Review: A Year and a Day

Posted 31st January 2018 by Emma in Reviews / 1 Comment

I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

A Year and a Day by Isabelle Broom
Also by this author: My Map Of You
Published by Penguin on 17th November 2016
Genres: Chicklit, Contemporary, Love & Romance
Pages: 408
Format: eARC, Paperback
Source: from Netgalley
Goodreads
Amazon Kindle, Audible
One Star

A heartwarming and heartbreaking story about love and life in one of Europe’s most romantic cities, Prague.
Welcome to a city where wishes are everywhere
For Megan, a winter escape to Prague with her friend Ollie is a chance to find some inspiration for her upcoming photography exhibition. But she’s determined to keep their friendship from becoming anything more. Because if Megan lets Ollie find out about her past, she risks losing everything – and she won’t let that happen again . . .
For Hope, the trip is a surprise treat from Charlie, her new partner. But she’s struggling to enjoy the beauty of the city when she knows how angry her daughter is back home. And that it’s all her fault . . .
For Sophie, the city has always been a magical place. This time she can’t stop counting down the moments until her boyfriend Robin joins her. But in historic Prague you can never escape the past . . .
Three different women.
Three intertwining love stories.
One unforgettable, timeless city.

Thank you to Penguin and Michael Joseph for my copies of this book. I loved Isabelle’s book My Map of You and I’ve been meaning to read this one for a while. I’m dying to go to Prague. It sounds like such a magical place and I kept stopping throughout this book to look up pictures of the place and would lose hours of my day without realising it. I had both a paperback copy and kindle copy of this book. I read the paperback during the day but switched to kindle for bedtime.

The story follows 3 women, Sophie, Megan and Hope.

Sophie is a young woman who seemed quite lost to me. She is in her favourite place in the world but I felt like something was wrong. At times I found her a little irritating but later on it became clear why she was acting the was she was. Her boyfriend Robin is due to meet her in Prague in a few days. This was the place they met and have returned many times. I enjoyed hearing their stories of their various visits. You can tell how much the two really care about each other.

Megan is sweet, passionate and blind. Not actually blind just blind to the love around her. It is clear from the beginning that Ollie is hopelessly in love with her and if she just let herself realise it she feels exactly the same. Megan’s past has made her slow to trust and fearful of a relationship. These two were my favourite couple.

Hope has recently left her husband for Charlie. The breaking up of the relationship didn’t go exactly as she would have liked. Now her daughter refuses to speak to her and Hope is left wondering who she is if she isn’t a mother or a wife. Hope has aspirations but she’s too scared to share them with new love Charlie. Charlie is fun and exciting and I thought he was just the sort of person Hope needed in her life.

A well as the 3 couples the other character in this book has to be mentioned and that is the city itself. After reading this book my desire to go to Prague has hit an all time high. I can’t wait to go and see Charles Bridge, the Astronomy Clock, the Castle, the cathedral. Everything just sounded so beautiful and magical.

I loved the last chapter of this book and thought it was a very fitting ending to the book. I cannot wait to read more of Isabelle’s books.

About Isabelle Broom

Isabelle Broom was born in Cambridge nine days before the 1980s began and studied Media Arts at the University of West London before starting a career first in local newspapers and then as a sub editor at heat magazine. Nowadays, when she’s not writing novels set in far-flung locations, Isabelle spends her time being the Book Reviews Editor at heat and walking her beloved dog Max round the parks of north London. Her novels My Map Of You, A Year And A Day and Then. Now. Always. (Penguin Michael Joseph) are out now, and her fourth book, The Place We Met, will arrive later this year.

If you like pictures of dogs, chatter about books and very bad jokes, you can follow her on Twitter @Isabelle_Broom or find her on Facebook under Isabelle Broom Author.

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