Short Synopsis: Rasmus and Jay, Roisin and Nico, two couples who don't know each other. One of the people in both couples die too soon, and their ghosts become friends and push their significant others in the living world together.

My thoughts: What a fun and unique storyline filled with grief and sadness, but also hope and growth. If you enjoyed The Two Lives of Lydia Bird and the Dead Romantics then you're sure to love this story!

I did find myself mixing the characters up through the book. It took me a minute to remember who was with who at different parts in the beginning. But once I got the hang of the characters I couldn't wait to see what was going to happen next I loved watching the growth in both the living and dead characters and how they came to terms with their loss and sadness.

Read if you love:
- A second chance at romance
- Ghostly characters
- Sad stories
- Grief and healing
- Magical Realism

Unfortunately, this book wasn't a good fit for me. I struggled to connect with the characters and found the pacing to be inconsistent, leading me to ultimately DNF it.

I’m not sure how I feel about this one still. I liked it while I was reading it but I found it very forgettable. I did really like the characters and the story line.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! No spoilers. Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to. Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Maybe even a book club pick.

This was a sweet story that has messages of grief and falling in love again. I couldn’t keep the characters streaming t very well and had to continually stop and think about who was who - took me out of the story a bit!

When one’s partner passes, it leaves a hole in our hearts. We believe we can’t go on and the chasm just keeps emptier and heavier. But is that what our partner, who has passed, believes or wants for us?

You have to be in the right mood to read this brilliantly written book about people coming together through grief. A tender story was the death of two people's partners and the ghosts that bring them together. I was crying so hard I had to stop and wipe my eyes and continue reading.

It is told through the ghosts and it gave me a new perspective of what I might feel either as an apparition or survivor.

It is a slow build but you will be glad you stuck with it. I personally had taken such a long time because of the pace and I kept picking it up and putting it down.Very complex and layered poignant love story.

⚠️Triggers: grief

This one started out strong but lost its momentum. I had a hard time connecting to it after a while and didn't feel much for the characters. The execution just wasn't it for me.

The life and death writing was a bit too much for me, made my anxiety rise a bit. It was a unique plot, the writing was amazing.

A beautiful written romance story. Two couples are brought together when two people pass away. This book is about trying to move on after loss. The book shows us that love never dies.

I was very intrigued by the synopsis for Twelve Months and a Day and was really excited to read it. I fully expected to be heartbroken and sob significantly throughout it. However, I just didn't find the book very emotional. Not sure why, but I didn't connect with any characters and felt no emotions for them.

The book felt way too long and somewhat cheesy at parts (?). I also thought the author's choice to have 2 main characters with very distinct cultures, including a Black woman from Ghana and a Greek man, was strange, considering that the author is a white woman. Some of the descriptions felt a bit stereotypical.

I was really hoping to love this one, but it really wasn't for me.

Thank you Putnam Books for the gifted copy!

Rating: 4/5

Thank you to Putnam and NetGalley for access to this ARC. All opinions are my own.

Better late than never...I finally read Twelve Months and a Day and it was delightful. The first 45% or so was super slow for me, I was not sure if I was going to like this book in the end. There were so many perspectives and it was hard to track.

I loved the touch of magical realism. I loved the second chances theme and how grief/love after loss was handled. It was such a different story and yet reminded me of some of my favorites reads.

Lyrically written, this was an emotional book that drew me in. Roisin and Nico were a couple until a tragedy took Nico’s life, Rasmus, a musician, lost his wife Jay to cancer about the same time. Roisin and Rasmus are having a difficult time coping, until the ghosts of their dead loves plan to get them together. With the right touch of magical realism, combined with deep emotion and recovery, the author twists your heart. Get out the tissues for this one. I recommend this book. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

4 stars!

What a lovely, unique, touching novel by Louisa Young! I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, but I didn't think I'd be quite so moved. I haven't quite read a story like this in my life (though I'm sure they are out there). I am no stranger to grief or ghosts, but this story contains grief and literal ghosts! The story is about two couples, Jay and Rasmus, and Nico and Róisín. Nico and Jay have both recently passed away. Their ghosts spend their days following their former lovers around while hanging in the balance between this world and the next as Rasmus and Róisín attempt to cope with their insurmountable losses on this earthly plane. The book is slow-paced throughout, but it weaves a gentle tapestry about death, moving on, coping with new and difficult situations, and finding love after loss. It's really sad at times. It asks some rather big questions I haven't even thought to prepare myself for should my husband ever die before me. Despite being slow-moving, I found Louisa Young's writing to be engaging, heartbreaking, and bittersweet. It's melancholy and optimistic all at once. Check TWs as this book deals with some very heavy topics and will not be for everyone.

Thank you to NetGalley, Louisa Young, and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons for providing me with an ARC copy of this book! All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated for my review.

It was a good book, but I just didn't have the time to devote to it. I think at a different time in my life I would have finished this book and freaking ADORED it. I loved the themes of loss and mourning and having a second chance at love.

Have you ever wondered what happens to our loved ones once they leave ? well I have. I’ve had the unfortunate experience of loosing someone close to me and even now I wonder if she stayed around to watch over us. Making sure that we were okay and pushing us towards choices that will give us happiness.

This story takes us into the life of 2 couples Jay&Rasmus and Róisín& Nico. They are completely different yet they all had the unfortunate event of loosing their significant other. Jay passes away after a battle with her illness and Rasmus looses Jay, his inspiration and love. Róisín witnesses her boyfriend Nico have a heart attack and Nico looses his future with Róisín and their future child. This book touches on grief and the different stages that we go through to finally get to the side where yes we think of the loss but its not an unbearable pain that we hold on to.

I’ll admit that when I first choose to pick up the book I wasn’t expecting much. The synopsis made me think that it might be a bit funny to read about ghost setting up their loved ones with each other. But that was not the book I read. The writing is slow, but this allows us to go through the grief process with Róisín and Rasmus . But we also see the grief of Jay and Nico. Of them realizing that the people they love are barely living because of the pain they feel. With the knowledge that they wont have a future and seeing how everything moves on, both sides were heartbreaking. But it was true to the idea that if you love someone, you want them to be happy even if its not with you.

“One goodbye too many. One hello too few. Not enough I’m sorry’s, and missing one I love you. Missing one I love you”

The mix of music into the story also brought a deeper connection and emotional attachment with the characters, it’s hard not to get emotional when you get quotes like that and you picture a heart broken man singing it for the love he lost. Lets just say that this part got me.

Something that I enjoyed is that they took their time to processes their pain, they didn’t just jump into another relationship. This made it seem more real, like I actually knew them and was seeing their life. I have always found it easier to write down my thoughts and feelings instead of saying them out load so I appreciated it that Róisín and Rasmus communicated for most of the story through emails. Róisín tried to be part of a support group but decided not to, and Rasmus didn’t really have anybody to talk to. Them finding each other was what allowed them to process the pain and eventually find happiness. They allowed themselves to be vulnerable with each other and their friendship grew into something more, something that they probably didn’t think they would b able to feel again. we end the book feeling hopeful for the future and what else will come, while they still honor the relationships and the people that they lost.

Lastly the goodbye of Jay and Nico was just … i’m not even sure how to describe it. They also had to come to terms with the fact that they didn’t belong in the world of the living and that they needed to accept and let go. My grandmother used to believe that the dead were able to communicate with us in our sleep, letting us know that we would be ok or to give us a message that we needed. The few time that Jay and Nico were able to do that it was to help and to finally say good bye

TWELVE MONTHS AND A DAY by Louisa Young is a fairly slow moving, but remarkable story. It is truly about dealing with grief and trying to move on while still honoring someone you loved greatly. Four characters, two couples, shape the story. There is Jay and Ras – she is a singer turned GP who died recently after a long illness and he is a song-writer recluse who lives in the Hebrides. And, the other couple is Róisín and Nico – she is Irish and a film maker; he's Greek and dies from a sudden heart attack. Ras and Róisín are devastated, but their professional lives overlap and they find each other with a gentle push from Jay. The novel is full of personal email correspondence as the two "widowy pen pals" learn to trust and share thoughts and feelings with each other. Yes, there are moments of sadness, but so many more of beauty and, ultimately, hope. TWELVE MONTHS AND A DAY received a starred review from Booklist which called it a "novel full of wisdom, joy, and sorrow."

3.25/5 stars! This was such an interesting and unique story. It reminded me a bit of "Every Day," from a spiritual angle. I enjoyed getting to know the four characters but didn't connect with the story as much as I would like. I felt like there was so much history that I forgot to root for the future. A lovely, different take on a love story, I do feel many readers would enjoy this book.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

This is such a unique love story. This book really touched my heart. Losing someone you love so young is heartbreaking but watching Roisin and Rasmus find each other and connect was so beautiful. While the story was so sad there was also so much hope and so much to look forward to in life after the death of their partners. While I loved reading about the original relationships and watching the new relationship develop, the highlight of the book for me was the email exchange. They were so fun and frank, you can be honest in an email in a way you can't always be in person. The singing included on the audio version was a beautiful touch.

Twelve Months and a Day by Louisa Young
Rating: 4 stars
Pub Date: 1/31

Twelve Months and a Day is a beautiful romance about two couples, Rasmus and Jay and Roisin and Nico, who are brought together when Jay and Nico pass away. The two widows are left to pick up the pieces of their lives while Jay and Nico become ghosts, trying to come to terms with their deaths.

I love books with elements of magical realism, and I loved so much about this! The premise was so unique and interesting. The idea that the ghosts of Rasmus’ dead wife and Roisin’s dead fiance worked together to help their former lovers find love again with each other is just brilliant. I thought the ghosts’ chapters were introspective and a little heavy at times but also a lot of fun. I loved Roisin’s character. She was really charismatic, and I felt her grief so clearly; it was as if she was telling me her story in real life.

I never felt a connection with Rasmus’ character, though, and I thought his chapters were a bit dense. The email chapters were hard to read, and I think it’s because the copy I received from NetGalley was missing chapters, and some of the paragraphs were out of order. Unfortunately, I spent a lot of time trying to piece together what I missed, which negatively impacted my reading experience.

Overall, this was a beautiful story about finding love after loss and learning some lessons about being true to ourselves along the way. This would be perfect for fans of The Dead Romantics and the Two Lives of Lydia Bird. Thank you so much to Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley for the advanced copy to read and review! Twelve Months and a Day comes out on 1/31.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.
This is a beautiful story about grief and finding happiness after loss.
The first half of this story felt extremely slow to me. It was nearly a do not finish for me, but I enjoyed the author’s writing and I was curious as to how the story would unfold for the main characters. I enjoyed the letter writing and also the multiple POV, between the living and the dead.
The second half of the story was much better paced and it redeemed itself. 3.5 stars, rounded up!