What a beautiful story of life, love, grief, and learning to live again. It made me think about all my loved ones that have gone. How they may have stayed; helping me navigate life during the profound loss and grief process. Twelve Months and a Day is one that will linger long after you've turned the last page.

At its core, this story was a beautiful, complex, and layered ballad about what grief looks like—how it feels along the way and how it ages with time.

I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this book, as I was quite skeptical at first, with the whole ghost thing and all. The way Louisa Young makes these characters feel so real is incredible—I feel as if I know each of them in a particularly personal way. I think that’s because Young allows the reader to experience each character’s grief alongside them, and in doing so, creates a connection from each character to each reader.

So much within these pages was relatable, and the character development did not disappoint for even a moment. It has so many elements…music, poetry, bad jokes, food, funny stories, geographical diversity, strong internal dialogue, email chains, and a few twists that I did not expect. Ultimately, it’s a story about healing, and I really liked it.

I was lucky enough to win a digital ARC of TWELVE MONTHS AND A DAY by by Louisa Young in a Shelf Awareness giveaway. Thanks for the early look, and have a spooky but safe Halloween!

Twelve Months and a Day is the story of a widow and widower brought together by their deceased partners. It’s an emotional novel about loss and finding out you can and will be able to move on after grief with a little paranormal twist. I liked all the characters in this book and found them to be so relatable. The love story was very believable and did not feel forced between the main characters. There is a ghost element but I thought it was done really well and felt like a seamless part of the story. I really enjoyed this book and want to thank NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam for the digital arc in exchange for an honest review publishing January 23rd, 2023.

This is an incredible novel that tells the story of a widow and widower who have recently lost their spouses and of the deceased spouses working to create a new life for the living.
Roisin and Nico were one day planning to marry but had not gotten around to it when he suddenly died of a heart attack. Rasmus has spent his days caring for Jay who has a terminal illness. Neither Jay nor Nico know why they are still in the world of the living but not alive. They realize they can work together to chart a course for Rasmus and Roisin to meet.
Filled with dialog between Nico and Jay and emails between Rasmus and Roisin, the story unfolds and tenderly relates the grief, guilt, and longings of all of them. It is a wonderfully told story.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I enjoyed the novel as a whole. It was both a story about love and ghosts. It is comforting to believe in ghosts this way. Unfortunately, I felt the dialogue was stilted and the words did not flow easily for me. I really had to think of what the author was trying to say. So, I would give 5 stars to the story but only 3 for the ease of reading. Four stars averaged. I was privileged to receive a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, from PENGUIN GROUP Putnam and #NetGalley. Thank you for the opportunity to preview and review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Sweet story about love, loss and a touch about the paranormal.

This was a interesting book.from a ghost to a love story. I love how the ones Alive get together even though the people they love died. It makes you realize even though you lose someone through death you will find happiness once again it gives you hope.
This book was approved for me to read and review by netgalley and the publisher

Twelve Months and a Day is a beautiful story with a lovely take on grief about two couples that have to navigate through death and new love. The book follows two couples, who are torn apart by death and lose the life they thought they were going to have. I particularly loved how multilayered this story was. The reader gets multiple perspectives on the relationships between the living and those beyond the grave. This book was an enjoyable read. I became invested in the characters and the sense of hope that even though life doesn’t turn out how they expected, there is still a sense of hope for happiness. Twelve Months and a Day is the first book I’ve read by Louisa Young, but I cannot wait to read more.

Well, this was just beautfiul!

The story starts with the passing of Nico and Jay, leaving behind their respective partners Rasmus and Roisin. For some reason unknown to them, Nico and Jay return as ghosts, unable to be seen but able to subtly manitpulate sitautionsa round them.

The descriptions of all consuming grief within the book are heart wrenching, with both Rasmus and Roisin struggling to come to terms with their new life. Love is the thing that brings despair, but ultimately hope. A reason for being.

There are no shocking twists or surprises in the book (maybe one, but it's a nice one and felt entirely right!), which tiptoes gently towards its conclusion, mirroring the message within the book that you shouldn't make big sudden decisions in this stage of grief, and I really enjoyed seeing how things developed and the tenderness and growing affection in the emails (think love story influenced by ghosts!). I also loved the music theme - music is essential to life in my eyes!

The book was life affirming and made me want to make a whole host of plans for the future, which is after all for living while we can.

I recommend to anyone who has lost a loved one (and anyone who hasn't as it is a lovely story in it's own right!).

This book was everything I wanted it to be. It had me turned pages without even realizing. It was so good!

I love the premise of this book––grief, ghosts, and new love––and I like how the story is told from multiple perspectives! Unfortunately, I don't think the writing style is for me, and I DNF'd about 15% of the way in. There wasn't much of an introduction to the protagonists and their current relationships, so their deaths felt very abrupt to me, being at the very beginning like that. And there was a lot of exposition that I thought went on a little too long, which hindered the story from really grabbing my attention and making me want to continue.

I do think that Young has a good writing style in general, and I can tell by the pages that I did read that the grief element is so strong and profound and will connect with a lot of people––the feeling of being underwater and not being able to, or wanting to, resurface when someone you love passes away. I really liked how palpable the losses and pain were for Roisin and Rasmus, it was very realistic and relatable, as someone who has dealt with grief many times.

This book will be a good fit for other readers who like more expository writing, though, and I wish I connected with it more.

This story was unlike anything I've ever read. I'm not typically drawn to stories with ghosts or anything paranormal, but I'm glad I stuck with this. I was able to look past those pieces because the overarching story was so beautiful.

Twelve Months and a Day by Louisa Young is a cute, fun romance story.
I loved the characters and their development throughout the novel..
A super extraordinary and sweet romantic read. This book had me hooked from the very beginning.

“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

G.P. Putnam's Sons,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!
I will post my review to my blog, platforms, BookBub, B&N, Kobo and Waterstone closer to pub date.

Many thanks to Penguin and NetGalley for an early peek at Twelve Months and a Day by Louisa Young.

This was an unusual novel about the depths of true love. The characters were well written and beautifully presented. i liked it lots.

What a beautiful multi-layered love story! The love that all the characters feel for one another is enduring- rather it was love or friendship.

Irather enjoyed that the book was written with 4 points of view. It gave me better understanding of each character.

(This book was updated with a new ISBN and wanted to share my review again)