About ten years ago I picked up and read my first ever Jill Mansell book and have frequently done so ever since. There’s something about Jill’s writing that completely captivates me, everything about it is simply divine and I couldn’t wait to read her latest title called You and Me, Always. This was a truly adorable story that was every bit as enjoyable and beautiful as every other book I’ve ever read by the author and it’s a book not to be missed.
You and Me, Always is set in Stanton Langley, a small village and one of those places where everyone knows each other’s business. It primarily focuses on Lily who on her 25th birthday at the start of the novel opens the very last letter that was written to her by her mother who sadly passed away when Lily was quite young. This letter, unlike all the others that she has previously received, reveals information about her mother’s first true love who Lily cannot stop thinking about and who she is absolutely desperate to meet. So, supported by Coral who took responsibility for Lily following her mother’s death and her good friends, Dan and Patsy, Lily begins the search for the man her mother once loved so very much. Will she find him and will she also be successful in finding the one true love of her own?
The thing that made this book what it was for me was the incredible selection of characters that were introduced to us throughout the stunning story. There are quite a lot of them but they are all important in so much as they all have a part to play and they all come together, their lives are all connected in one way or another. As we get to know more and more about each and every one of them, something which I particularly enjoyed, my love for Lily grew. She was an incredibly strong character who having been through such an ordeal at such a young age was determined to make the most of every minute of her life and I admired her greatly. You can’t help but want the best for her from the minute you first meet her.
This book was really beautifully written in true Jill Mansell style in a way that I simply adored. Throughout the novel there was the perfect mixture of humour and slightly more emotional moments, with the end result being a book that I found it very difficult to put down once I had picked it up. It certainly brightened up my day when the rain was pouring down outside my window despite it being the middle of June.
You and Me, Always is Jill Mansell’s 27th novel and it’s really not hard to see why she’s had such a long and successful career as an author. Everything that Jill writes is always consistently well written and you can always rely on her books to pick you up if your down and leave you with a smile on your face. You and Me, Always is absolutely no exception to that rule and I thought that everything about it was absolutely delightful from the beginning to the end. Along with every other book Jill Mansell has previously written I thoroughly recommend You and Me, Always and am looking forward to reading plenty more by Jill in the future.
