- Title: This Changes Everything
- Author: Helen McGinn
- Publisher: Boldwood Books on February 5, 2021
- Genre: Contemporary Fiction
- Pages: 266
- Formats Available: Paperback, Audiobook, & Digital
- Rating: 5/5
Trigger Warnings: None
Many thanks to Rachel’s Random Resources, Helen McGinn, and Boldwood Books for providing me with a digital copy of This Changes Everything with a request for an honest review.
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This Changes Everything Blurb
Should first love be left in the past, or is first love, forever love…
Sisters Annie and Jess are used to their mother Julia being spontaneous. But when Julia announces she’s flying off to Rome to meet her first love Patrick, whom she hasn’t seen for fifty years, it’s an adventure too far. So, her daughters decide the only way to keep Julia safe, is to go too – without actually telling their mother she has chaperones!
Julia and Patrick’s love story was everything – epic, once-in-a-lifetime, with a tragic ending and life-long consequences. First love is hard to forget, but sometimes, just sometimes, life delivers a chance to rewrite your story.
As the eternal city of Rome works its magic, old secrets, old friends and old loves become new possibilities and new dreams. And when the four travellers return home, nothing will ever be the same again.
Join Helen McGinn for a timeless, joyous, unforgettable journey through love, family, and long-forgotten dreams. A novel to hold to your heart and treasure, perfect for fans of Elizabeth Noble, Cathy Kelly and JoJo Moyes
Provided by Rachel’s Random Resources for Tour Use
My Review
This Changes Everything is the book I needed yet had no idea I wanted. I went in expecting a romance, but what I got was not a romance in the traditional sense. However, there is plenty of love to go around. This family is something special, and I am happy to have been a part of it.
This novel starts like so many others. Two sisters who are complete opposites and a flighty mother. I was ready for this to be Jess’s story. She is without a mate, which usually means she is going to end up as the protagonist. I wasn’t expecting it when the story turned out to be Julia’s (the mother).
Though, that is a bit of a mistake on my part. The story belongs to Julia and Patrick. Though it encompasses both their families and another family no one expects. The perspective changes often, which can be jarring. Yet I felt like I got a bonus by hearing how life affected everyone involved.
This book is the epitome of a happy ending. It comes full circle, yet all the in-between is passionate, emotional, and heartbreaking. I wish we could have more of these characters. They are so real that I feel like I might walk into them on the street while hunting for my morning cuppa.
The only thing that bothered me was that every glass of wine needed a lengthy description. I am not a wine drinker, so I have no desire to know the exact wine being drunk. For me, trying to decipher the pronunciation and such was distracting. But, this is such a small thing that it didn’t damper my enjoyment of the novel.
I am happy to award This Changes Everything a full 5 out of 5 stars. For anyone looking for a great family drama, you will love this book. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys a heartfelt story.
About the Author – Helen McGinn
Helen McGinn is a much-loved wine expert on TV and in print and an international wine judge. She spent ten years as a supermarket buyer sourcing wines around the world before setting up her award-winning blog (and best-selling wine book) The Knackered Mother’s Wine Club. She is the drinks writer for the Daily Mail and regularly appears on TV’s Saturday Kitchen and This Morning. Helen lives in the New Forest and Boldwood are publishing her debut women’s fiction title in Spring 2021.
Author’s Social Media Links: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
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