Time for another book review! I seem to be back in the swing of things again now with reading, after a good few weeks break recently and I'm so pleased about it. I love getting stuck into a good book and With Or Without You by Carole Matthews was the latest one.
'When Jake tells Lyssa it's not working, she knows he's not talking about the toaster. Her immediate reaction is to sob into her pillow and wait for Jake to come to his senses. But slowly Lyssa begins to understand that's not an option. In a bid to escape, she embarks on a trekking holiday in Nepal. Lyssa needs to get away - it never occured to her that she might fall in love... When it's time to go home - back to reality and a very sheepish Jake - Lyssa is faced with the hardest choice of her life.'
'When Jake tells Lyssa it's not working, she knows he's not talking about the toaster. Her immediate reaction is to sob into her pillow and wait for Jake to come to his senses. But slowly Lyssa begins to understand that's not an option. In a bid to escape, she embarks on a trekking holiday in Nepal. Lyssa needs to get away - it never occured to her that she might fall in love... When it's time to go home - back to reality and a very sheepish Jake - Lyssa is faced with the hardest choice of her life.'
My review
I really enjoyed the first book I read from Carole Matthews, Million Love Songs. At the time I'd been reading thriller after thriller so I just needed something 'normal' and it was perfect. A love story that was full of heart and humour. Because I enjoyed that so much, when I spotted With Or Without You recently, I had to grab it. At the moment I'm leaning more towards romance style books rather than anything thriller or crime related so there might be quite a few soppy reviews coming up over the next few weeks!
Like with Million Love Songs, from the beginning I just knew I was going to like it. You know when you start a book and within the first few pages you're just like YES! Straight away I liked the main character Lyssa. I felt so much sympathy for her as the story unravels and we find out her and soon to be ex-boyfriend Jake had been struggling to conceive. I think Carole wrote these chapters perfectly as they felt so believable yet were sensitive too. I imagine a topic like that can be hard to get right as you never know who might read it that's been struggling in real life and think it hasn't been portrayed in the right way. As you know from the synopsis Jake does leave Lyssa so pretty much instantly I hated his character, but then when the two person narrative started and we heard his side of the situation too, that only intensified. I loved that we could hear from both of them though as I was definitely just expecting it to be from Lyssa's perspective and at no point did it feel confusing.
After Jake leaves, Lyssa goes on a journey of self discovery which takes her all the way to Nepal. I was so excited to see where the book would go from this point as through the first part where Lyssa is dealing with her breakup and heartbreak from their most recent failed IVF attempt, I almost felt like I was holding my breath. There was just all this tension and once she arrived in Nepal, it went away. Every emotion just felt so real! I loved the characters that were introduced at this point especially Dean, her new love interest, the chemistry between them was insane. Given that she's only away for a short space of time, there is definitely an element of mystery throughout too as you always know at some point she has to leave Dean and return home and where do they go from there? Will she end up back with Jake? Will Dean move on once she's gone? Will she return to Nepal? Luckily all of those questions are answered and I was so happy with the ending. I think Lyssa's journey came full circle and everything was rounded up beautifully.
With Or Without You was just a gorgeous read. Funny, full of love, but a good amount of drama thrown in too. It was as much about Lyssa finding herself aswell as finding love. I just can't wait to read more from Carole Matthews now.
Like with Million Love Songs, from the beginning I just knew I was going to like it. You know when you start a book and within the first few pages you're just like YES! Straight away I liked the main character Lyssa. I felt so much sympathy for her as the story unravels and we find out her and soon to be ex-boyfriend Jake had been struggling to conceive. I think Carole wrote these chapters perfectly as they felt so believable yet were sensitive too. I imagine a topic like that can be hard to get right as you never know who might read it that's been struggling in real life and think it hasn't been portrayed in the right way. As you know from the synopsis Jake does leave Lyssa so pretty much instantly I hated his character, but then when the two person narrative started and we heard his side of the situation too, that only intensified. I loved that we could hear from both of them though as I was definitely just expecting it to be from Lyssa's perspective and at no point did it feel confusing.
After Jake leaves, Lyssa goes on a journey of self discovery which takes her all the way to Nepal. I was so excited to see where the book would go from this point as through the first part where Lyssa is dealing with her breakup and heartbreak from their most recent failed IVF attempt, I almost felt like I was holding my breath. There was just all this tension and once she arrived in Nepal, it went away. Every emotion just felt so real! I loved the characters that were introduced at this point especially Dean, her new love interest, the chemistry between them was insane. Given that she's only away for a short space of time, there is definitely an element of mystery throughout too as you always know at some point she has to leave Dean and return home and where do they go from there? Will she end up back with Jake? Will Dean move on once she's gone? Will she return to Nepal? Luckily all of those questions are answered and I was so happy with the ending. I think Lyssa's journey came full circle and everything was rounded up beautifully.
With Or Without You was just a gorgeous read. Funny, full of love, but a good amount of drama thrown in too. It was as much about Lyssa finding herself aswell as finding love. I just can't wait to read more from Carole Matthews now.
Have you read any of Carole's books?
Book reviews - One Day In December by Josie Silver // Strictly Between Us by Jane Fallon // The Husbands Secret by Liane Moriarty
13 comments
This is so interesting. Each time I read a book where a guy leaves the girl I always hate him, so I'm not surprised you didn't like Jake :) Your review is great, I really feel like reading this book now - although have to finish the crime novel I'm reading right now. Thanks so much!
Dorota
www.journalofdorota.com
I'm glad all of your questions got answered! I'm not sure if this one is for me genre wise but it sounds like it has a lot going on to keep you entertained x
Sophie
www.glowsteady.co.uk
I don't feel like it's my genre, but I do think my daughter's would love this one x
My Mum and I have read a few Carole Matthews books in the past and always enjoyed them :) I like the sound of this one!
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Not my kind of book but I'm glad you've got back into reading x
This sounds exactly like the type of book I'd like to read right now.
I've never read this book lovely but it sounds so exciting, great review! I'm sending you all of my love! πΈπ
With love, Alisha Valerie x | www.alishavalerie.com
No problem Dorota! I hope you're enjoying the book you're reading at the moment xx
It really did keep me guessing! Love when you just don't know where a book will end xx
If she likes a romantic read, I really recommend this one :)
This is the second I've read from Carole and I've got a long list of more I want to get next! xx
I found it really cheap on Ebay Joy if you're thinking of getting it!
Thank you Alisha! x
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