Jill Mansell is one of the very best writers of women’s fiction. Her novels always have heart and warmth, along with good plots, likeable characters and smile for readerss. This time readers meet Didi and Shay; Rosa, Red, Benny, Ingrid, Harry, Will and others, including a well-known actress. All are well portrayed and people that readers will enjoy getting to know.

Didi and Shay met as teens and broke up; now, Shay is back. Will their past history derail them or will they find their happy ever after? Shay’s dad has been in and out of jail many times and yet he is a most appealing character. Red is dying and wants to spend time in the town where Shay grew up and where Shay is living in Didi’s hotel. Layla is Didi’s closest friend; will she find love through Shay’s dating site or closer to home? Rosa, Layla’s mother, loved her husband Joe who died. She is offering shelter to Shay’s dad, Red, and becomes involved with Benny, a goodhearted man to whom she sold her house.. And, there is more although this gives a sense of all of the many interrelationships in this heart warming novel.

Readers looking for a relaxing read should mark their calendars for this books’ release date. I highly recommend it. Ms. Mansell has written many novels; readers may want to read them all.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title. All opinions are my own.

The publisher's blurb describes And Now You're Back as telling the story of former couple Didi and Shay coming back into each other's lives after 13 years. While Didi and Shay's story definitely plays a role and serves as the catalyst for much of the story, And Now You're Back actually follows a wide cast of characters in the small town of Elliscombe.

That large cast of characters was the downfall for me. The narrative followed too many viewpoints and none of the characters were well developed. All of the main characters felt quite flat and I had a hard time buying them as real people. The very few secondary characters (because everyone was a main character) were even more undeveloped, nothing more than a name and one or two broad traits.

The numerous plot-lines (they might be subplots, but I'm not sure because I couldn't identify the main plot) divided my attention and kept me from being truly invested in any of them. It felt like 4 or 5 different stories interspersed together, rather than one coherent book. The only story line I really cared about was Rosa's, as it felt deeper and more meaningful than the rest of the plot. I would have loved to just read her story!

I think this story would have been better suited to a series of books about Elliscombe, allowing each character's story to be fully developed, or perhaps even a television series. That being said, I didn't dislike the book and would recommended it if you're looking for a lighthearted distraction that doesn't go too deep.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I just...I have Hallmark/Lifetime vibes from this book. Unfortunately, this just didn't work for me and I had to DNF, but I think it would be a great read for those that love the cutesy, Hallmark movie type romances. I really really wanted to fall in love with this book, but I just couldn't. 

Thank you Netgalley, author, and publisher for the ARC of this book.

Didi and Shay fell in love during a trip to Venice.  Upon returning home, they became inseparable and deeply in love.  However, an act of betrayal resulted in Shay leaving town and leaving Didi heartbroken.  Years later, Shay returns to their town to take care of his ailing father.  Didi is now engaged and yet still has strong feelings for Shay.  The course of true love rarely runs smoothly and theirs is no exception.  Along the way, a cast of characters are also looking for love often in the wrong places.  Will love prevail?  This is a fun, easy delightful read with a beautiful setting in the Cotswold area of England.  The people are realistic and fun and the story line believable.

I loved this book! It was heartwarming and strong. It was exactly what I needed with everything going on in the world! A happy little escape!

I liked this book.  It had a lot of characters to keep track of but it was a good read. This is one of my favorite authors.

Just what was needed to lift the spirits. A nice easy romantic storyline and lovely characters. 
Love Jill mansell books they are wonderful and funny and warm and this book was perfect.

Venice in the snow. Swoooooooon. 
Age 18: Didi meets Shay on a group trip to Venice and that sparkle of first love swirls around like snowflakes. But, six months in, Shay takes off and no one knows where he went. Fast forward thirteen years, Shay is back and looking good (of course). And this is when we board the seesaw that is the summer and into the winter, right when Didi was supposed to marry someone else. And Now You're Back has lots of characters all hailing from Elliscombe, a town in the Cotswolds. They are quite a cast and there are lots of overlapping storylines that are a bit Love Actually in a town you'd want to visit for a weekend. This is a book about the sweetness of love at any age. It is a book about love that is patient and kind, but not in a biblical way, but rather in a tender way that gives off a warm glow. You'll get small-town feels and warmth. Don't expect over-the-top romance, but look for the love.

This is Jill Mansell's best book yet!!!! Absolutely feel in love with the characters and the situations they were in. There are many layers to this story, I was cheering for the underdog in this book, one can not but help do this. I feel this book will be the number one summer read this year. I can not wait to recommend this to friends and anyone looking for something new to read.

I thought this book was going to be a little too romancy for me, but I really ended up enjoying the story. It was fun and took the right amount of time for things to come around

I absolutely loved this book i read it in a day it was lovely it has a great story and i cannot recommend it highly enough

2.5 stars
I love second chance romance books, but I could not get into this. 
The characters did not entice me, which is important in a romance novel. 
It started off super cute, and then it went downhill and I couldn’t finish it. I skimmed to see if it got any better, and unfortunately, it did not. 
It is very lighthearted and definitely meant for folks who like their romance to be more G rated and less steamy.

Jill Mansell is the queen of cosy, comforting romantic novels and I enjoyed reading this story.

And Now You’re Back is set in the Cotswold town of Elliscombe and follows the ups and downs of the romantic lives of Didi, Layla and her mother Rosa. As usual, Jill Mansell creates likeable characters who you hope will find happiness. A great read to escape into!

Overall rating: ★★★

Didi and Shay meet on a magical trip to Venice, where they end up building a snowman together and falling madly in love. Sadly, their relationship ends abruptly when something happens that changes everything. This event causes Shay to leave town and disappear. Didi has long since moved on, and is currently happily engaged to be married. But much to the town's surprise, Shay is back after thirteen years to fulfill his father's dying wish. He moves into the best suite of Didi's hotel, making them unexpected neighbours. Will him moving back change everything? Will secrets be revealed and will old feelings resurface?

"He'd been her first love and she'd been his."

It might be a weird thing to say, but I was more invested in the side characters' happiness than Didi and Shay's, because I felt like their story was a bit predictable. I found myself gravitating more towards Layla, Will, Rosa, Red and Benny. It was a joy reading their story and finding out their pasts and I found myself rooting for all of them more than for the "main couple". 

Character personality wise, I can't say that I was impressed with any of them. They all maybe could've used a little more depth to them, but especially Didi and Shay. I also wish we'd gotten more Didi-Shay flashbacks, because I feel like that would've helped me to be more invested in their story.

“What was going through his mind right now...and was she completely crazy to be asking herself that question, given what was going on in hers?”

This was the first book I've read this year and seeing as it starts off with building a snowman in the middle of Venice, it was the perfect book to read in January. This book has a kind of Hallmark movie vibe to it, so if that's not your thing this might not be the book for you. I enjoyed reading it, though. It was a cute, fun, feel-good story about, well... love, mostly. 

Thank you to Netgalley and to Sourcebooks Landmark for granting my wish and giving me an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

“Sometimes you just couldn't wait a single second more 
for the other person to make the first move."

Second chances--Do they really exist?
When you feel the rush of excitement, the thrill of the chase, the beauty in the eyes of the soul-you may just have found your soulmate. Never second guess a first love!
This is a powerful love story about a couple that ebbed and flowed for the past 15 years. Originally they had met in Venice during a magical winter visit but the romance fizzled after a shocking discovery.
Shay and Didi seemed destined to be together but was it written in the stars? Shay went so far as to work for her parents hotel? Yet, one incident changed everything.
The next we learn 13 yrs later Shay arrives back in town to follow through on his father's dying wish. His dad Red knows all about love. He's a man of convictions, a man determined to keep the embers glowing, a man full of character.
His teachings may have rubbed off upon Shay but in the wrong direction as both Shay and Didi are actively involved with other individuals in their lives. So, why would anyone wish to break up another couple(s) for their own pure selfish needs? They don't -ergo why everyone proceeds with extreme caution. I'm sure in the backdrop -hoping, wishing, praying but going through the motions as if they're in love with someone else. Putting up a false front to appease the masses but not one another.
The truths cannot be ignored. Serendipity is upon them both. Can love conquer all?
The way in which Jill Mansell tackled this one was good but I was somewhat taken back by most of the book as it was too cautious, too slow, too conservative in its thoughts.
As the book warmed up, the words started flowing, the plot began to form and the power of the mighty pen was in full display on paper.
Jill put together a much better second half and saved the day in my opinion.
The ending was as good as one could expect but the plot was something that wasn't a secret if you were paying attention.
I enjoyed the characters and their relationships with one another. In fact, shockingly Didi and Shay's girlfriend's relationship was quite unique and special.
The 'break ups' weren't spectacular but rather quickly efficient without much drama but needless to say the proof was in the pudding or if you will written on the wall.
All in all a great chatty chick lit type of feel with plenty of fun, romance, and compassion.
Thank you to Jill Mansell, the pub, NetGalley, and Amazon Kindle for this ARC in exchange for this honest review.

I really enjoyed And Now You’re Back!  The characters were fun to read about and likable as well. It was a cute second chance book.  The secondary characters in this book almost overtook the main two, but they didn’t. And they were a great addition to the storyline

Overall this is a quick, fun read. If you’re just looking for a book to make you smile about life, this may be it!

AND NOW YOU'RE BACK is a charming small-town romance with a little love for everyone: second-chance, later-in-life, friends-to-lovers, and moving portraits of familial and friend-love, too. The close third-person narration shifts among a handful of primary players: Didi, whose break-up from first love Shay thirteen years ago acts as a central mystery around which several other story lines revolve; Shay, who's back in town after a long absence -- even more handsome and, at last, filthy rich; Red, Shay's father, who is dying of cancer; Layla, Didi and Shay's longtime friend; and Rosa, Layla's widowed mother; and Benny, the man who currently lives in the house Rosa and Layla were forced to vacate after Joe's death. Other personalities from the town loom large -- this is a place where everyone knows everyone (and everyone's business) -- but the emotional force driving the plot forward comes from this core cast. 

This is a sweet novel, if one overly reliant on nostalgia. The restrained intimacy between various couples feels almost stereotypically British; if any one of the core cast members was less polite, the book would have been much shorter. Despite the obviousness of destiny -- we know certain couples will end up together from the get-go -- Mansell goes through perhaps extraneous motions to make us question this. Ultimately, a good read for fans of Mhairi Macfarlane and Jackie Fraser's THE BOOKSHOP OF SECOND CHANCES.

Fans of  Jill Mansell will like this quick, light-hearted read with various romantic entanglements.  The main characters  were not as interesting as some of the secondary and older ones, such as Layla/Will and Rosa/Benny and Red. No deep thinking required here.

I received an advance copy of, And Now You're Back, by Jill Mansell.  I have read a lot of other books by this author and loved them, but not this book.  I did not like the language, characters, or the story.

Kind of reminded me of the movie, "Love Actually". A lot of intermingled storylines all converging around love with a bit of a mystery as to what happened 13 years previously. Very enjoyable "surface" read. The characters and stories, as I said, are many and varied so there is a level of depth that is lacking, which is fine. Sometimes that is just what you are looking for. I enjoyed this, especially the cast of characters and would read more from Mansell again.