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Book Summary
Louisa Clark arrives in New York ready to start a new life, confident that she can embrace this new adventure and keep her relationship with Ambulance Sam alive across several thousand miles. She steps into the world of the superrich, working for Leonard Gopnik and his much younger second wife, Agnes. Lou is determined to get the most out of the experience and throws herself into her new job and New York life. 

As she begins to mix in New York high society, Lou meets Joshua Ryan, a man who brings with him a whisper of her past. Before long, Lou finds herself torn between Fifth Avenue where she works and the treasure-filled vintage clothing store where she actually feels at home. And when matters come to a head, she has to ask herself: Who is Louisa Clark? And how do you reconcile a heart that lives in two places?

Funny, romantic, and poignant, Still Me follows Lou as she navigates how to stay true to herself, while pushing to live boldly in her brave new world.

Flo's Review
I adored Me Before You. It made me laugh, it made me cry, it made me question, and it made me cry some more. I would recommend that book to anyone! (In fact, I did -- right here.)

So I went into After You, the second book in the series, cautiously optimistic. I'd seen some of the mixed reviews it received, so I was hesitant, though hopeful. 

I'm sad to report that I did not end up enjoying it.

In fact, I did not finish it. I DNF around page 139. (Read more of my reaction here.)

So when I got the opportunity to read and review the third book, you might think that I would have passed. But I do enjoy Lou as a character. And I thought, "Why not? I'll give it one more try."

Again, I am sad to report that could not finish this one either. I DNF around page 200. It's interesting. It is. Part of me likes reading about Lou's life in New York and experiencing the city through her enthusiastic eyes. 

...but more of me is kind of bored. As with After You, there was nothing that attracted me to the new characters. There was no one I was really rooting for. I mean, Josh seems fun. But I'm not rooting for him for obvious reasons. Agnes and Mr. Gopnik? Ehhh. This book comes off like I'm reading Lou's New York diary. Which is fine. But it doesn't really seem like a story to me? Just like me reading about Lou's experiences. There is nothing in the plot right now that is compelling me to read on. 

And so, I must let it go. I will fondly remember Lou from Me Before You. Maybe I'll even watch the movie this weekend and cry anew. And I'm definitely open to reading more of Jojo Moyes books. (I enjoyed Paris for One -- see?)

Have you read the Louisa Clark books? What did you think of them?


Thank you very much to Viking for providing me with a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Book Summary
From the #1 "New York Times" bestselling author of "Me Before You" and "After You," a sensational collection featuring the title novella and eight other stories. Quintessential Jojo Moyes, "Paris for One and Other Stories" is an irresistibly romantic collection filled with humor and heart. 

Nell is twenty-six and has never been to Paris. She's never even been on a romantic weekend away to anywhere before. Everyone knows travelling abroad isn't really her thing. But when Nell's boyfriend fails to show up for their romantic mini-vacation, she has the opportunity to prove everyone including herself wrong. Alone and in Paris, Nell uncovers a version of herself she never knew existed: independent and intrepid. Could this turn out to be the most adventurous weekend of her life? Funny, charming, and irresistible, "Paris for One"is vintage Moyes as are the other stories that round out the collection."

Paris for One
Between the Tweets
Love in the Afternoon
A Bird in the Hand
Crocodile Shoes
Holdups
Last Year's Coat
Thirteen Days with John C.
The Christmas List

Flo's Review
I love to travel. So I was absolutely delighted by the idea of a weekend jaunt to Paris. (Oh, to live in Europe and be able to do that!! But I digress...) As always happens when I read about Paris, I fell in love a little more with the city as I read about it. Moyes descriptions feel alive: Paris is living, breathing, feeling. In a Q&A at the end of the book, JoJo Moyes talks about living there and visiting every few months, and her knowledge of the area shines through in her prose.

Nell was a hard character to relate to at first because she is so timid, structured, and reserved. But it was a delight seeing her come out of her shell as she experienced everything. Her personality made the situations seem all the more risyk and adventurous, which read more powerfully. It was fun rooting for her at the end of the story, as you hoped she would do what you wanted her do, and as everything transpired.

I really enjoyed the Q&A at the end, because it gave me some insight into the short story process for Moyes. She explained how each one took her about a month and how each one had some kind of twist. Also, Moyes talked about how writing short stories is harder for her than novels because you have less time to convey a lot of information; thus, every word counts especially. And though the stories all had similar themes, that wasn't planned. Finally, Moyes said this about travel:

"...it's the one thing that allows you step outside your own life. I have the clearest view of may own life when I'm thousands of miles away from it. In certain circumstances, people can always be someone else, too, freed from the constraints of what everyone around you already knows about you."

The short stories were nice, because I could read one really quickly here and there. The aforementioned general theme around the collection was women who had been married awhile and were dissatisfied in their relationships. While I understand that this is inevitable, this was not the best collection of stories for me to read as a newlywed. It was story after story of women who were unhappy with what their lives had become. I'm still in "just married" bliss and want to foolishly believe as long as I can that my entire life will be one "happily ever after." This is saying nothing negative about the stories, but is a reason I tend to fantasy, dsytopian, sci-fi, etc. stories as much as I do: they are more escape than reality.

The twists in all the stories were very creative. The end of Between the Tweets had me going, "Oh my gosh!" Last Year's Coat had a reference to "a resurrected boy band last popular fifteen years ago," which, as a hardcore New Kids on the Block fan, I loved. In Holdups, the main character says, "I realized pretty quickly I couldn't marry a man without a bookshelf," which is my #truth.

My favorite of the short stories was Crocodile Shoes. It reminded me of a song I love, "Red High Heels" by Kellie Pickler. The feeling of putting on a pair of shoes that make you feel more powerful is one I can definitely relate to.

I had fun with Paris for One & Other Stories, and I think that you will as well.


Thank you to Penguin Books for sending me a copy in exchange for my honest review.

**Warning: This book summary and review will spoil the book Me Before You. If you have not read Me Before You, first read our review, then go read the book because it's amazing. After you've done all that, you can proceed to this review.**

Book Summary
“You’re going to feel uncomfortable in your new world for a bit. But I hope you feel a bit exhilarated too. Live boldly. Push yourself. Don’t settle. Just live well. Just live. Love, Will.”

How do you move on after losing the person you loved? How do you build a life worth living?

Louisa Clark is no longer just an ordinary girl living an ordinary life. After the transformative six months spent with Will Traynor, she is struggling without him. When an extraordinary accident forces Lou to return home to her family, she can’t help but feel she’s right back where she started.

Her body heals, but Lou herself knows that she needs to be kick-started back to life. Which is how she ends up in a church basement with the members of the Moving On support group, who share insights, laughter, frustrations, and terrible cookies. They will also lead her to the strong, capable Sam Fielding—the paramedic, whose business is life and death, and the one man who might be able to understand her. Then a figure from Will’s past appears and hijacks all her plans, propelling her into a very different future...

For Lou Clark, life after Will Traynor means learning to fall in love again, with all the risks that brings. But here Jojo Moyes gives us two families, as real as our own, whose joys and sorrows will touch you deeply, and where both changes and surprises await. 

Flo's Review
I loved Me Before You so much. So much. But when I heard there was a sequel, I was immediately hesitant.  I read an interview with the author. In it, she explained how she wrote After You because the readers wanted to know what happened to Lou. In other words, the sequel was never planned. Sometimes this ends up well, but sometimes it does not. (I will give no examples, but I am sure you can think of one or a few.) But the publisher was kind enough to offer me a copy in exchange for my review, so I decided to give it a chance...

...and I couldn't do it. It is a DNF for me at 139 pages; I am just not compelled to read any more. Part of it is me as a reader. I know that I personally do not do well with stories where the whole story is the MC Being Sad. The MC remembers and is Sad. Or hates his/her life and is Sad. Or misses someone and is Sad. I definitely understand sadness, and recognize it as a very human and very important emotion. But...I just can't do so much of it. 

But also, there was nothing that really hooked me to the new characters. They all elicited a solid, "Ehhh" type feeling from me. And the old characters that were quirky and fun and that I loved in Me Before You sadly did the same thing.  

Maybe if I had read further, I would have been cheering Lou on instead of wallowing in sadness with her. Maybe the old characters would be fun and familiar again. Maybe I would have learned to like and even love the new characters. But I don't think I'll ever know.

This is one of those stories that got an interesting range of reviews on Goodreads -- people either really seemed to enjoy or really were not feeling it. So I am curious to know what side you fall on? Or do you fall in the middle?

Book Summary
Louisa Clark is an ordinary girl living an exceedingly ordinary life—steady boyfriend, close family—who has never been farther afield than their tiny village. She takes a badly needed job working for ex-Master of the Universe Will Traynor, who is wheelchair-bound after an accident. Will has always lived a huge life—big deals, extreme sports, worldwide travel—and now he’s pretty sure he cannot live the way he is.

Will is acerbic, moody, bossy—but Lou refuses to treat him with kid gloves, and soon his happiness means more to her than she expected. When she learns that Will has shocking plans of his own, she sets out to show him that life is still worth living.

A love story for this generation, Me Before You brings to life two people who couldn’t have less in common—a heartbreakingly romantic novel that asks, What do you do when making the person you love happy also means breaking your own heart?

Flo's Review
Holy cannoli. I'm still in book hangover mood trying to write this review, but here goes. I'd heard about this book for awhile, but I didn't really know what it was about. But then I saw the movie trailer (posted below) a few weeks ago and decided that I wanted to read it before seeing the movie later this year. I did see everyone's reactions to the trailer: "I'm gonna cry!!" That's all I knew.

This book was intense. I don't want to say too much about the plot because I went into it not really knowing what it was going to be about and that, I think, made it a richer experience for me. But this book was definitely way heavier than I thought it would be. Not in a bad way. Definitely not in a bad way. I have a pretty solid stance on this issue, and this book made me consider the alternative. Will I do a 180 on my beliefs? Probably not. But it absolutely makes me understand and empathize. It gives me the reality of a different perspective and the worldview of those making the choice.

I loved Lou. She is honest, passionate and compassionate. And I applaud her bizarre sense in fashion! Lou and Treena's relationship was lovely and honest. The Q&A in the back of the book touches on this, and Jojo explains how she finds the relationship between sisters mesmerizing: "What I'm most captivated by is that ability to be at each other's throats one moment and yet totally bonded and presenting a united front in the next." #truth, Jojo. 

The characters can be frustrating, but their lives are frustrating -- I'm looking at you Will and Camila Traynor! So you want to be cross with them, but you just can't. 

I am so excited for this movie. After reading the book and then watching the trailer again, I see how the movie might do a wonderful job bringing this story to life. But everyone was right: I am SO going to cry. A lot! How am I going to handle actually watching some of these more emotional scenes?!? Seeing them played out in front of me?! I'm kinda getting teary eyed just thinking about it...

This book has some fantastic quotes. I listened to the audiobook and followed along with a copy from the library, but I may have to buy my own copy of the book just so I can highlight and flag some of these. This is my favorite, said by Will: “You only get one life. It's actually your duty to live it as fully as possible.”

I absolutely encourage you to read this book. It will make you cry, as has been mentioned. But I loved that it made me question and expand my mind to be open to understanding the whys of something I can't fully understand. But it also made me smile -- a lot. It made me laugh. I was frustrated with the characters, then I felt sorry for them. Then I wanted to give everyone a hug. Basically -- the full range of feels.

But back to the movie. Here's the trailer. If you haven't read the book, it won't spoil you. If you have read the book, it will immediately bring back all the feels: 


Question for you, if you're read Me Before You: the reviews for the sequel, After You, are not stunning. I know, and a lot of reviewers admit, that it can be hard to follow up something so great like Me Before You was. Have you read After You? Knowing that I will probably not like it as much as Me Before You, is it still worth reading?