One of the most heart wrenching books I've ever read! I enjoyed reading about Joseph and Evelyn's love story. I loved how real and complex and complicated it was at times. It'd hard to find the right words for how this story made me feel, because it did exactly that. Made me FEEL. Definitely recommend to reads that love emotional stories, realistic romance, and Nicolas Sparks vibes. I truly loved it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade publishing for the chance to read and review The Days I Loved You Most!

An incredible love story from start to finish. Parkinson’s is such a cruel disease and I was worried that would be the main focus of the book. I’m so glad I was wrong. Some of Evelyn’s symptoms were reminders of a family members. The incredible love between Evelyn and Joseph gripped the reader from the start. One can only hope to experience a love like that. One of the best books I’ve read.

It’s a beautiful story of love, commitment, family and redemption. Everyone wants a love story like this where they look back at the end of their life and just want more days of the exact life they had with the exact family they made, heartaches and all. For me it is a bit saccharine and a lot like a Hallmark movie but I am well aware that a lot of people love that sort of novel. Reminds me a lot of The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks. I like my family dramas a bit messier, a bit less predictable and I don’t like when they wrap up in a neat happy bow at the end.. I wanted to see more of the physical struggles with her advanced Parkinson’s. I wanted more depth and details to the ugly parts. However it’s a good story a but light for such a heavy topic but I’m sure alot of people will love this book.

This was an amazing journey through the Joseph and Evelyn's love story. Beginning, when they were just kids and continuing through the trials a tribulations of their adult life. It was a poignant read about love, forgiveness and finally acceptance. Beautifully done!

Synopsis:

Joseph and Evelyn’s New England beach homes have been side by side for generations. In 1941, on the shores where they were raised, these two childhood friends fell in love. More than 60 yrs later, they gather their 3 grown children to share a tragic diagnosis, and he cannot live without her. So in one year’s time, they will end their lives on their own terms. They embark on a journey to create new memories, to live out their greatest dreams, and to comfort and connect with each of their children before they’re gone. But as their final days draw closer, they must confront the stark reality of what they are about to do, and make peace with the legacy they will leave behind for their family.

Review:

I heard about this book at a @theglossbookclub and @htpbooks event where they described it as a book that will break your heart then put it back together again, which was 100% accurate. This is a story about family, friends, love, parenting, and personal growth. We flip between narrators and follow the couple along their romantic but not without trials, relationship. Life is beautifully messy and imperfect and this book does a beautiful job portraying just that.

My review of The Days I Loved You Most by Amy Neff will be published in an upcoming online or print edition of Library Journal. The ARC was received as a review copy from the editors of Library Journal.

This book wrecked me
I’ll never be the same
It’s soooooo good- I’m not a cryer with books but I was bawling by chapter 3!
Get this book and get your tissues
It’s amazing
I hope there is a sequel

Unfortunately this book was very slow in the beginning and super depressing. I loved the idea I just don't think it was for me.

This complex and riveting book was a treasure to read. It definitely was a box of tissues read, not to mention the sobs and ugly. I loved it completely. The author wS so thorough and I felt I was watching all their lives from. Close by
You probably hate this, but there were notes of The Notebook. The sixty year span is beautiful and captivating. I particularly found it hard to read during diagnosis, their plan and it's execution. I was immersed from the start and the great world build was amazing. The characters were vividly portrayed and endearing. The storyline was what did me in! This is a valuable book due to the enlightening that it gives the reader. Maybe if everyone took the time to sit read and learn, their lives can have more quality. This book is a testament to how you can accept end of life issues while making changes where you can. Well-written and fluid, I highly recommend this book.
I just reviewed The Days I Loved You Most by Amy Neff. #TheDaysILovedYouMost #NetGalley
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A lovely, compelling, and emotional read (that will probably have you shedding a tear or many).

Evelyn and Joseph have been together for six decades. When Evelyn’s health begins to decline, they decide they don’t want to live without each other.

The story alternates between the 1940s when Evelyn and Joseph fall for one another and the early 2000s. We get multiple perspectives including from Evelyn’s and Joseph’s children.

Thank you to Harlequin Park Row for the opportunity to read a copy.

An excellent book that made me smile and cry over and over. I cannot recommend this masterpiece enough.

Evelyn’s health is in decline and she receives a diagnosis from her doctor that confirms the worst. She doesn’t want to live her life in a compromised state and wants to end her life early on her terms. Her husband Joseph doesn’t want to live his life without her, so they decide on a date one year in the future and will both leave the world together. They gather their children together and announce their plans. No surprise, the children are angry and upset and try to talk their parents out of it.
The book then goes back and forth between the past and present. The past reveals how Evelyn and Joseph met, the birth and raising of their children, and early marital struggles. The present shows Evelyn’s disease progressing and the children dealing with the final months they have with their parents and realizing the importance of family and repairing their own relationships before it is too late.

Oh, this book gave me all the feels! The Days I Loved You Most follows the great love shared by Joseph and Evelyn from their childhood through to their 70s and examines the many ways love changes, sustains, challenges, and moves us. This debut novel also explores the many kinds of love that make up a family and what the vows in sickness and in health really mean. Have some tissues at the ready when you read The Days I Love You Most!

My eyes glistened with tears as I finished The Days I Loved You Most. The deep and endearing love of Joseph and Evelyn through the years will take hold and lead you through the remembrances of their life together. It is a love story for the ages encompassing all at
the joys, the fears, the awakenings, the sadness they experienced. Their decision to end their lives together due to Evelyn’s terminal illness creates chaos within the family and each adult child must come to their own conclusion about the decision. The book is lovely in all its parts, telling a beautiful yet heartbreaking story.
I highly recommend this novel.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Beautiful love story!! Loved reading all about Joseph and Evelyn’s beautiful life that they built together! Ending had me in tears. Highly recommend this book and author.

LOVE this book! It is such an intriguing subject, and once you start reading - you HAVE to find out how this ends! I could not put this book down. The characters are so beautifully developed - you may see some of your own family in this family. It hard not to love this family, with all its flaws interpersonal issues - just like real life! Get this book and read it….you can thank me later!

I found The Days I Lived You Most to be a moving love story that portrayed true love throughout the lifetime of a marriage. Writer Amy Neff deftly navigated the ups and downs of a real marriage rather than romanticizing it as all sunshine and roses. We see Joseph and Evelyn from full-blown crush mode as teens to their final days navigating a tragic diagnosis and a drastic plan to end their lives together. The dance between timelines and children’s stories reads smoothly with just a few gaps. For example, how exactly did Connor and Violet get to a better place in the end?

Without spoiling the ending too much, let me say I found the conclusion a sweet relief. Had it ended as it was trending, I probably would have dropped a star.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this ARC. Such fun to get a sneak preview of what will surely be a hit!

The story of Evelyn and Joseph will forever be one of the most beautiful love stories I have ever read. This book hooked me from the beginning and I could not wait to finish it. The flashbacks were just as wonderful to read as present time. I connected with so many parts of this beautiful love story, as it simultaneously ripped my heart out and put it back together again. Thank you Amy, for pouring your heart and soul into this story! I’ll be cheering you on and can’t wait for the world to read this masterpiece!

This novel transcends any preconceived notion of what a love story might hold. From the start, it plunges the reader into the all-consuming love and commitment of Joseph and Evelyn from their childhood to present day, a 60 year span of the highs and lows of building a family together. The love story between Joseph and Evelyn is the thread throughout, but the book is filled with so many stories that touch on themes of the ever-presence of grief through loss, parent-child relationships, self-discovery, and finding joy in the beauty of the world around us, while grappling with the brevity and finality of life. The theme that I found to be most striking throughout was Neff’s portrayal of motherhood. Her writing is raw, vivid, and sentimental, and she touches upon how the generations before us and following shape our experiences, and the real contribution that our presence makes in the lives of others, whether through an extra set of hands for the new mother, recipes to pass along through generations, or the legacy of the family garden. The author’s stream of consciousness style and vivid imagery invoke sensory memories and nostalgia that any reader who has loved and lost will feel in their bones. This book left an imprint on my heart and I will absolutely be coming back to it time and time again!

What an incredible debut. Heartwarming and heartbreaking in the best ways. Looking forward to reading this one again!