Wasn't my cup of tea, but I can see how people would love this book. I wasn't a big fan of the characters or the plot, but I am also not a huge romance reader.

Thank you, NetGalley and the author for an e-book copy of Love Almost in exchange for an honest review.

My Review
This book was very heartbreaking and heartwarming all in one. Apart from what felt like a slow start to me, I ended up really enjoying it. The whole story revolves around Chloe’s grief after her boyfriend of 5 months, Jack, was killed in an accident. I really felt for Chloe throughout, because although she only knew him for a short amount of time, she was the one who was with him for his last few months. I can’t exactly relate to what Chloe is going through, and I’ve read plenty of books involving loss and grief but this was very real and inspiring to see her find herself again.

Chloe is now living in London by herself, stuck in a secondary school teaching job that she’s not sure she really wants to do. We see her pick up the pieces of her life while trying to get over the man she thought was the one. She can still picture him in her life and tries to relive the memories they shared together to try and keep him near.

We learn about Jack’s character quite a bit throughout the book at the same time Chloe does. I really like how this is done and it also puts more emphasis on how little they actually knew each other. This is mentioned a lot through friends and family of Chloe as well. The majority of them were really unsupportive of her situation and at times this difficult to read.

I loved her colleague Simon! I didn’t expect him to be in it as much as he was. He had his own storyline that was entertaining and it was great to see his and Chloe’s friendship develop.

Overall, I would say it’s a really great love story that tackles grief really well. I expected there to be more of a romance with Chloe and Jack so that we could connect with them as a couple. But I ended up loving how the focus was more on Chloe moving on and finding herself.

Rating: 3.5/5

A lovely read about love, loss, friends and family. A sad story but there is some humour as well and a heart warming feeling.

Thank you to NetGalley for my copy.

Love, love, love a good chick lit, fans of PS I love you will love this for sure! Highly recommended

Thanks to Netgalley and Avon books UK.

We follow a unique situation of grief. In this book Chloe suddenly loses her boyfriend, but feels at odds with her emotions since she hadn't been that long with him, and so she questions how much of him she really knew and whether she's in a position to feel sad and grieving.

I liked the writing and the set up for this book, though I didn't really connect with the characters. There's not much more going on than Chloe remembering Jack and questioning her grief.

This book is a must for fans of The Notebook and similar slow burning love stories with no obvious ending. The characters were full of depth and colour and the locations vivid and tempting. A beautiful story with a satisfying ending

3,75/5

First of all, I would like to thank Netgalley and Avon Books UK for offering me the chance to read Hayley Doyle’s book in exchange for an honest review.

The story follows Chloe who has just found out that her partner of five months has been in a fatal accident.

We get to experience her grief process throughout the book. Her (their) fridge was full of reminders and upcoming plans they had to look forward to and the premise of the story becomes a sort of bucket list to fulfill in order to find some connection, closure, both?

I enjoyed reading this book despite the sad setting of it all. A solid read for the genre!

Spoilers ahead!

What I disliked, or rather what annoyed me, was the reaction of her surroundings to these recasting news which we do not really understand why they are not supportive in the first place. Especially coming from her best friend, Beth. I could not read that character whatsoever and her own situation did not nearly explain her behaviour towards Chloe.

Also, Chloes mom.... agh... i must admit it was painful to read her responses at times. But at least she was more believable. I feel like I’ve met this kind of person before in constraint to Beths character.

Overall a good read!

TW: miscarriage, grief, death

Firstly I'd like to thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.

This is a great book, the story of Chloe and Jack. I loved reading it and got fully engrossed in the characters and just wanted a good ending for Chloe.

A tender, emotional but uplifting read that I became hooked on. This is Chloe and Jack's story, just when she finds the perfect man something devastating happens, it is the story about grief and loss, I really felt for Chloe and hoped that she would be ok. I can never imagine her situation and never want to but it makes you cherish the ones close to you as you never know what is going to happen. It is such a fragile storyline but one that has been done really well. I laughed at parts, I cried at parts and I thought this story was told beautifully.

Love, Almost by Hayley Doyle, is the story of what happens when a happily ever after doesn’t end as you had hoped. It explores the grief of losing someone that you love too soon.

Chloe and her boyfriend Jack had been together for five months. They were planning their future and placed mementos on the fridge of all the things they wanted to do, and the places they planned to travel. They had just moved in with each other, her bags still packed, when Jack tragically dies in an accident. Chloe now must pick up the pieces of their life together alone, left with a fridge full of reminders of a future that will never happen.

Chloe soon finds out that although she loves Jack with all her heart, she might not know Jack as she thought. While attending his funeral she realizes that his friends and family is not aware of her or their relationship. Was their love mutual? What is her life to be without Jack? Were their plans meant to be? Will she be able to move on? To answer these questions and to heal, Chloe sets out to follow through with their plans, without him.

This is a beautifully written book of love, loss and moving forward. You’ll find yourself cheering for Chloe in her adventures, and hoping she’ll get the answers she (and we) need. Hayley Doyle has done a wonderful job with this book and look forward to reading more of her work.

“I reckon I love you, Chloe Roscoe.”

Special thanks to NetGalley, Avon Books UK and Hayley Doyle for sharing this incredible ARC  in exchange my honest review. ❤️️

A good read as a change from my psychological thrillers, well written with good characters and it did keep me involved in the story line although sad in parts.

I can recommend this book and thank you to Netgalley and Avon Books for giving me the opportunity to read this.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.

Great book. I loved reading it. Very interesting and covers alot of information

I loved this book!

Within a coupld of pages I was completely hooked and just had to know what was going to happen to Chloe.

Chloe had only known Jack for 5 months when he is tragically killed in an accident. She had just moved in with him and seemed to be moving really fast in their relationship like she had finally found "the one" and then he is gone and she ends up questioning just about everything.

The story is sad and moving and made me smile and even laugh.

If you enjoyed the likes of PS I Love you and Me Before You you will most likely enjoy this book too.

I would love to read a sequel to this story.

Thank you to Netgalley and Avon books for the arc.

Chloe and Jack are soulmates. But life has other plans…

Chloe is deliriously in love for the very first time. But when Jack, her boyfriend of five months, is killed in a tragic accident, she is left reeling. Their relationship was amazing – but it never really had the chance to get started.

Grieving but determined, Chloe decides to live life for the both of them and makes her way through the list of things they’d planned to do together – this time on her own.

This was at times a heartbreaking read. Chloe as a character handled grief exactly the same way I would, over-analyzing everything and pushing people away.

For fans of Me Before You.

We’re introduced to Chloe and Jack on holiday in Thailand, after a whirlwind romance Chloe has barely moved into Jack’s flat when a tragic accident leaves her bereaved and unsure of anything. She’s mourning what might have been whereas others don’t necessarily appreciate the depth of her loss as she’s only known him a short time. Chloe decides to remember Jack through seeing through the few plans they had for their future.

I found Chloe a difficult character at first, it’s difficult to say whether grief made her selfish or she is generally a self absorbed person but I found that version of her hard to like. It’s interesting to see her journey and it does leave you wondering what path she and Jack would have followed though and it’s thoughtfully written. This is an interesting bitter sweet romance that had great chunks of originality.

This book was the perfect escape. It was lovely and fun. It was my first book by this author and I will definitely be on the look out for more!!

Unfortunately this book was not for me and I Did Not Finish after 15% in.

I found the writing style frustrating; too many ‘huns’ and ‘babes’ for me! I also felt the characters could have been introduced better.

I really wanted to love this book but it’s hard when you can’t fully warm to the main character Chloe. It a well written story of grief and her journey with funny moments but I’m afraid it wasn’t for me. Thank you for the read though

I give this book three stars for the following reasons:
- I didn't like the way the heroine cling to her past
- I actually hate her boyfriend (sorry not sorry) I just think we never really know him and although at the end there is a closure it was not enough for me.
- The heroine friend was not nice.

The book itself remained a lot to "Me Before You" so If you are looking book of this type read it. We get to see little by little the growth in the heroine!

It is a happy start to Love Almost with Chloe and Jack enjoying their holiday in Bangkok, revelling in their freedom to sample the sights and smells of a city that never sleeps. Their relationship is very new but it would seem their connection is very real. Could Chloe at the ripe old age of thirty six have finally have found The One? Fast forward a short while and Liverpudlian Chloe is now living with Jack in his London flat. On this particular day Chloe is just exiting the shower when she comes face to face with Jack’s father John, the bearer of devastating news. Jack has been killed in a road traffic accident and in that instant Chloe’s life falls apart. Their relationship has tragically ended before its even really begun which forces Chloe to question how well she knew this big lovable bear of a man and whether theirs was a love that would have stood the test of time.

Although there’s plenty of fiction exploring grief and its unique nature, this storyline acknowledges the fact time is irrelevant in matters of the heart. Instead what is more relevant are the ways in which people can have an impact on your life and imprint themselves on your heart whether it’s for five minutes, five months or longer. It’s a storyline that recognises the struggle many face in coming to terms with losing a loved one, the coping mechanisms they employ to deal with grief and the ways in which individuals begin to move on. Chloe is no exception as she battles her reluctance to accept that life goes regardless, questions her entitlement to feel her bereavement so keenly and questions whether her relationship with Jack was the real deal or not. You cannot fail to be touched by events that see Chloe holding imaginary conversations with Jack’s ghostly presence, her ill timed return to their holiday destination of Bangkok and a determination to fulfill the list of things they’d already planned to do in the future. As she bravely works her way through the list, with limited success, Chloe learns more about the man who literally lit up a room with his presence, his booming laugh bouncing off the walls. Quite what is the significance of a photo depicting a man sitting in a trolley underneath the infamous McDonald’s golden arches, a photo that hangs in Jack and Chloe’s kitchen is perhaps the biggest question of all.

In terms of characters, there is the usual eclectic mix of family, best friend, new friends and passing acquaintances that prove love is still very much in evidence in Chloe’s life even if it may not be of the romantic kind. The Roscoe family provide much of the laughs in contrast to the Carmichaels whom I couldn’t warm to until the closing pages when their grief at losing son Jack is finally recognised, putting Chloe’s experiences into perspective. Up until then they exude frostiness and unfriendliness as opposed to the natural warmth that exudes from the likes of Beth and Si and all the Roscoes. The voices of Chloe and the rest of the Liverpool contingent sound authentic with dialogue that is typically scouse, hardly surprising since the author hails from this part of the world but it helps in visualising these characters, bringing them to life. Chloe herself is somewhat flighty, incapable of taking life seriously much to the annoyance and despair of those closest to her. In short this is a woman who despite her thirty six years has a great deal of growing up to do. The unexpected death of Jack ensures that Chloe will be a very different woman from the one we glimpse in the opening pages, thanks to the help of her friends and family and the life lessons she learns along the way.

Having previously awarded the author’s debut novel Never Saw You Coming with 5 gold stars I wanted so much to be able to do the same with Love Almost. The crucial word here is almost as I couldn’t find it in my heart to do so for a number of reasons. I longed for Chloe and Jack’s story to make me weep as well as smile, laugh and feel hopeful but unfortunately my eyes stayed resolutely dry, even with the repetition of THEIR saying (which I won’t spoil for you!). It is heartening that this love story ends on a brighter more hopeful note given that Chloe’s story is overwhelmingly sad although the humour is still there in the writing, just bubbling away beneath the surface. It explodes onto the pages from time to time especially where Chloe’s family are concerned but it definitely is more subtle overall. Maybe that’s inevitable given the subject matter but I also failed to connect with Chloe in the way I expected to, despite the fact she’s a lost soul blindsided by grief. That said Love Almost is beautifully written, heartfelt and touching with the author capturing the uniqueness of the grieving process and beyond, reminding us there is no right or wrong way to behave when experiencing great loss. I feel this is a love story to savour,rather than race through, allowing you to reflect on a a subject all of us will confront at some point in our lives. My criticisms will by no means deter me from picking up future novels by this author and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend. My thanks as always to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read in exchange for an honest review.