself. The other thing, which is the main spoiler here is that she does not end up with Talia. When she finally decides she wants to figure out things and invite Talia to prom, it turns out Talia wasn’t leading her on, but had a boyfriend and was simply glad to have a friendship with Ophelia. I like that her crush isn’t suddenly a happy ending all magical, but it shows that sometimes we get wrapped up on our own side of the feelings without considering what the other person may be thinking, and that they may not even be sending the “signals” we think are being sent, and are genuinely being friendly. Also, this was a girl to girl kind of oh no, not actually single thing, and Ophelia, well, she has to come to grips with that, and it was nice to see that here.

Overall, the book was fun to read, and it had a refreshing look at identity, figuring things out and romance, and I really enjoyed that.

Book Review

Moon Reads: You Are Here

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You Are Here by David Nicholls

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px Grey

Nothing is perfect, and as such, the reviews in this blog are chaotic. My main aim is to share my thoughts, joy and opinions on a book, not make a publication perfect review. This blog endorses authenticity, showing up and joy over perfection.

I bought this on a whim on a trip to Waterstones. I loved One Day (before there was a film and a series) and the way they kept meeting yearly, and how much could change year by year. And somehow when I read the synopsis for this, it made me want to read it.

We meet our two main characters, Michael and Marnie, who are both unravelling a little in their loneliness and I guess a middle life crisis for each. Marnie is a good copywriter and loves her job, doesn’t really want to see people, feels awkward but knows she is funny and well, she is the kind of person who enjoys cancelled plans. Michael is grieving a divorce and not properly over it, but also blaming himself and managing past PTSD after a traumatic event.

And a friend in common will suggest doing a long weekend of walks, starting part of the Coast to Coast walk, which apparently has a lot of history and a specific route. It is also meant to be setup as a bit of a blind date, but not particularly between Marnie and Michael, the mutual friend has other potential prospects for each. And yet somehow, things happen and they end up walking together.

If you don’t walk much, particularly in nature, then this will be less known for you. I used to love just setting off and walking for hours and then back, or go with walks with friends. Or walk from a village to the pub in the next village over, or walk between two villages (3+ miles) to go to the library, grab some books and come back. I walk a lot less nowadays as I use a walking stick, but I still love walks in nature (much less walks in cities, I am not too fond of walking on concrete). I digress, the point I was trying to get to, is that if you walk in company there is both these bits of silence that is very companionable and also the moments of talking to each other, either side to side but kinda talking forward, or one behind the other, and you somehow get very deep in what you talk, or very silly. It just happens that walks make you talk of deep feelings, deep thoughts, you may not get anywhere, but you share, you explore, not only with your feet but with your conversation.

And this book, it is a lot about that. It is also somewhat of a love story (in a David Nicholls style so don’t expect the perfect happy ending, but to me it had a good hopeful ending). But it is about encountering your own demosn, sharing them, maybe realisign you’re not so alone and others are dealing with similar problems or can relate to you. That we are both very very different and at the same time very much the same, we’re all human.

It was a very soothing read for me, the pace is set by them trying to make progress, by their talks as they walk, a bit about the actual walk and what places you go by in the Coast to Coast walk in the UK (I knew the end to end starting in Scotland and ending in Conrwall I think but not this one). And also about what they would explore when they got to their end destination, to the place where they either stopped for lunch or for the day. And the little interactions there, the spaces were you stop walking and have to figure out what living is like.

You Are Here was a nice read, with a conversational pace, a bit of melancholy, a lot of humanity, some humour and a bit of romance, and it was good. I enjoyed it a lot.