**3-Star Review: A Mixed Bag of Emotion and Growth**

While *Palliative Care* explores deep and meaningful themes, I found the story to be somewhat heavy and difficult to connect with at times. Tess Carter, the protagonist, is a well-developed but challenging character. Her constant inner monologue, filled with self-doubt and negativity, made it hard for me to fully engage with her journey. While her struggles are realistic and relatable, the tone of the book often felt a bit too somber for my taste, leaving me feeling more weighed down than inspired.

The romantic subplot with Edward Russell offers some redemption, as his character brings a sense of balance and warmth to the story. Watching Tess begin to challenge her own inner critic and take steps toward self-acceptance added a satisfying layer of growth to the narrative.

Though the book leans into the bleak realities of Tess's world, there are moments of hope and humor that shine through, especially in the interactions between Tess and Edward. For readers who appreciate a raw and realistic portrayal of personal struggles, this book may resonate more deeply. While not entirely uplifting, it ends on a hopeful note, reminding us of the importance of self-compassion and finding one’s voice.

Nancy Peach’s Love Life is a compelling and emotionally rich novel that deftly navigates the intersection of palliative care, personal struggles, and romance. The story centers around Tess, a hospice doctor, who is confronted with her own unresolved issues while caring for her patients and reconnecting with a former flame.

Peach’s narrative begins with Tess on a talk show, where she is harshly judged by an internal critic represented as a TV presenter. This inner dialogue, contrasted with the supportive voice of Jane Austen, symbolizes Tess's internal conflict and self-doubt. This innovative approach to character development provides a nuanced exploration of Tess’s struggles with self-esteem, bulimia, and the emotional toll of her work.

The setting of the hospice, while inherently somber, is portrayed with sensitivity and depth. The character of Mary, a patient undergoing aggressive treatment, adds emotional weight to the story, highlighting the complex dynamics between patients, their families, and caregivers. Tess’s interactions with Mary and her family, especially her former lover Edward, form the heart of the narrative. The romance that unfolds is subtle and takes time to develop, reflecting the story’s deeper themes of healing and self-discovery.

Peach’s writing is both heartfelt and thought-provoking, skillfully blending humor and poignancy. The novel’s exploration of mental health and personal growth is handled with care, making Tess’s journey relatable and impactful. The romance, while secondary to the main themes, provides a hopeful counterpoint to the story’s more challenging elements.

Love Life is an important and well-crafted read that addresses difficult topics with grace and insight. It is a thought-provoking exploration of how we confront our inner demons and find meaning in our lives amidst adversity

It’s tricky to market a story about palliative care, our inner critics, cancer, purging and romance. I recognise that the emphasis was placed on the latter, which may have thrown readers a little when they got into the story. To say I enjoyed this wouldn’t be enough or appropriate because it triggered so many relatable emotions in me, which I found personally challenging. This is an important and well-written book that I will highly recommend.

Love Life by Nancy Peach is a novel every woman should read. The inside voices plus, the voices of other pushy people can make for a big mess. Self-doubt and troublesome people at work make life hard. But it's up to the heroine to find her inner strength and show the world who she is and can be when she believes in herself. The hero is a grumpy but decent man. This story was very heart felt and engaging.

Heartfelt and engaging. A recommended purchase for collections where weightier/issue driven contemporary romances are popular.

I liked the author's voice overall, but I couldn't stand the talk show host and Jane Austen imaginary dialogue--I pretty much skipped it after the first few pages. I also thought the handling of the main character's bulimia and her acceptance of her mother's abuse were pretty toxic. And the hospice setting was a bit depressing.

Still, I'm interested to see where the author might go from here. Looking forward to seeing more from her.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to review a temporary digital ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

I must firstly apologise for the amount of time it has taken me to provide a review of this book, my health was rather bad for quite some time, something that had me in hospital on numerous occasions and simply didnt leave me with the time I once had to do what I love most.

Unfortunately that does mean I have missed the archive date for many of these books, so It would feel unjust throwing any review together without being able to pay attention to each novel properly.

However, I am now back to reading as before and look forward to sharing my honest reviews as always going forward. I thank you f0r the patience and understanding throughout x

I went into this book based off the cover thinking it would be like a cutesy romance but it wasn't. I was quite a topic heavy book with a real point behind it. Unfortunately I couldn't finish reading it, I just found it all too much for me.

I put off reading this book because of the setting, but once I settled down with it I loved it. It's well observed and well written, and I will be looking out for more from Nancy Peach.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

I was initially thrown by this novel as it opens with the protagonist, Tess, seemingly on a talk show with a rather arrogant and insulting host. It sounded incredibly cruel but at the same time, reminiscent of how these chat shows can develop. Yet, when Jane Austen comes into the frame, I realised I had interpreted this too literally and there was more depth to this narrative.

The talk show host and Jane Austen are voices in Tess’s head. It is like having the Devil and Angel on your shoulder with one belittling and one supporting. In the earlier parts of the novel, the talk show host is dominant, viscously dragging Tess down and demeaning her. It shows how low her self-esteem is and poor Austen can do little to parry the self-inflicted blows. Furthermore, when I realised that Tess was purging as well to try and rid herself physically of these woes, it is evident that the protagonist is not the strong doctor that everyone perceives her to be.

This is the main element of the story and I thought it quite saddening. Naturally, working in a hospice was never going to be the foundation for a cheery story and the emotional journey that Tess undergoes really connected with me. Her main patient, Mary, is such a kind soul yet, readers know that her presence at the hospice is never going to end in a happy discharge. The story follows Tess as Mary undergoes aggressive therapy and the conflict that arises from family wanting the best, to what Mary personally chooses. It is a difficult situation and one that Tess has to navigate.

The love story was sweet but it did take a long time coming in the story. I think I yearned for this to be more prominent because of the sadness with Mary and the intense debates that Tess has in her head. Romance would have lightened the mood considerably and I think it would have become the story I was expecting.

On the other hand, the title is really clever, referring not just to the absence of romance in Tess’s life (which is what I initially interpreted it to be about), but also the importance of enjoying life as much as possible. This is therefore a reference to the hospice and I really appreciated the double meaning.

Overall, this was a pleasant story but with not enough cheer that I wanted. I thought the plot development was a bit slow and I struggled a bit with the harshness of Tess’s internal monologue.

With thanks to One More Chapter, Harper Collins and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Super cute book that will stick with you for a bit after you are done. Loved it. Great pick for a pool side or beach read.

I was not able to find this book and therefore cannot give a clear review. However; what I have read of this story I've found moving.

My first read from the author and it fell a little flat. I didn't get to this book for quite a while, and now I'm glad I didn't rush to read it. The story had a lot going on within it. Dr. Alice Carter is a hospice doctor and sets up care for the mother of a man she met years ago. A wonderful night spent together with a man that now claims to not remember.
I struggled to finish this book, honestly, I thought it would a light hearted romance (the cover gave me that impression) but it was filled with self esteem issues, bulimia, cheating and more. Also Alice had too many "voice overs" i.e. internal monologue that just distracted me from the story itself. I couldn't connect with the characters at all, and I had just gone through a hospice situation with a family member.
Sad to say, it wasn't a favorite read for me unfortunately.

Love Life was not the cute romance I was expecting and was in face an incredibly emotional read!

I thought the narrative from the voices in Tess’ head were a fun alternative. I disliked the TV Presenter one but Jane Austen was fantastic!

Tess has so many insecurities and this made her such a relatable character.

My Top 5 things from this book:

•Jane Austen & TV Presenter Narration
•Second Chance Romance
•Sensitive Subjects handled with care
•Relatable character
•Happily Ever After

This is a cute and fun little romance! It was not a really long read and did not have as much depth to it as I personally would have liked. That said - if you're looking for a nice, light romance, this is the one for you!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Tess is completing her medical rotation in hospice when Mary Russell is admitted and with her, her son Edward, an old flame that Tess hooked up with in college who shows no signs of recognising Tess from 5 years ago.
Edward and Tess butt heads regularly due to his mother's care and their relationship is anything but stable until one night everything changes.
I thoroughly enjoyed this story that was a bit of hate to love with a bit of lost love thrown in. Tess dialogue with TV man and Jane was certainly eye opening and one that many can relate to in both conceding to it and overcoming it. The chemistry between Edward and Tess felt realistic as was the relationship between Tess and Mary even though Tess was a doctor.
The roommate Kath was a blast who lightened up the dark situations with her quick wit but was also compassionate and supportive to Tess when she needed it. I also liked the side story between Tess and her mother, which again is something that many of us as daughters can relate to.
Overall it was a easy and enjoyable read that had a few twists and turns that kept it interesting and not predictable as some romances stories tend to have.

different and interesting read. enjoyed it alot and thought it wasn't something i am used too. It was a good read.

Like many others I was expecting a light romantic read and this was not what I expected. Grief and pain is the overriding theme.
A hospice doctor and a patient’s son shared a night together she never forgot but he did. Years later will they get another chance.
Sadly I didn’t really enjoy this and ended skimming it. Thank you to netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

There are very few books that I have started and been hesitant to continue past the first page. This one easily makes that list... I tried to push through the first chapter and couldn't even force myself to do that.

I was hoping I would enjoy this book but sadly it wasn't for me.
This was down to the subject not the book.
Thanks to netgalley for letting me read this book for my honest opinion