This book follows the author’s experiences over a period of about ten years - meeting her partner Aksel, the birth of their son Ivan, Aksel’s death soon after and the aftermath of this traumatic experience, bringing up her son alone, and her eventual forays back into the world of work, friends and romance. It is, of course, a difficult time and Carolina is not the easiest of people, as she acknowledges with raw, searing honesty. How can you review or rate a book like this? Her story is what it is and the courage with which she lays bare her thoughts and feelings is staggering. She is self-aware and self-analysing, detailing her moods and motivations, agonising over doing the right thing by Ivan and for herself. Quite an achievement to have written it at all - I hope she has achieved what she wanted to by doing it and that things go well for her.

The translation is seamless, I wouldn’t have suspected it hadn’t been written in English.

I knew this would be a difficult subject to read and it’s made all the better by the author’s raw emotion that transcends her writing. A situation I can’t imagine being in. Well written and truly heartfelt.

Carolina’s partner Aksel dies suddenly, leaving her the single parent of a baby. She now has to re-invent herself and learn to keep on living without him.
I didn’t realise that this is based on the author’s own experience, but it doesn’t surprise me as the writing is so raw and true.
The novel takes us through the trajectory of Carolina’s loss, and her life after it. She is very self-analytical and brutally honest about her own shortcomings.
I found this account beautifully translated and beautiful in its honesty.
I absolutely feel it deserves five stars and would recommend it to anyone who is interested in the minutiae of relationships and how we cope with the change that is always a part of life.

This is a love story. A story of before and after..
How do you know that tonight could be the last night you are together - have a partner - and your child a father?
This is just that story.
It is a beautifully written story of love, families, motherhood and loss. It will stay with you well after the book is read and will leave you thinking what if?

A very honest account of a woman's grief after the loss of her partner when she has just had a baby.

I found out halfway through reading this, that it's more of a memoir than a novel, which should have raised the emotional stakes but in fact achieved the effect of making me believe less in the writing because before that, I at least had thought the characterisation was quite original and interesting. Knowing it was a true story took that admiration away, but I persisted anyway. I had always found it difficult to warm to the protagonist and this didn't change once I knew she was a real person, despite the sense that I ought to sympathise. I had picked the book (the third time I've done this!) because of Marian Keyes - one of my favourite authors - recommending it, so I've learnt that while I love Keyes' books, her taste and mine are very different when it comes to what we enjoy!

Unfortunately I didn't really like this novel, I felt sorry for the husband., expected to take six months paternity leave when he worked freelance, I thought it was very selfish, a lot of women manage with their first baby without such help. Once we were learning about how they met and the early years I sort of lost interest as I knew how it all ended. If this was an autobiography by the author I apologise for the negative comments but that is what I felt after reading it.

My thanks to Bloomsbury Publishing, Carolina Setterwall and Net Galley for my copy of LET'S HOPE FOR THE BEST.
This novel was not an easy read, but it was one I couldn't put down. When Aksel dies in his sleep when their little boy, Ivan is just eight months old, Carolina must make a life for herself and her son without him. Aksel has always been rather distant in their relationship. He falls into agreement about what they should do with their life together and never actually makes any real decisions. Carolina is the opposite. She's a doer, often frustrated with him because their paces don't match, and goes through life with verve, but when he dies she realizes their personalities and needs weren't the same. For a while, she blames herself for his death, the usual guilt most people feel when someone dies, This novel takes us through that rocky road of guilt, loss, frustration, the need for another adult human being, and back to guilt again before the light at the end of the tunnel. It is seeringly honest; a road map of grief and isolation before the clouds break.