Book Review: Still Me by Jojo Moyes

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STILL ME
Me Before You #3
Author: Jojo Moyes
Reading Level: New Adult
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Released: January 30, 2018
Review Source: Pamela Dorman Books

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Jojo Moyes, a new book featuring her iconic heroine of Me Before You and After You, Louisa Clark

Louisa Clark arrives in New York ready to start a new life, confident that she can embrace this new adventure and keep her relationship with Ambulance Sam alive across several thousand miles. She steps into the world of the superrich, working for Leonard Gopnik and his much younger second wife, Agnes. Lou is determined to get the most out of the experience and throws herself into her new job and New York life.

As she begins to mix in New York high society, Lou meets Joshua Ryan, a man who brings with him a whisper of her past. Before long, Lou finds herself torn between Fifth Avenue where she works and the treasure-filled vintage clothing store where she actually feels at home. And when matters come to a head, she has to ask herself: Who is Louisa Clark? And how do you reconcile a heart that lives in two places?

Funny, romantic, and poignant, Still Me follows Lou as she navigates how to stay true to herself, while pushing to live boldly in her brave new world.

When I read the first book in this series, I fell in love with the characters. I have never had a book make me ugly cry the way “Me Before You” did. It seriously left a mark on my heart. Then I found out that there was two more books in the series and I’m on cloud nine. I was so incredibly happy to hear that I could spend more time with one of my all time favorite heroines and that I’d get to learn more about her life after such heart break. I was not disappointed in the slightest.

To be honest I wanted more from book two and I feel like Jojo Moyes gave me that and then some with “Still Me”. This book takes off right where book two ended. Lou took a hugeee step out of her comfort zone and traveled to New York for a job opportunity and to make a life. She has a whole slew of new experiences and trials to get through. I’m just so obsessed with Lou’s personality. I relate to her on so many levels.

I like that this book tied together new people/relationships, with old loved characters. I laughed, cried, and smiled throughout this book.

I’m rating this book with 4.5 stars because it was an amazing book. It didn’t impact me quite as much as book one but gave me what I was missing in book two. All in all, it was a great book. Jojo Moyes writes such amazing stories. Go one click!

Book Review: The Girl You Left Behind by Jojo Moyes + Giveaway

The Girl You Left Behind
Author: Jojo Moyes
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Historical Romance
Released: August 20th 2013
Review Source: Pamela Dorman Books

In the small French town of St. Péronne, Sophie Lefèvre is struggling under the German occupation. It is 1916, and with her husband (and most other men) fighting at the front, she is barely keeping the family restaurant—Le Coq Rouge—afloat under the strict and unforgiving rationing. To combat the pain of a starving belly and despite the fact that it draws unwanted attention to her family, Sophie defiantly keeps the portrait her artist husband painted of her up on the wall. Seeing it transports her back to their lives in Paris—full of good food and joie de vivre. When the painting catches the eye of the new Kommandant, Sophie becomes the object of his obsession. As he spends more time at Le Coq Rouge, Sophie is drawn into a dangerous bargain with the German officer as she tries to protect those she loves the most.

Almost a century later, Liv Halston is living under the shadow of her young husband’s sudden death and a growing debt. She lives in the gorgeous flat he designed for them, but her lack of a steady job means she can no longer afford to keep the show place that should have been her home forever. Her prized possession, given to her by her husband as a wedding present, is the same portrait that hung on Sophie’s wall in 1916. Enter Paul McCafferty; when Liv meets him during a chance encounter, she starts to feel like life may have something in store for her yet. But Paul’s work lies in the restitution of art lost and the spoils of war. In a cruel twist, his next case: the portrait of Sophie that Liv loves most in all the world. For Liv, her belief in what is right will be put to the ultimate test.

I was excited to read and review this book by Jojo Moyes as I was a huge fan of her previous book Me Before You. That story is still so powerfully moving for me that I must say, I started reading this book with a little trepidation for the emotional trip I knew Moyes could take me through. I'm emotionally sound and happy to say that I completed the book unscathed and totally fascinated. The story starts with a descriptive trip back to the early 1900's in the First World War and a love affair unlike many have seen between Sophie and Edouard Lefèvre. Their story is enduring and relevant almost 100 years later.

Still trying to hold on to everything David is coming at a steep price for 32-year-old Liv Halston. A widow of 4 years, Liv has avoided any attempts to find happiness again. She is unprepared when a chance encounter with the chivalrous American ex-cop, Paul McCafferty awakens her desires for male companionship once more. Paul is a divorcee with kind eyes and attentive ways that makes Liv feel like taking a chance on a relationship once more. She is blindsided when Paul turns out to be more than just the man she is falling for. He is also the director of Trace and Return Partnership (aka TARP) and has been hired to make restitution of the painting The Girl You Left Behind. That painting, which was bought for Liv on her honeymoon by David, has hung in her bedroom for years. She is deeply connected to the painting and not relinquishing ownership without a fight. Is this Lefèvre painting really stolen artwork from World War I? Liv sets out to prove her rightful ownership of the notable painting at the same time finding the story behind the painting just may save her too.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel. It was a splendid mix of historical romance meets modern day romance with a European setting. I appreciate unpredictable clever stories with a well-concluded ending. Moyes is quickly turning out to be one of my new favorite authors.

Read Wendy's review of Me Before You

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In celebration of The Girl You Left Behind Release Day today. We are giving away a copy of The Girl You Left Behind and Jojo Moyes New York Times best-selling book Me Before You. Please read the terms and conditions in the rafflecopter box before entering. Good Luck!

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Book Review: Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

Me Before You
Author: Jojo Moyes
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Women's Fiction/Chick Lit
Released: December 31st 2012 (reprint)
Review Source: Penguin Group
Available: Amazon

Summary: (from goodreads) Lou Clark knows lots of things. She knows how many footsteps there are between the bus stop and home. She knows she likes working in The Buttered Bun tea shop and she knows she might not love her boyfriend Patrick.

What Lou doesn't know is she's about to lose her job or that knowing what's coming is what keeps her sane.

Will Traynor knows his motorcycle accident took away his desire to live. He knows everything feels very small and rather joyless now and he knows exactly how he's going to put a stop to that.

What Will doesn't know is that Lou is about to burst into his world in a riot of colour. And neither of them knows they're going to change the other for all time.

At 26 years old, Louisa Clark is a friendly, sensible, ordinary girl with a flair for unconventional fashion and a desire for something more. She is still living at home, plodding through a dull relationship when she unexpectedly finds herself unemployed. With few skills, fewer job opportunities and her family's desperate need for her financial contribution, Lou reluctantly interviews for a position as a well paid day time care giver for a quadriplegic man.

Will Traynor is a wealthy 35 year old man on top of the world until a freak accident leaves him with severe spinal injury. This once independent, active man is now humiliated and embittered to be dependent on others for his most basic of needs. Will struggles with continuing to just exist when he can no longer participate in life the way he so desires. He has decided a plan for himself but what he doesn't anticipate is the girl hired to keep him company giving him a reason to love. Lou bursts into Will's life and forever leaves everyone involved changed.

I LOVED this page turner of a story. It completely caught me off guard. There were moments I laughed out loud and times where I wept relentlessly. Me Before You has an entertainingly dysfunctional ensemble cast that reminds us love can be difficult and complex, but we are always better because of it. This story made me remember the old saying, "Never judge a man until you've walked a mile in his shoes". It is a wise story of love that captured heart and left me feeling powerfully moved.

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