While this book may be a romance/realistic fiction novel, it is much deeper than what you might expect from this genre. Jess is caring for her mother, who is dying of Huntington's disease. It has always been just Jess and her mom. Now she faces the fact that she is losing the most important person in her life. Jess has shut herself off from any other aspects of life. Some of her colleagues describe her as a "ghost". Along comes Alec, the attractive and really nice bartender at their local spot. While Jess knows she has feelings for him, she has sworn that she will not pursue relationships. Yes, the book has the plot of their developing feelings, there is a much more emotional storyline of her mother's illness. This book moved me to tears a few times. It would be a great book club read.

This was a really emotionally driven book. It tugged at every single heartstring. Jess will not allow herself to fall in love. She knows she has the same disease as her mom and knowing what that means for her future, she thinks love is best kept out of it.

Her plan of no plans is thrown for a loop when she meets Alex. She has feelings for him but she knows they have no future because in her eyes, she doesn’t have one.

Alex asks for one month. One month to spend time with her, one month to live. One month to fall in love. It’s an amazing journey going through one month with them. Perfect for readers that love a love story. Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Jess has her life in a holding pattern. She will not fall in love and keeps everyone at arms length. Jess's mom has Huntington's disease and Jess has inherited it. Jess knows what her future holds as she takes care of her mom. When Jess meets Alex, she knows they have no future. Alex asks for one month. Can Jess do that, give herself one month to live? This was an emotional book that has amazing characters. I received an advanced readers copy and all opinions are my own.

Jess has her life in a holding pattern. She will not fall in love and keeps everyone at arms length. Jess's mom has Huntington's disease and Jess has inherited it. Jess knows what her future holds as she takes care of her mom. When Jess meets Alex, she knows they have no future. Alex asks for one month. Can Jess do that, give herself one month to live? This was an emotional book that has amazing characters. I received an advanced readers copy and all opinions are my own.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Would you take a chance on love if you knew you inherited Huntington’s disease? This was the question Jess kept asking herself. Before meeting Alec, she had resolved to follow nine rules which would keep her from forming any attachments. Once Alec entered her life, she was questioning those rules. Her experiences with him were so different from previous boyfriends, and she was constantly trying to manage the war between her heart and her head.

It amazed me how frustrated I was with Jess while also understanding why she was making the choices she made. Here she had this incredible unicorn man who was so patient and understanding. How could she not surrender her heart to him? But then, I also watched her care for her quickly deteriorating mother. It was painful, and seeing her mother suffer was excruciating for Jess. That’s when my understanding side always kicked in. I couldn’t imagine being in Jess’ position, nor am I sure what choices I would make, but I thought Ewart approached the story with such honesty and gentleness.

I know I am focusing on the romantic aspect of the book because I adored it, but Jess’ story was equally as wonderful. She had so much to work through while also having the weight of the world on her shoulders. She had Debs and Olivia to alleviate some of the weight she carried, but I needed her to have more. I felt Alec supported Jess in a different way and added an aspect to her life that was missing.

This book definitely brought the pain. There were a LOT of tears and tissues, but it also had so much warmth, joy, and hope in it too. I have no regrets picking up this book as it was worthy of every tear I shed.

Jess has rules for a reason, and she will not break them. Rule number one? Don’t fall in love. Alec however, does not want to take no for an answer. What he doesn’t know is that Jess has inherited Huntington’s disease. She doesn’t know when it will hit but watching her mom go through it, she knows it’s bad. When he suggests they date for just one month, Jess gives in, but quickly realizes she needs to end this before her feelings go too far….or have they already?

OK friends. Here is what I recommend not doing. Do not go see A Man Called Otto in theaters, come home after sobbing through it, and then decide it’s a good idea to finish this book and continue the cry fest. Needless to say, my eyes are looking rough today! What I loved about this book was that it wasn’t a typical rom com, it went so much deeper than that. I cannot imagine watching a family member go through Huntingtons disease, especially knowing that one day it will come for you as well. My heart just broke for Jess as she cared for her mom and herself. Alec was just the best kind of man, and I so badly wished he existed in real life!

"All we can do is keep loving each other one day at a time."

One Month of You is the poignant, emotional debut from British author Suzanne Ewart. Despite being classified as a romance, Ewart pushes the boundaries of the genre by delving into hard topics, most notably the lifestyle of someone diagnosed with Huntington's disease. This more mature element to the romance made Ewart's novel more attractive to me as a reader; I quite enjoyed Ewart's debut.

Summary:
Ever since Jess' mother was diagnosed with Huntington's disease, she has lived by nine key rules: 1) Do not fall in love, 2) Stop thinking about men altogether, 3) See as much of the world as possible, 4) Save money for traveling instead of wasting it on magazines and tops, 5) Stop pretending to like Prosecco; just drink wine instead, 6) Keep going out, even when I don't feel like it, 7) Never miss doctors' appointments, 8) Tell no one else, 9) Keep smiling.
At only 28, Jess knows what her life is going to look like, because her mother has already lived it for her. The first symptoms of Huntington's will start setting in for her in probably less than a decade; after that, she'll have maybe another good ten years before she deteriorates to the point where she can't recognize her closest loved ones. And then she'll die. Because of her first-hand experience with Huntington's, Jess refuses to let anyone else feel the pain and sorrow she has with her mom--thus, no dating.
But when Alec, the hot, kind, funny, local bartender (with whom Jess shared a wonderful, drunken night) proposes the crazy idea of One Month, Jess finds herself agreeing. One month to date. One month to live. One month to fall in love.
And so begins Jess' only chance at normalcy. She and Alec set six dates where she dresses up and plays the doting girlfriend. Alec continues to give her the best sex of her life, and Jess continues to draw comfort from his warm, secure body. But, of course, as the month progresses, Jess quickly realizes her feelings for Alec span more than a month, and with the health scares her mom keeps having, Jess has to decide what's more important--letting herself live, or protecting Alec's heart.

Thoughts:
Although I've never read/seen A Walk to Remember, this book reminds me of the concept. Set in dreary England, the rainy gray skies reflect Jess' mood throughout the book, with bright spots of sunshine only truly appearing when she's with Alec. I was desperately rooting for both Jess and Alec to be fully communicative with each other the entire time, and kept growling with frustration as both chose to "protect" the other.
Beyond Alec and Jess' relationship, I loved the side plots and characters. Debs was the heart and soul of the novel, and made so much of Jess' pain regarding her mother's deteriorating state feel real and impactful. I also enjoyed Olivia and the work girls, but I found that Olivia's side plot didn't add anything to the story or Jess' journey. I think if Olivia had just been a close friend who encourages Jess to be with Alec and is a shoulder to lean on, that would have made for a smoother read.
Another critique I had was that the dialogue and prose was occasionally repetitive. Jess often had the same inner monologue––her mom is getting worse, she can't date Alec but loves him, she's afraid of her future, etc––which does emphasize her fears, but at a certain point becomes filler text.
I also didn't understand the sporadic time jumps backward. I know they were meant to show Jess and her mom before Huntington's, but since there wasn't a set pattern for the flashbacks, those chapters seemed, again, like filler text rather than planned parts of the story. I think they would have worked much better if they were every other chapter, or every third chapter, rather than being triggered by something that happened in the present timeline.
Finally, I wanted more of Alec. We know he is kind, and genuine, and attractive, and attentive, but beyond the small chapter where we meet his family, we don't know a lot about him. Focusing on Jess is important to the story and its emotional impact, but as a reader, Jess falling in love with him seems quick and a little forced. I would have loved to know more about Alec's dream of opening his own pub, or more about his past with the ex girlfriend and seemingly really rude friends.

Overall:
At the end of the day, I did enjoy this book and felt strong emotions while reading it. However, I think this should be classified as fiction rather than romance, as my main takeaway from the book was Jess and her mother's relationship and Jess' battle with her future with Huntington's, instead of her romantic relationship with Alec, which was just icing on the cake. Comparatively, I felt as a reader that Jess spent more time with Debs than Alec, but the main synopsis revolves around their one month plan. I think I would have been more satisfied when I finished the book if the preface focused more on Huntington's and Jess' personal journey instead of the romance.

When Alec asks Jess out, she knows it won't work. Is Alec charming? Of course. Attractive? Definitely. Can she not stop thinking about him...yes, but that's also the problem. Because Jess has rules. And the first? Don't fall in love.

What no one knows is that Jess has inherited Huntington's disease from the mother that she cares for. And while witnessing her own future play out, Jess has learnt to keep everyone and everything at arm's length. But Alec is determined to break down those barriers. When she finally tells him why they have no future, he proposes a different option—just one month together.

One month to date. One month to live. One month to fall in love.

But as Jess grows closer to Alec, she knows she has to end it. It's better that he is hurt now rather than heartbroken later, isn't it?

One Month of You was such an emotional read. I connected with the characters and the story flowed really well.

This was a heartbreaking love story, but I feel like it was more of a love story between mother and daughter than Alec and Jess. It was so hard to read about Jess' mother and even worse to think about the possibility of that being her future. She was so stubborn and that made it hard to relate. I know her number 1 rule was do not fall in love, but I just kept thinking why won't she give it a chance. She was 28, her mother 55, that is at least 25 years of life she could experience. I know she didn't want someone else to have to deal with the pain, caregiving, and loss that she did but it was so hard seeing her deny something beautiful because of that. I feel like she was unnecessarily mean to Alec because of her own walls and suffering, I'm just happy that she finally gave in to the feeling of true love and could finally understand that it was worth everything to give in. Overall, this was a good book, it was hard to read but that was because of the brutal disease described. I think it was written wonderfully, frustrating but understandable. No one knows what they would do in a situation where they essentially receive a death sentence in their 20s. The ending was perfect, although I wanted more, I was just so happy they got their happy ending.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow!!!! For fans of Jodi Picoult, Nicholas Sparks and Lisa Genova … this beautiful book will pull your heart string and bring tears to your eyes!

This book is uplifting, deeply moving and emotionally genuine <3

This was a beautifully told story that gave me more than I bargained for. Yes it's a romance but you also see a love a bond between a mother and a daughter. That story in itself was beautiful and heartbreaking. I thought this was going to be a cute story. Instead I bawled my eyes out and you know what...I'm not mad about it.

“No one can say for sure what’s coming. All we can do is keep loving each other one day at a time.”

Truer words were never spoken, as readers will discover in One Month of You. This upcoming modern romance explores the importance of spending time wisely, weighs hope against expectation, and seamlessly combines tenderness with grit and fortitude. Many thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark for providing me with an ARC copy to check out so I can give you all my two cents.

Let me start with a disclaimer. I am not typically one for casually reading (or watching) typical love stories. Tropes tend to abound there, and while many are of course relatable (that’s how they become tropes, right?), being able to predict the ending every time gets old—fast. So a hefty complication or twist is a must for this reader, lest I get ahead of myself, get bored, and get rid of the book in my hand as fast as humanly possible. In this regard, Suzanne Ewart doesn’t disappoint. After all, one of the biggest twists anyone can experience in the real world is learning you’ve inherited a major degenerative illness while taking on the role of caretaker for your own mother. Watching her mom battle Huntington’s disease is a glimpse into the future while she nurtures the deteriorating present, and it’s taught Jess that life is easier with more than six degrees of separation between herself and just about everyone else. This mindset leads her to make an ironclad resolution not to date—at least until Alec, protagonist number two, wears her down with an otherworldly level of optimism and mostly levelheaded charm.

Yes, you read that correctly: mostly levelheaded charm. I specify this because while a persistent male lead in pursuit of a reasonably resistant female protagonist usually raises some justifiable red flags, they’re quietly held at bay in One Month of You by the very hands of time. When Jess does give in to Alec’s shenanigans and allows him exactly one month of dating, it’s supposed to be just that. Four weeks to pretend there isn’t the promise of a debilitating condition hanging over her head, four weeks blurring the lines between what is and what could feasibly be, and four weeks to live as normally as she can while she can. But as much as I commend her for compromising only when she has articulated her terms with every intention of sticking to them, I don’t think I’ll be the only reader who predicts this fixed-contract relationship going off the rails before the last page.

Beyond the metaphorical matters of the heart, it’s evident that Ewart really did her research to paint a vivid picture of the trials of not only living with Huntington’s disease, but of going from child to parent and having to put on a brave face through it all. When the will-they-won’t-they romantic plot line isn’t taking center stage, readers dive headfirst into a familial minefield fraught with new and increasingly limiting symptoms, disappointment, and guilt. All of this culminates into an authentic kind of heartbreak that, in many ways, hits so much harder than most breakups could: the gradual loss of a parent. It’s this facet of the book that I think makes Ewart’s voice and characters shine; their prolonged grief and genuine reactions to what the harsher parts of life dish out outweigh the softer, flirtier components of the romantic evolution both Jess and Alec undergo.

For lovers of love (yep, I gagged a bit on that one, but I stand by it), and especially for those who might have gone through something similar with a parent, a friend, or any other loved one, I recommend giving One Month of You a spot on your TBR list. Even if romance isn’t your bread and butter, there’s a lot of feeling packed in just a few hundred pages; if you’re not careful, it’ll stick with you for much longer than thirty-one days.

I think this book may have broken my heart into very small pieces.... This was a hard book to read as a woman who suffers a chronical illness with a similar future outlook as the main character.
On the other hand I think it made the book even more relatable and it allowed me to understand what Jess was going true.

I absolutely loved every page of this book! It was written so warm and tender, but at the same time raw and truthful. And I honestly think the book is selling itself short as a love story. The love story isn't the main event. Its important in Jess her character development, but it isn't the main focus of the book. I wouldn't call this a romance.
It is so so much more. It is a precious chronicle of a mother daughter relationship. It is a raw story about trauma and how to deal with a very uncertain future. It is a story about self preservation, about setting boundaries, but also about being courageous enough to grab life by the balls. About learning how to be yourself, when everything you know about yourself is taken away.

And of course there is romance, I fell for Alex together with Jess. we both fell hard. How can you not.... who doesn't love a decent bloke?

But don't sell this book short... its so much more then a romance! Its a must read!

We open with a list of rules that Jess has written for herself, and are left with the question--what could have hurt her so? A key rule is that Jess has sworn off love and men. Period. We slowly learn why, as we watch Jess struggle through the agony of caring for her ailing mother (who has a degeneratie disease), a task that has taken over her entire life and erased her happiness. I felt her depression leap off the page and seep into me as I read. She actively prevents herself from feeling joy and hope, and only opens a small door to love when she gives in to a deal with Alec, the cute guy she's been admiring for a while. He proposes they date for only one month, with no expectations beyond that. Can a future with a likely painful end still be hope-filled and lovely? This book was full of existential questions, including what it means to live as if you know that tomorrow is not guaranteed and the lengths that people will go to in order to avoid heartbreak. It's heart wrenching and fatalistic, but hopeful in the end.

I was in the mood to read a book for a good cry and this one hit the spot. Though, the MC Jess annoyed me at times because she was so set in things going her way. And she was a bit bratty.
I liked how the story gave some information on Huntingtons Disease and the hardship and struggles it causes to both the person who has it and those around them.
Overall, I thought it was written very well.

This was really, really good. I read it on my Kindle but would love a copy for my bookshelf or to share with others!

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for my EARC.

Going into this one, I had tissues ready and was prepared for utter heartbreak and an emotionally raw rollercoaster. I was met with a rather slow building story that while yes, includes themes of an absolutely devastating disease, was focused more on someone who has kind of put her own life on hold.

The potential of Jess really living her life while still being somewhat sheltered due to the news of the inherited genes of the disease was so high! The flashbacks of pre-devastation of her mother's illness was all so perfectly timed and the previews of life before this giant hindering explained a lot. I had somewhat of a hard time trying to really connect or love any of the characters on a serious level and instead found myself constantly trying to steer them in a different direction. The importance and from my knowledge, sensitivity, that this is written is important and the representation is one I find intriguing.

The romance is just a smidge and is more widely focused on the relationship between mother and daughter, being a caregiver, and coming to terms/grieving the future of what may also be your own life. Overall this was enjoyable but felt slow going and dragged out a bit for my mood.

Thank you NetGalley and SourceBooks Landmark.

Alec asks Jess out. She likes him, but she cannot say yes. Her mom is dying of Huntington's Disease, and Jess has inherited this as well. She proposes that they date for one month. The problem is that she really likes him.

I'm torn on this book. I generally liked it. It was sad reading about Jess care for her mom as she was dying. I appreciate the flashbacks of her mom so that we got snippets of her before the disease took over her life.

The romance between Jess and Alec were just ok. I"m not sure why we needed to know about Alec's previous relationship or even get to meet his ex girlfriend. I didn't get that. Also, Alec needs new friends.

I'm not sure if Alec was swoon worthy or not. Jess kept telling him no, but he kept pursuing her. Can't you respect her wishes? I thought at times Jess didn't treat Alec well. I understand she was experiencing grief over her mom and her future, but she kept saying one thing and doing another.

It was good in that it's rare to read a fiction book highlighting a disease like this. Inside the O'Briens is another one that comes to mind.

Jess has rules in her life to protect others from getting close to her, and the number one rule is not to fall in love. Her mother is approaching the final stages of Huntington’s disease, and Jess has tested positive for the gene herself and knows she will one day lose her ability to move and speak and will lose her memories. A one night stand leads to stronger feelings, and Jess and Alec decide to be together for one month only.

This book was slow to get going in the first half. Once the story really began, it was a tearjerker and a beautiful glimpse at the relationship between a mother and a daughter. Jess is grieving through the entire story as she anticipates the future and what will happen to her mother and to herself. I was very touched by moments in their relationship and several scenes brought tears to my eyes. The love story of Jess and Alec almost felt secondary to the love between Jess and her mom, as her mom was her top priority.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!! this was a tough book to get into, but man was it worth it. I LOVED it. I made me laugh, cry, and ponder why I am so lonely. The self journey of Jess is so beautiful. Gosh, I admire Alec so much for being able to keep trying while Jess kept shutting him out man.

Jess has her own rules against falling in love and having a relationship due to her mother’s hungtington’s disease which she inherited as well, however her rules are challenged when she meets Alec who is the perfect man for her but she keeps rejecting him. Eventually, she agrees to date him for one month only and that’s when she starts realising that she’s falling for him.

this book is heartfelt, sad and beautifully written.
I loved how it explores different relationships such as mother/daughter and friendships and it’s not solely focused on Jess and Alec’s love story. Also, I loved learning about Huntington’s
Disease.
It was a bit slow at times but the overall story made up for it 👍🏻