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Me Before You (Me Before You, #1)

Jojo Moyes

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Sep 21, 2014 Liz rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: adult-fiction, 4-star, read-enjoyed-but-problematic

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5 likes · Like · see review

May 15, 2016 Lisa rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

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2 likes · Like · see review

Dec 04, 2014 Elizabeth rated it really liked it · review of another edition

oh I just loved this. Thanks for recommending it, Joanna!

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Feb 25, 2016 Esther rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: __borrowed, author-female, england, gag-me-with-a-spoon, library, romance, zz-2016

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. With writing people often say that finding a good idea or premise for a story is not enough you need to be able to carry it through, get the book written.
This book proves that the inverse is also true. Jojo Moyes has an enjoyable writing style, it flows pleasantly and she has a nice turn of phrase (although at times I felt she gave Louisa dialogue more witty and wry than it would ever be in real life).
But in an attempt to create a hybrid between 'Pygmalion' and 'Who's Life is it Anyway' our auth With writing people often say that finding a good idea or premise for a story is not enough you need to be able to carry it through, get the book written.
This book proves that the inverse is also true. Jojo Moyes has an enjoyable writing style, it flows pleasantly and she has a nice turn of phrase (although at times I felt she gave Louisa dialogue more witty and wry than it would ever be in real life).
But in an attempt to create a hybrid between 'Pygmalion' and 'Who's Life is it Anyway' our author seems to have dug up her narrative from the Mills & Boon classic cliché collection.

Some readers seem surprised by the ending but for such a light story in which people's actions are more often annoying than thought-provoking it was the only conclusion with any bite. And to be honest I did feel it was true to Will himself.
He was spoiled, arrogant and entitled, used to getting what he wanted and not understanding the meaning of compromise or 'making the best' of a situation. He didn't want to give himself a chance and was perversely determined not only to prove he could control his life but also that he didn't have to pay heed to the opinions of those surrounding him. At one point I began to wonder if he stuck so determinedly to the date, with no consideration of a delay for any reason, just because his pride was too over-powering to admit the possibility that he might change his mind, even for a short while.

Louisa and her family weren't any more endearing either. As much as they seemed to care it was mostly a superficial illusion as none of them showed much empathy. They were constantly interfering and self-involved. At times I wanted to send the whole lot of them off to Dignitas.

But one of my biggest hurdles in being able to take this as a book commenting seriously on a subject, rather that a trite romance draped over a situation calculated to produce maximum melodrama, was the fact that Will was so rich. An abundance of carers, fancy wheelchairs and luxury holidays are just not available for most of the world's disabled, even those living in the Western World.
If Louisa and Will's financial situations had been reversed this would have been a much more interesting story.
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Oct 11, 2015 Belle rated it liked it · review of another edition

Didn't really tug at my heartstrings but I gotta say, it's way better than most mainstream, sappy chick-lits. ...more

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Feb 19, 2016 Heidi rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle, british-isles, recommended-by-friends, chick-lit, contemporary

By all rights, there is nothing terribly extraordinary about this book, and yet I found myself unable to put it down. It sucked me in and I wanted to stay up all night because I needed to finish the book -- even though I knew it had an obvious ending. I can't describe what makes this book something above average, but there is just something about it! That probably makes this the worst book review on the planet. ...more

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Jun 11, 2015 Chrissie rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: t-reads

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Jun 25, 2016 Ruth Soz rated it it was amazing

Shelves: chick-lit, novels, series-non-mystery

This one was a real tearjerker for me. It's been a long time since I've shed actual tears reading a book. Something about this tapped deep into my psyche and brought to the surface memories of loved ones no longer here. I'm looking forward to reading After You. ...more

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