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I Remember You

by Harriet Evans (Goodreads Author)

3.41 of 5 stars 3.41 · rating details · 1,179 ratings · 120 reviews

Internationally bestselling author Harriet Evans gives readers "the perfect girly read" (Cosmopolitan, UK) in this fun, bittersweet, and irresistibly surprising journey of fresh starts and first loves.

Twelve years in bustling London have left Tess Tennant dumped by her boyfriend, out of work, and miserable. Still, maybe taking a new job as a classics professor at the tiny

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Paperback, 439 pages

Published June 15th 2010 by Downtown Press (first published 2009)

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May 30, 2011 Mina rated it 3 of 5 stars

Hmmm. How to say this. I gave this book a three star rating because I quickly became absorbed in it, read the over 400 pages in just a couple of days.

That said, there were serious problems in it for me. While I really liked the main character, Tess, I felt like I only discovered how she was behaving, and her transformation when other characters informed her of it. She apparently starts off as intellectual chic, goes through stages of acting old and frumpy (she's 30) and then back to glowing and...more

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Oct 18, 2010 Goddess Of Blah rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I preferred this to "A Hopeless Romantic" as Tessa Tennent is a far more interesting character than the sap in "A Hopeless Romantic" (far-fetched pathetic fairytale doesn't cover how pathetic that book is).

However, Adam Smith is a seriously irritating, selfish, inconsiderate "friend" let alone "hero"

There was so much potential to for this chick lit. For one thing, Adam (the eeermm "hero"??) doesn't resemble the typical (oh so rich, manly, dark heathcliff) cliché. On the other hand there is som...more

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Jan 07, 2013 Ashley Hanna rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Independent Reading
What do you think about the book and what could have been better?
The book was a bit unorganized because I felt as if the author didn’t have the story arranged and planned. For example, Evans talks about her main character Tess and her dilemma in life about finding love as a teacher in London, but constantly mentions the problems within her friend’s relationship and then jumps to events about the conflicts in Tess’ career. I think that the book would have been better if the au...more Independent Reading
What do you think about the book and what could have been better?
The book was a bit unorganized because I felt as if the author didn’t have the story arranged and planned. For example, Evans talks about her main character Tess and her dilemma in life about finding love as a teacher in London, but constantly mentions the problems within her friend’s relationship and then jumps to events about the conflicts in Tess’ career. I think that the book would have been better if the author focused more on Tess’ life and little less on the life of the other characters to guide the story a bit clearer and understandable.
Discuss the style of the book. What kind of diction and syntax did the author use? Other literary devices?
Since the author is from London she uses words such as “bloody”, “pub”, “rubbish”, and so on which gives me the visual that the characters speak in an English accent. Tess shows her own motivation of starting a new life by saying, “Me, I want to leave. I want to live in London. I don’t want to turn into an old lady before my time.” This statement of repetition and emphasis of “want” tells the audience that Tess is willing to change and start again in a new place away from home. Since Tess starts out with “me”, the quote will be identified as a periodic sentence because the main clause if followed after the subordinate element. “Adam said quietly, ‘The way I drove Francesca away. The way I treated her over the summer.’” Another repetition sentence by emphasizing “the way I” shows remorse and guilt upon Tess’ ex-boyfriend and how he could have been a better person.
What was the book’s overall message OR what was the moral dilemma the character faced?
The moral dilemma of Tess is that although she may stress out from her profession as a teacher, more conflicts that are more important such as love can break a friendship that started many years ago, but can also start a new relationship that will never be broken from drama and people who no longer play a large part in her life. Tess journeyed to different cities in hopes of finding her unknown love but figured out that the one she was meant for was the one she had known her whole life.
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Jun 29, 2012 Stephanie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-and-reviewed

This book would have received two stars if it wasn't for the ending. When I first started reading it, I thought Evans' writing style was juvenile. Throughout "I Remember You" a lot of pointless conversations take place between the characters. Imagine an interaction that you would have with a person speaking a language you just started studying. It would consist mainly of a friendly greeting, a short sentence about the weather, and a "goodbye" and/or "see you later." Tessa, Evans' main character,...more

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Nov 28, 2012 Vanessa Wester rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I picked up this book at the local library... well, actually my three year old daughter did. As I browsed the aisle, she said read this one mummy... I read the back and thought that'll do!

And do it did...

I have not read this book quickly, it is not one of those that has you glued to the pages. It is a slow burner, the writing so detailed and well crafted (for some probably too slow) that I was emersed in the story. I was not in a hurry to read it, I wanted to enjoy it. It took me three weeks in...more

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Jul 19, 2012 Katina rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012

Sometimes this book was 3-stars for me and sometimes it was 4-stars...it also dipped down to a 2-star in the middle somewhere. Does that help? :0) I liked the ending, so I think it ends on a 3 star rating for me.

What I didn't like was that the "problem"/plot was the same for three different characters (and it was totally predictable too). It reminded me of 7th Heaven...you know that WB show from the late '90's where if one character dealt with teenage pregnancy or drugs, the whole family dealt...more

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Oct 11, 2012 Mandyfujita rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The lifelong friendship between Tessa Tennett and Adam Smith was wonderful until she got pregnant. The story takes place about 13 years after she got pregnant. Tessa recalls her youth so the reader understands her situation. The story begins soon after she loses her job in London, her boyfriend, and has no money to pay for rent. She receives good news that there is a teaching position in her old town and she accepts it.

Many characters supporting the two main ones, Tessa and Adam. It is a comp...more

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Feb 24, 2011 Gretchen rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: chick-lit

I was in the middle of writing a delightfully snarky review of this book when something happened and the whole thing got erased. I am so mad right now, but I'll try to remember what I had written...

I really need to stop reading chick lit. Every time I do, I am disappointed and angry.

I Remember You by Harriet Evans is no exception to this rule. And it is about twice as long as most chick lit books I've read. This book clocks in at nearly 450 pages. I am not afraid of long books, by any means, but...more

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Feb 26, 2011 Beth Peninger rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It was okay. I think it has/had the potential to be a bit richer in the story of Adam and Tess. It seemed like a very familiar story that I recently read by another Brit author and I'm left wondering if all Brits approach their male/female relationships this way. The way the book ends is a given, you see it coming from the first words of the book. It was well written and the characters were fleshed out enough that they didn't feel lacking but I felt like something was missing the whole way throu...more

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Jul 11, 2012 Jacqueline rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Not a big fan of this one.

It started well and the build up of brooding atmosphere and anticipation was done really well, but in the end it was all a bit of an anticlimax. I was left thinking, 'er, was that it?'

As others have said, I struggled with all the village characters, there were too many of them and they were too similar so much of the dialogue between those characters and Tess was lost on me as I tried to remember who they were.

My main issue with it was the old woman. the very fact that...more

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Mar 17, 2012 Sumaiya Naseem marked it as to-read · review of another edition

I bought this book at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi. I had not much time before boarding and really needed a light romance read for the long flight. I Remember You by Harriet Evans looked interesting and had good reviews and was staring me in the face at the counter, so I got it along with Jinx by Meg Cabot.

Well, I haven't finished this book yet. I am not sure whether it's the fact that it's too lengthy and not much happens or that the characters are promising but the plot isn't...more

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Jun 13, 2011 Janet rated it 3 of 5 stars

This was probably my least favorite of Evans's book (this or going home). I'm still a devoted Evans fan, but there are ust some parts where I read so quickly just because I wanted to get it over with. But even if i knew from the beginning I wouldn't 100% enjoy it, I still would have read it anyway. I honestly don't know what it was about the book I didn't like, but if i had to guess I would say the main character kind of annoyed me. Not that I didn't like her, but she just seemed to caught up wi...more

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Aug 24, 2010 Janet rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction-not-fluff

I liked this book well enough. For as lenghty as it was though, I still felt like there were a few holes. Don't ask me to explain. I've already forgotten.

Also, I didn't take too kindly to the author's knock on Pittsburgh! Yeah, I'm like that. ;-/ On page 164 when Tess is talking with Peter, Peter says in a not so kind way that he could be writing about the steel industry for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. First, we don't have that important of a steel industry anymore that a writer for the Post-G...more

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Mar 17, 2011 Mandy Baggot rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I don't want to completely slate this novel but if I'm being really honest which you should be in reviews it left me cold. I didn't like any of the main characters, Tess was dull, Adam was not someone fanciable in my opinion, Francesca was a bit pointless and as for Peter, I didn't really see the need for him in the book at all. There were also too many villagers and I never felt I 'knew' any of them, I kept forgetting who was who and the worst thing about that was that it didn't seem to matter....more

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Jan 04, 2012 Angela rated it 2 of 5 stars

It's no surprise that this isn't like my usual reading material. This is some serious chick-lit. But I sort of enjoyed A Hopeless Romantic, in an embarrassing, "why am I admitting that?" sort of way. So I picked this one up, hoping for the same thing.

It's definitely not.

Tess is moving back to her hometown after living in London, which is a quaint little English village. Everyone knows everyone else and all that. She takes on a job as a Classics teacher at the local college, and rents out a cute...more It's no surprise that this isn't like my usual reading material. This is some serious chick-lit. But I sort of enjoyed A Hopeless Romantic, in an embarrassing, "why am I admitting that?" sort of way. So I picked this one up, hoping for the same thing.

It's definitely not.

Tess is moving back to her hometown after living in London, which is a quaint little English village. Everyone knows everyone else and all that. She takes on a job as a Classics teacher at the local college, and rents out a cute little cottage.

She spends a lot of time with her best friend since birth, Adam, and her new housemate, Francesca. The two of them find Tess to be droll, but what do you expect? She's a walking stereotype, teaching Classics and wearing frumpy clothes and living in an English cottage. I couldn't understand why this was so bad, though—apparently Adam's idea of a "having fun" is getting drunk and having random sex, and Tess is boring because she wants to sit at home and read? Am I missing something?

So partway through Tess goes on a trip to Rome with the class she teaches, and [insert dramatic voice] it changes her life. She meets Peter, an American journalist living in Rome, and they have a weekend romance. They'll "be together forever" and all that.

Oh and in between all this, there is some drama with the token mysterious woman in town, one Leonora Mortmain. Your typical old, rich lady, hates everyone, family has been in town for centuries, etc. And after the Rome trip, the story switches to figuring out her secrets. So who is this book about, anyway? Tess or Leonora?

It's so hard to follow. We're expected to remember everyone's name in town—most of which have nothing to do with the story itself—and care about Tess's internal turmoil. But Tess was such a bland character. She's apparently going through these life changes, and then everything changes when she meets Peter, but I didn't feel that at all. She apparently has this self-discovery thing going on, but I didn't see it.

Besides, the book was way too long. There is a lot of fluff; it needs some serious editing. Do we have to hear "thank you" every time someone is served a drink? Or listen to the "how are you doing?" chit-chat at the start of every conversation? It could have done without a lot of the details, and then maybe it would be fairly tolerable.(less)

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Sep 27, 2010 Meg rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: sent-for-review, read-in-2010, women-s-fiction

Best friends Tess Tennant and Adam Smith grew up in the tiny English town of Langford, made famous for its connection to author Jane Austen — and for its gorgeous vistas, including the historic water meadows. The meadows have been controlled for years by Leonora Mortmain, the daunting and severe old woman who has taken up permanent residence as an antagonistic old crone in the lives of Langford’s residents.

After many years apart, Tess returns to town from London and finds Adam — handsome, gawky,...more Best friends Tess Tennant and Adam Smith grew up in the tiny English town of Langford, made famous for its connection to author Jane Austen — and for its gorgeous vistas, including the historic water meadows. The meadows have been controlled for years by Leonora Mortmain, the daunting and severe old woman who has taken up permanent residence as an antagonistic old crone in the lives of Langford’s residents.

After many years apart, Tess returns to town from London and finds Adam — handsome, gawky, intelligent — living the same old life has has since the death of his mother, the larger-than-life Phillippa. Tess’s heart breaks at the thought of finding her oldest, dearest friend at a stand-still, but what can she do?

Other than begin teaching a course on classics at a local college. She eventually leads her pupils to Rome on an end-of-term field trip, and it’s there that she meets Peter — a charismatic, gorgeous American who sees something in Tess that she doesn’t yet notice in herself. Torn between her long-ago feelings for Adam and attentive, exciting Peter, Tess flounders. But Adam isn’t himself these days, and when a final secret comes to light, changing the very nature of everything in town — and Adam himself — can Tess embrace a new life? Or is she destined to flounder in the old one — alone?

Harriet Evans’ I Remember You is wildly entertaining, colorful, poignant, heartbreaking — basically everything I look for in a good novel. What I wanted David Nicholls’ One Day to be — a tale of best friends over the years, reuniting and loving and losing — was all found here, and what a thoroughly enjoyable book it was.

Tess was a character with whom I could identify immediately: proud but a bit confused about where she’s headed in life; adventurous, but still with a yearning to find “home.” Adam has been her steadfast friend since they were children, growing up in town together, and everyone assumed they’d eventually find love in each other — but not so. Through a succession of heartbreaks, heartaches and confusion, Adam and Tess lose touch. And when they eventually reunite, nothing is the same.

It’s hard for me to say exactly what I loved about this story. It was emotional, yes, and that’s the biggest boon for me: I felt emotionally invested with these people from the start. Their hurts were my hurts; their successes were my successes. Sweet, lovable Adam was hard not to fall for, too, even when he was off gallivanting through Langford, and Evans managed to perfectly capture the bittersweet feelings of first love. Since a terrible breakup, I’ve seen my first love once more — and reading I Remember You brought on a flood of feeling.

The English town in which Adam, Tess, Leonora and many others live really comes to life here, too. Throughout the novel, a huge tension exists between the “old and the new” — the longtime residents who want nothing to change, even as a flood of tourists arrive to visit the Jane Austen Centre, and the new regime: younger people, some transplants from London, who are seeking modern amenities in a quieter setting. I loved the resolution to many of the problems that exist in the narrative, especially regarding the water meadows.

Not a novel I’ll forget anytime soon — and one that has me itching even more than usual to tromp around an English village. And if Tess and Adam were there to greet me, more the better.(less)

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Aug 07, 2010 Laura rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

When I was shopping for my summer reads, I picked this one up as I loved the jacket and while I hadn't read any books by her before, I had heard good things, in particular about GOING HOME, so I thought I would give her a try. I'll be honest with you, the book didn't grab me. It was enjoyable enough, but I wasn't gribbed to the page, nor did I particularly care about the characters. The plot ambled along, much like the country life in Langford did, with little titbits of information leaking out...more

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Nov 16, 2009 Leah rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-read-2009

Tess Tennant and Adam Smith have known each other since birth. They grew up together as best friends and everyone in Langford expected them to end up together. Until one day, Adam’s mother Philippa drops dead. Tess goes off to London whilst Adam remains in Langford working in a pub. Years later though Tess returns but her friendship with Adam is completely different to how it was. It all comes to a head when Tess takes a class trip to Rome and by the time Tess returns, Adam has gone. What went o...more Tess Tennant and Adam Smith have known each other since birth. They grew up together as best friends and everyone in Langford expected them to end up together. Until one day, Adam’s mother Philippa drops dead. Tess goes off to London whilst Adam remains in Langford working in a pub. Years later though Tess returns but her friendship with Adam is completely different to how it was. It all comes to a head when Tess takes a class trip to Rome and by the time Tess returns, Adam has gone. What went on between Adam and Tess to cause their friendship to fall so dramatically?

I’ve only previously read one of Harriet Evans’ three novels, her debut Going Home, however when I saw this one up on Amazon, I loved the sound of it and more than that I loved the fact it would be part-set in Rome; I’m a huge fan of authors setting books in foreign destinations. A fellow book blogger, the wonderful Suzana of Bookalicious, offered to send me her review copy and I jumped at the chance. I was thrilled to finally start it a few days ago. My joy, however, was short-lived.

From the offset I liked the sound of the plot: Tess and Adam being best friends for a long long time, since birth, but slowly they seemingly grow apart. The book starts with a prologue where Tess and Adam are still teenagers and we then come to Part One. Strangely enough, the opening chapter is told from the third-person view point of Leonora Mortmain who comes across as nosey and mean. The first chapter also sees Tess return to Langford and we slowly unravel the story behind Tess’ departure from London. The rest of the book is told in the third-person view point from mainly Tess herself, as in, she features in most of those scenes but we do also get the odd change of viewpoint from those living in Langford. There are a total of four parts to the book as well as the prologue. Part One is Tess’ return to Langford, where we also find out what happened between Tess and Adam all those years before; Part Two is Tess’ class trip to Rome, Part Three is the return from Rome and the aftershocks of what went on there and then Part Four is Adam’s disappearance followed by his eventual return. For me, it felt as though the book was four separate books. Yes each part followed on from the last but it also seemed to draw a line under the previous part and I found that disrupting. I want to read a book and have it flow throughout rather than feel as though the book is stopping and starting all of the time. Also on the pages where it says “Part One/Two/Three/Four” are various quotes; I can’t tell you what they were as I skipped them, they’d only have slowed down the book more, as far as I was concerned.

There also didn’t seem to be one main central plot to the book unless of course Tess and Adam’s friendship counts. That is the only main factor to all four parts of the book. The rest of the plots seem to be sub-plots; the fact Leonora Mortmain is turning the watermeadows into a shopping center; Tess’ move back to Langford and how she changes whilst there or how Langford has changed, it depends how you look at it; there’s also the trip to Rome where Tess falls for Peter. But there wasn’t anything that I felt held the book down. I don’t think Tess and Adam’s friendship was a big enough factor for it to be the focal point: yes they have a lot of rows and there are lots of secrets discovered from the past, but there friendship just seemed like any normal friendship really: topsy-turvy. Maybe I missed what the plot of the book was supposed to be? I doubt it, though.

The book is a very slow burner. A lot of the book seems to be filler and, although I’m no book editor, I’d have probably chopped some of it out. I mean I got half way through and I just wanted it to end. I seemed to be reading and reading but I didn’t feel as if I was getting anywhere because nothing was happening. I just didn’t understand what I was reading about: was it Adam and Tess’ friendship and all that had gone wrong? Was it the fact Leonora was turning the water meadows into a shopping mall? or was it the fact Tess felt strange being back in Langford? The book didn’t seem to be going anywhere. The mystery about Adam’s mother didn’t even perk me up. Truth was, I’d already guessed it 100 pages ago. I’d also guessed what had went on with Tess and Adam when they were teenagers because it was quite obvious. To want a book to end after 250 pages is incredibly sad and it’s a rare occurence where I wish that.

I didn’t even feel anything for any of the characters. I thought Tess was quite whingey most of the time and yes, of course, I felt sorry for Adam but Tess was right: what had he done with his life? Of course we find out exactly why he stayed in Langford but still. I wasn’t at all connected to Tess or Adam, I didn’t feel much for them and maybe that’s why I disliked the book so much. How can I enjoy a book when I don’t even enjoy the characters? Tess and Adam spent most of the book being pretty maudlin and that’s exactly how I felt as the book moved along. One character I did like was Francesca, Tess’ flatmate and Adam’s sometime girlfriend. She added a bit of life to the book and I enjoyed her scenes. I also quite like Diana, Adam’s godmother, she seemed nice as well as Liz, who becomes Tess’ flatmate. There were plenty of other charcters but they all seemed the same to me. I mean there were loads of characters who were there throughout the book but none of them, bar those mentioned, really made an impression on me.

One thing I will say about the book was that I loved the descriptions of Rome. Harriet really did her research about Rome and I loved reading of the cobbled streets and the Spanish steps. However, on the flipside of that, I thought the descriptions of the classic things Tess described to her students were quite long winded and, as I have no interest in the subject whatsoever, I found myself skipping passages. I also can’t fault Harriet on her writing, she is a superb writer but even that isn’t always enough to save a book. The description on my review copy says it’s witty, rich and moving. The only one I’d agree with is that it is indeed a rich book. Again, that’s down to Harriet’s writing.

For me though, the book wasn’t really there. I knew how it would end, I’m sure even you all reading this review could guess how it’ll end. While I enjoy a happy ending, I think it was rather rushed. I think it’s a shame I didn’t enjoy the book as I can see Harriet Evans has talent but for me, it was too slow and too long. A book should not bore me after 250 pages, it should just be getting exciting and I should be raring to finish it.(less)

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Mar 29, 2013 Amie Hibbert rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I ENJOYED THIS BOOK, IT DIDNT HAVE ME GLUED TO IT THOUGH. I READ IT OVER A MONTH WHICH IS VERY LONG FOR ME. I LIKED THE BEGINING AND THE END BUT I DO FEEL THE MIDDLE DID GET A BIT BORING, BUT I STUCK WITH IT AND IT GOT BETTER. I THINK IT WOULDVE BEEN BETTER IF MORE HAPPENED BETWEEN ADAM AND TESS. I DIDNT REALLY ENJOY THE ITALY PART OF THE BOOK THOUGH. IT WAS POINTLESS AND THE CHARACTERS THAT WENT WITH HER SEEMED REALLY BORING. I GAVE THE BOOK 4 STARS BUT IF IT HAD MORE EXCITEMENT I WOULD HAVE RA...more

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Jan 12, 2011 Jeffra Stafford rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'm a stickler for London based novels. Evans also explored Rome, my other favorite city and truly hit home with the characteristics of both Old small towns outside of London along with the excitement and passion of Rome and it's history. I do wish the ending had surprised me a bit more, and that Peter's character and his relationship was with Tess was built upon in order to create more of a shock factor. Overall a page turner though and Evans does a great job with character development.

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Aug 08, 2010 Rosie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-2010

Straight away you want the friends to get together. Well I know I did. The story was very well written and it flowed very well. There was a lot of interesting parts to the plot which maintained my interest. This was the first time I had read one of Harriet Evans books, although there are a couple which have caught my eye. It was a nice story idea and you really felt for the characters at times. You really learn to love the characters (although I wasn't too fond of the Tess' room mate).

Her trip...more

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Aug 29, 2011 Tracey rated it 2 of 5 stars

A very long book to tell a very old story, guess I just did not get into this. Tessa and Adam were childhood friends and inseparable. Everyone in town said they were destined for eachother, which they were but they just did not get around to realizing it until they had been lovers, estranged, in broken relationships, friends, almost lovers again, and on it went. Adam's life is a mess after his mother's death, mysterious geneology is discovered and love eventually conquers all. Yawn.

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Nov 19, 2009 Christi rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Did not enjoy as much as her other three novels, but maybe I'll get more out of it after a second read at some point. The flow was a bit off, and what was painfully obvious to the reader only became apparent to the main characters in the last few pages. Too much conflict between the main characters for it all to come together at the end so easily. Didn't feel like their issues were really resolved for the happy ending.

Again, I would have given the book 3 1/2 stars, but since there are no halves...more

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Aug 19, 2011 Catherine Sumner rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This fell flat for me. I kept reading because I wanted to see what happened, even though it was predictable and kind of annoying. There were too many random side plots, pointless misunderstandings, and time spent on tangential characters, and the love interest was irritating and unappealing. I've enjoyed Harriet Evans' other books, but this one lacked the charm and humor I've enjoyed in the past.

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Feb 29, 2012 Melissa Posten rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012-books-read

When I read adult books, I usually read fluff. I freely admit this. And as fluff goes, this one's pretty good. It's set in England, which always seems to lend fluff an extra but of legitimacy. But I stand up for the right of people to read what they want, and what I often want is a nice piece of chick lit with a strong main character and a happy ending.

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Jul 20, 2011 Kelly rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It was OK, took until half way into the book to get into the story and at times I just wanted to put it down. It didn't have the gripping suspense that made me want to read on and on. There was a point where I couldn't put it down and I needed to know what happened next, but unfortunately it only lasted for a few chapters.
I was disappointed as she's supposed to be a similar writer to Jill Mansell.

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Jan 05, 2011 Allison rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Definitely not my favorite of hers. I found it a little hard to connect with the characters. And I would get to a point that I felt like the book could end or would maybe end soon but then realized there was still 100 pages to go. And then the end was a little anti-climatic. It ended good but it just seemed like it wasn't as exciting as I hoped for or something...

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Jan 16, 2013 Helen Wall rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Oh my word, this book dragged. It felt like had been reading it got ages without actually getting anywhere in it. The author keeps hinting at family secrets etc which made me keep reading as I thought there was going to be a big reveal at some point but to be honest. The things that come out are pretty obvious and not really a 'twist'. I kept reading to see if it redeemed it self at all but no it didn't. I was so happy to finally get to the end.

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Jun 06, 2011 Lucy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I really wanted to like this book more- I have loved some of Harriet Evans other books. Unfortunately, I found it somewhat depressing, with a lot less humor than her previous books. The plot was incredibly predictable, which I can forgive in other chick-lit books if they have the humor and emotion to keep me interested. It was a decent read overall, just a little too blah.

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May 07, 2012 Simira rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: own

So I thought this book was interesting when I started reading it. Then I got to the end and was like, "what the hell?" It seems she spent a lot of time building up everything and then rushed the end. How weak is the main character that she easily gets with the guy that caused her to get an abortion? Plus, they had a strained friendship the whole time. And the guy kinda came off as an ass to her most of the time. I believe she was in love with him but not so much vice versa. Maybe this story woul...more

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About Harriet Evans

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I was born in London in 1974 and grew up on the mean streets of Chiswick, where I went to school. I was a completely undistinguished pupil in every way, except I absolutely loved reading and drama. My only achievements from the age of 5 to 18 were, a) winning a doodling competition at primary school (of a witch flying in the sky with balloons...more Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/harrietevansb...

I was born in London in 1974 and grew up on the mean streets of Chiswick, where I went to school. I was a completely undistinguished pupil in every way, except I absolutely loved reading and drama. My only achievements from the age of 5 to 18 were, a) winning a doodling competition at primary school (of a witch flying in the sky with balloons in her hand), b) I was head chorister of the church choir, which believe me is not something that wins you cool points with anyone you know apart from your granny.

After school I went to Bristol University and did Classical Studies, which was great, I absolutely loved Bristol and I liked being a student and being with people who didn’t know my shameful head chorister past. I left university and adventurously headed straight back down the motorway to London again.

I wanted to get into magazines, but the only place that would employ me was the Lady magazine, which turned out to be one of those awful first jobs where you think your working life will always be like this: I was wholly unequipped for office life, its politics, its mundanity, its tensions. I did, however, learn how one polishes chandeliers and a lot about interesting road signs in Devon.

A couple of months later I was lucky enough to get into publishing, first at Penguin, where I worked for seven years, progressing from secretary to editorial director, publishing mainly women’s fiction. I left in 2003 and went to another publisher, Headline, where I worked until May 2009.

In the meantime, I started writing in the mornings before work, and in 2003 I sent the first few pages of my book to an agent under a pseudonym. Eventually, to my great joy, this led to a publishing deal with HarperCollins in the UK and Simon and Schuster in the US, who have now published all five of my novels. FIVE books, that’s crazy!

In 2008 I left my job to write full time. I was extremely happy at Headline, working with authors such as Penny Vincenzi, Emily Barr, and Louise Bagshawe, and coming up with initiatives like rejacketing Jane Austen’s novels to appeal to a younger female audience. But it became harder to balance the two jobs, and writing won out, and I know I’m very fortunate to be in a position to write full time, though I missed the office something chronic the first year after I left. It’s awful going to work on a rainy Monday morning, but there’s something great about walking down the road with your iPod in and your coffee in your hand ready to attach another day. When you’re inside all day wearing loose clothing and glasses you don’t feel quite the same…!

I am passionate about commercial fiction, especially commercial women’s fiction, which seems to me to come in for an extraordinary amount of bile and patronising comment, in contrast to the same kind of books by men, which get reviewed, discussed, accepted into the canon with far greater ease. Books about young women’s lives, their jobs, romances, nights out, what they like doing, are seen as frippery and silly; books about young men’s lives covering exactly the same topics are discussed and debated, often accepted as valid and interesting contributions to the current social and media scene.

Last year my boyfriend and I bought a place together in Angel. I am getting used to living in North / East London - it’s strange being able to walk to Brick Lane when I’ve always been no more than 5 minutes from the M4 but I love it round here. I have my own study which is great - previously I was writing in bed or on the sofa, which is not conducive to knuckling down. It is conducive to having a quick nap though… I miss it.

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