I was unable to finish this book and thus will not be posting a full review. Even though I knew the premise when I started reading, I found the way in which it was written incredibly callous and disrespectful to their friend and lover who had died.... I couldn't get past this. Thank you for your consideration and the opportunity.

Enemies-to-lovers is a delicate balance: If the characters are too convincing as enemies, readers might not buy it when they become lovers. In [book:Ten Years], [author:Pernille Hughes] threads the needle of writing two characters that seem to really, truly loathe one another, but then gives them the time and space, and emotional opportunities, to change.

Becca was Ally’s best friend. Charlie was Ally’s fiancé. Becca and Charlie can’t stand each other. But after Ally dies, her instructions from beyond the grave force them to work together to honor her final wishes. And soon (but not <i>that</i> soon) Becca and Charlie find that maybe they’re looking forward to seeing one another to carry out these tasks.

This book sets up a lot of potential pitfalls for itself, and your mileage may vary on whether you think the author manages to avoid them. Someone elsewhere said this romance relationship can sometimes feel like a throuple – who are Becca and Charlie to each other without Ally? Does it matter? What about the “girl code” – is it ever acceptable to date your dead best friend’s former fiancé? Becca’s version of grieving is to lean into it, to wallow in the pain, to press on the bruise. Charlie wants to find a way to move on, to get past the pain and feel like himself again. Once they realize there are feelings between them, that fundamental, philosophical difference on what they owe to the dead sets up the deeper conflict in the second half of the story.

This is not a happy book, though it does have some funny moments. Becca and Charlie get into some hilarious situations while completing Ally’s “tasks.” They can be absolutely vicious to one another, but they find they can be honest without one another in ways they never have been with other partners. The author can write a heck a fight scene. When the anger burns away, we’re left with something real.

<i>CW: Death of a partner/best friend/child from cancer, infidelity (not involving the MC’s relationship), parental abandonment.</i>

[book:Ten Years] by [author:Pernille Hughes]
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
🌶️ 🌶️ The door closes after the heavy petting
⚱️⛺️⛰️🚴‍♀️🪂 Some excellent bucket list items
🪙 Charlie really should have called his company Tosser Productions
🎂 Becca’s rendition of happy birthday to herself is a riot
⛳️🧓🏻Ally’s mom’s relationship with Becca and Charlie is lovely (especially because neither gets along with their own mothers)

<i>Thanks to NetGalley and One More Chapter/HarperCollins for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.</i>

I really loved this book. I enjoy ones that take place over an extended period of time with the main characters interacting sparingly, and this delivered on that nicely. Becca and Charlie had one thing in common: their love for Ally, their best friend and fiancée respectively. Sadly, Ally passes away from cancer and throws their lives into a tailspin. Luckily, Ally thought of a solution before she died: having them scatter her ashes in a sort of bucket list for the two to complete over a series of years. It all unfolds from there.

Thanks as always to NetGalley for the ARC.

Ten Years by Pernille Hughes is enemies to lovers done right you can see the progression for these characters and it makes sense. I really liked the dual POV of the characters seeing how they both were grieving and the ways they handled it. This was a well told and written story they dealt with grief and losing a loved one in such a lovely way. I want to thank NetGalley and Harper 360 for the digital arc in exchange for an honest review.

I received a copy of Ten Years via NetGalley to read and review.

Ten Years hit me hard emotionally. I lost a very good friend to cancer in 2014.

I was able to relate to the characters with their grief but none of the bucket list items. I finished Ten Years in a day. Even though I felt sad reading a lot of it I looked forward to Charlie and Becca doing the bucket list items which always had good humor to it.

Funeral of Ally fiancé to Charlie Lester & best friend of Becca White. Ally was the glue that kept Charlie & Becca together (barely). Becca and Charlie are mortal enemies and only “played” nice for the sake of the one they love, Ally.

You will need to get acquainted with the slang… took me longer to read because of this.

This was a sad story. The premise of the fiancé and the best friend completing her bucket list, after her death, was a fun way to do an enemy to lovers trope. You can feel the love they both had for Ally. I couldn’t stand Becca throughout the years and eventually fell in love with her growth.

You really got to know who Ally was as a fiancé, daughter & friend. She truly left her mark in their world. I also loved their friend group and how through the years they continued to show up for one another.

Though a sad premise this book was funny and thought provoking. ( thinking of creating my own bucket list)

Thank you NetGalley, Harper Collins UK for giving me this ARC. #NetGalley #TenYears #PernilleHughes

This book had such an interesting premise. I found myself flying through this book because I just had to know more.

This book broke my heart on the first page. It's a sad but interesting premise of how you perceive the world.. Charlie was oftentimes a bit arrogant, but quite charming with a touch of being lost. Becca had such a tough exterior that she was often a bit much to endure. However, when you thought about her life and how she came to view it, her character made perfect sense.

As these two force themselves to honor Ally with their tasks over the course of 10 years, they are forced into a deeper introspection with several missteps along the way. But isn't that the journey of life; moving forward and looking deep inside to see who you are to better understand the world around you?

I think the only issue I found with the book is that it is written in British vernacular. There were times when I was lost at a reference or implication. However, it wasn't enough to deter reading it.

This is a beautifully complicated tale of self-discovery and love. Worth the read.

This is my first novel by Pernille Hughes. Ten Years is about the fraught relationship between Charlie and Becca. It begins at the funeral of Ally, Becca's best friend and Charlie's fiance. They all went to college together. Charlie wrote a scathing review of a play Becca was in, and soon started dating Ally. Becca and Charlie despised one another all through college and after. But beyond the grave Ally has other plans for them. She has created a bucket list of things she wished she had done and wants Charlie and Becca to do them together. The two reluctantly agree to do each task and meet up once a year, and little by little they start to actually like one another.

Unfortunately, I didn't really care for either Becca or Charlie. They weren't likeable, which it's fine to have unlikable characters but at the end of the day you want to root for the people to fall in love. I wasn't a big fan of the bucket list as a narrative device. I didn't hate this book, but it didn't make me feel all swoony.

Thank you to Harper 360 and NetGalley for the ARC for my honest review.

Charlie and Becca really kind of annoyed me. I get that over the years they changed and fell in love through their mutual friendship. But it took me awhile to get on board with them being together.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC.

Ally's death at such a young age gutted Charlie and Becca. As they go in and out of each other's lives over ten years, they fall in love. Maybe as Ally intended? There is some immaturity on both parts and some hurt feelings on Ally's perceived manipulations. I don't know. It wasn't a favorite.

Pernille Hughes has written a book with a very original storyline in "Ten Years." Becca and Charlie have been part of a circle of friends since college. However, when Ally dies -- Becca's best friend and Charlie's fiance -- their own friendship is threatened. When they learn that Ally's dying wish was for them to spread her ashes in a variety of locations each year on the anniversary of her death, they begrudgingly agree. Along the way, they soon realize that they have more in common than they ever could have imagined.

While I enjoyed the originality of this book, Becca and Charlie were so stubborn and unlikable that it was impossible to root for them. I found myself skimming through some sections of the book just to get through it quicker. I did, however, enjoy the little twist at the end of the book. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

I wanted to like this one but just found it to have a very contrived feel. I also found a number of weird description choices that were just distractingly odd. For example they describe a coffin as "Pale Wickerworks" and I put the book down for fully ten minutes picturing wicker patio furniture made into a coffin.

Also, I thought it was going to be a lighthearted story, the reviews suggest people found it to be cute and kind of Hallmark Movie like but i just found the whole idea of how they know each other so depressing.

I have read this story before but done much better.
These two people legitimately don’t like one another and are only tolerant because if their shared person. The fact that their shared person would force them to be together after she dies is both terribly selfish & cruel.
I really didn’t get any chemistry between these two. It was just a slog.

Thank you so much for the ARC. This book was so emotional for me. Ally passes away and her best friend and her fiancé complete her bucket list for her. Cue the tears. It was such a sweet read and I enjoyed every minute of it.

What an interesting read! I loved jumping being Points of View and I loved the overall vibe of the book. I did feel like they focused a lot on the first five-7 years and the last few were just rushed through. Which makes sense but also felt rushed.

Overall a great read and a perfect book for your pool bag

I loved this book! It was heart wrenching at times and other made me laugh out loud. This book was so wonderful.
I just reviewed Ten Years by Pernille Hughes. #TenYears #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

This book is a bit of a tearjerker. Or at least I cried. But the crying felt good, I love a therapeutic cry. After losing Ally, Becca’s best friend and Charlie’s fiancé, Becca and Charlie are asked to complete Ally’s bucket list over the span of multiple years.

This to me was a true enemies to lovers story. Becca and Charlie truly dislike each other in the beginning. They’re both grieving and handle it in different ways. Each task and year changes them, leading to an ending on Ally say coming.

I really did love this book. I loved Becca and Charlie’s journey and when I’m yelling at the characters hoping they can hear me from the pages I know the story will stay with me.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper 360 for the ARC.

This was an interesting read. I really enjoyed the premise. I loved the backstory of Becca, Charlie, and Alley and how they came to know each other.

I wasn't expecting the reveal of Becca and Charlie's past and how it really colored their relationship even before Alley was in the picture. That threw me for a loop, not going to lie, but it also helped me understand Becca and her hangups a lot more. I understood why she felt the way she did regarding her friendship with Ally and her tenuous and strained one with Charlie over the years.

I also loved how the interweaving story of their adventures fulfilling the bucket list together. Despite how much they mixed like oil and water Charlie and Becca actually did complement each other.

I think my favorite part of this novel, though, is that they are 100% honest with each other and they pull no punches when they verbally spar. Becca is a bit rough around the edges but her insight into Charlie's need to move on, no matter the cost, was spot on, but Charlie's insight into her life and the way she viewed herself in relation to Ally was also spot on. They really truly saw each other for who they were and despite how uncomfortable they felt about that, they still kept being drawn back together.

I honestly loved this novel. It's not an easy read. It's not all that fun, but it's raw and real and very angsty and dramatic and I'm here for it.

If you like enemies to lovers, second chance romancesish, opposites attract, and two grumpy characters you'll love this book.

This book started out sad and although it changed from being sad to being the beginning of a friendship/relationship, it was a tad boring to me. Nothing really hooked me. I gave it a good 30% before I lost hope in it.