This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
Reviewed by Kira Slaughter
Rebecca: As her glamourous London life comes crashing down, Rebecca flees to her childhood home to recover.
Joe: Born in the same country town as Rebecca, he hasn’t seen or spoken to her in a decade. Now he’s the successful owner of a wine bar, Maison Joe, and is breaking local hearts.
As Rebecca and Joe are forced to confront the past, bittersweet memories rush back, along with unanswered questions.
Can Rebecca ever forgive and forget?
I read Alice Peterson’s last novel Monday to Friday Man sometime last year and really enjoyed, so when I saw TEN YEARS ON in the bookshop I picked it up without hesitation.
It didn’t take long to grasp the storyline in this book – it dives straight in to the events surrounding Rebecca, the main character, moving back home to her parents who live in the country. The basis of the story is sad and you can’t help but be moved by Rebecca’s situation and the life-changing events that occur. I won’t give too much away but I will say that it gives a good tug on the ol’ heart strings.
The story skips between the present day and ten years previous when Rebecca, Joe and Ollie, Rebecca’s husband, first met. After reading a few paragraphs of when Rebecca and Joe first met, you can tell that there is a real chemistry between the them. Skip to ten years later when Rebecca first meets Joe again and the situation is completely different. Joe is not happy to see her again and I wondered why. Although the reveal was a little predictable, it was still a pleasure to read.
Even though I enjoyed this book I found the one downside was how quick the storyline seemed to skip through vital events in the characters' life. At times, as I was just getting into something and the plot would skip off on to something else. It felt like the book was on fast forward sometimes and I struggled to get to grips with the lack of detail in some parts.
I did enjoy this book overall; I found it to be an easy read with good characters and, at times, a thought-provoking storyline.
7/10