Freely admit that I did not finish Ten Years.

The premise wasn’t really my favorite trope, but I was open to trying a new author. Ally, Becca’s best friend and Charlie’s fiancé dies from cancer, and every year thereafter the two complete Ally’s bucket list. Becca and Charlie seem to hate each other, and the interactions between them certainly feels that way.

I just didn’t like them. Becca seemed like a mess of a human, and Charlie felt rude for no apparent reason. Although really? Both of them were uber mean to each other. Honestly this book should have been marketed more as fiction, focusing on the grieving process rather than a romance, as a romance between these two feels very contrived.

And since my 2022 New Year’s resolution is to feel free to stop reading books I don’t enjoy, I quit Ten Years.

Thank you to One More Chapter and HarperCollins UK for the review copy.

Thank you to HarperCollins for letting me read Ten Years by Pernille Hughes ✨ Charlie and Becca are only 25 when Charlie's fiancé and Becca's best friend Ally dies. Their world is ripped apart – and given their years-long feud, they can't even rely on each other to get through. But when Ally's mum tasks them with fulfilling Ally's bucket list, they have to band together and see out Ally's final wishes.

I am not convinced I actually read the blurb before requesting this book, as it does not sound like the kind of thing I would normally reach for – I find the whole idea of hooking up with your best friend's exes very weird, and doubly so if they're dead. So bearing in mind that I have issues with the entire premise, I actually ended up enjoying this much more than I would have expected to! It's an honest look at grief and the process of moving on, and I found the spikiness of the main characters entertaining to read about.

Overall, this was an original story, and one I enjoyed more than I thought I would upon reading the synopsis. I think there was significant space for building more depth into the story (including some secondary characters who could have elevated the story a bit), but as a whole, it was different, easy to read, and sweet.

I found this book an interesting and heartbreaking look at grief, growing older & seizing opportunities
Set over ten years with various breaks in-between each update it follows two characters connected by a shared past and grief over the person that means the most to them.
It draws distinctions between the different ways we grieve and find out feet after bereavement, as well as reshaping our lives around the permanent hole created.

Raw. Poignant. Unique.

This is definitely not your typical love story. Actually, I would not define this book as a romance, at all. Becca and Charlie seem to actually despise each other and the only thing they have in common is their love for Ally and the all-encompassing-grief her death has left them. The story spans over 10 years and, in my opinion, this structure works really well and the reading experience is quite smooth, despite the heaviness of the story. Hats off to the author as not many are able to tell a story spanning so many years without leaving the reader confused, lost and/or disoriented.

Becca and Charlie grow on you, while they navigate the challenges of grief, of life and of growing up. Their struggles and their flaws make them real and relatable and in the end you really do end up rooting for them to get their happy ending, after so much struggling.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a unique and poignant story of two people navigating grief, life and falling in love with the person they least expected.

***Thanks to Netgalley, Harper Collins One More Chapter and the author for the e-ARC of Ten Years in exchange for an honest review ***

This book is heartbreaking and beautiful at the same time. I loved it so much.

Becca and Charlies have hated each other since university and now they have to come together and fulfill their friends last wishes before they can fully move on with their lives.

What they don’t know is that Ally, their friend that passed away, thinks they are perfect for each other. They would both see that for themselves if they could just get out of their own ways.

Read if you like:
- Enemies to lovers
- Meant to Be’s
- Takes place over many years.
- PS, I Love You by Cecelia Ahern
- In Five Years by Rebecca Serle

Thank you to Netgalley and One More Chapter (HarperCollins UK) for gifting me an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I read this as an e-arc from Netgalley (it’ll be published on the 18th of August) 📖

Charlie’s fiancé and Becca’s best friend, Ally, dies. The pair didn’t get on well anyway and saw no need to continue any form of friendship after Ally’s death. That is until they receive an email from Ally, scheduled to be sent a year after her death, asking them to scatter her ashes in various places once a year.
The novel covers the next ten years and the highs and lows of their relationship.

The blurb says “they’re perfect for each other, they just don’t know it yet” and that gives everything away, there’s not much more substance to the novel than that. It made it pretty predictable.
The characters were likeable but I’d like to have known more about them, this may have solved the ‘substance’ problem.

3 ⭐️

Right away, this book reminded me of PS I Love You by Cecilia Ahern. Briefly: after Ally passes away, her boyfriend and best friend (who hate each other) receive messages (prearranged by Ally) to do things together on the anniversary of her death. This throws the 2 together……for Ten Years.

At first, Charlie and Becca are at each other’s throats, complete with insults and just plain nastiness. As each year goes by, the insults get less. What happens by the end is pretty predictable. It’s like watching a Hallmark movie.

It's a cute book. But there is much of the same, over and over. I was glad I was reading it as an ebook. The author used a lot of British words and phrases. Most you could decipher by the context, but with the ebook capabilities, I was able to get the exact meaning in a second.

I had high hopes for this book. But, it was not the book for me. Judging by most of the reviews I have seen, I am in the minority. That's ok. Not every book is for everybody.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advance Readers Copy.

I must admit that I struggled a bit with this book as I didn't really like either of the main characters Becca and Charlie, although this did change as the story went on. They disliked each other, although they had the love of Ally in common, although it seemed to me that there was always a little bit more to it than just that. I did like the bucket list idea, with the challenges pushing them together and maybe, just maybe, beginning to understand each other more. Although the story is based around grief and how various people can handle it there were many more positive moments, including humour (I did like the tandem bike ride to Brighton). At times circumstances did seem to be a little bit contrived, but this is the author's prerogative and the story would not have worked without them and I also loved the little twists that turned up. Overall not as gloomy as the subject matter would indicate this is definitely worth a read.
I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley, however this did not influence my review of the book.

Wow what a start to the book. Get the tissue out. How do you move on or don't you? A year later you are brought together to remember and carry out a task. This continues for a number of years with various tasks and repercussions. Can two people who love the missing person find common ground or will they battle forever? Follow the twists and turns of this excellent story. You will be gripped till the last page.

The story of Becca and Charlie, sworn enemies who come together in their grief when someone they both love dies. Charlie is a likeable guy and Becca is a slightly abrasive young woman who has put up some barriers due to her dysfunctional family and career let downs. It tells their story over a period of 10 years as they go through their various ups and downs in their separate lives. It’s a predictable love story, but sometimes we just want a bit of escapism and a happy ending…something this book managed to provide. I really enjoyed it and would definitely recommend.
Thanks to Netgalley and to the publishers for the opportunity to enjoy this book in return for an honest review.

I really enjoyed how this book tackled grief. You got two points of view (the best friend and the fiancé), and you see how two people who loved the same person intensely could be polar opposites in how they processed their friend’s death. In that way, the book felt real and raw. I loved how, throughout the ten years, you can see how your opinion on someone can shift and change, ebb and flow as you continue through grieving—because let’s face it, you never really stop—and that was something that I don’t often read in the type of fiction I’m drawn to. It was heavier than what I usually read, but it wasn’t heavy in the way that it brought me down.

I wish I could say I loved the main characters, though. Or any of the characters, really. Becca is immature and selfish—and though she does get her life more together throughout the book, everything seemed kind of flukey and unbelievable. I liked Charlie a bit more, though his serial monogamy meant we didn’t really get an insight into who he was without a woman on his arm. Though I generally love the enemies-to-lovers trope, and I did get the impression Becca and Charlie were getting more fond of each other as time went on, I didn’t find their connection authentic. Other than the fact that they loved Ally and both needed to find a particular type of person to help them get their lives together, I’m not sure how they worked. And don’t even get me started on the epilogue. The author throws a twist in that I wasn’t asking for or needed and, quite honestly, tarnished the story for me a little bit. I probably would have given it a higher rating if that last chapter wasn’t in there.

I will say that I loved the bucket list part of the story and thought that it ended way too soon. I wanted Ally to send Becca and Charlie on so many more adventures because that’s when we got the best bits of plot, I think.

For a story that was listed as a romance, there really wasn’t enough romance for me, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth a read. If anything, how Hughes handles grief and moving on is really touching—and maybe that’s how we should position the genre and the messaging.

3 STARS

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I am not sure about my feelings with reading Ten Years.
I guess I felt it dragged on just a bit too long. That’s not saying I didn’t like it. I had a on and off liking of it :).
The way the author wrote the story made me want to keep on reading to find out where she was taking it. I had so many theories as I read.
I encourage you to read Ten Years and see what you think about it.
Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions and thoughts expressed are my own.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

Both Charlie and Ally, are engaged and soon to get married, but before they can, Ally dies.

After her death, she leaves a letter, in which she’s written her bucket list, things she wanted to do.

Becca, Ally’s best friend and Charlie, hate each other, but they decide to do this over 10 years for their friend. Whilst they work through the list, we find out more about Ally, the missing part of the triangle as they talk about the past they shared, making it clear Ally had so much to look forward to.

The story had you feel emotional, as it dealt with grief, and finding hope that you can move on with your life.

I loved the characters and how it was written.

I recommend this book.

I was in the mood voor some nice entertaining enemies to lovers romance. The premise was promising and i did like the way it handled the subject of grief but unfortunately this one didn't work for me. The pace was very slow. Too slow. And because i also didn't connect with the main characters i lost interest pretty fast.

I got this arc in exchange for an honest review.

This beautiful story starts out on the heavy side, at a funeral for Ally, as seen from Charlie and Becca’s perspectives. I almost cried during the first chapter as these two characters say goodbye to someone they truly cherished, all while clinging to their intense dislike of each other.

The mood of the story shifts as Charlie and Becca try to navigate their lives without their decision-making fiancé and cheerleader of a best friend. They suffer through less than mediocre relationships and exceptionally bad birthdays but still try to hang onto each other.

I loved Charlie and Becca. Grieving isn’t a nice, neat process. It’s complicated and messy, but these characters were honest and forgiving of each other - genuinely relatable in the best possible way. I particularly loved their perspectives on Ally and what we, as readers, learned about who Ally was as a person. She had Charlie and Becca’s best interests at heart, even long after her death.

I loved the adventures they went on to complete Ally’s bucket list. While there was a sad undertone initially to each task, there was a lot of humor in that each task only really appealed to one of the two characters. It helped lift the mood and show that Ally knew just what her fiancé and best friend needed and knew them well.

Thank you, NetGalley, HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter, and Pernille Hughes, for an advanced reader copy of Ten Years in exchange for an honest review!

What a read! If you loved David Nicholls' One Day or Gabrielle Zevin's Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow then you will love this. It's a love story but not a twee, contrived cliché ridden romance. The characters have emotional depth, are relevant and relateable and at times are really frustrating!
Becca and Charlie are easy to like and see something of yourself in. The book is about hope and self belief as well as love, and doesn't get bogged down by the death in the beginning.
5 stars!

Started and finished this wonderful book in one day. I love the bucket list tasks assigned by Ally to her fiancé and her best friend. Ten years of enemies to lovers unraveling into a perfect love story. I throughly enjoyed this story. Had me laughing out loud and in sniffles as the story went on. Right amount of humor and some of the best hate dialogue I’ve read in a while.

I thought this would be a nice easy read but actually really enjoyed it more than I had anticipated. I liked the forced proximity aspect and although I felt I knew where it would end up, I enjoyed the twists it took to get there! Especially the little bit at the end - Valerie you sneaky old bean!
I think if Becca and Charlie were my own friends I’d find them quite irratating as Becca is quite prickly and Charlie was just soo passive but really enjoyed their developments over the ten year span.

Thanks to the author and net galley for this ARC!

I’ll be totally honest when I admit that this isn’t a genre I usually go for, but the blurb really intrigued me so I gave it a go. I ended up enjoying it a lot more than I expected. The writing was so raw and real; it’s the kind of book that stays with you long after you’ve finished. I feel like I felt every possible emotion as I read the story of Becca and Charlie, I laughed as well as cried.

I really liked Becca and Charlie as characters. I could relate to Becca’s prickliness, and at first I was frustrated by Charlie’s willingness to go along with everything, but as the book progressed and I got to know both characters more I started to understand why they were the way they were.

As I said, not my usual read but I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked it. I'm always a sucker for enemies-to-lovers, and I thought this ended up being a really sweet story that explored overcoming grief. A really fab contemporary love story.