You could not in all honesty call this ‘chic lit’. I am sure it will be featured as a ‘romance’ and written for women, but it is better than the ‘chick lit’ phrase suggests.

Celine travelled to Vietnam 15 years ago where she encountered Patrick who she terms ‘the love of her life’. Over four days, they meet, enter into a love affair and she is smitten forever. She learns that he is married but although he wants to be with her he cannot abandon his wife in Hong Kong. After all she followed him there to enable him to further his career as a photo journalist and it would ‘not be right’ to leave her in those circumstances – but he would work something out. So Celine watches him leave, her heart broken. (So far sounds pretty chick-let, doesn’t it.

Moving on, Celine is now married and she has a daughter. She admits to her sister that she is not ‘in love’ with Mike as she can only recognise Patrick as her one true love. Then on a visit to London she catches sight of Patrick and chases after him. Poor Mike. So eventually she and Mike divorce to the dismay of their daughter. The divorce is amicable and they both work hard to keep it that way. In the meantime she focuses on her introduction business ‘The Love Market’ named after the market where she met Patrick in Vietnam.

I found the whole matchmaking business fascinating as it allowed the author to introduce some interesting, funny characters and situations whilst the irony was not lost on me that she could not order her own love life. We are presented with an examination of what true love is – romantic love or lust or the love measured in kindness, respect and time. What is interesting is that there are no real badies in this, just measured acknowledgement and understanding.

Thank you Ms Mason for a really, really good piece of women’s fiction.

Thank you to the author, publishers and NetGalley for providing an ARC via my Kindle in return for an honest review.

This was my first book of Mason's and whoa, I've got some reading to do. Mason gifted us with an absolutely stunning, first person narrative about heart-break. The story centers around Celine, married to Mike, and how their marriage is broken when they both come to realize that she has not forgotten, cannot forget or get over her first love, Patrick. A compelling, beautiful read.

This stunning first-person narrative is a heart-breaking yet uplifting story of Celine whose otherwise happy marriage to Mike is torn apart when they both realise she is unable to forget her first love, Patrick. Mike is a good man and Celine loves him; but she’s not in love with him.

When a mysterious matchmaker reunites Celine with Patrick, she’s given a second chance but should Celine let her heart rule her head and choose a relationship full of passion with Patrick; or should she be content with life as a family unit with Mike and their daughter, Aimee?

There are some real tear-jerker moments where we see how the repercussion of family breakdown has affected Aimee, and it is these moments of heightened emotion that really showcase the skill of this author’s literary expertise.

The Last Time We Met is a revised and updated re-release of The Love Market which wasn’t available as a printed edition in the UK when published in 2010. I can’t tell you how super-excited I am that not only will this fabulous book be available in print, it has also been re-vamped with a contemporary new title along with a gorgeous new book jacket.

But its new title and cover aren’t the only changes. Contemporary language and contextual updates bring a fresh new vibe to the narrative: selfies and Netflix were barely heard of when The Love Market was first published, and poor old Brad Pitt has been dumped as the named heartthrob in favour of Ryan Gosling! Narrative tweaks give extra depth to the novel: Carol Mason is one of those authors who just gets better and better with each book, and The Last Time We Met is evidence of how the author has grown and developed as a writer since initial publication. Structural changes have also been made: introducing Celine and Patrick’s time together in the past, before we see Celine in her present everyday life (as in The Love Market) gives Patrick’s character more of a voice. This helps the reader to identify more with Patrick and alters the dynamics of the novel, making the novel’s conclusion even more satisfying.

The Last Time We Met is a beautifully written, thought provoking, and emotive story. I would recommend this book for anybody who likes JoJo Moyes or Dinah Jefferies.

Under Literature Love’s rating scheme this book has been awarded 5 out of 5 stars.

When she is 21 and traveling the world, Celine meets Patrick. After four bliss-filled days together, the lovers part. Fast forward fifteen years and Celine spots Patrick on a busy London street while she's celebrating her anniversary with her husband Mike. And that's where the story goes powerful, riveting, and glorious wonderful. The author manages to convey the tumult, the doubt and the desires, the "what if's" that haunt so many long-marrieds contemplating who they might have been, what they might have experienced with their first true love. Each character was so well-developed and sympathetically presented that I felt totally at ease handing the control of the story to the writer, to Celine, to find her own way, without my having to intervene for a happy ending. Even the secondary and tertiary characters including a nameless waiter are vivid, realistic, immediately relatable. This was a book that kept me up late racing to the end, because I had no idea what was going to happen next -- and what's more, I had no stake in anything other than Celine finding her own way.

I received this book "The Last Time We Met" from NetGalley and all opinions expressed are my own.
I loved the idea of this story - well the description of the book about first loves. Celine and Patrick were quite annoying though. She sleeps with a stranger, only knows him 4 days and she is in love. You really don't know someone in four days. So you pick up where you left off 15 years later and give up your marriage for some fantasy. Then she seemed to regret it and then she didn't. The story was all over the place.

You are sitting in traffic. Your mind wanders from your to-do list to the what-ifs in your life. What would your life be like if your first (blinding) love had worked out? Suppose you had a second chance?? Carol Mason explores those questions, contrasting one woman's memories and reunion with her first love, fifteen years later while juggling the demands of family, work, and friends.

Mason writes in first person and often, present tense so that the reader is experiencing life from the main character's point of view. Her dialogue is spot on, and frequently, reminded me of my own conversations. The plot moves at a fairly fast pace. While it seems like light romance, this is by no means fluff. Mason slides in enough insight about life and love so that you will feel satisfied with the time spent!

#thelasttimewemet #netgalley

I absolutely loved this book. A beautiful story of one’s first love and whether you can rekindle the flame years later.

Highly recommend to those who love a romantic love story.

I struggled with this book at the start and I didn't like Celine or Patrick, in fact it was the other characters that made the story bearable for me and it's nothing to do with the author, its not my usual type of book and it's more to do with me. I just found the ending was predictable. I would like to thank the publishers and netgalley for letting me have the arc to review and the opinions expressed are entirely my own and are unbiased.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. I am not sure what to write about this book as my review as whilst I did enjoy it I didn't

“Last Time We Met” by Carol Mason asks the question of whether it is possible for a person to get over his/her first love.

Celine met Patrick while visiting Vietnam. The couple spent four eventful days together before separating. Several years later and married and with a daughter, Celine runs into Patrick on a London street. The book jumps ahead where Celine is now divorced amicably from Mike and pining for Patrick. In a twist, Celine works as a matchmaker and is tasked with possibly finding a new mate for her former husband.

This is the first book I have read by Carol Mason and though I found the characters believable, I did not find Celine especially likable, though I really liked the character of Mike and could not help but root for him to end up with the person he deserved (even if that person ended up being Celine). Carol Mason did manage to avoid predictability so the reader is not sure whom Celine will end up with until the novel’s end.

This book was previously published as “The Love Market” and will be republished by Lake Union Publishers on October 16, 2018. I'd like to thank NetGalley for providing me an advanced copy for my unbiased review.

If nothing else, this book will move you to tears. A compelling read, heartfelt and a woman's journey through life, discovering herself and her love. Thanks Netgalley for the eARC.

Celine is married to Mike and they have a daughter. Mike is madly, deeply in love with Celine, but, does she feel the same way, or is she still in love with a man she met several years ago (for 4 blissfully happy days) A chance meeting, a mystery person sending a text. Will Mike and Celine stay together or will this mystery lover come back into her life? Celine has set up a matchmaking company called "The Love Market" this is where she first met Patrick the first (and only) man she ever truly loved.

I loved this story, beautifully written. I felt for Mike and Celine and absolutely loved the ending (which I will not spoil) Go and read this if you love love

Loved this book. It was hard to put down. Everyone has a "what if" and the "one who got away." It was delightful to see what happens when a connection is reestablished. Loved the characters and the story as a whole.

I received this ARC from the publisher and netgalley for my honest review.

I'm not sure I was 100% in love with Celine, the main character of this novel who's romantic eye seemed to teeter back and forth throughout the book. It was a fun, light, romantic novel that would be great for an easy day of reading.

A pleasant read,but I cant say that I was impressed, by the characters.The main character,seemed a bit weak,dreaming about her first love for so many years seemed a bit unrelistic.

When Celine spots a face in the crowd during a trip to London, it is the beginning of the end for her marriage. Celine has been married to Mike for ten years but she has never forgotten her first love, Patrick, who she met in Vietnam when she was 21.

When Celine meets Patrick again she has to decide whether a love from long ago is something she wants in her life at the present time.

A good book which was easy and entertaining to read..