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.
Together by Julie Cohen Published by Orion on 13th July 2017
Genres: Contemporary, Love & Romance, Women's Literary Fiction
Pages: 353
Format: eARC
Source: from Netgalley
Goodreads
Amazon Kindle, Audible
This is not a great love story.
This is a story about great love.On a morning that seems just like any other, Robbie wakes in his bed, his wife Emily asleep beside him, as always. He rises and dresses, makes his coffee, feeds his dogs, just as he usually does. But then he leaves Emily a letter and does something that will break her heart. As the years go back all the way to 1962, Robbie’s actions become clearer as we discover the story of a couple with a terrible secret – one they will do absolutely anything to protect.
Perfect for fans of Jojo Moyes’s Me Before You, David Nicholls’s One Day and M L Stedman’s The Light Between Oceans.
Thank you to Orion for my copy of this book via Netgalley. I first heard about this book in May from my friends Lara and Sam at Hillingdon Library. We were at a book launch in London and we were chatting about our recent reads and this came highly recommended from both but it also had a warning of controversy.
This book is about the love of Robert and Emily. The story is told backwards. We start in the present day and work our way back to when they met. I think that this was very clever. It made you fall in love with the characters before you find out their secret.
Once I found out the secret I was torn. In fact, months later I am still torn and I think I will always be torn which is the beauty of this book. It will leave an imprint on you. It is one of those epic stories that once read will never leave you.
I have to thank Sam and Lara for making me read this book because even though my feelings are mixed I do not regret reading this book one bit. It affected me more than I thought and I have thought about it many times since I read it in the Summer. I delayed writing my review to see if I could come to a decision on how I feel but I’ve realised that isn’t going to happen.
So while I would recommend reading this book I will give you the same warning that I was given, when you find out the secret it will affect you. It will make you question everything and most probably leave you feeling torn just as I am.
About Julie Cohen
Julie Cohen grew up in the western mountains of Maine. Her house was just up the hill from the library and she spent many hours walking back and forth, her nose in a book. She studied English Literature at Brown University and Cambridge University and is a popular speaker and teacher of creative writing, including classes for The Guardian and Literature Wales. Her books have been translated into fifteen languages and have sold nearly a million copies; DEAR THING was a Richard and Judy Book Club pick. Julie lives in Berkshire with her husband, son and a terrier of dubious origin.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- Goodreads Challenge (2017)
- Netgalley Challenge (2017)
@orionbooks @laraamandamarsh @SamiG76 I love this thoughtful review. Thank you!