Well, I would definitely say I am late to the party on reading this book. As often happens, I meant to read it before the movie came out, but that was two years ago. So I saw the movie, really liked it, but then had to wait until the story wasn’t so fresh in my mind to be able to enjoy it. So, here we are in 2018 and I can finally say that I have read this book!

Unfortunately though, I wasn’t thrilled. This was my first book written by Jojo Moyes that I’ve read, and I don’t know what her other books are like but I didn’t find the writing that grand and wonderful. It too felt simple. I think the characters were lacking depth and fullness in how they were portrayed. Plus, I think there could have been more information and facts brought in to the story on assisted suicide and quadripligia. But then again that might have made the book more of a Jodi Picoult-style than a Jojo Moyes-style. Plus, it would have put more focus on Will’s character than Louisa’s, and since there are now 3 published books featuring Louisa, I’m thinking Moyes wanted her to be the main character. Just a hunch there…

But even though I felt the book was lacklustre, I still liked it. It was great to see a character like Louisa grow and blossom as a woman and also discover real love in an untraditional way. I think the book sends an important message that sometimes the only thing holding us back from living our lives to the fullest is ourselves. We have to not be afraid to take chances, to form relationships and bonds even when they have an expiration date, and to not be afraid to love and be loved. We must not get stuck and keep our world’s safe and small. We must be bold and brave!

I’m not sure if I’m going to read the next two books in the series, After You and Still Me. I’m kinda curious what happens to Louisa, but since I didn’t love the writing, I don’t know if it’s worth it.