I really enjoyed this book and from about half way though I couldn't put it down. This is one of those stories that is told from the end backwards.

Initially I found it a little confusing, and couldn't understand why a happy man, albeit with the start of Alzheimer's, would walk into the sea and kill himself. Reading the book all becomes clearer.

The initial premises is a little 'unusual' but it makes for a good story.

Interesting concept - begins in the present day with the ending of the book and then goes back through time focussing on different events that form the main plot.for the two lead characters.
Empathetic and likeable charaters and a very easy read

This was a beautifully crafted and well written book.The characters were believable and because we know at the start what happens it is a question of reading to find out why .I liked that I read a lot of twisty thrillers and spend half my time while reading trying to second guess the outcome and that can detract from the story ,I didn't have to do that with this book I just read as fast as I could to get to the bottom of what had happened going back in time . The family dynamics were well written and it all seemed very real .its a very different technique writing the story back to front but it worked it piqued my interest and kept me entertained.I would recommend this book to other readers and I enjoyed it.

Review posted on Goodreads. Will post it on my blog on the 25th of July.

Robbie and Emily have been together for a long time. They clearly love each other very much. But what is the secret they are keeping? What was so bad that they've lost contact with friends and family over it?

I'm not totally sure how to review this. As a writer, I loved it. The book is written backwards - given the story, it was probably the only way you could tell the story. At a technical level, it's fascinating. You start with the day Robbie dies and go back in steps, each section revealing a part of the story, but raising more questions than were there before. There is a twist at the end that makes everything fall into place. The writing is beautiful (as always).

As a reader, I found it difficult to engage with the characters. Both Robbie and Emily are nice enough, but it took me a long time to get into it. I found I didn't care as much about the why of their relationship as I'd expected to. In general, the start of the story (end of the book) was more interesting than the end (start of the book). For me, Julie Cohen's books tend to be the sort where I burn the supper because I can't bear to put them down and try to read and cook at the same time, so I'm a bit puzzled by this. Perhaps it's the fact that you know where they end up.

In general, this book is unusual (both in structure and in subject matter) and a very thought provoking read. I'm still thinking about it.

My thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for sending me a review copy. I know Julie, but I was a fan of her books well before I met her.

Struggled to get into it if I'm honest. Didn't really gel with the characters, which always makes for a struggle. I can totally see how fans of writers like Jojo Moyes will love this, but not for me alas :-(

This is the first novel I've read by Julie Cohen and it is very good indeed. Together tells the story, backwards, of Robbie and Emily's forty year long love affair. They harbour a shocking secret that has caused Emily's deep estrangement from her family. The reason for the estrangement isn't revealed until the end of the novel and it is down to Miss Cohen's excellent writing that we have sympathy for Robbie and Emily at that point.

Thanks to NetGalley and Orion for the opportunity to read and review this enchanting and unusual love story. I'm sure Ms Cohen's fans will not be disappointed and I look forward to reading more of her books.

Love stories are not usually my thing. But I did enjoy this one as I do like this authors books.

Robbie and Emily have been married for several years. Two sons and grandchildren have blessed them in their latter years.

Robbie was a boat builder and Emily and daughter did love to spend his hard earned money. Emily was an obstetrician to both well paid jobs.

An OK life, a good life, or so it seemed.

Age has now kicked in and Robbie has developed dementia. I thought then it was going to be based on that and his deterioration however I was wrong.

There is a huge secret they both share that if it comes out will change all their lives.

This is written in a kind of reverse order, it made a good change and kept me on my toes.

I need to thank Orion Publishing group for providing my copy via Net Galley.

I loved this gentle romance story so much, but it really was so much more than just that, it was the story of a whole relationship, warts, champagne moments and all. Put into Julie Cohen’s words Robbie and Emily ‘were bound together, tangled up in exquisite complication’, and what a truly gorgeous, heart warming story that made.
Another gloriously quirky slant in this tender and romantic story is that it was told not from the beginning to the end, but the other way round. It sounds really weird, but it actually works very well indeed. In the very end (which is the beginning of the novel, if you get my drift) Emily finds that Robbie has left her alone in bed and not for the first time either. There’s another heart breaking letter, heralding another written goodbye, just like at the beginning of their romance in 1962. This is the real ending of their story.
It’s a weepy ‘have the tissues close by’ story as well, with torturous separations and shocking revelations, but it is also full of heart and wonderful enduring love. They are more than soul mates, lovers and a family; they are meant to be, a ‘one true love couple’. It’s the complications that are the enemy of this story.
My favourite character was Robbie, or at least the Robbie that Emily knew. He was the perfect romantic lead character. He loved Emily with a fierce passion; he was a gentle giant amongst men, protective, supportive and adoring. None of what came after they became intimate was his fault or Emily’s fault but it was inevitable; written in the history books. But still it was their burden to endure. The fluid and lyrical storytelling swept me up and consumed me. I was totally immersed in the story, all the time knowing that this brilliant novel would stay in my memory for years to come. It’s an absolute ‘must read’ gem for fans of this genre.
I would like to thank NetGalley and publisher Orion for my copy of “Together”, sent out to me in return for an honest review. It was a wonderful read of 5* enjoyment.

I loved this book. Cohen created memorable and sympathetic characters, confronted with genuinely tragic dilemmas, and then told their story backwards - which was exactly the right way to tell it.

A different type of love story that only becomes clear near the end. You start at the end of a life lived with love and you work back through it to see how you got to there, only reaching the beginning at the end. I liked this book and it's definitely worth a read

I am sitting here in shock. I did not expect that to be the ending. The whole way through the book there are references to 1962. I had no idea what happened in 1962 the whole way through the book. The love Emily and Robbie have for each other shines out of every page of this book. The book tells their story working backwards. It is beautifully written and the shock at the end shifts the story on to a completely different axis. I definitely want to read more books by this author and I also want to read this book again to see if there are clues to the ending that I have missed.

A lovely and heartbreaking novel tracing an epic love story through the decades with many twists and turns

Wasn't for me, tried after accidentally downloading (email automatically did this).

A brilliant book. Hard to review without giving too much away. And the whole story hinges on secrets.
Robbie and Emily have a deep and enduring love, but also a huge secret. The story gradually goes back to their first meeting and whirlwind romance. But there are problems!
I loved this book full of believable, rounded characters and true love, not always running smoothly.
Highly recommended

I really enjoyed this book. Robbie and Emily are an elderly couple who are clearly very much in love. It quickly becomes apparent that they share a very big secret, which has caused Emily to be estranged from her family. The story is told backwards with all the details of the relationship gradually being revealed. It will keep you guessing right til the end. Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.

This is a well-written book with a very interesting story to tell.
It opens in the present day and introduces the main protagonists, Robbie and Emily, who have been married for 40 years.

I like the way their stories are told backwards. This meant questions about the why or how where answered in later chapters.
It is an interesting examination of family dynamics and how love can ride roughshod over the disapproval of families. In fact, the main transgression is still controversial today.

It is a heartbreaking start to the book. Robbie and Emily are an elderly married couple who are still very much in love and very much a part of each other. Robbie has the onset of dementia and early one morning he leaves Emily a simple note and leaves her in bed.

However, this is not a book about dementia, instead it is a love story told in reverse. Periods of Emily and Robbie's lives are brought to light, and the reader learns about the secrets that bind them together as well as the overwhelming love that they have for one another. Robbie and Emily are each others beginning, middle and end. It is the story of how two people will do anything to be together and everything to protect the life that they have built together.

A really lovely Summer read that will need tissues at the end.

I am so glad I persevered with reading this book. I found the beginning quite dull and plodding, but a wonderful involved story developed.

What a clever book this is..! I was dubious about a story written in reverse but the author has expertly achieved this. The characters are real, flawed but still very likeable. The description of the feelings between Robbie and Emily, remaining so steadfastly in love over the decades, is simply marvellous. You kept having to think back to what you had already read, almost going through the memories of the couple yourself which made you immerse yourself even more into the story. I really enjoyed this book and would strongly recommend it to others.

Very different to Julie Cohen's other books - but an equally good read. Contemplative and original