Cover Image: Still Me

Still Me

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Member Reviews

This was not my favourite Louisa Clark book. I found it dragged in the middle and picked up only near the end.

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Just finished "Still Me", the third installment by JoJo Moyes. "You and Me" first was fantastic while "Me after You" was average. "Still Me" was a fantastic follow-up! Continue the saga if you read the first!!

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First line: It was the mustache that reminded me I was no longer in England: a solid, gray millipede firmly obscuring the man’s upper lip; a Village People mustache, a cowboy mustache, the miniature head of a broom that means business.

Summary: Louisa Clark is starting a new adventure. She is travelling to New York City to work as a personal assistant. However, the new job is not exactly what she had pictured. With a busy schedule of appointments and society events, she tries to balance work and her new relationship with Ambulance Sam, who is back in England. At one such social event, she runs into someone that reminds her of her past and changes her future.

Highlights: Jojo Moyes is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. I have read several of her novels and enjoyed them all. She has a way of writing that makes you feel everything. I laughed at Louisa Skyping with Sam. I nearly cried at the end when she is deciding who she wants to be. I love the character of Louisa Clark. She is quirky. She is funny without always meaning to be. She is not afraid to be herself. She is kind, honest, and loyal. I loved her interactions with all the different people in the apartment building. She is a person I would like to be. A complete optimist. She may have a few sad times but she is always looking at the bright side. In addition, getting to know more about her family. This book gave so much more to the other two. It filled in spaces and brought closure to many of the plotlines.

Lowlights: The more I think about this while writing the more I realize how much I liked it. Nothing to complain about at all.

FYI: Must read Me Before You and After You before reading in order to understand the background and characters.

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Fabulous book. Thoroughly loved. Highly recommend!

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Review: Still Me by Jojo Moyes
This book is so good. As expected, parts of it made me laugh, made me furious, and made me cry.

I love Lou, so glad to return to her world and find out how she's doing, but part of this story infuriated me. I found myself thinking, all this time and she's learned nothing, she still lets people walk all over her, won't fight for what matters to her. This wasn't the life Will wanted for her, always putting other people's lives before her own. She's too nice, like pathetically self-destructively nice at one point. There were several times when bad things happened to her with regard to her relationship and her job and she just let them, did nothing to protect herself. I can't relate to that level of niceness, but, in the end, maybe her being nice is why things work out for her. Takes a very well written story and characters to make me feel so strongly about a book.

Things do eventually work out for her with regard to her relationship and her job.

In this story, Lou has taken a job in New York City, working as a personal assistant for a very wealthy man's new wife. (The wife reminded me of a rather well-known rich wife, and that bothered me because this was the last place where I wanted to be thinking about those people, but anyway. I imagine the description would apply to a lot of wealthy New York wives.) The couple is pretty awful and it upset me to see Lou in this position.

Also, Lou is still trying to maintain her relationship with "Ambulance Sam" and as you can imagine, that proves somewhat difficult. But this is Lou, and she makes things fun and interesting and sweet.

Overall, I loved the book. I imagine this is the last we'll hear of Lou, but I would gladly read more about it, because she really is a wonderful character.

I received a copy of this via Netgalley.

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Be careful what you say yes to. Better advice is seldom given. This book starts out with Louisa on her journey to America. A new life. A new job. Leaving her boyfriend, her home, her family. As the story progresses, we are reunited with our favorite characters as well as invested in a new batch. Louisa is typical meddling Louisa, with her fashion sense and her open heart. Much like the other two books in this series, we follow her ups and downs, her victories and her losses and we wonder “now what has she gotten herself into?” All in all, an amazing book that once it got going, was extremely hard to put down. I would recommend this book to anyone who would like a reminder to enjoy life to its fullest and be thankful for the little things.

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Louisa Clark is back and better than ever! When Louisa takes a position as an assistant to a society lady, she has no idea what life is like for the ultra wealthy. Foisted into a world of ball gowns, limousines, and secrets, Louisa embarks on the journey with her trademark enthusiasm. As life in New York begins to take its toll, we're left wondering if the City is leaving an indelible mark on our beloved heroine. As always, Jojo Moyes has woven together a tale of living, breathing characters, in a world you won't want to leave.

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While I enjoy seeing Louisa Clark again, this one just felt strange. The letters from Will's time in New York feel awkwardly shoehorned in and the story almost felt like someone else's charmed life. Hopefully this will be the last chapter.

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I was willing to give this one a chance even though I thought the second book in the series was not great. This one is a bit better than After You and is a quick, light read if you are interested enough in Lou to want to know more about her. It is nowhere near as good as the first book in the series.

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This was a fantastic addition to this series. I loved the first book and wasn't a big fan of the second, but JoJo Moyes has really done a fantastic job on this third installment. Readers will love the character development and thoughtful plot arc.

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When I first started this series I didn't know how much I was going to love it and "Still Me" did not disappoint. Watching Louisa Clark discover herself, make mistakes, and find the bravery to choose her path was immensely satisfying. Through all the twists and turns with her family, relationships, and jobs I found myself rooting for her. A great reminder that there are good things even in the bad, and happy endings even if you don't reach them how you originally intended.

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Fans of the Me Before You series will not be disappointed. Louisa Clark finds a job overseas in New York City with an elite family. While dealing with the families struggles, she is struggling with her own long-distance romance with Ambulance Sam. A secret within the family that Louisa is not willing to reveal causes her to lose her job, and rather than go back to England with her tail tucked between her legs she once again reinvents herself.

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I got this book as an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. As a fan of Me Before You, I believe that Still Me returns to the origins and feel that Me Before You inspired. Louisa is still charming and a bit lost, but she perseveres. Unfortunately, the character and her circumstances feel a bit too "Shopaholic," but Louisa is lovable and the surrounding quirky characters are entertaining. Overall, Still Me was an enjoyable read, making me laugh and tear up, while also creating a fun platform for Louisa and her unique fashion sense.

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Available January 30: Still Me

****4/5 stars- Loved it

Another Jojo Moyes read with lighthearted humor and lovable characters who will bring you equal parts happy and sad tears.

Recommended readers:

Fans of dramatic fiction
Fans of Jojo Moyes
and if you want to read the book before the movie


Here's my Rankings:

4/5 for characters
4/5 for plot
4/5 overall
1/5 steaminess
REVIEW FROM BOOKS FOR HER:
It's classic Jojo Moyes - with a little crying, a little Bridget Jones-esque humor and now Louisa Clark has stepped into New York City. She takes with her a long-distance relationship with her After You beau Sam.

What I've loved about all Jojo Moyes books is the realness ... a sense of someone so real, I even caught myself going to work thinking about the characters as friends, like 'I should see how Lou is doing with the Sam thing.' but remembered it was just a book (a good one!).

And the complexity of the relationships that Lou builds with her family, new friends in New York - all while navigating a long-distance thing, are lighthearted and believable. And without ruining the end, you'll enjoy even the heartbreaking parts.

Available January 30: Still Me

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Delightful read, better than After You. Louisa Clark remains a smart, quirky, and lovable character,

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This is the third book that follows what happens to Louisa Clark, completing the series started with Me Before You and continued with After You.

As this book begins, Louisa has arrived in New York to take a job as a paid companion to a wealthy young woman about her age.

She came on the recommendation of Nathan, who also worked for Will Traynor back in England. She left behind her family, with whom she is close, and her boyfriend Sam, because she wanted to follow the advice Will gave her before he died: “You only get one life. It's actually your duty to live it as fully as possible.” In addition, she is conscious of having boxed herself in for years doing what felt safe. “Now, she told Sam, “I guess I need to push myself. I need to know what I’m capable of if I stop looking down.”

But long distance relationships are tough, as Nathan pointed out. It’s not just the sex and jealousy, he says, “But he’s not going to be the first person you tell stuff to. The day-to-day bits and pieces. And that stuff is important.”

She works for Agnes Gopnik, who is the second, much younger wife of Leonard Gopnik. Leonard expects Agnes to engage in a full schedule of social and charitable activities, of which Louisa must keep track and occasionally accompany Agnes. Even when Agnes runs, Louisa is expected to go along. (Running, maintains Louisa, is like kale. It’s possibly good for you, but life is too short to embrace it.).

Agnes, a beautiful Polish immigrant, is shunned by her husband’s older, socialite crowd; they remain loyal to his first wife (and disapproving in any event of second “trophy” wives). Agnes is also greatly resented by Leonard’s 24-year-old daughter Tabitha and even the housekeeper Ilaria, who originally worked for the first wife.

In a call back home, Louisa explains to her sister Treena that Agnes acts very erratically, and Treena responds: “Hasn’t everyone got something wrong with them in America? Don’t they like to take a lot of pills? Unlike England, where Mum would have you go for a nice brisk walk.”

Meanwhile, back in England, Sam, a paramedic, has a new work partner, a young woman named Katie Ingram. Louisa finds out more than she wants to know about her because, as Louisa confesses, “Reader, I did the stupid thing. I looked her up on Facebook.” She is not only cute, but posts pictures of herself with Sam in which she is clearly flirting with him.

But Louisa has her own temptations. At a charity ball with Agnes, she meets Joshua William Ryan the Third, who is the spitting image of Will Traynor, and who takes an immediate shine to Louisa.

To make matters worse, Sam comes to New York for a weekend visit, and everything goes wrong. They part on a discordant note. Louisa intends to make it up to him when she goes home for Christmas, but arriving early, she looks through Sam’s window and sees an alarming domestic scene with Sam and Katie.

Back in New York, Louisa loses her job over a misunderstanding, and she is suddenly homeless and alone in New York City. But this is Louisa we are talking about. She never loses her wit nor her kindness, and it’s unthinkable she won’t find a way to overcome any adversity.

Evaluation: I loved this book, much more than the second in the series. Louisa is a character you just can’t resist, and by now she is done mourning and is back to confronting life with all of the heart and enthusiasm she had when she worked for Will Traynor. She never lets anything get her down for long, and her pluck, fortitude, and compassion ensure it’s hard to get tired of this character, and easy to adore her.

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I loved Still Me by Jojo Moyes. and read it one sitting. Louisa Clark gets more captivating with each book and I found this novel touched all the right notes. It had interesting characters and plot lines and even a library subplot that made me love Moyes even more than I thought I could!

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Well written, interesting perspective of New York City from a foreigners view point. A great fall up of Moyes earlier books.

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"I think at some point, dear, you're going to have to work out who Louisa Clark is."

I don't think there needed to be a trilogy. I really don't. Let me start by saying I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED Me Before you. It literally blew me away. I read it twice and have seen the movie three times. I think it is Moyes Swan song. It doesn't get any better than that - which is why the two books which followed could not live up to their predecessor.

In this book we see our much-loved Louisa Clarke moving to New York City to be the "assistant" to a wealthy young socialite. A socialite who is not much liked by others in her social circles as her husband was once married to their friend. A friend he divorced to marry his much younger massage therapist. Before she is even over her jet lag, Louisa is running in central park, shopping and attending fancy social events. She is thrown into a glamorous life one that is much different from the life she lived in England with her paramedic boyfriend, Sam.

While out and about she meets a man named Josh Ryan who bears a striking resemblance to someone from her past. They form a friendship while Louisa pines for Sam and throws herself into the NYC high society social circle. Louisa continues to be quirky and finds herself in various situations both comedic and sad. There will be misunderstandings, new friends, broken hearts, miscommunication, deceit and mayhem.

In this book, Louisa takes Will's advice from Me Before you: “You only get one life. It's actually your duty to live it as fully as possible.” She does take chances and tries to be her own person but sadly, it didn't really pay off for me in this book. It was a solid 3-star book for me. I hoped it would be better. I can't fault he writing, the writing is good but the story lagged in places for me. Again, I think she should have left well enough alone. Good not great.

Thank you to Penguin Group Viking and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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For fans of Louisa Clark, this follow-up to Me Before You and After You will not disappoint. Full of Lou's trademark charm, you will laugh with her, cry with her, and cheer her every step of the way.

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