I’m not sure why I ended up with an ARC off NetGalley of this book – but I’m so very glad I did – it is brilliant!

Here’s the blurb:

“Joel is afraid of the future.
Since he was a child he’s been haunted by dreams about the people he loves. Visions of what’s going to happen – the good and the bad. And the only way to prevent them is to never let anyone close to him again.

Callie can’t let go of the past.
Since her best friend died, Callie’s been lost. She knows she needs to be more spontaneous and live a bigger life. She just doesn’t know how to find a way back to the person who used to have those dreams.

Joel and Callie both need a reason to start living for today.
And though they’re not looking for each other, from the moment they meet it feels like the start of something life-changing.

Until Joel has a vision of how it’s going to end . . .”

Firstly – this book is BEAUTIFULLY written.  It’s like a classic written now – you can imagine kids studying the amazing descriptions and sentence construction and the way it draws you right in – particularly when describing the seasons / weather / nature – it is stunning.  I know I shouldn’t be surprised – but often modern books feel a bit rushed, or on a production line because the author / publisher has a deadline – but it really feels like this book has been crafted and lots of care and attention to detail taken over the turn of phrase.

It is also ridiculously emotional!  You are invested in Callie and Joel from the off and really want everything to work out for them – but it’s difficult to see how it will.  Each chapter is written from an alternating point of view – and it swings like a pendulum between Callie and Joel.

Initially the pace is quite slow, day by day even, and you see how their initial friendship and then relationship starts.  You are really rooting for both Callie and Joel and their respective baggage.  The exquisite writing doesn’t take away from the fact that this is a modern book, set in current times, with familiar themes and settings.

As the book carries on the pace picks up – and the final chapters are almost annual – but it serves to build the momentum as it heads towards the conclusion. The inevitable conclusion perhaps?

It made be weep (which frankly anything does at the moment – but I think I would have even if we weren’t in the middle of a global pandemic!)  It is beautiful, heart breaking, life affirming, a story of friends and family and a perfect love story.

This book is going to be one of THE books of the summer of 2020 – so I would suggest pre ordering now, so you can be one of the cool kids who reads it first!

Huge thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for my ARC – I will most definitely be buying this as gifts for friends come June 2020.