I received this book in exchange for an honest review, which has not altered my opinion of this book. I would like to thank NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC copy.

I need a physical copy of this book because it made me cry. This was such a heartfelt and emotionally character driven story, that captured my heart and has held it hostage. The characters are fun, different, and just sweet! Libby is a young woman who loves to have everything planned out, and when things got belly up at home, she is forced to leave for the big city of London, where her sister lives. Tense family dynamics mean that she spends as much time out of the house as she can, where she ends up meeting Frank, the sweetest old man ever and his carer, Dylan, the sweetest punk I've ever read about. Frank has been on a mission for over 60 years trying to find the woman he missed a connection with.

The story itself is full of sweet moments along with heartbreaking ones as Frank starts to slip farther and farther away due to his growing dementia. As someone who has had relatives with dementia, this was one of my favorite depictions of it in fiction writing. I've read some books that simply talk about dementia as forgetting small things or randomly forgetting everything, but this actually showed the progression of the disease and the ramifications. There's also other factors at play, but that would be spoilers.

Overall, this book made me cry, it made me laugh, and it made me smile. I give it a 4.5 out of 5 only because it took me a solid few chapters to get into it. HIGHLY recommend!!

I LOVED this read! A lighthearted, fast paced and sweet story about second chance romance, love, and friendships. The characters were so unlikely to be friends, but they formed a beautiful bond over a common goal. I felt the emotions and connected with this book, it was a wonderful read! Thank you Net Galley and the publisher for the ARC for a honest feedback.

I was not prepared for all the sweet, kind and loving characters in The Lost Ticket. I think this is going to be one of my top reads of 2022. I read the entire book in one afternoon, it was that good. 

The Lost Ticket has everything; love, second chance romance and unlikely friendships. When Libby meets Frank on the no. 88 bus, she is mistaken for the “girl who got away 60 years ago” Although she is reeling from a bad breakup, she is determined to help Frank find his girl. Along the way we met his carer Dylan, who is a punker on the outside, but sweet and loving on the inside. 

 As our story progresses, we find out why Frank is so determined to find his girl, he has Alzheimer’s and soon will be moving to a memory care facility. Sad as they are, the scenes with Frank’s “episodes” are treated with the upmost care and compassion.  

If you are having a bad day and cannot find anything good in the world, pick up this book, it may change your life. I am headed to London next year and I will take a copy of this so I may visit all the stops along the no. 88 bus route. 

Thank you to Net Galley and Berkley Publishing Group for my eArc. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Lost Ticket by Freya Sampson is the story of strangers on a London bus. In 1962, Franks met the girl of his dreams. Only he lost the ticket that she wrote her phone number. He's been searching for the girl on the 88 bus for sixty years. Will he ever be able to find her?

Libby's boyfriend just broke up with her, so she's staying with her sister. Along the way, Libby Nicholls meets Frank on the 88 bus. Frank tells Libby all about his past. Libby plans to help.

Libby also meets Dylan on the 88 bus in an embarrassing manner. On her way to meet Frank, Libby runs into Dylan again. It turns out that Dylan is Frank's carer. Now there are three looking for the girl on the 88 bus. 

As time goes on, more people volunteer to help with their mission. 

Time is running out. Frank has dementia. Will the girl on the 88 bus be found in time? 

I love this! The story will make you happy, sad, and angry. There is a cast of characters to fall in love with and a few to hate. There's an unlikely romance, an unexpected pregnancy (actually two), and an unexpected truth about the girl on the 88 bus.

This story has it all!

This was a delightful read! I plan on using this for my online book club choice for summer 2023. It's light enough for a summer read but has enough depth to have lots to discuss.

The Lost Ticket by Freya Sampson is a wonderful standalone novel.  Libby Nicholls, our heroine, arrives in London to stay with her older sister, and family (husband and son); coming off a shattering breakup of her boyfriend of 8 years.  While on the bus heading to her sister’s house, she meets an elderly man, Frank Weiss, who is a retired actor, and rides the number 88 bus every day. Because Libby has red hair, Frank says she reminds him of someone he knew 60 years ago; he reminisces about a chance meeting with another red-haired woman, who was a young artist, and drew a picture of Frank.  They planned to meet at the art museum the following day, but when Frank got home, he could not find the phone number and address she had given him.  Now that he is retired, he frequently rides the bus in hopes he runs into the girl that got away. Libby is moved by Frank’s desire to meet the girl (woman) again, and decides to help him in his quest.  A friendship builds, especially since Frank has a form of dementia. 

Libby will meet Dylan, who is a care giver for Frank and other people who need help.  They get off on the wrong foot, but in a short time their friendship grows, as they both are determined to help Frank. Libby becomes inspired to find a way to help Frank, and in the process gets Dylan to work with her with posters advertising the story, all along the bus route.  Along the way, they get to meet different people, who also knew about Frank, as he was so well liked, and most of those people wanted to help Frank find her. Esme, a young girl who is also one of Dylan’s carer, and has down syndrome, joins them often, who was also very sweet. They all spent a lot of time together, enjoying the many places they visited.

Though Dylan dresses like a biker, with a Mohawk, so different then her ex, she slowly begins to realize that she is caring for him; Dylan also begins to fall for Libby, but something later happens that keeps them apart, and brings the nasty boyfriend back in the picture.  Will Libby and Dylan find a way to act on their feelings?
The Lost Ticket was a delightful, sweet and fun story, with wonderful characters, and very heartwarming. I really enjoyed this book, which was so very well written by Freya Sampson.  The Lost Ticket had a bit of everything, family, friendships, romance, love and even the sad dementia part.  I suggest you read The Lost Ticket, as it is a must read.

The Lost Ticket by Freya Sampson

What an inspiring, sweet, uplifting story we get with The Lost Ticket. Twenty nine year old Libby has been abruptly dumped by her live in boyfriend of eight years. Not only that, she worked for him at his business and he thinks it's not only a good idea for her to move out of their home but for her to take leave from her job. Having no where to go and no income, Libby moves in temporarily with her sister, brother in law, and their adorable four year old son, Hector. 

On the number 88 bus, Libby meets 82 year old Frank. What an engaging and fascinating man! He's had a long and moderately successful acting career (he's humble, too) and there is someone he wants to thank. Someone he has never forgotten from the one time he met her sixty years ago. That someone is a young woman he met on the number 88 bus and knew he wanted to know better. She gave him her phone number on a ticket stub and they made tentative plans to visit the National Gallery art museum together. But Frank lost that ticket stub and never saw that woman again. He'd thought about her throughout the years and even watched for her when he was in town. Now that he's been retired for years, he rides the 88 bus everyday, looking for her. 

With her red hair and having wanted to attend art school before her parents squashed that idea, Libby reminds Frank of his "girl on the number 88". In her grief and heartbroken state, Libby latches on the idea of finding this woman, maybe she can find his "girl on the number 88" so he can tell her of the impact she had on his life. And to help her out, whether she wants the help or not, is Dylan, a punker she has a meet-grumpy with (kind of like a meet-cute except not quite the same). We also meet other interesting people and what I'm struck with is how this story lightened my mood so much, reminding me that it's the everyday events and people that make life so meaningful. Plus this story has cute four year old Hector, who is so happy to have met Dylan, a "plunker". 

This story has a depth to it's characters and I wanted to be around them, listen to them, help them. It shows that first, second, and third appearances can get people on the wrong foot. Kindness is everywhere if you don't wear blinders to people who look differently from what you think is proper. And meeting a stranger even one time can make an impression and change the path of ones life forever. The sweetness in this story isn't the sugary too sweet kind but instead the kind that is satisfying and inspiring. 

Thank you to Elisha at Berkley and NetGalley for this ARC.

3.75 stars

This is an unconventional feel-good story, featuring contemporary characters with an interesting throwback to 50 years ago. It's centered on a London bus -- the #88, where several sets of the cast meet. 

Frank, an old actor who is in the beginning stages of dementia, has spent decades wondering about a young woman he met in his youth on the bus and never saw again. He shares his story with Libby, who is navigating several crises: she has been dumped by a boyfriend she thought she would marry, she is now homeless, and he was also her boss so she is out of work. And there's still a bigger set of challenges ahead. She is reluctantly living with her sister and providing babysitting in exchange for a place to stay.

She meets Frank and becomes intrigued by his story of possibly lost love. She begins a campaign to see if the mystery woman can be located while Frank is still cogent enough to appreciate her company. Along the way way she makes some unlikely friends, including Dylan, a fiercely punk looking caregiver for Frank who is unexpectedly gentle and empathetic.

This story has a lot of twists and turns but some lovely insights and a great cast of people. Thanks to the publisher and to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

About the book:
When a heartbroken Libby Nichols arrives in London the last place she expects to find a friend is on the number 88 bus. Frank has spent the last 62 years riding the 88 bus in search of a woman who changed his life on that same bus all those years ago. Inspired by Frank’s story and looking for a purpose, Libby decides to help Frank locate this mystery woman and reconnect the pair. With the help of Frank’s carer, Dylan, Libby begins to reopen herself to friendship and a budding romance as she navigates her own path to happiness.

Review:
This was the second novel I’ve read from Freya Sampson and I loved it just as much as The Last Chance Library! I adored seeing Libby’s growth through the book, and the band of quirky supporting characters added so much joy to the story. In addition, this story novel had a couple of surprises that kept me hooked until the end. This was a heartwarming novel that I would recommend to readers who enjoy relationship fiction, found families, and stories of self-discovery!

GOOSEBUMPS! 

April 2022 
Libby Nichols arrives in London lugging her two rucksacks, aboard the 88 bus on her way to her sister’s house-the place she will be temporarily living as she sorts out the end of her eight year relationship with Simon. 

Her red hair catches the eye of an elderly gentleman named Frank, who has been looking for the red headed girl he met aboard this same bus, in 1962. 

THE GIRL WHO CHANGED HIS LIFE

They had made plans to go to the National Gallery on the Saturday following their initial conversation, to see her favorite painting, Bacchus and Ariadne, but he lost the bus ticket she had written her phone # on. He waited by the bus stop all of Saturday afternoon but she never showed up, and he has been trying to find her, ever since. 

Frank is starting to suffer from dementia and his daughter wants to move him from his own home, to a full-time Care facility, so his days of riding the 88 are drawing to an end. 

This inspires Libby to help him search for the beautiful girl that Frank has never forgotten, and along with his caregiver, Dylan, she begins posting flyers all along the bus route. They also publish an advert for “missed connections” in the newspaper hoping for a lead. 

#girlonthe88bus
E-mail girlonthe88bus@gmail.com

And, when that first lead comes in-I literally got GOOSEBUMPS! 

You may think you have this one all figured out as you are reading it, but there are some surprising detours along the way!

 If you have been looking for this years “feel good” lit book-the kind which has characters you enjoy spending time with-and already miss when the story ends..THIS IS IT! 

Frank may have lost that bus ticket-but I lost my heart to this one! ❤️

Have a tissue ready for the final page! 
AVAILABLE August 30, 2022! 

I would like to thank Elisha at Berkley for my gifted copy! It was my pleasure to offer a candid review!

I am not okay. This book shredded my heart. I saw the pink cover, and thought this was gonna be a cute romcom. It was not. It was a slice of life contemporary, but not one flooded with happiness. It was heartbreaking.

The characters. Ughhh, the characters. I loved every one of them. Frank was the most adorable old man ever. He was so set on finding his girl, and he never gave up hope. Even before the 100th page, I was attached to him. I was just as invested in his search as he was. Plus, his slow fall to dementia :(((( I was in tears. Constant tears. Books don't normally make me this emotional, especially contemporaries, but this one did. I still have tears in my eyes, and I finished this 20 minutes ago. And even just thinking about it, the tears are coming back.

And then we have Dylan. I loved him. Talk about a character defying appearances. He was the perfect cinnamon roll character. His and Libby's romance wasn't the main point of the book, but it was more than enough. It was the sweetest, and I need more of them in domestic bliss. I need more of them

As for Libby, I loved her too. I hated her family, hated her ex, loved her, and loved her new connections. I felt everything she felt so intensely, and even though this utilized a trope I don't normally love, I loved it in this case. She's a character I'm not ready to let go of.

Like I've been mentioning throughout this review, this book was heartbreaking. I was so invested in the characters that by the end, anything that wasn't their happiness was unacceptable. Every time they hurt, I hurt too. Even when they were happy, I was crying. I'm still crying.

Id really recommend this one. As soon as it publishes, I'll be buying my own copy so I can force it on everyone I know. They must suffer this too.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review

The Lost Ticket is a story of an unlikely friendship that leads them on a journey to find someone they met only briefly long ago. This well-written love story has loveable characters with undeniable chemistry. I definitely recommend adding this fun and heartwarming read to your end-of-summer reading list!

This was such a sweet and heartwarming story.

I really enjoyed seeing the relationship between Libby, Frank and Dylan grow. I loved the search for the #girlonthe88bus and how the search led to people that Frank had met over the years.

This was such a lovely story with a bit of a heartbreaking end. But it was still cozy and a treat to read.

[cw - dementia, drug use, death of a baby]

Recently broken up with by her boyfriend, Libby ends up being a temporary nanny for her nephew. While on the bus to her sister's, she meets an elderly gentleman who regularly rides the bus trying to find the girl he met 60 years earlier. A story about the power of relationships and letting people in. Several twists and turns I didn't expect!

Libby meets Dylan and Frank aboard the 88 bus in The Lost Ticket.  Frank has been searching for a girl who offered him advice sixty years ago on that bus.  She gives him advice that changed his life and wrote her number on her bus ticket.  Frank lost the ticket which sets up his decades long search for her.  In that time, Frank has offered warmth and cheer to other riders - Libby being one.  She is newly arrived in London as she decides what to do after losing a boyfriend (good riddance) as well as her job. She has her own personal upheaval and finds more support in Frank and his carer Dylan than in her own family.  Libby and Dylan help with the search for the Bus 88 girl which offers endearing moments of possibilities. The lack of emotional support from Libby's family was perhaps to help highlight the friendship that she develops with Frank, Dylan and others. I wondered also about the gap of time where Libby wasn't in contact with Dylan and Frank.... especially with Dylan in 'his situation.'  Ultimately, this story reminds us that the shapes of families and friends can blend easily into and with each other.  Our trio are lucky to have that happen.

What a lovely read, set on the 88 bus in London. The story centers around Frank who met a girl on that bus sixty years ago and was going to call her back… but he lost the ticket with her phone number on it! What follows is the formation of a sweet, heartwarming group of friends as they try to find his bus girl. The characters were lovely but the book would have been much better exploring them more deeply (especially Dylan’s dad and Libby’s mom).

The Lost Ticket is a delightful book with a unique premise that readers will find irresistible.  It is three stories, linked together by a bus route in London, where people eventually find each other in something that comes close to fate. It opens with two people on a bus in the early 1960’s, London.  A meet-cute, with a heartbreaking ending: a lost ticket that had a phone number and the subsequent missed opportunity.

Sampson’s book is one of hope, friendship, and unexpected romance.  Readers will see the kernel of the story, an obsession: looking for the girl from past, turn into a life saving mission for our MC Libby Nicholls. An opportunity to help Frank, the man from the very beginning of the story, find his girl, and find herself in the process. 

And Sampson artfully pulls the reader in multiple directions, leaving the reader wanting to know more. Giving us breadcrumbs along the way, then yanking us in another direction entirely.  It’s an alluring chase, where readers will be constantly guessing who Frank’s mystery girl could be.  But it’s not just the compelling story of finding someone that makes this an engaging read.  It is how Sampson touches on specific topics like newly found friendships, the elderly and the physical/psychological aspects that come with those limitations as we age, acceptance of others while being able to be who you are without judgment, and lost and newly acquired love.

There was only one concern to note, towards the end of the novel during a climactic scene. The transition from the end of that chapter to the next is jarring.  There is no indication of the passage of time from one chapter to the next and it can throw readers as they try to grapple with and process what just happened in the previous chapter.  An easy fix would be to add some type of time stamp heading like “18 months later.”

Heartwarming, The Lost Ticket is one of finding and forging love and happiness regardless of the circumstances each one of these characters face.

Happy Reading ~ Cece

4.5 Stars
Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for this Advanced Reader Copy, in exchange for my honest review.

I have to admit that it took me too long to finish this book and it was not because it was not an absolutely lovely book, it was because I did not get into it right away. And don't think that I am not mad at myself or this.
This is a charming story of strangers brought together by a simple bus on the 88 Line, and the chosen family that they become.
The story begins with Libby, newly dumped female who meets Frank, an elderly man on the bus .and develops an unlikely friendship. Frank tells his story of a chance meeting years ago with a woman that he had never forgotten. Next comes Dylan, a mohawk-wearing punk, who is also Frank's caregiver. Libby and Dylan begin a campaign to help Frank find his Girl on the 88 Bus. And the charming tale continues from there.

There is love, friendship, growing and strength to be had by all. But mainly there is heart.
I really cannot recommend this beautiful book enough.

Libby’s boyfriend breaks up with her, and she moves in with her sister in London while she figures out what to do with her life. On the bus, she meets an old man who has been looking for a girl he lost the phone number for in 1962. This meeting inspires her to look for his lost love. 

This was an okay book. The plot saves it because I wanted to watch Libby grow as a person and discover what happened to the girl. I thought I knew, but then the answer took me by surprise. Nice touch to have the love interest a punk, and it made him different than standard love interests.

Another beautiful well-written story from Sampson. Her characters are delightful and quirky. The book starts in 1962 on a bus where a young man Frank instantly falls in love with a red-haired young artist - flash to another bus Frank much older and a young redhead - she is suffering over a breakup. They strike up an unlikely friendship - Frank has dementia and is searching for his first love and Libby our current day redhead is searching to expand her life - it’s inspiring and funny and touching