Margaret meets Fitz when she has just started college. Shortly after she has an unfortunate experience with another student which colours all her future decisions. A sort of mini saga which doesn’t cover very many years. Despite not an awful lot really happening I did enjoy it as it meandered along featuring 3 points of view. A pleasant read with nothing much to dislike!

I absolutely adore books like this. Books that are just real and explore the mundane every day and how the past shapes our present. I could relate a little bit to all the characters and just enjoyed watching how each of their stories unfolded.

What an utter delight this book is. It's the first I've read by this author and I've enjoyed it so much I'll be looking at her others.

The four main characters, whose lives are entwined by love, are so believable I was sorry to get to the last page and leave them all behind.

Margaret, shy and beautiful, meets Fitz, morbidly obese, at college where they become instant friends. Fitz, though, has fallen in love with Margaret. She goes on a date with one of the college's most attractive men, but the date turns into a nightmare as she is raped. The only person she tells is Fitz, who despite his misgivings, keeps her secret. Eventually they leave college, going their separate ways – he to work in his father's insurance company, she to work as an accountant, then to marry Douglas. She knows she's settled for Boring and Ordinary, but it feels safer than playing the dating game. Brenda is Fitz's secretary; she loves her boss but he is unaware of her feelings.

So here we have a story of unrequited love, but it's much more than that. There are many complex layers here with Margaret's continuing trauma and inability to carry a baby to term. Douglas's jealousy. Fitz, although having lost a considerable amount of weight is haunted by childhood memories of bullying and teasing, being forced into a career of his father's choosing, dominated by a snobbish strong-willed mother, and finally Brenda who craves a love she thinks she'll never have because of a disfiguring illness.

Had this been marketed as a “romance” I wouldn't have gone near it, as that conjures up a certain type of fiction which doesn't interest me. This, however, is all about the characters. Beautifully written, nothing soppy here, sharply observed and a joy to read.

This book was read thanks to NetGalley however they do not intervine with my review.


Sorry for the delay I went on vacations and didn't take my books with me.


Now here we are with one of the best women's fiction I have read.

This book has different perspective about love and how can hurt people, each has their own experiences about love that clearly leaved a mark on them.


I highly recommend those who love read about love, not necessarily romantic but the feeling of love it makes your heart full.

I was provided a free copy of this text by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This was a tough one to read. I finished it, but it was drawn out with very little plot to drive the reader forward. With some edits this could be a good novel, but for now it is a disappointment.

This was such a touching and emotional read and I throughly enjoyed it. I was upset when it had to end. This one you won't be able to put down. I’d like to thank the author, publisher and NetGalley UK, for my copy of this engaging story which I recommend to anyone looking for a fulfilling, page-turning read.