It is a story that has been deemed "the most heart-warming and romantic read of 2021" according to Amazon. I would have to agree that it is a lovely and romantic story. There is such a realness to this story though. You fall in love and then something happens where things don't work out and then years later - that person shows up again. What would you do if that happened to you? I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys romance in their fiction.

I love women's fiction and Jill Mansell is a great women's fiction writer! This was a fun story with great characters and heart. I really enjoyed it.

I really liked this book, but I felt that there were lulls in the story that needed some help.. However I found this to be really enjoyable and entertaining and would recommend.

Usually love Jill Mansell books, but this one just felt...flat, for lack of a better word. There didn't seem to be any life to the plot and characters, much less the heart I usually associate with her. The main heroine just didn't stand out at all, no quirks, nothing notable (I still remember there was one heroine in one of her books who loved eclairs!) The hero also felt barely sketched, the character of Rosa was too much a basket case, and the story just wasn't starting at any point... Rather disappointing, since I have loved many of her previous books

Jill Mansell writes the kind of books that make you feel good. The characters start their stories together, break apart for no good reason, then come together in the end to get their happily ever after. The stories move quickly and you'll have a few chuckles along the way.

I love Jill Manaell’s Mansell’s books and this one was no different. A fun read for vacation or when you are looking for something light and sweet.

I'm a big fan of Jill Mansell, but this isn't one of my favorites of her books. There's usually a charm and sharpness to her characters and plots that just doesn't feel as noticeable here. And Now You're Back was a pass for me, but I look forward to checking out her next book in hopes that it's a better fit.

A very cute book about a second chance at first love. This was a good summer read last year. I was rooting for Didi the entire time!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my digital copy in exchange for an honest review. If I am being honest, I think I requested this book because I was confusing the author with another one I have read...I am really glad I did, though, because I really liked this one. Shay and Didi were teenagers when they met and fell in love on a trip to Venice...they had a brief love affair but life (and other things) happened that eventually broke them apart. Didi never stopped thinking about him, though, so when he showed up at the hotel she works at, a part of her is joyous... I will say that most of what I read would be considered a romantic cliche but hey, women like that stuff. :) I don't care if it is predictable or corny as long as it is entertaining to me... I loved the characters and I loved the storyline :)

Tried reading this one and it just was not meant for me. This does not mean that it is not a good book, I just was not in the right place to be reading it and have decided to not try picking it up anytime in the near future.

This book was very much like a hallmark read. I unfortunately couldn’t connect with the characters and while I finished it, I don’t think I would recommend it to friend.

If you're into modern, swift reads set in England with minimal commitment, multiple love stories, PG rating, and Hallmark movie vibes (no judgment here, folks - you like what you like): this book is for you.

If you like flushed out reads with three-dimensional protagonists, and emotionally meaningful love stories w/ a dash of smut and spice: this book is not for you.

This was the sweetest book! I loved the eclectic cast of characters and all the different story lines. What a feel good book!

This is a new Jill Mansell, so it almost speaks for itself. Even though she exclusively writes lighter British romances, Jill Mansell is one of those authors whose books I actively seek out time and time again, and this book definitely checks the boxes for me.

Didi Laing and Shay Mason fell for each other as teenagers during a school trip on a magical snowy evening in Venice. For six months, they were blissfully in love, until something happened that changed everything for them, and Shay left for the city. Years later, Shay returns to the Cotswolds to help his dying father fulfill a dying request, and he finds Didi (somewhat unenthusiastically) engaged to another man. Since this is Jill Mansell, Didi and Shay continue to get their timing wrong, while the reader wonders whether the two of them will ever get their happy ending.

This is a sweet book, and I love both the setting and the characters. I could complain that if Didi and Shay ever just spoke to each other, they might have solved all of their problems, but it would not be a Jill Mansell book without continued miscommunication (or lack of communication at all) between the main love interests. At the same time, I was drawn to the supporting characters more than I was to Didi and Shay. Rosa, mourning her late husband, and Red, trying to wrap up the loose ends of his own life after a terminal diagnosis, were my two favorite characters in this book, and I was drawn through by the two of them more than the main plot.

I’ve said it before and it continues here, that you don’t read Jill Mansell for her high literary content. However, if you want a feel good, very light romance/chick lit novel set in one of my favorite places in the entire world, then this is a fun one. Get cozy in front of a roaring fire or under a warm blanket , pour yourself a glass of wine (or hot chocolate,) and let yourself get lost for a few hours (or a weekend depending on how many times your children interrupt you.)

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. It has not influenced my opinion.

While I did enjoy this story, I felt like the background stories were too distracting and it took too long for the main characters to get together. Overall a fun read though!

Another winning romance from Jill Mansell! It’s been awhile since I have read one of her books after discovering this British author a few years back and reading through her entire catalog. She hooked me with her complex romantic relationships, her quirky and colorful characters who are integral to the stories they inhabit, and her descriptions of England that make me yearn to be there. She infuses her books with a balance of humor, heartbreak, friendship, and, ultimately, hope that life will turn out like it’s supposed to, regardless of the mistakes we make or the tragedies we face.

In this, her latest offering, we meet Didi and Shay at age 17 when they’re both in Venice celebrating the birthday of a mutual friend. The magic begins on a snowy night in St. Mark’s Square when they build a snowman together and inevitably fall in love. Unfortunately, an event six months later fractures their relationship, and Shay disappears, only to show up in their quaint Cotswold Village thirteen years later to help his father who’s dying of cancer. Unfortunately, Didi is engaged, so any lingering feelings they may have for each other can’t be acted on. As Shay spends months renovating his childhood home so his father can spend his last days there, we come to learn and care for Red, the charming reprobate, Didi’s best friend Layla who has a blossoming romance herself, and Layla’s mother Rosa who is working through her grief over losing her husband. There are a couple of surprising secondary relationships as well that add further depth to this second-chance romance, ensuring that readers of the genre get their fill. Highly recommended for fans of Maeve Binchey, Sophie Kinsella, and Jenny Colgan.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Sourcebooks Landmark through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

I have loved all of Jill Mansell's books. This one about Didi and Shay was a great read. (It made me sad that they missed out on sooooo much time together.) I love all of her characters and can't wait for more books from this author.

What can I say? Jill Mansell has done it again, she never fails to deliver a charming book, full of warmth, humor and romance that sweeps me away 🙌😊 In case you couldn’t tell, I loved this book! Her books are the only ones I special order from the UK and have delivered to me because I just can’t ever wait for the US release date to roll around 😅

Like many of her books, this one takes place in a small village in the Cotswolds – and it inevitably involves some drama and secrets along the way. This one had a fun premise, where the main characters of the story had been together previously (second chance romance), and the book opens in Venice during that time.

As always I loved all the various characters and how Jill carefully wove them together. Her books are like a warm cup of my favorite cocoa on a cold day. They never fail to make me smile, laugh, and even cry – and also wish I’d been patient and read it slower so I wouldn’t have to wait so long for a new one 😊

Great read, thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish. The stories interweave through the book keeping Didi and Shay at the centre of the story, I loved reading about the other characters. Plenty of romance, laughs and a bit of intrigue along the way all wrapped up in a glorious setting! I’d recently visited the area the book was set and enjoyed seeing all the place names I had visited. Perfect escapism.

Thank you Netgalley

Didi fell in love one night in Venice and then he left without saying anything.
Thirteen years later he is back.
Didi is getting married and Shay is only around for a short time .
We find out what happened thirteen years ago.
Another great read
Thanks NetGalley