STILL ME by Jojo Moyes

Hi there!

Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.

Today, we're finishing up our look at Jojo Moyes Me Before You trilogy with the final installment.  It brings the story of Will and Lou full circle, and don't roll your eyes at me because yes, there is still a way to do that with him being long since gone.  Ready to shed your doubt and reopen your heart to living in the moment?  Join me as we get to know...

Still Me

by

Jojo Moyes

9780399562464

Penguin Books

About the book...

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 find the courage to follow your heart—wherever that may lead?

Funny, romantic, and poignant, Still Me follows Lou as she discovers who she is and who she was always meant to be—and learns to live boldly in her brave new world.

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I really felt like we had our old Louisa Clark back. I lost her in book two, but book three delivered her once again, even if it was in a newish light. I was curious to see how the paramedic and she survive her time away...I mean, he DID push her to do it...but there was so much more to discover, uncover, and survive that I didn't know where to turn! 

The quick version...

...initially the Gopniks are fairly sainted, but soon that golden sheen wears off and it actually lays bare a pair of total arses.  Really, I've never wanted to smack the face off someone so badly as these two!  They have the world at their feet and yet still with the secrets, and deviances, and bald face lies!  Ugh!  Next up, Dean Martin and Mrs. De Witt aren't what they seem.  I could see it from the start, even when she was berating Lou's very presence in the lobby, or going on about Mrs. Gopnik's piano playing, and what not.  There was definitely more there than met the eye and by book's end, I was proven totally right!  Continuing forward, Sam.  Oh Sam, our paramedic Sam.  You blew it big time...time and again.  It wasn't just once, it wasn't just twice, but the whole distance makes the heard grow fonder bit only works if there is TRUST on both sides and once things are muddied, it's REALLY hard to move beyond it.  Then on the other side of the male coin, we have Josh.  Yeah...he may seem like a blast from the past, and I admit, I was sort of rooting for him towards the beginning, but, yeah...those true colors.  Oye!  I mean let's just say most people don't want to become a Stepford Wife, okay...and expecting someone like Louisa to conform like that is utterly stripy bumblebee tights ridiculous!  Then we had the heartbreaking news that pretty much crushes our poor Louisa.  Just as we've gotten her back, she's ripped away again.  No, I'm not talking about the loss of that one, but of a different one that I can't really say, but trust me...it's big, it's sad, and you'll want to hug her through the page.

Okay, well that was precisely MORE than a quick version, but there you have it.  All in all, it was a marvelous way to draw everything to an end...and what's more in many ways it's really a beginning! I so enjoyed catching up with Louisa once again, and commend her emphatically for her courage, drive, and HUGE HEART! I adore her from her innocent please others first ways to her gorgeous stripey tights. The lives she touches along the way are made the better for knowing her, just as she is them. ♡  I was really teetering on the edge of hope with the ending because I wanted her happy, but I wanted her loved, and I wasn't so sure that the one was for her, but the other had done some stomping of their own, and well, really...the final scenes were PERFECT.

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About the author...

Jojo Moyes is a British novelist.

Moyes studied at Royal Holloway, University of London. She won a bursary financed by The Independent newspaper to study journalism at City University and subsequently worked for The Independent for 10 years. In 2001 she became a full time novelist.

Moyes' novel Foreign Fruit won the Romantic Novelists' Association (RNA) Romantic Novel of the Year in 2004.

SITE  |  TWITTER

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Special thanks to me, myself, and I for the review copy as I repurchased this as one of the titles for the rebuild of my personal library.  Same said title is available now via Penguin Books, so feel free to scoot out to your local bookshop, box store, or click over to your favorite online retailer to snag your copy today!

Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!



AFTER YOU by Jojo Moyes

Hi there!

Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.

A quick BOOK BIRTHDAY shout out to author John Herrick as his latest release Mona Lisas and Little White Lies hits bookstore and virtual shelves today.  (Woot woot!)  If you don't have it on your radar, I highly suggest you change that status in a hurry because it was REALLY good, just as his others works have been, but I digress...

Today, we're continuing our exploration of the Louisa Clark trilogy by author Jojo Moyes available via Penguin Books.  Now, it's a commonly known affliction with trilogies...the second book is a connector and often times fails to shine as brightly as its predecessor, or its follower.  Did that happen here?  Um, well, you know...there's sort of more to my opinion than a simple yes or no, so let's get this show on the road as we catch up with Louisa Clark post Will in book two... 

After You

by

Jojo Moyes

9780525426592

Pamela Dorman Books

About the book...

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.

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First reaction...

Oh, Louisa. You're not who you found yourself to be with Will, and yet you don't seem to have figured out a new version of yourself. ...I'm worried and a little heart broken.

Final thoughts...

Reflecting back on the story after turning the final page, I can appreciate it more than when I first started, but that's about as far as I get.  I suppose I didn't feel as secure in Lou's world when she truly lost sight of herself, not to mention the fact that the teenage interloper and instant reminder of Will was so much more than a handful I quite literally wanted to put her out on her rump!  By book's end, I'd made a sort of peace with her, as with so many characters her story actually runs deeper than the shaken snow globe version she presents, though I wouldn't go quite as far as to say I was fond of her.  I accepted Sam for the person he was and respected his openness with Louisa, though I was a bit concerned (while still touched!) by his ability to just let her go.

All in all, a lovely bridge between our initial meeting and the grand finale, but still it rates lesser on my totem pole of book love.  I missed her brilliant nature.  I missed her personality.  I missed her being her without a care nor a second guess...and that loss felt too personal...which actually speaks to the author's ability to draw us into her worlds (nice job!).

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About the author...

Jojo Moyes is a British novelist.

Moyes studied at Royal Holloway, University of London. She won a bursary financed by The Independent newspaper to study journalism at City University and subsequently worked for The Independent for 10 years. In 2001 she became a full time novelist.

Moyes' novel Foreign Fruit won the Romantic Novelists' Association (RNA) Romantic Novel of the Year in 2004.

SITE  |  TWITTER

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Special thanks to me, myself, and I for the review copy as I repurchased this as one of the titles for the rebuild of my personal library.  Same said title is available now via Penguin Books, so feel free to scoot out to your local bookshop, box store, or click over to your favorite online retailer to snag your copy today!  Stay tuned for more fun with Louisa Clark as we explore the third and final installment VERY SOON!

Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!



ME BEFORE YOU by Jojo Moyes

Hi there!
Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.

So, today we're talking about an "oldie" but goodie...oldie as in came out a while back, goodie because it is SUCH a great read.  Yes, we're flashing back to a 2013 release that I just now got around to reading and may I just say that I was not disappointed in the least; in fact, I think I fell in love with it just a bit more.  How so?  Oh, well now, it happened to be turned into a fairly popular movie that went by the same name (and which I adored!), and might I just say that the interpretation from page to screen was spot on.  Ready or not, don your own version of stripy bumblebee tights and join me as we discover...

Me Before You

by

Jojo Moyes

9780143124542

Penguin Books

About the book...

Louisa Clark is an ordinary young woman 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?

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Honestly, it was just as enchanting, moving, and heartbreaking as the film...and that's saying something because Hollywood does not always get it right!

I had high hopes for this one after my love affair with the film.  I mean, I couldn't really see it being any better than it already was, but feeling the magic of the story, the connection of the characters, and weight of decisions made long ago by those that would forever stand firm...why, it was like reading a play by play of the theatrical production and yet still something more.  Author Jojo Moyes does a wonderful job of giving the everything such intense emotional depth.  When I read this one, it was so long after the storm-that-shall-not-be-named paused by rabid reading appetite.  My mood had been down, life certainly not as rosy, but I actually laughed out loud when I was reading this one...most unexpectedly.  There's a scene on page 67 that's really of no big consequence, but it just struck me as immensely funny and I just started laughing...it was my first since the storm, and a moment I won't forget.  If you have a copy of this one, turn to that page and have yourself a giggle.  Go ahead...

In the end, it's not this glorious tale filled with love, romance, and second chances that ends in a happily-ever-after...no certainly not anything that rudimentary. It is heart wrenchingly real, soul crushingly sad, maddeningly frustrating, and unequivocally inspiring despite it all.  For fans of the author, this is definitely a book for you.  For fans of the film, run out right now and grab yourself a copy.  For newbies to this author's work, do yourself the favor and get acquainted because the heart that beats here is true, the feelings more complicated than you'd expect, and the outcome so much greater than the painful loss endured.  Oh yes, there will be tears, but there is still the potential for love to come again.

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About the author...

Jojo Moyes is a British novelist.

Moyes studied at Royal Holloway, University of London. She won a bursary financed by The Independent newspaper to study journalism at City University and subsequently worked for The Independent for 10 years. In 2001 she became a full time novelist.

Moyes' novel Foreign Fruit won the Romantic Novelists' Association (RNA) Romantic Novel of the Year in 2004.

SITE  |  TWITTER

💑  💑  💑  💑  💑  💑  💑

Special thanks to me, myself, and I for the review copy as I repurchased this as one of the titles for the rebuild of my personal library.  Same said title is available now via Penguin Books, so feel free to scoot out to your local bookshop, box store, or click over to your favorite online retailer to snag your copy today!  Stay tuned for more fun with Louisa Clark as we explore the second installment VERY SOON!

Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!



Walking in a Winter Wonderland: Paris for One by Jojo Moyes

Hi there!
Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.

Today, we're stepping between the pages of  short story collection from an author whose name we've come to know.  It came to my attention thanks to Jessica over at Penguin Random House and though I've not read this author's work before, I was most anxious to...more on that later.  For now, allow me to introduce today's featured selection...

Paris for One & Other Stories

by

Jojo Moyes

9780735221079

Pamela Dorman Books

About the book...

Nell is twenty-six and has never been to Paris. She’s never even been on a romantic weekend away—to anywhere—before. Traveling abroad isn’t really her thing. But when Nell’s boyfriend fails to show up for their mini-vacation, she has the opportunity to prove everyone—including herself—wrong.  Alone in Paris, Nell finds 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 quintessential Jojo Moyes—as are the other stories that round out the collection.

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I'm not normally one for short story collections, but this one really spoke to me...after all, it's penned by the mind behind the book, Me Before You, and though it still sits on my wish list for a future read (hey, Santa!), I thoroughly enjoyed the film, hence my desire to indulge in this author's work.  If this book is anywhere near an accurate sampling, I gotta say, I'm now TWICE as eager to read it.  But let's get back to this one, shall we?

What begins as 'Paris for One', turns into a love affair with the written word.  This collection of short stories captures each starring woman at a crossroads of sorts in her life.  Whether on the cusp of discovering her inner diva thanks in part to a scene-stealing pair of heels ('Crocodile Shoes'), realizing how lucky she is with her sometimes humdrum yet steady relationship ('Thirteen Days with John C'), reminiscing on what might have been ('A Bird in the Hand'), or reevaluating her priorities amidst the holiday rush ('The Christmas List'), each moment of time captured, each woman's story shared, leads us on an emotional journey, for better or worse. In the space of a few pages (in some cases), the author managed to make me care about characters not easily forgotten and spun stories that while short were still complete.  

Though they were all enjoyable in their own right, my favorite among them would be the title tale.  It is the longest of them (go figure), but also the most magnificent.  I felt for Nell as she ventured forth through a city made for lovers not singles.  She was braver than she imagined she could be and by putting her faith in her instincts and her heart, had an adventure to last a lifetime (and might quite literally!).  I could see the Parisian world brought to life before her eyes as she explored on foot and then arm in arm with...someone you'll have to read about.  ^-^ Even her best gals back home were a jolly group!  They had her back without question (didn't they Pete? *glares*) and when they saw a spade, they called it one...with a good kick in the pants!  That ending though...what a heart zinger.

To conclude, this is one short story collection you don't want to miss.  There's a little something for everyone that will warm the heart and tickle the funny bone, while bringing you bookish joy with each turn of the page.  Recommended read for Women's Fiction and Contemporary Romance fans as a good clean read with heart!

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About the author...

Photo by Stine Heilmann

Jojo Moyes is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of After You, Me Before You, One Plus One, The Girl You Left Behind, The Last Letter from Your Lover, Silver Bay, and The Ship of Brides. She lives with her husband and three children in Essex, England.

FACEBOOK  |  TWITTER

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Special thanks to Jessica at Penguin Random House for the copy for review.  (THANKS!)  For more information on this title, the author, or the publisher, feel free to click through the links provided above.  This title is available now, so be sure to stop by your favorite retailer to snag your copy today!

Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!