I’d had an advance review copy of this on my Kindle for months and never got round to reading it – but I’m so glad I finally did, and just before publication date which was 8 June 2021!

Here’s the blurb:

“1984. Bessie is a confident sixteen-year-old girl with the world at her feet, dreaming of what life will bring and what she’ll bring to this life. Then everything comes crashing down. Her bright and trusting smile is lost, banished by shame―and a secret she’ll carry with her for the rest of her life.
2021. The last thirty-seven years have not been easy for Bess. At fifty-three she is visibly weary, and her marriage to Mario is in tatters. Watching her son in newlywed bliss―the hope, the trust, the joy―Bess knows it is time to face her own demons, and try to save her relationship. But she’ll have to throw off the burden of shame if she is to honour that sixteen-year-old girl whose dreams lie frozen in time.
Can Bess face her past, finally come clean to Mario, and claim the love she has longed to fully experience all these years?”

The book is based on Bess’s birthdays and follows two timelines which alternate – her 16th birthday in 1984 and her 53rd birthday in 2021. I’m a little bit younger than Bess – but still close enough in age to totally empathise with the setting of both birthdays. Many a rugby club party where I embarrassed myself too (throwing up on the geography teacher’s shoes being one of the more repeatable ones!).

The two timelines are totally believable – although you’re not sure exactly what has happened to Bess in the intervening years. The relationship between Bess and her brother Philip and parents is written so well in both timelines – and whose retired parents don’t love a voucher for lunch out?!

I also liked the random fact that our favourite resort in Portugal, Vale do Lobo, where we used to have a house (must be a construction company thing – as the people who own a house there are skip company owners #newmoney) gets a mention. I could picture the beach top dog walk. (Please let us be able to go back there soon!!)

A number of times I wanted to shout at Bess to not do something – but obviously couldn’t!! Overall I enjoyed the book – and was keen to see how each timeline played out – and found the ending very satisfying.

It’s out now – so you can download it immediately if you like the sound of it. A huge thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my ARC.