I wasn't 100% sure what to expect going into this one, since I ended up not being the biggest fan of The Flatshare, but I was pleasantly surprised! I found myself falling into this story very quickly, and loving Eileen even faster. It was overall just such a sweet book, even as it dealt with some very heavy topics throughout.

I think I slightly preferred Eileen's story, just because it's a story unlike many I've read already. I almost never see protagonists aged above 40, which is honestly a shame. I honestly really enjoyed seeing Eileen's perspective on the world, from online dating to the busy streets of London, and I love how stubborn and strong she was throughout, even though I would definitely get annoyed if I had an Eileen meddling in my life haha! Overall, I adored her, and I loved how hard she tried to make the lives of those around her happier, even if they were complete strangers just a few pages ago.

Leena's story was one I've read variations of before, but often in romance books, where the story is much more focused on that romance instead of personal and familial growth. I expected a stronger romance, but I ended up really appreciating how much time was spent more on Leena as a person, and her struggles with grief and anger. Her POV led to some extremely tough scenes, especially regarding her mother, but underneath it all you could always see that Leena was trying her best to be the best for everyone, and just needed to be stopped for a bit, so she could start being the best for herself, too.

I also really enjoyed the audiobook for this story, and I loved that we had two distinct narrators for each POV. I've listened to books narrated by Leena's narrator before, and have always really enjoyed her narration style. I did prefer Eileen's narrator though, but I just felt like she perfectly embodied Eileen and her thoughts, and I definitely had the most fun in those sections!

Overall, I did really enjoy this book, and I do think I'll be giving more of Beth O'Leary's books a shot again!