Promise Me by Jill Mansell
Reviewed by Gemma Tidmarsh
Searching for a good, easy read can sometimes feel like looking for a needle in a haystack. ‘Promise Me’ came out earlier this year and I am actually shocked that it hasn’t been picked up by BookTokers. It hooked me from the first chapter and reminded me so much of ‘All the Lonely People’ by Mike Gayles and ‘The Switch’ by Beth O’Leary. What we enjoy reading is subjective but this is such a charming, witty and heart warming story of a blossoming relationship of Lou and Edgar with a few other subplots mixed in.
Mansell has created something that I found hard to put down and enjoy losing myself in. One of the things I loved most about this book is the level of detail put in to creating the characters. They are all so normal! They’re down to earth and just happen to live in an idyllic part of England. The close knit community is welcoming and supportive of one another, even if they do happen to live in each other’s pockets at times. This in turn feels like a safe book for someone to read and somewhat relatable. Relatable because not may of the adults in the book have landed at their final destination or even have a decent job and I think that reflects nicely on what is ordinary for the majority of the population today.
The diverse characters blend together to create a wonderful chemistry and Mansell has done a fabulous job at making them work well and producing sweet romances that definitely charmed me. Every story needs a villain and this is no exception. Della and her children provide us with that and you find yourself getting angry with Edgar for being taken for a ride but integrity wins in the end which is a huge relief for us readers. We are certainly taken on a rollercoaster ride of emotions but Karma wins out in the end.
It was my first Mansell book and it definitely won’t my last.
Author’s Socials The author’s social details are here:
https://twitter.com/JillMansell
https://www.facebook.com/OfficialJillMansell/