I really liked this. It was a great story line, the characters were good and they made me like them.
I just reviewed The First Day Without You by Melissa Hill. #NetGalley
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With thanks to #NetGalley for an #ARC of #FirstDayWithoutYou for an honest review.
This is a quintessentially classic Melissa Hill book, she has a format and it works. A nice read for fans of the author. Recommended read.

What a great book from the cover to the great storyline.

We were made to care for these characters easy on. The book flowed nicely. Great different stories that all wove together.

Did the letters get enough closure?

Very enjoyable read and the use of Ireland words sprinkled throughout was a great addition.

This will be an author I will read again.

This was such a cute book. It follows 3 different couples. Leonie and Adam, Alex and Seth, and Nathan and Helena. Leonie moves from Dublin to California as she's running away from something back home. Trying to start a whole new life with barely any money or any thing, she gets a job at a local flower shop in town. After coming home one day, she notices a box of unopened letters in her closet. Being the curious nosy person she is, she decides to read one. One turns into two and before she knows it she's completely enthralled by this man who has been writing letters to his old girlfriend for years with no response. She asks her neighbor, Alex if she knows of the woman who used to live in the apartment complex but no one seems to be able to trace a new address back to her. Alex and Leonie continue to go through the letters trying to get more information. They go on a day trip to try to track down a woman named Helena who could be the woman from the letters. On this trip, Alex comes across a person from her past as well which starts the beginning of a ton of crazy things happening. Alex starts to wonder why Leonie cares SO much about the letters and slowly we find out why she resonates so much with them. Overall I really liked this book. I loved the banter between Alex and Seth and also the outcome for Leonie. I think Leonies reason for running away was a tad dramatic and not exactly what I was expecting but then again, it does match her character to do something like that. The only thing I would change is how even though certain chapters are in different characters perspectives, the chapter title doesn't say whos point of view its in which could make it a little confusing at times. 4/5 stars

and this, my friends, is why talking solves almost everything. we didn’t need these i don’t know how many pages on resolving the conflicts when it could’ve been felt with in a few minutes/lines. i did enjoy the letter aspect but other than that it was simply plain annoying and stupid. 1.5⭐️

“The First Day Without You” is a romance book by Melissa Hill. This book follows two main characters - Alex and Leonie, but also has a “mystery” regarding Helena and Nathan. At first I found this book a bit enjoyable - it’s always great to read books about San Francisco (when it was relatively a safe-ish place to visit) and seeing it though the eyes of a new resident was interesting. When Leonie met Alex, I liked how their two stories moved the mystery of Helena and Nathan to the forefront. However, this book seemed a bit too odd at times for me to fully believe. First there’s A LOT of miscommunication. Not my favorite trope. Why neither Alex nor Leonie thought of their solution for finding Helena and Nathan sooner I found rather annoying. (I’m also wondering how Helena contacted the station, but that’s for another day.) I must admit to liking both of Alex’s interests and her storyline regarding love interests I enjoyed the most. I didn’t find why Leonie left Adam to be that great a reason and how they reconnected I found a bit far-fetched, but it worked, I guess. This book didn’t wow me and was a pretty easy read. 3.5 stars overall.

When Leonie moves from her friends and family in Ireland for a new start in San Fransico she discovers old, unread love letters in her brand new amazing apartment. Intrigued by the mystery behind the letters Leonie and her new friend Alex embarks on a journey to find the long lost lovers and try to reunite them. Along the way she has to confront the heartbreak she's experienced and try to find her own happy ending.

I really wanted to love this book since the storyline is one that I tend to love. But, for me, I just had the hardest time getting into the story and feeling any sort of connection to the characters. It bothered me that Leonie was trying to start anew but her ex would not give her the space she deserved. I also wasn't pulled into the mystery of the letters enough for me to be invested in the story.

Thank you to netgalley and to the publishers for the chance to review this advanced copy.

Before anything, I would like to thank you for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Overall, this was a great read, very entertaining and kept me engaged, almost unable to put it down.

I kept wanting to tell someone about this story and these characters because it was too interesting to just keep it to myself.

There were a few details that I would either remove or change but they didn't stop me from enjoying the story.

**Positives**
The multiple storylines to follow (Leonie's, Alex's and the letters') kept the book interesting in a multidimensional way.

The story kept me curious from the beginning to the end, since everything was slowly unraveling throughout the chapters, leaving me to want more and more.

I loved exactly how the 3 main storylines ended, with everything unfolding beautifully exactly the way I expected.

**Negatives**
I don't like how Leonie blindly believes every man throughout the book, even the one who hurt her friend Alex despite Alex telling her what she felt about him.

Grace's trip to the US felt useless to the plot and not very fun to read about, a little like Grace's character itself.

Nathan's letters weren't all that special. In fact, they seemed very cliché and uninspired. I don't know why Leonie or anyone else could be so infatuated with them.

Details I hated in Leonie's ending scene that stopped it from being a very good one — these might spoil the book a little bit:
- I hated that Leonie didn't write a brand new letter inspired by the original one but instead copied it fully;
- The use of the same words to describe what had happened between them (upended my/his world) by her and the male love interest broke the immersion of it being two different people speaking;
- Despite what he said about their fight, Leonie hadn't just insinuated what she thought. She said it straight up, even if it was after his angry reaction.

"I mean, why does an Irish girl wind up halfway across the world for no particular reason?"

Three different love stories, all connected by a pile of unopened letters.

Leonie escapes a world away after leaving her fiancé, Adam, to San Francisco, California. In the quaint Victorian apartment she’s decided to call home for at least the next six months, she finds a box of letters addressed to Helena Abbott - all from an apologetic man named Nathan. Head over heels with Nathan’s love letters to Helena, Leonie insists on finding a way to bring the two back together. Ending her engagement to Adam has made Leonie insistent on bringing Helena and Nathan back together again.

Alex Fletcher, a news reporter with a chaotic love life of her own, lives downstairs from Leonie. This realistic cynic partners with the hopelessly romantic Leonie to give Helena and Nathan their happy ending.

Through this adventure, the girls learn a lot about themselves (and love in general). Between reading Nathan’s letters and finding Helena, the two girls realize the mistakes they’ve made in their love lives and reconcile the love they tried to escape from.

Unfortunately, there were some downsides for me:

✨Overall, this story was enjoyable and cute but the writing was a little meh at times. I hope there’s some rewriting/editing before the release date to make the story stronger!

✨ The plot moved a bit too slow for my liking. By the halfway mark, I still had no idea why Leonie left Dublin (and Adam) to get away. Sure, Leonie had her reasons to be annoyed with Adam and the fact he spoils his daughter to no end, but it took far too long to find out what the breaking point was.

✨POVs: It was a bit hard to keep up with the POVs at times. It would be beneficial to put the person’s name above the changing POV scene rather than the abrupt POV changes.

✨Timelines: Similar to the POVs, the timelines were also a bit hard to keep track of. I wish the transitions were smoother between the flashbacks and the present.

✨Character interactions: I wish the emotions/interactions were stronger throughout the story. Example: Alex’s interactions and emotions with her “soon-to-be-ex-husband” Seth could have been more intense so that the reader could connect more with Alex & what she’s going through and feeling.

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Note: After looking through the rest of Melissa Hill’s catalogue, “The First Day Without You” (2023 release) and her previous book, “Please Forgive Me” (2009 release), appear to be the same book.

absolutely incredible. heart warming, and just all consuming. this book gave me all the feels and I will be sharing it widely.

Just. Wow.

This book exceeded so many of my expectations, and I am pleased to say that it is one to remember.

Leonie leaves her home in Ireland very suddenly after her relationship seemingly goes off the rails. She packs up and leaves, without a word to even her closest friend, until she arrives at her final destination, San Francisco.

While cleaning up her new apartment, Leonie discovers a box of old letters. Unopened letters, with no return address. Curiosity gets the better of Leonie, and she can't help but read at least one or two of the unopened letters addressed to a Helena Abbott. She soon comes to realize that these are love letters, and after beginning to relate this mystery couple's love story, she can't help but compare her own broken love story to theirs.

In an attempt to save this couple's relationship, Leonie goes on in search for Helena, or the man writing her the letters. She goes on her investigative journey with her new neighbor Alex, who is the necessary help she needs to conclude her search. Alex and Leonie uncover new information everyday, and while doing so, relive both of their own past memories of love and loss.

This book kept me guessing the whole time on what was going on, who the letters might be from, who Helena truly was, and what happened that drove Leonie away from home. The author did a great job as nudging my guesses left and right, while leading me astray the entire time.

This book was cute, funny, heartbreaking and heartwarming all at the same time. I recommend it to anyone who needs a good read that keeps you hooked, as well as binds your heart to the characters!

I think overall, a great book! The only reason it is not a five star read for me was that I felt the conflict between the main character and her partner back in Ireland was a tad lackluster, and didn't feel very realistic considering the characters' ages and her reaction to flee Ireland. It just didn't feel like it fit.

Ms Hill is a author I have ready alot.. Her books are always enjoyable and keep me reading sometimes till middle of the night. She has a knack of knowing what her readers like.

Such a great book. I totally enjoyed going on Leonie’s trek to heal her broken heart.
New places, new friends and a mystery in between to find Helena and Nathan.
I really didn’t want this book to end and hope we get another book some day to see how everyone’s doing.

I will be recommending this book to many people.

Thank you netgalley and the publishing company for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.
Overall, this was a delightful book that is one I would recommend for a beach day. It was something that I could start and stop and not lose what has been going on in regards to the plot. It reminded me of the movie Letters to Juliet.

Three different love stories, all tied together by a string of unopened letters. Personally found the premise quite interesting, as there were so many little details and facets to how the story mixed together. I liked seeing how every story slowly unraveled itself until we finally got the answer to our mystery.

However, because the story is told not in chronological order, the constant switching of timelines got a big confusing as the story went on. There was a lot of jumping around and it would have been nice if we got some small chapter title indicators to help the reader understand what timeline the story was in. There were also a few moments where the story felt a bit dragged on in the middle.

Another small issue would the language in the story. I noticed quite a few American characters writing with some Irish slang mixed in which felt a bit confusing as well. Language helps keep the voices of the characters be more distinct and also more realistic to how an American should sound.

All in all, a cute premise and perfect for those who may want a romance that shows how far love can stand the test of time and how truly important forgiveness is.

I enjoyed this book. I've read her other stories and always enjoy her writing. The storyline was interesting and held my attention.

I thank Netgallery for this ARC of the first day without you. Three different stories all intertwined together for some easy reading. I enjoyed each story but struggled sometimes with the flicking between each character and the length of time it took to get each ones story. 2 of the stories had easy to guess outcomes but the 3rd the story (the story of the letters) was a surprise which I did enjoy the twist of. I enjoyed reading the descriptions of San Francisco and wouldn't mind a holiday there sometime! Would recommend for anyone wanting a quick book to read about relationships that don't go according to hopes and plans.

A little romance mystery, this was an easy page turner. I liked the San Francisco setting although it sounds far more affordable than it probably is in reality! The “mysteries” were a little laboured and the two modern day reconciliations were hard to believe. If you find yourself with this as your only book it will help you pass time but I wouldn’t be rushing out to buy it.

Thanks as ever to @netgalley for the early access. Publication due Nov 2023

#thefirstdaywithoutyou #melissahill #sanfrancisco #dublin #romanticmystery #loveletters #canyourecommendagoodbook #bookstagram #bookreview #netgalley

I saw this book on NetGalley as a read now book. The title and description intrigued me, but I’ve never read anything by this author. I really loved this book. The author kept my attention and I wanted to keep reading to find out what happened or was going to happen. I loved the stories of friendship, love, and lost love. The storyline also had a little mystery/suspense and a villain, which made it fun. I will definitely be reading more books by Melissa Hill.

A beautiful love story set in San Francisco, following a young woman trying to solve a mystery read via old letters. Absolutely enchanting!