Love Rosie by Cecelia Ahern

From naughty children to rebellious teenagers, Rosie and Alex have stuck by each other through thick and thin. But just as they're discovering the joys of teenage nights on the town and dating disasters, they're separated. Alex's family moves from Dublin to America - and Alex goes with them. For good. Rosie's lost without her best friend. But on the eve of her departure to join Alex in Boston, Rosie gets news that will change her life forever - and keep her at home in Ireland. But destiny, Alex and Rosie discover, is a funny thing and fate isn't quite done with them yet…

Love Rosie is by far my favourite book by Cecelia Ahern. At the start of this book I actually wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to carry on reading because it has a structure that I have never read before where the whole book is told from letters, emails, cards and texts between the different characters and this did take a good three or four chapters before I settled into the layout of the book. 

The main characters are best friends Alex and Rosie and the book is told from their early years at the age of seven right through until their fifties. We get to see their friendship through the years as the characters reach different points in their lives including romance, family life and careers.

I was surprised how well I connected with the characters through this style of writing. Alex and Rosie have such a special bond and although as they get older you really want bash their heads together and make them get together it is easy to see why they are both hesitant to put their feelings on the line and risk losing a special friendship.

I loved the messages from Katie and Ruby too this broke things up a little bit rather than it all being about Alex and Rosie and they brought some humour to the book too. This was a nice easy and light read there wasn’t any dull points to the book and although I was pretty sure I knew what the outcome would be I enjoyed reading about the will they won’t they journey.

I enjoyed the book so much I would love to see the film now although I can’t imagine how they have managed to turn this into a film so I am intrigued to see how they managed it!

For a fun, light and unique style read full of friendships, romance and day to day struggles in life then this will be right up your street.

Kindle                     Paperback

The Year I Met You by Cecelia Ahern

Jasmine loves two things: her sister and her work. And when her work is taken away she has no idea who she is. Matt loves two things: his family and the booze. Without them, he hits rock bottom. One New Year’s Eve, two people’s paths collide. Both have time on their hands; both are at a crossroads. But as the year unfolds, through moonlit nights and suburban days, an unlikely friendship slowly starts to blossom. Sometimes you have to stop still in order to move on…


I have just finished reading The Year I Met You by Cecelia Ahern and it was not what I was expecting at all. I thought is was going to be a full on romance novel but I couldn't have been more wrong. There was a touch of romance to this book but it was only a small part of this great book. I actually found this book really entertaining and I did find myself chuckling away at both Jasmine and Matt's antics especially the one involving the toilet roll, I think I found it so funny because it is something that I would actually love to do! 

The book is told from Jasmine's point of view and I had to wonder at first if she was depressed and bordering on being a stalker from her thoughts but my opinion of her soon changed and I really liked her character. Her caring and protective side towards her sister really shone through in this book. Matt was a very unpredictable character and he was my favourite in this book you just never knew what on earth he was going to get up to next!

I read this book in one sitting, it was such an easy read and quite a basic storyline really but yet it had me hooked! The book does feature gardening and seasons with Jasmine taking the term garden leave to a new extreme but it was great to watch her progress. I love how unpredictable the whole book was, I had my suspicions as to what was going to happen romantically and I was way off target, I do love it when an author can pull the wool over my eyes. Although the book was entertaining it did cover more serious and realistic things too but all in all it was an enjoyable read that had me tickled.

Kindle                     Hardback

One Hundred Names by Cecelia Ahern

I have always found Cecelia Ahern books get a very wide range of reviews personally I have loved them all so far because I think each of her books bring you something completely different you are never quite sure what to expect, so I was looking forward to One Hundred Names and yet again I could not have predicted anything that would happen in this book!

Journalist Kitty Logan’s career has been destroyed by scandal, and she now faces losing the woman who guided her and taught her everything she knew. At her mentor’s bedside, Kitty asks her – what is the one story she always wanted to write? The answer lies in a file buried in Constance’s office: a list of one hundred names.

There is no synopsis, no explanation, nothing else to explain what the story is or who these people are. The list is simply a mystery. But before Kitty can talk to her friend, it is too late. With everything to prove, Kitty is assigned the most important task of her life – to write the story her mentor never had the opportunity to. Kitty has to not only track down and meet the people on the list, but find out what connects them. And, in the process of hearing ordinary people’s stories, she uncovers Constance’s – and starts to understand her own… 

I don’t think I have read a book that I have so many thoughts about the book all of which chop and change throughout the book making this a book I am confused by!

When I first started reading this book the storyline started to interest me and sounded exactly like my kind of thing my problem was I found it rather difficult to warm to the main character Kitty. Kitty has made a terrible mistake that has practically ruined a man’s life and I know we all make mistakes and sometimes we learn to forgive and forget I couldn't see this happening with Kitty as to me she seemed very self-centred worrying about how she is going to live with what her actions have cause for herself rather than for this poor guy, having to come home to various messages and “gifts” been thrown or written on her door. So I was a little worried that I wouldn't be able to read on because of her character but as the book progressed her character turned full circle and I actually really warmed to her and saw a more vulnerable side to her and I began to warm to her. It was at this point where everything felt as though it was coming together.

The book also covers the story of a select few names off of the list of One Hundred Names and it was great to meet a group of different and yet down to earth characters. The only reason I am knocking one star off for this book is that I constantly felt as though the storyline was building up to something but in fact it became a little slow and my attention did start to waver in the middle part of this book but luckily it did pick back up again towards the end.

I love the cover of this book it looks very delicate and a little festive which is ideal for this time of year and I think it is one of Cecelia's best covers.

This is well worth picking up although not one of my favourite books by this author it is still one I am glad I read as it does deliver many messages that everyone has a story to tell, and that we all make mistakes but we still have a life to lead just try and turn a negative into a positive.

Hardback                 Kindle

The Time Of My Life by Cecelia Ahern

I love books by Cecelia Ahern, although I always love them I never quite know what to expect next with her books! I have just finished reading The Time Of My Life which is due out 13th October this year. I have to say the cover to this book is stunning and in my opinion is the best cover of all the Cecelia Ahern books.


Plot
Lucy Silchester has received an appointment card. Actually, she’s been invited along few times to this appointment, but she keeps brushing the gold embossed envelope under the shag pile carpet. She’s taken her eye off the ball and has busied herself with work (a job she doesn’t love), helping out friends, fixing her car, feeding her cat, seeing her family and devoting her time to their life dramas.
But Lucy is about to find out that this is one appointment that she can’t miss. And she can’t escape it either. Her life is about to catch up with her in the most extraordinary of ways....

My Opinion
Our heroine in this book is Lucy Silchester and she is a likeable character who is very down to earth which makes her character easy to read. Lucy’s character is very realistic whereas the storyline is very farfetched but in my opinion it is this great mix which brings the humour into the book. The book gets off to a quick start with Lucy receiving her appointment card from Life which she ignores but she is soon to learn that Life just doesn’t give up on you!

Lucy finally meets Life who is a man and although I can honestly say I have never read a character like Life before he is a joy to read. I was expecting Life to be very God or angle like so when we meet a bog standard grumpy guy I was a little shocked!

There were many laugh out loud moments in this novel which made it an enjoyable read and very hard to put down.

I feel like the storyline carries a message and really gets you thinking, are you making the most of your life and doing things you enjoy? Too many of us, like Lucy have got ourselves wrapped up in life and stuck in a rut and we need to unwind ourselves and make positive changes in life as unfortunately I don’t think Life will be sending any of us an appointment card anytime soon!

This book is a must for Cecelia Ahern fans, and does not disappoint. The novel has a great mix of characters who work well together in this book. The novel will give you a very unique storyline which will have you gripped and guessing as to what will happen next all the way through. I loved that the ending wasn’t predictable and also that the ending was tied up beautifully. A truly quirky read !

The Book Of Tomorrow by Cecelia Ahern

Before reading The Book Of Tomorrow I had only read one book by Cecelia Ahern which was The Gift. I did enjoy The Gift but it didn't make enough impression on me to put Cecelia Ahern at the top of my favourite authors list and so I did not rush out to find any of her other books. When searching for a book I always try my Library's returns section and this is where I found The Book Of Tomorrow. From the cover it looked to me to be a bit of a mystical book, and when reading the back for further information on the book it tells you very little but the little bit of information it does give is another to make you curious as it mentions a strange padlocked book. I thought I would give it a try as it sounded like my kind of book and it wasn't until I got home and started to read that I noticed from the inside of the cover that it was by an author I had already read.

**PLOT**
I am not going to give too much away when it comes to telling you the plot as this is why I loved this book as it felt like you were walking down a dark tunnel and not knowing what was going to come next.
Our main character is 16 year old Tamara Goodwin who has always had everything she could dream of and more due to her father's wealth. She lived in a glamorous home in the city, had many friends who she spent time with down on the beach and had many holidays throughout the year.
Tamara's life gets turned upside down when she walks in to find her Father dead on the floor after committing suicide. It later comes to light that her dad was in financial trouble which he couldn't get them out of and decided to take his life due to the pressure. Problem was this meant that both Tamara and her mum have nothing to their name so they have no choice but to go and stay with Uncle Arthur and Rosaleen in the middle of know where.
The story then comes to light due to the find of a locked book which has mysterious quality to it. Tamara's mum doesn't talk and sleeps nearly all day. Tamara feels Rosaleen has something to hide will Tamara get to the bottom of all the mystery.

**My Opinion**
I really enjoyed this book, and I find that all the books that I have read I cannot compare this book to any other that I have read. Personally I find that this book was in a completely different league to The Gift.
The main character Tamara took a little while to warm to as at the start of the book she is a typical selfish, spoilt teenager and I found myself gritting my teeth reading the first few chapters as I found her quite unbearable. Once she had moved to her uncle her character started to grow and you saw a change in her although she was still immature in some places which is only right for a teenager you actually started to enjoy her character.
As I mentioned earlier you have no idea what is going to happen next there is no inclination at all which I thoroughly enjoyed in this book. It was mystical but not magical and silly it was just enough to make the book still believable.
I found that the first few chapters slowly build you upto the pace of the book but then all the way through you are gripped there didn't seem to be any low parts in the book which you could skim over without missing anything. I also like the fact that the ending was tied up nicely without it feeling rushed.
I would highly recommend this book if you like a kind of mystical element to your books. I wouldn't say that this book was a light read as there is alot going on in the storyline which meant that you couldn't leave the book half way through a chapter.


This book gets a full 5 stars from me as there is nothing negative I can say about it and the way the book was wrote so you had no clue what would happen next was what made this book for me.