Just a good one.
Read it in one sitting. Four stars read.
I deeply enjoyed it.
Thanks to netgalley for this book

Kerry Tucker is a single woman in her early 40s who prefers to remain ‘under the radar’ at all times. She is happy with her routine life which seems mundane at times to the reader. Her reasons for choosing such a 'quiet' life gradually come to light as Kerry’s backstory and personal battles unfold.

A heart-warming, emotional and easy to read book. Louise has created believable characters that the reader can relate to and the story had me hooked until the end.

A good one to curl up with a cuppa and read over winter.

Apologies to NetGalley and Bookouture for the late upload of this review - thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book for an honest review in return.

What a brilliant book it made me laugh out loud, cry and scream. Kerry Tucker is happy with her life but her sister thinks she should want more but Kerry knows that life isn't always a bed of roses. Love love love this book!!

A really love character-driven drama that sucked me into its pages and kept me engrossed in the tragedy of Kerry's life - I was so rooting for her and really love the way the author skilfully tied it all up. A brilliant read, and I definitely want more from this author.

Another good read
Perfect book to curl up with and to get lost in
Will have you hooked from the first page
Thanks NetGalley

This was a great read on grief depression and living a fulfilling life.Great characters and dialogue.

Kerry Tucker Learns To Live is a change of pace from my usual reading fare but I need a palate cleanser every now and again and know I'm always guaranteed a good read with a book written by Louise Voss. The novel is set in and around Salisbury and as I live nearby, I enjoyed recognising many of the places mentioned but really it's the characterisation which made this such an engaging, relatable read.
When we're introduced to the eponymous Kerry Tucker at the start of the novel, it's immediately evident that she isn't having the easiest of times and is grieving the recent loss of her mother. Early impressions suggest that despite this, she believes she is content in life but even at this early stage, it seems obvious that she is existing rather than living. Her life has become routine and lockdown hasn't helped, leaving her even less inclined to socialise. The novel is set in that strange summer of 2020 when some of the restrictions had been lifted but life hadn't fully returned to normal and it's the perfect background for a book which so perceptively explores themes of fear, grief and stagnation, as well as love and hope.
As the storyline progresses and Kerry realises her plans for the future are slipping away from her, she becomes increasingly troubled. From the outside, it's only too clear that she is handling everything badly but despite making several errors of judgement, she remains a likeable character throughout. The same can't be said of some of the other characters and while some are merely unpleasant, others are more odious. There's another character in particular who is also allowed to grow and change, and I appreciated having my perception of them challenged during the course of the book.
Louise Voss empathetically examines how and why somebody might descend into apathy and even depression, and it gradually becomes painfully apparent that as well as the sense of loss and untethering she is experiencing recently, she also has unresolved issues from her past. There are a few flashback chapters included which eventually reveal what happened back then and it's worth pointing out that although this is ultimately a feel-good read, there are darker scenes which some people may find upsetting.
It is, of course, inevitable that Kerry will have the happy ending she deserves but that doesn't mean this is a predictable story. There are surprises and revelations throughout and although I always knew things would eventually work out for her, I really enjoyed the rollercoaster ride of emotions that led to the uplifting, poignant conclusion. Gently humorous and warmly insightful, Kerry Tucker Learns To Live left me with a tear in my eye and a smile on my face. I thoroughly recommend it.

Thanks NetGalley, Bookouture and Louise Voss for an ARC to review.

An emotional tale about sisterhood, grief, loss and new beginnings that looks like endings.

I absolutely loved it and was totally engrossed in Kerry’s uplifting transformation journey.

Sometimes you have to reach the end of the road before you can start over.

Kerry is perfectly happy with her life. She gets up at the same time every day to deliver post to the winding lanes and little villages around where she lives, stopping for a chat at some of the houses along the way. Once a month she has Sunday lunch with her sister Beth’s perfect family, to eat roast chicken while Beth tells her why she should want more out of life.

Beth thinks Kerry is kidding herself. She thinks Kerry needs to move out of the horrible little apartment converted from the garage in their parents’ garden, find a better job, and maybe even meet a man. And now their parents’ house is up for sale, Beth is going to make sure Kerry gets a life… whether Kerry likes it or not.

Kerry knows something Beth doesn’t, though. She knows the happiest of marriages can hide dark secrets, and that even the people you love most in the world can betray you. She’s known that since she was seventeen years old, when she learned her father’s secret.

It’s far safer not to get close to people…

Isn’t it?

A brilliantly emotional novel about moving on and learning to live that will make you laugh out loud and cry buckets. Perfect for fans of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, Matt Haig and Mike Gayle.

Kerry is a postwoman in her 40s. She spends some of her spare time having lunches with her sister, Beth. The story goes between 1993 and present day and it turns out Kerry knows a secret about Beth’s dad for many years.

The book is quite moving as the sisters are mourning the recent death of their mum. Kerry has plans to move into the family home, whilst Beth does not and has plans of her own. Whilst she tries to work things out and forget things in her past and hoping for something positive to happen, her life begins to fall apart and she seeks solace in glasses of wine.

Delving into Kerry’s work, there is insight into being a village postal worker and she tries to help people within the community as she can.  Beth on the other hand thinks Kerry needs to find a different job and a man.

So at times the book can delve into dark emotions and past secrets and at other times it becomes warm and uplifting. Overall it’s an engaging book.

Kerry is happy with her life and very structured routine as the village postie. After the death of her mum, things are rapidly changing and she is not coping very well. When she has a massive row with her sister, who is bewildered at Kerry’s life choices, she decides to look into the past and find the truth about some long hidden secrets.

This was a very moving story about grief and the process of healing from trauma.

A lovely and warm read.
The perfect book to while away the hours with a cuppa on a rainy afternoon.
A really easy read, but full of heart and passion, that came a strong sense of poignancy and tragedy on several occasions.
Kerry really touched me. A woman who seems content with her job but wants more from the routine she has given herself.
This is a powerful read, that pulled on my heart strings and made me think about my own life and future and learning to live well.

I was drawn to this book by the title and the synopsis. I have not yet read Eleanor Oliphant but I am a fan of Matt Haig and Mike Gayle. I hadn't read anything by Louise Voss before and I thought that this book sounded good.
Kerry is a 43 year old post woman and this book is set in 2020, just after the first Lockdown and in the 90s when Kerry was a teenager. The dual timeline was well written, it was easy to follow. I normally don't enjoy books that feature the Pandemic, but I didn't mind reading about it in this book.
I did find that the book was slow in places, but I still enjoyed reading it. There are some difficult subjects in this book. It was quite dark in places. I did not find it as feel-good as the synopsis suggested. It did have some heartwarming moments.
Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for my ARC.

Kerry Tucker Learns to live, is about a Royal Mail postie whose life we follow after tragedy strikes and how she come out of it.

I must say this is the 2nd story I've read this year where a Postie is a lead and I have definitely enjoyed reading their stories. Kerry Tucker was well paced and with enough to keep me turning pages without thinking about anything else.

I’ve never read a book about a postie and enjoyed looking at things from their perspective for a bit. Kerry loved her job – her boss not so much. But her job was an escape from the recent loss of her mother.

Kerry was trying to cope with her grief, past memories and looking forward to moving out of the annexe she lived in, to the main house which was now vacant. But once again, things did not go according to plan and this started her off on a downward slope.

Kerry had a lovely character, positive and friendly, but the things that had happened to her in the past had eroded her self-esteem.

It takes a devastating loss for Kerry to sit up and realise that she couldn’t go on living the way she had been doing. She had to re-look at her life, try to go back into her past and find out the truth about things and start over.

I loved how smoothly this story flowed. Also it made me realize how easy it is to allow hurt to dictate the rest of our life. It was easy to empathize with Kerry, because what happened to her, could easily be the story of anyone of us.

Finding her way back to life, making good choices, and taking better care of herself with the support of her sister, friends and community, Kerry does indeed learn to live again.

A beautiful story of heartache, recovery from bullying and assault, healing of memories and the triumph of the human spirit, love and community!

Kerry Tucker Learns to Live is the perfect Sunday read. Easy to consume and highlighting the potential of new starts, it leaves you with a fuzzy feeling inside.

It’s hard not to like Kerry. She is a genuine, normal person. It can be hard to find an ordinary person in books. Kerry just wants the simple things in life: a nice home, her job as a postwoman, and the sense of community she feels. It’s a relief not to read about someone always looking for more (in the sense of material things). Therefore, it can be difficult to go though the downs of Kerry’s life with her. There is no denying that the conclusion of the book is somewhat obvious, but the author does a great job taking us along on Kerry’s journey until we get there.

However, while this book is for the most part lighthearted and upbeat, there are some more serious themes touched on: death, affairs, alcoholism and sexual abuse. The author does so respectfully and the entire story blends well together.

BLOG TOUR REVIEW

Review for 'Kerry Tucker Learns To Live' by Louise Voss.

Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Louise Voss, Bookouture publishers and Bookouture anonymous

Publication date 6th October 2022.

This is the second book I have read by this author. I have also read 'His Other Woman' which I would highly recommend.

I was originally drawn to this book by its intriguing cover, synopsis and title. The synopsis stated that that this book is 'A brilliantly emotional novel about moving on and learning to live that will make you laugh out loud and cry buckets. Perfect for fans of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, Matt Haig and Mike Gayle.' I am a huge fan of Matt Haig and the so am looking forward to seeing if this lives up to this statement. I am also a huge fan of Louise and if this book is half as good as' His Other Woman' it's guaranteed to be a page turner. I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being Bookouture. I have yet to read a book published by Bookouture that I haven't enjoyed. Hopefully this won't be the first... Watch this space! (Written before I started reading the book).

This novel consists of 42 chapters and an epilogue. The chapters are short to medium in length so easy to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!

This book is based in Wiltshire, England, UK 🇬🇧. I always enjoy when books are partly or fully set in the UK as I'm from Wales and have sometimes visited areas mentioned in the book. This makes it easier to picture where the scenes are set at times. I have in fact visited and gone on holiday in England on many occasions so am looking forward to possibly recognising name places.

This book is written in third person perspective and the main protagonist is Kerry Tucker. The benefits of third person perspective are that it let's you see the bigger picture of what's going on and you get to know more characters more, what they are thinking and what they are doing. It feels like you get to see the whole picture and not miss out in anything.

'Kerry Tucker Learns To Live' discusses some topics that may upset some readers or may not be suitable for others. I like to point this out ahead of time in my reviews so you can judge if this book is for you or not. In this book Louise discusses/includes alcoholism and sexual assault.

This book is beautifully written and filled with vivid descriptions that really set the scenes for the reader. The synopsis, cover and title suit the storyline perfectly.

This is the first book I have read that is actually set during lockdown plus the fact that the main protagonist is a post last it definitely makes this book a unique read!! The storyline is an absolutely captivating rollercoaster ride of emotions. It is filled with love, loss, excitement, adventures, sadness, grief, secrets, twists and much more. There is tension and suspense throughout!!! The main subject of this book is isolation, be that due to lockdown or out of choice it is easy to see the effects loneliness can have on a person even when they don't realise it themselves. There was so much going on that it kept me turning the pages until the absolutely beautiful ending which was most definitely needed after the heartbreak and sadness throughout. I was completely invested in the storyline which kept me turning the pages until late at night. There were a few twists and turns in there that I was definitely not expecting!!! Louise covers a range of topics that definitely need discussing more in books in order to help readers and although they are tough subjects such as depression, alcoholism and sexual abuse Louise does a fantastic job in weaving them into a page turning story. An absolutely compelling and heartbreaking read, get the tissues out at the ready!!

It is set over multiple time lines. When books show what has happened in the past and what is happening in the present I find it really helps the reader (if it is well done) understand why things are happening and what has lead to the present activities and decisions. It also shows the bigger picture.

I was completely invested in all the characters and felt that each character was unique with their own pros and cons. My heart completely went out to Kerry as it seems nothing she did was going right. She has gone through so much and then it all starts piling up for her. However, at the same time there were moments when I wanted to scream and shout at her to look at what she was doing and what could happen is..... My heart also went out to Timothy but I can't go into any more detail than that really as it will give too much away and spoil it for future readers. I wasn't a huge fan of Beth at all and her attitude really annoyed me. She only seemed to care about herself which reminded me of someone I know which didn't help!! Beth could have been so much more supportive to Kerry which could have helped her and prevented certain events. There were certain characters who made me absolutely sick including the very aptly named Nasty Nigel, Jeff, Lee, Mutt and Chris. However, you can't get on with every character or it wouldn't make the storyline as addictive as it was. All of the characters were well developed and strong along with being realistic.


Make sure you read on after the story has ended for the first four chapters of 'His Other Woman', another heartbreaking page turner by Louise.

Congratulations Louise on an absolutely gorgeous book that left me turning the pages late and hunting down the tissues!!! Looking forward to your next novel!!!

Overall an emotionally packed compelling page turner that will have your heart in your throat.


Genres covered in this book include Romance Literary Fiction, Women's Fiction, Literary Fiction, Women's Literary Fiction, Romance Novel, Contemporary Romance and Domestic Fiction amongst others.


I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as fans of Nicholas Sparks, Jodi Picoult, Nicole Trope, Kerry Fisher, Oliphant is Completely Fine, Matt Haig and Mike Gayle.



344 pages.

This book is just £1.99 to purchase on kindle or free on kindle unlimited (at time of review) and £8.99 in paperback via Amazon which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!

Rated 4 /5 (I enjoyed it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.

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This book was good and interesting but, it doesn’t compare with the brilliant Eleanor Oliphant book. The story is similar but, not funny, quite sad at first but it gets happier. It’s worth a read tho but, read it with an open mind. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

Kerry is living an ordinary life, working as a postwoman and living in her parents annex. She isn't feeling fulfilled, exactly, but she isn't desperately unhappy either. However, bit by bit, she realises that her life could be better if she just got a bit of courage and made things happen. There is more to Kerry than meets the eye.....

Now, the character of Kerry is someone I can really, really relate to. The parallels to my own life were eerie, at times. I have also been living a pretty ordinary life, and not standing up for myself. My "Beth" is my daughter, the girl who has it all and who thinks very little of me, living my ordinary life. Kerry's mother died at 75, the same age as my mother, and also left a mess behind when it came to her Will. The thing that got me though, is that Kerry shares my BIRTHDAY! I couldn't believe it, when that was revealed!!

Anyway, in a funny kind of way, reading this book reminded me of the good things in my own life and that I am living my life, my way, and even though I could do with standing up for myself a little more, all in all I am happy with things as they are. And Beth-like people need taking down a peg or two!

A real thinker, this book.

4.5 stars from me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture.

Something about this rubbed me the wrong way. Kerry was a doormat type who has been letting everyone walk all over her for decades. Including her own mean spirited brat of a sister. There is graphic sexual assault in this book too, just be warned. The ending was a big let down and annoyed me to no end.

Kerry Tucker is still mourning the death of her mother, her relationship with her sister is strained and just when Kerry thinks her life couldn’t get any worse, she loses her job, her family home burns down and the past comes back to haunt her. It’s a lot to deal with but the shock of it all forces Kerry to take some control of her future.