Libby meets Dylan and Frank aboard the 88 bus in The Lost Ticket. Frank has been searching for a girl who offered him advice sixty years ago on that bus. She gives him advice that changed his life and wrote her number on her bus ticket. Frank lost the ticket which sets up his decades long search for her. In that time, Frank has offered warmth and cheer to other riders - Libby being one. She is newly arrived in London as she decides what to do after losing a boyfriend (good riddance) as well as her job. She has her own personal upheaval and finds more support in Frank and his carer Dylan than in her own family. Libby and Dylan help with the search for the Bus 88 girl which offers endearing moments of possibilities. The lack of emotional support from Libby's family was perhaps to help highlight the friendship that she develops with Frank, Dylan and others. I wondered also about the gap of time where Libby wasn't in contact with Dylan and Frank.... especially with Dylan in 'his situation.' Ultimately, this story reminds us that the shapes of families and friends can blend easily into and with each other. Our trio are lucky to have that happen.

What a lovely read, set on the 88 bus in London. The story centers around Frank who met a girl on that bus sixty years ago and was going to call her back… but he lost the ticket with her phone number on it! What follows is the formation of a sweet, heartwarming group of friends as they try to find his bus girl. The characters were lovely but the book would have been much better exploring them more deeply (especially Dylan’s dad and Libby’s mom).

The Lost Ticket is a delightful book with a unique premise that readers will find irresistible. It is three stories, linked together by a bus route in London, where people eventually find each other in something that comes close to fate. It opens with two people on a bus in the early 1960’s, London. A meet-cute, with a heartbreaking ending: a lost ticket that had a phone number and the subsequent missed opportunity.

Sampson’s book is one of hope, friendship, and unexpected romance. Readers will see the kernel of the story, an obsession: looking for the girl from past, turn into a life saving mission for our MC Libby Nicholls. An opportunity to help Frank, the man from the very beginning of the story, find his girl, and find herself in the process.

And Sampson artfully pulls the reader in multiple directions, leaving the reader wanting to know more. Giving us breadcrumbs along the way, then yanking us in another direction entirely. It’s an alluring chase, where readers will be constantly guessing who Frank’s mystery girl could be. But it’s not just the compelling story of finding someone that makes this an engaging read. It is how Sampson touches on specific topics like newly found friendships, the elderly and the physical/psychological aspects that come with those limitations as we age, acceptance of others while being able to be who you are without judgment, and lost and newly acquired love.

There was only one concern to note, towards the end of the novel during a climactic scene. The transition from the end of that chapter to the next is jarring. There is no indication of the passage of time from one chapter to the next and it can throw readers as they try to grapple with and process what just happened in the previous chapter. An easy fix would be to add some type of time stamp heading like “18 months later.”

Heartwarming, The Lost Ticket is one of finding and forging love and happiness regardless of the circumstances each one of these characters face.

Happy Reading ~ Cece

4.5 Stars
Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for this Advanced Reader Copy, in exchange for my honest review.

I have to admit that it took me too long to finish this book and it was not because it was not an absolutely lovely book, it was because I did not get into it right away. And don't think that I am not mad at myself or this.
This is a charming story of strangers brought together by a simple bus on the 88 Line, and the chosen family that they become.
The story begins with Libby, newly dumped female who meets Frank, an elderly man on the bus .and develops an unlikely friendship. Frank tells his story of a chance meeting years ago with a woman that he had never forgotten. Next comes Dylan, a mohawk-wearing punk, who is also Frank's caregiver. Libby and Dylan begin a campaign to help Frank find his Girl on the 88 Bus. And the charming tale continues from there.

There is love, friendship, growing and strength to be had by all. But mainly there is heart.
I really cannot recommend this beautiful book enough.

Libby’s boyfriend breaks up with her, and she moves in with her sister in London while she figures out what to do with her life. On the bus, she meets an old man who has been looking for a girl he lost the phone number for in 1962. This meeting inspires her to look for his lost love.

This was an okay book. The plot saves it because I wanted to watch Libby grow as a person and discover what happened to the girl. I thought I knew, but then the answer took me by surprise. Nice touch to have the love interest a punk, and it made him different than standard love interests.

Another beautiful well-written story from Sampson. Her characters are delightful and quirky. The book starts in 1962 on a bus where a young man Frank instantly falls in love with a red-haired young artist - flash to another bus Frank much older and a young redhead - she is suffering over a breakup. They strike up an unlikely friendship - Frank has dementia and is searching for his first love and Libby our current day redhead is searching to expand her life - it’s inspiring and funny and touching

The Lost Ticket was a both heartwarming and bittersweet story about personal relationships. It also seemed to show how complacency, lack of communication, and false assumptions waste time and hurt people. Overall it was a nice story about people helping one another and showing how lives are interconnected but how much angst can be avoided by people simply being honest with themselves and others and being more introspective in a positive way. I was disappointed by the main character drifting along without caring enough, it seemed to me, to make a real commitment to permanent family structure, which is the backbone of community. Overall I would recommend as an interesting read, but I am not sure if the characters themselves learned the lessons the book attempts to teach.

This is a very sweet book. I enjoyed it but also felt something was missing. I do think it was me and the not book because I have been in a Rom-Com kick lately.

People meet on London buses, find love, loss, advice and stories. The Loss Ticket is charming and bittersweet, with engaging characters and lots of intertwining stories. Frank met a girl on a bus in 1962, lost her phone number written on a ticket and spends the next 60 years looking for her on the same bus. He meets and helps lots of fellow riders though the years and never loses hope about finding her (he never got her name). She changed his life, giving him the courage to defy his parents and become an actor, and he changed the loves of others along the way. A beautifully written book, The Lost Ticket is memorable.

What a sweet and quirky book! LOVED it. I had read & enjoyed the author's "Last Chance Library", so was thrilled to read her latest, "The Lost Ticket". "Found Family" trope at its very best in this story of Libby, who's going through a lot with her crap bf & family, and Frank, an elderly & demented passenger on the 88 bus who pines for a chance encounter from 60 years ago. Dylan the care giver also stole my heart! Highly recommend it. My sincere thanks to the publisher and Net Galley for the complimentary DRC, the exchange of which did not affect my review.

Damn it, how many times did Freya Sampson make me cry while reading this? Answer: too many. This just book is just so wonderful. Sweet, funny, sad, charming, heart-warming. I loved everything about Libby, Frank, and Dylan. If you need a feel-good book and don't mind getting a little (or a lot) weepy, pick this one up!

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for the opportunity to read the book in exchange for an honest review. The Lost Ticket by Freya Sampson is a delightful book filled with feel-good moments as well as struggles for the characters. They all end up growing and changing as the novel moves forward and accepting that life isn’t what they planned.

It begins with Frank – who has been searching for the “girl” of his dreams. He met her once on a bus when he was a young man in 1962 and lost her contact information but never stopped thinking about her. So much so that he kept riding that bus every day in the hope that she might resurface. Sixty years later, Frank is not facing early stage dementia. Frank meets Libby – also on the bus -- who is convinced to help Frank find his red-headed girl.

Frank has a part time care-giver named Dylan who is 30 years old and loves taking care of Frank. He’s not at all what he appears to be based on how he presents himself to the world: mohawk, tattoos, punk clothing, etc. Inside he’s a dear man and becomes an important character in the story.

Libby – is struggling with her self-image after having been dumped by the man she thought she was going to marry and is now moving in with her older sister and helping take care of her sister’s child.
It ends happily overall despite some setbacks here and there for each of them. Rich characters, great dialogue and a strong storyline.

Sweet story! I love the premise; an Octogenarian continuously rides London's 88 bus in hopes of once again finding a girl he met 60 years before. She had scrawled her number on a bus ticket before debarking but alas, once home, the man finds he has lost the ticket.
60 years later another young woman, fresh from her own broken relationship teams up with some unlikely strangers as she decides to help Frank find his lost love. She feels her own life is aimless, and maybe helping Frank as he moves towards the loss of his independence just might help her gain her own.
This is a book about friendship, diversity, and finding the courage to embrace life as opposed to having it dictated to you. It's a good lesson in taking the lead in our own life and accepting the past as just that...the past.
A good read.
Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for early access to this novel. I enjoyed it very much.

Libby arrives in London dumped, homeless, and unemployed. On her way to crash with her demanding sister, she meets elderly Frank on the bus. He tells her that in 1962 he met a girl on the number 88 bus with red hair just like hers who changed his life. They made plans for a date at the National Gallery, but Frank lost her number. For the past sixty years, he’s ridden the same bus trying to find her.

Libby is inspired to action and, with the help of unlikely companion Dylan, she papers the bus route with posters advertising their search. But Frank’s dementia progresses quickly and their chance of finding the girl on the 88 bus is slipping away.

Libby’s going through a painful breakup with her long-term boyfriend, and her relationship with her patronizing sister who has taken her in is equally stressful. Connecting with Frank allows Libby to throw herself into something and the two of them come to mean a great deal to one another. Along the way she meets his caregiver, punk-styled sweetheart Dylan, who stole the show for me.

I read this book in two sittings. Libby’s family and her ex-boyfriend were too awful to be believable and the big misunderstanding a bit of a stretch, but overall it’s a charming story about life choices and found family.

This book reminds me of Letters to Juliet and I am all for this type of love story. Strangers aboard a London bus help an elderly man find the love he lost way back when. This is a story of second chances and love and friendship.

The Lost ticket is a comforting, feel good novel which highlights friendships and community. While riding the bus after her life has taken an unexpected turn, Libby meets Frank an older man who is searching for a girl he met in 1962. Libby and Franks friendship is so sweet and the story move forward in a charming way as Libby helps Frank look for the girl he has been trying to find. Libby's story involves self-discovery and the power of reclaiming yourself. I loved the overwhelming emotion of kindness and care that author infused into her witty writing. The Lost Ticket is a lovely book hug.

Thank you Netgalley and Berkley for the eGalley. This is my honest review.

My heart cannot handle the feels from this book!!! So wholesome. So cute. You want to talk about the ultimate romance? You can’t get much more romantic than this book, which at its heart is an absolute love story.

Frank has been searching for the girl of his dreams. He met her one time, a long time ago, in 1962, on a bus. He's been riding the bus for years now, searching for her. However, there is a slight problem. Frank is in early stages of dementia. Libby, down on her luck with the man she though was going to marry her, is moving in with her sister where she will be a glorified nanny, while trying to pull her life back together. Dylan is the other character who plays a significant role in the story, is a 30 year old punk complete with Mohawk, tattoos, coming across as a real bad boy. In reality he is a sweetheart, but it takes Libby quite some time to figure that out.

A sweet, kind story, set in London.

Name of Book: The Lost Ticket
Author: Freya Sampson
Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group
Genre: Chick Lit
Pub Date: August 30, 2022
My Rating: 4 Stars
Awww love this story. At the end I had a smile on my face and a tear in my eye!!

Libby and Simon now approaching thirty have been together for a decade.
They always said they would get married when they were thirty, so when Simon arranged a romantic dinner at a new Italian Libby is sure he is going to propose. He is nervous then he asks her ~ ~
For a break! WHAT??? He states he loves her but needs time off and a break will help.

Libby is heartbroken and leaves their apartment to stay with her parent. Her parents believe it would be best if she stayed with her sister Rebecca as she has a large house with a spare bedroom. Libby is not happy about this as the two were never close.
While moving her things to her sister’s and traveling by bus, she meets Frank an elderly gentleman on the bus. He seems to think he knows her. He then tells her about a red haired girl he met on a bus back in 1962. The girl was an artist and told him about her love of art and then she did a sketch him. She asked if he wanted to join her at the National Gallery Art Museum, as it is a place she enjoys and wants to share. She writes her name and number on her used bus ticket and gives it to him. He accidently loses the ticket and wasn’t able to finalize their plans. He rides on the bus many times later in hopes of seeing her but never did and that was sixty years ago.

Libby is touched by Frank’s story and decides she is going to help this him; which turns out to be somewhat complicated!

Not going to give more about but it is a delightful read in which I believe readers will enjoy!

Want to thank NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for this Uncorrected eGalley. This file has been made available to me before publication in an early form for my honest professional review.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for August 30, 2022.

I absolutely loved this book! A tale of unlikely friendship is always a favorite of mine, and this one was no exception. I read author Freya Sampson's debut novel, The Last Chance Library, last year and really enjoyed it, but I loved The Lost Ticket even more!

When Libby, a young and newly single woman now living with her older sister, meets Frank on the bus, she quickly gets caught up in his story. As the two embark on a journey to find someone he met only briefly long ago, their friendship leads them to others and places that made for such a fun and heartwarming read.

I loved each character for their own reasons and really enjoyed how the author pulled it all together in the end. I definitely recommend adding this one to your end of summer reading list!

Thank you to Berkley Publishing for my gifted review copy.