Lolly Winston writes about characters that are at once relatable and engaging. The only bad thing about reaching the end of her stories is having to wait for the next.

Ugh this Lolly Winston book made me so sad. Not because of the storyline but because of how much I didn't enjoy it! I loved Good Grief and Happiness Sold Separately but Me for You just wasn't up to par with her other books. I honestly felt like there wasn't much of a plot at all. And where with her other books you really got to know the characters and their grief I didn't get much of that feeling at all from Rudy or even Sasha. I also felt like Sasha's husband Gabor went away way too easily when he finally showed up and was confronted by Rudy and the divorce papers.

I remember liking Lolly Winston's other novels, so I was happy to receive a free copy of this one from NetGalley. I didn't love it. What starts out as a widower's tale of recovering from the loss of his beloved wife and finding love with a friend from work became a weird look into psychiatric forms of recovery, with a weird twist of a possible crime, woven with the story of an unlikable daughter dealing with marital troubles. Huh? Yeah. My biggest peeve with the book is that Rudy is only 54 but he acts like he's 74 or 84. I'm all for nerds and for a man mourning the loss of his wife, but Rudy doesn't relate to any 54 year old that I know. I kept looking at the "% left in book" in the corner of my kindle, just waiting for it to end. I feel like I skimmed a lot of the last 25% of the book. Just a little too saccharine for me, I guess.

Me for You was delightful! Lily Winston does a wonderful job developing the characters in this easy read. The topics were not light and cheerful, but the developing storyline was refreshing and hopeful. The two main characters in Me for You are a testament that hope and healing are possible and rewarding. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to more from Winston.

Me For You by Lolly Winston

Brief Summary: Rudy wakes up one morning to find his beloved wife dead; his grief complicated by guilt that he couldn’t help her. This is his story of grief, making sense of loss, and trying to move on to put his life back together.

Highlights: This is typical subject matter for Lolly Winston and I loved how she addressed grief with humor and charm in her previous book. Me For You does contain some of that heartwarming humor but it is not on the level of her previous books. She won me over with Rudy’s stay in the psych ward and her normalization of psychiatric patients and treatment. There is a huge stigma in our society of those with severe mental health issues and many people avoid treatment they sorely need for fear of being labled “crazy.” I also loved how Sasha and Rudy bonded over their grief.

What makes this book unique?: I have read many books on grief. I don’t recall a character that struggles to the degree Rudy does nor another who goes to the psychiatric ward. We need more characters like him.

Explanation of Rating: 4/5 The normalization of the psychiatric patients upped my rating from a 3. There are definitely times this novel dragged.

Psychology Factors: Coping with complicated grief, inpatient treatment for severe grief and depression

I think that anyone who has lost a loved one, especially a spouse or significant other earlier than expected, will relate to this book.

Thank you to Net Galley and Touchstone Gallery Books for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review

I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased opinion.

After Rudy is downsized from his job in finance, he takes a part time job playing piano at Nordstrom until his wife is ready to retire, and they can enjoy retirement together. However, Bethany dies in her sleep one night, and now Rudy is struggling to keep it together and figure out what to do with his life now that it can’t be what he wanted and expected. The one bright spot in his life is his friendship with Sasha, who works in the watches section at Nordstrom. Sasha has her own complicated past, though. Can they find a future together without their pasts bringing them down?

Anyone who has lost a loved one will recognize the grief Rudy faces in this book. However, beyond that, I never felt close to the story or the characters. The detective who appears about halfway through the book to tell Rudy that his wife may have been murdered (not a spoiler, as this is mentioned in the blurb) really didn’t seem to fit with the rest of the story. It almost felt like it had been tacked into the story after the fact. Overall, it wasn’t a bad book, but it isn’t a story that will stay with me or leave me thinking about it weeks and months after finishing the book.

Lolly Winston has long been a favorite author of mine and I was excited to see a new book out from her! Me for You is a lovely story with characters you will want to become friends with (my favorite kind of read).

I had difficulty getting into this book. I kept plugging along and the book did eventually grab my attention. I won't say this book was my favorite, but it was a decent read.


I received an advance copy from the Publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my open and honest read.

Me for You by Lolly Winston is a story of loss, grief, and finding love again. I have previously read Good Grief by the author and loved that book. I have loaned my copy multiple times and have had to rebuy it when it was not returned. Therefore, I was so excited to read this book, Me for You, but sadly, this one missed the mark for me. The description mentioned humor, but there was very little humor to be found in this book. I did find Rudy and Sasha to be sweet characters, I liked them and was rooting for them all along, but the story just seemed to plod along at such a slow pace. This one book also took on so many depressing topics - the death of a spouse, death of a child, an abusive cheating relationship, and more. Overall, there were some really nice things in reading the book, but I was not expecting it to make me feel down.

Not as good as her others but still glad I read it. There was something missing from the plot for me. I did find the characters and the situations real.

I really had to dig deep to keep reading this book. The story is about a man who finds himself suddenly a widower. Going in I knew this was depressing reading matter, but the story just dragged for me. I did think it showed a very realistic portrayal of a man's grief and I was relieved that the story became more uplifting as it ended.

A very unnecessary potential murder mystery is thrown in in about a third of the way into the story. Just served to dilute the main storyline in my opinion. Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC to review

This is a book of triumph and tragic loss. Sweet Rudy doesn't know where to go after such a tragic loss. Anyone who has lost someone close to them can definitely relate to seeing Rudy just float through life and not fully deal with his loss and mourn what he has gone through. When a detective shows up and re-opens these wounds that never fully healed, poor Rudy's life is turned upside down. The people that are there for him surely surprise him. The turmoil of his daughters life breaks his heart. But, in the end, Rudy is triumphant in his return to normalcy.

** I received an ARC from NetGalley and the Publisher in exchange for an honest review.**

I need to read this one in its entirety when it is released. It was missing a few points and I got lost a couple of times when it would end on one section and then jump into the next. However, from what I did read and understand it was an emotional roller coaster. There is a lot of loss, love, and grief that line the pages of this novel. I love the premise of the book. I also love the way it is being told. It was the blank spaces that took me a little off-guard. I'll be rereading this one now that's it is published and updating my review.

Rudy is 54 years old. He wakes up one morning only to find his wife has passed away in the night. How does life go on from here? Rudy struggles with depression, also brought on because he has lost his job and is floundering in the world. What saves him is his new position as the piano player at Nordstrom's Department Store and his new friendship with the young woman running the jewelry counter. When one door closes ......

Me For You is a story about how grief can weigh you down, inhabit your life and space like a real entity demanding to be acknowledged but it is also contains a message of hope by exploring how different characters process their loss and re-engage after the life changing events.
The main character is fifty-something year old Rudolph (Rudy) Knowles, whose wife Bethany has a fatal heart attack in their bed while he chats with her, unaware that she is forever gone. We also get to know his adult daughter Cecilia (CeCe) who assumes the role of caring for her widowed father even as her own marriage is falling apart and she balances her feelings of losing her mother. The contrasting face of grief is worn by Sasha, Rudy's coworker with whom he had developed a platonic friendship while his wife was still alive, but now who he can help support through the end of her dismal marriage and the tragic death of her child.
Considering that I read an advanced reader copy, I wasn't surprised that there were inconsistencies in the names - the book synopsis initially introduced Bella who seemed to have been renamed Sasha - and at least one complication that was promised in the synopsis didn't seem like it was ever really considered in the narrative itself. However, this isn't a major issue for me since I expect that the published book will be edited to correct those flubs.
I enjoyed the simplicity of these relatable characters and the sweetness they seemed anxious to communicate to each other, even in the face of their own private hells. It was refreshing to read what felt like real people who were hopeful even after they had endured bad things, and who didn't want to wallow in self pity but wanted to reach out and help others. I saw this displayed in the way Rudy was kind to strangers as well as friends - consoling a frazzled mother who interrupted his piano playing gig, offering a snack to the police officer who brought bad news, even being humane when Sasha's ex showed up drunk. It appeared again in the descriptions of how Sasha tackled her job, not using her pain as a crutch but wanting to create a warm environment even for the people who might have precipitated her challenges. The author offered heartwarming glimpses into what humanity should be, even when tested.
However, there were places where the novel felt like it lacked a bit of structure. I appreciated the running, sweet narrative but felt like it missed a bit of a climax, and not even the bad-guy showing up was sufficiently surprising or scary. A few chapters were written from alternate perspectives and I think the ones that follow Sasha were important to show who she was aside from being Rudy's new love interest. It felt important to see her as a complex character, someone who had braved the challenges of immigration and an unsatisfying marriage and the loss of a child and still hadn't lost her luster. Other chapters written from Bethany's perspective felt a little unfinished, which I think reflected the suddenness of her death and that felt like a clever way to involve the reader in what it felt like to miss her.
Me For You is the kind of book I'd recommend to someone as a feel-good read which might seem strange since it's about the loss of a life partner, but it's the kind of story that addresses a difficult situation and then offers hope in what comes after the grief has settled.

Thank you to Touchstone/Gallery Books and NetGalley for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Rudy wakes up one morning and is a widow - his wife has passed unexpectedly. Almost a year after his death, he is not sure how to move on.

He is a piano player at Nordstrom and loves his job. He meets Sasha, who works at the Men's Watch counter, and is going through a divorce.

Unsure that enough time has passed before moving on, this is a story of what life is like after losing your true love and moving on.

This is a quick read and a sweet story. Loved it!

I loved this book. Lolly Winston made you feel a mix of emotions as you navigate through Rudy’s life after the death of his wife. A good read.

When Rudy loses the most important thing to him how can he go on? This book takes you through the life of a pianist that is trying to take life in and learn new things! This book was a long read for me. I may not have been in the right place to read this or maybe it wasn’t a book for me. It was a good book, it was cute and sad but the ending fell for me. All around this book was ok just not for me and I know others will probably enjoy it very much!!
Thank you netgalley for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

Lolly Winston definitely knows how to take a sad thing like grief and make it into a beautiful story. As she did in Good Grief (I highly recommend it), she has done again in this lovely book.

Rudy wakes up one morning at the age of 54 to his wife lying next to him. He goes about chattering about breakfast and things, as one does, and after a while, realizes she still isn’t stirring. His beloved wife Bethany has passed away in her sleep. Rudy is lost. The world as he knows it has crumbled. What do you do with such a loss? He still goes to his part time job as a piano player at Nordstrom’s. He has a wonderful friend there in Sasha, a woman who has seen her own share of loss, but he is losing his grip. His daughter arranges for him to enter the hospital for a while to work through his depression. The scenes in the hospital are just so touching. Everyone is so kind and everyone is working through their own pain. It shines a light on mental health.

His doctor says something that sticks with me. He said that we have to think of grief as a chronic disease. You know it is always there and sometimes it rears it’s head. That is so very true! That made me cry because I have so many of those moments.

This is such a wonderful book. It is sad and emotional but it is also very uplifting and hopeful. I think, in fact, that hopeful is the word for this book. The characters are all wonderful, so well written. You will laugh and you will cry. You will feel everything and that is always the sign of a great book.

Thanks to Netgalley and Gallery Books for a copy of this lovely novel.

I loved the beginning of the story. It was easy to follow along and seemed to be relatable for people going through the loss of a spouse. But after the first few chapters the book felt very choppy and like many different stories smooshed into one book. It was all over the place and seemed to have so many things introduced throughout the story. Maybe the author jumped around and introduced so many things for a reason? Maybe that is how she wanted to present how Rudy dealt with the loss of his wife? I am not really sure if that was the intention, but that’s how I took it. I wasn't really captivated by any of the characters. I usually cling to at least one character in all of the books that I read, but with this one really no one did it for me. I really tried to connect with someone in the book, but they just didn't keep my interest.

This was my first time reading something by Lolly Winston. I heard nothing but good things about her and with the description of the book, I thought this might be something I would really enjoy. I think the main thing is that this book was just not for me. I enjoyed some parts of it but with the constant jumping around and overall flow of the book isn't something that I am in to. One good thing I loved about this book was that it talked about mental health. It showed you what it was like for Rudy to lose his wife and the way he grieved her loss. Winston didn't shame mental health or push the part out of the story, she fully embraced it and showed you that it's okay to be sad or mad and seek and accept help when you need it.

I am giving this read ⭐️⭐️⭐️ stars.

I received an advanced copy of this book (eBook) in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Lolly Winston, and Gallery Books for the opportunity to review.