I’m just gonna put it out there. This book is classified as a romance, but it felt more like a self discovery story to me. Yes, this centred around a romance. But I honestly felt like I was reading Arden’s story of growth, pain, change and her friendships.
Arden had her ups and downs, just like anyone does. Her life took unexpected turns that didn’t give her the big amazing life Mac imagined she’d have. But she kept going. She lived for her son. She had the courage to change in the face of adversity, for her son. She found the courage to renew friendships she thought she’d lost and didn’t deserve.
Those actions speak so much louder to me than the romantic connection and memories from her time with Mac. With each chapter swapping between the past and the present, you get a sense of who Arden was, while experiencing who she is now.
I may have imagined it, but it felt like the chapters written about the past were written in a reflective style. Whereas the ones set now felt like there were written in the moment. If I did imagine it then I’m sorry! But I did feel like there was a difference in the writing style which helped to grow and develop the story.
The main thing I loved about this story was the deep meaning and value of friendships that’s displayed throughout the book. The messages coming through during these times were so intense that it caused me to reflect on my own friendships, past and present, to see how I could be a better friend to others.

I loved this- a beautiful, feel good book- this gave me all the feels! A story of love, of life and all it’s ups and downs. Brilliant.

A love story in every sense of the word. A great read. Gives you that warm fuzzy feeling that only love can give you.
Thank you to both NetGalley and Random House for gifting me this book to read in exchange for my honest unbiased opinion

Some of the reviews of this book have said that it is like 'One Day' but with movies. Having never read that book only seen the film I don't know how true that really is. What I would say though is that I really loved the story of Arden and Mac, who are 'reunited' 30 years after their intense affair when Arden was a University Student and Mac her Film Studies lecturer. Their present day conversations revolve around film references, which is the only way that Mac seems able to communicate with Arden after an accident has left him in a hospital bed with a serious brain injury. These film references in turn take Arden and us the reader back to the height of their affair, and to the girl that Arden once was, before marriage family and ultimately, divorce, changed her forever. We seen a young student full of hope and enraptured by first love only to be devastated and downtrodden by lie, broken relationships and the drudgery of day to day living, but it is also about the power of forgiveness and the possibility of new beginnings at any age.

If you liked One Day by David Nicholls then you'll probably like this book.

I, however did not like One Day but did not hate this book.

Arden Hall is divorced from a horrid, abusive man and is living a quiet life in London. One day, visiting a friend in hospital she spots someone, another patient, who she thinks she recognises, Mac Bartley-Thomas, her lecturer in Film Studies from university and lover from 30 years ago. Mac is paralysed and the only things that he can say to Arden are quotes from films that he and Arden watched together. These quotes bring memories flooding back to Arden and makes her reconsider the life that she thought she would have compared to the one that she has lived.

The film references are fantastic, probably helped massively by the fact that I have seen the majority of them.

The characters are fantastic and so very realistic.

This is such a wonderful book that shows us how important our pasts are and how something quite innocuous can have such a profound effect on who we become.

I read this book courtesy of NetGalley. I adored this book. The author kept me wanting to read it. The characters were believable and I grew to love them. The novel was written in Now and then chapters, however it was very easy to follow. Arden falls in love with one of the lecturers at University. She has a wonderful two and a half years with Mac., watching wonderful movies and Arden is devastated when Mac puts an end to the affair.. Life goes on. Twenty eight years later she visits someone in hospital. Looking about she sees someone who looks like Mac. The following day she went back to discover that it was in fact him. He is unable to speak very much however he does say lines from movies they have watched together. Arden then reminisces. This is a poignant story of love, heartbreak, sorrow and laughter. It was extremely clever how the movies were woven into the story. It gave me deeper insight into some of the films, which I had not thought of. I thoroughly recommend this book to everyone.

An affair with her old lecturer. A surprise reunion, resulting in a new love. A sometimes depressing read but the book grips you and makes you want to keep reading. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me review this book.

I had a hard job getting into this book and kept on putting it down to do other things. Arden wasn't a very like-able under graduate for me; selfish, needy and uncaring of others. Those traits carried on into adulthood too, for varying reasons. I loved the 'Then' parts concerning the movies as I studied film as part of my history degree, and. I wanted to join in the discussions with Arden and Mac. The book is written in a very immediate style and the emotions throughout the book seem very real. I liked the ending too. Overall an enjoyable read after a flickery start. With thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review and e-ARC of the text.

This ARC was courtesy of netgalley - all thoughts and opinions are mine and unbiased

I loved this - the perfect holiday read

Well written - I loved the characters

I really loved the way the author incorporated the films and movies throughout - its made me want to go back and see the ones I haven't seen and see again the ones I have - the author's enthusiasm and love for the movies is throughout and I really loved that

Highly recommended

You don’t have to be a movie buff to enjoy this book. This book changes between the present and the past as Arden is reunited after 30 years with an old lover in a chance encounter at the hospital where he can no longer speak. The past follows their love affair and their love of movies. In the present she visits him in hospital and even though he can’t talk he says the odd phrase from movies they watched together. It is a sad ending though as he ends up dying. It’s a great read though and not a book you want to put down.

I was sent a pre-publication copy of this book in return for an honest review.

I loved this book, really loved it, I read it over two evenings whilst on holiday and it just got me - I couldn't put it down.

Arden Hall has recently come out of an abusive relationship, she has a son, (not the son of the abusive partner) but lives alone and is trying to get her life back on track. Whilst visiting a friend in hospital, a chance encounter with an ex lover draws her back to happier times.

The book jumps from past to present but in a way that is very easy to follow. As Arden lives both in the present visiting her old flame whilst he's in hospital, she also looks back and reminisces over the relationship she had whilst at university that featured heavily around the movies that they watched together. The descriptions of the past were very good, taking me back to my university days, the music, the clothes, the friendships. Even though I'm not a great movie buff, I recognised a few of them and even though I haven't seen a lot of them this didn't detract from the story line at all.

There are bits of the book that are very funny and parts that had tears forming in my eyes. The journey Arden takes makes her a stronger and part of you hopes that the relationship is rekindled, but the journey she takes doesn't always work out the way you want it to and there are small twists to the plot concerning Arden's relationships and who she falls in love with.

The plot was brilliant, cleverly written and mesmerising. I had to read on to find out what happened to both Arden and Mac. The ending wasn't what I expected but still worked out well for Arden, for which I was very happy.

I loved this book and it was a great holiday read, but It was one I wish hadn't ended!

Adored this! As an Essex girl it was fun reading about familiar-esque places and people and I completed fell in love with Mac. The book has echoes of David Nicholls, which is the highest compliment I can pay to a writer in this genre. Really loved it.

Just loved it. A novel about love and lost loves and being young and getting older. Losing and finding and finally being happy with who you are. Exactly what I needed at this point in my life. Thank you.

This is an epic love story between Mac, a film studies lecturer at Warwick university and Arden, an undergraduate.
Their story is told from the viewpoint of Ardie, more than thirty years later when she meets Mac, simply by chance when visiting a friend in hospital in London. Mac has had a car accident and is unable to speak, the doctors unsure of his future. Narrated by Ardie, from Mac’s bedside, she reminisces about what she believes to be their great love affair. The narrative alternatives between ‘now’ with Ardie on ward 10 and switches to ‘then’when Ardie recalls the various stages of their relationship. Favourite lines from films that the pair watched together, films from Mac’s list, are what prompts the memories and their affair is recounted according to each film that they saw. Mac whilst unable to speak manages to communicate a few words that hold some kind of meaning between the two which pulls at your heartstrings.
The characters of Mac and Ardie are instantly loveable despite their flaws (Mac’s a married man for starters). In fact all the characters in this novel are brought to life extremely well, from Fran the nurse taking care of Mac to socially awkward James, Mac’s neighbour who also visits the hospital. Ardie’s mother, who models herself on Marilyn Monroe is larger than life and her character is hilarious and embarrassing and she clearly isn’t maternal at all, once quite promiscuous but now languishing in a care home.
Both ‘then’ and ‘now’ are equally engrossing with the author beautifully capturing the all consuming passion that underpins their affair. With such an obvious connection between Mac and Ardie it is heartbreaking knowing that this relationship is doomed. In the ‘now’ chapters, despite the years that have elapsed it is evident that the connection is still there, however fragile that may be. Is Ardie remembering the relationship through rose tinted spectacles or would Mac, if he could talk regret that he let Ardie go? Can their romance be rekindled or is there someone waiting in the wings who could potentially be the real love of her life???
You, me and the movies is heart wrenching, funny and sad and perfect for die hard romantics. It doesn’t even matter whether as a reader you’ve seen any or all of the films referenced as it just adds to the overall atmosphere of this modern day love story and may even make you want to view some! This novel definitely took me by surprise in terms of its depth, as often this type of novel can be quite shallow with one dimensional characters. Highly recommend. You might shed a tear or two at the end and in my opinion would make a great romcom too. Thanks to the author and publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to read ahead of publication.

Really nice book to read, perfect for a holiday! I loved exploring the main character and how altered she was due to the events that had occurred in her past. The contrast between her personality in her early twenties and later in life, narrating the story, was shocking and the reasons both relatable and realistic. I really enjoyed the incorporation of the films and how they held the story together but definitely feel as though I would have enjoyed the novel more if I had actually seen more of these films! The transition from past tense to present tense was seamless and I really enjoyed the characters despite their flaws.

To begin with I really did think this was going to be a middle of the road nostalgic look back at a first love romance. I am not even a particular fan of films. And yet this story gripped be hard and would not let me go! I stayed up to the early hours to finish it, which is usually a good sign!
Arden escaped her Marilyn Monroe look-a-like and film star wannabe Mum to go to Warwick University. There she meets a Film Studies lecturer and embarks upon an intense love affair with Mac.
The story moves from the past to the present with memories being triggered by particular film references uttered by a very ill Mac in a hospital bed some thirty years after the pair were together.
The past doesn't just encompass Arden's love affair but explores the nature of parental love, what she didn't have from her mother and the love she felt for her father who dies. It is about pain - abusive relationships - about friendship, about betrayal, forgiveness and hope.
The characters are fantastic. I loved them all, particularly Arden, Mac and James.
To start with I was going to give this book 3 stars, then before half-way I was considering upping that to 4 stars. Having read the entire novel I am happy to give this book 5 stars. It is beautiful, funny, poignant and it did reduce me to tears at the end.
I would imagine if you are a movie buff, you will enjoy this book even more than I did.

This was a cute book. Loved the movie references (the ones I had seen anyway). Loved the character Arden. Light read.

A very good book, full of emotions, entertaining and engrossing.
I loved the plot, the character development and how well the writer makes you feel the emotions.
I will surely read other books by this author.
Recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

A good plot, and mostly likeable characters, though I did feel frustrated with Arden at times, especially the way she was with her friend. I really liked James. Mac only came alive through Arden's storytelling. Every other chapter we're taken back to the past to find out more about Mac and Arden. I confess to skimming through many of their film conversations. I haven't watched most of the films, and even I had, I'm not one who analyses film plots. I liked the detail of Arden dressing like characters from films. If you're a film fan, and know these films, you'll probably enjoy Mac and Arden's conversations all the more. But that aside, this book held my attention, and I think the ending was fitting.

A chance meeting at the hospital reunites Arden with Mac, a university film lecturer she had an affair with thirty years ago. As many people have said, this will be liked more by those who are big cinema lovers, but can also be enjoyed by casual cinema fans. It's a really lovely story and I liked it. I appreciated how we had an older protagonist and I think the flashbacks to her young adult self at university worked really well. I enjoyed the link between the films (especially as a massive film fan myself) - it really spoke to me and was very original and charming. Sometimes it felt slow, but I really liked learning about who Arden was and who she is now alongside the exploration of her affair with the love of her life. It's simply written and easy to follow. A very nice read that is quite heartwarming with some relatable parts.