Still Me: A Novel by Jojo Moyes

(Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book!)

about book:

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Jojo Moyes, a new book featuring her iconic heroine of Me Before You and After You, Louisa Clark

Louisa Clark arrives in New York ready to start a new life, confident that she can embrace this new adventure and keep her relationship with Ambulance Sam alive across several thousand miles. She steps into the world of the superrich, working for Leonard Gopnik and his much younger second wife, Agnes. Lou is determined to get the most out of the experience and throws herself into her new job and New York life.

As she begins to mix in New York high society, Lou meets Joshua Ryan, a man who brings with him a whisper of her past. Before long, Lou finds herself torn between Fifth Avenue where she works and the treasure-filled vintage clothing store where she actually feels at home. And when matters come to a head, she has to ask herself: Who is Louisa Clark? And how do you reconcile a heart that lives in two places?

Funny, romantic, and poignant, Still Me follows Lou as she navigates how to stay true to herself, while pushing to live boldly in her brave new world.

my thoughts:

I absolutely LOVED Me Before You - the love story of Louisa Clark and Will Traynor that ends in heartache.  I enjoyed After You - reading about Lou post-Will - but didn't love it.  So, I was a bit skeptical when I heard there would be a third book, Still Me.  I didn't know what to expect or how we would find Lou.  So, when provided with the opportunity to find out, I immediately agreed to it.

Lou is now happily dating Sam.  Except they are long-distance dating, because she has decided to go away to NYC for a year.  She's found a job as a PA for the wife of a super rich man on the upper East Side.  The woman is disliked by the society set, has no friends, and is hated by her step-daughter.  Lou befriends her (or at least thinks she does) and begins to enjoy working for her.  She starts enjoying her new life in NYC.  Of course she misses Sam, but she knows that they love each other and it will all work out.  So she works, goes out, and lives her life.  And just as she thinks she's settled in, complications arise - personal and professional.  Soon, Lou is headed back to the UK and life is turning out to be not so lovely after all. 

Now, I will admit to loving the character of Lou, but I if I'm honest, we could have just left her with the last book, After You.  I feel like Still Me was unnecessary.  It shows that Lou still needs to grow up, trust herself, and discover what she loves - all of which make for a funny, but over the top read.  However, these are all things that Lou could have discovered in After You.  Why drag out the story of her character any longer?  Truthfully, I enjoyed bits of the story, but found it to be too much at times.  The more I read about Lou, the more I disliked her.  And in the end, I didn't really care what happened to her.  This book was a miss for me.



Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book!

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

about book:

They had nothing in common until love gave them everything to lose

Louisa Clark is an ordinary girl living an exceedingly ordinary life—steady boyfriend, close family—who has never been farther afield than their tiny village. She takes a badly needed job working for ex–Master of the Universe Will Traynor, who is wheelchair bound after an accident. Will has always lived a huge life—big deals, extreme sports, worldwide travel—and now he’s pretty sure he cannot live the way he is.

Will is acerbic, moody, bossy—but Lou refuses to treat him with kid gloves, and soon his happiness means more to her than she expected. When she learns that Will has shocking plans of his own, she sets out to show him that life is still worth living.

A Love Story for this generation, Me Before You brings to life two people who couldn’t have less in common—a heartbreakingly romantic novel that asks, What do you do when making the person you love happy also means breaking your own heart?

my thoughts:

Jojo Moyes' novel, Me Before You, broke my heart. In fact, I'm still recovering - of course, I only just finished the book at 2am this morning - but I swear, this book really hits you in the heart.  This is a book that has you hooked from the first page and just won't let you go.  Soon enough you will find yourself getting rather emotionally invested in the lives of your two new favorite characters, Lou and Will.  Seriously, you will! Or at least I did.  I mean it, I just had to find out what was going to happen - I had so many questions swirling around in my head:  Would Lou blossom into a more confident and self-assured woman?  What happened to her in the maze? Would Will decide to forgo the plans he had made in Switzerland?  What types of adventures would Lou take Will on?  And, how long would it take for them both to realize how in love they were with one another?

Me Before You is an amazing novel that will have you thinking about life, love, death, and everything in between.  You will smile, cry, laugh, and sob as you read this unputdownable book.  And, you will be left with a sadness that will inspire you step back and take a look at your own life.  I swear, not only did this novel introduce me to Jojo Moyes' fantastic writing and storytelling, but it also pushed me to recognize the ways in which I've become rather complacent within my own life. Instead of adjusting my 40 before 40 list, I need to start crossing items off of it. Life is what you make of it, and I realized that I need to start making more of it.  I suppose I should send Moyes' a thank you letter for this book, because not only did it touch me, it also inspired me. 

Now, I know I didn't really delve into the subject matter or plot lines of the novel, but that was because I didn't want to ruin anything for those of you who haven't read this must-read book.  So, all I am going to say is that you must read this novel - I promise you will not be disappointed!  In fact, I'm pretty sure that you will be adding Moyes' other works to your shelves as a result. 

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Viking Press (an imprint of Penguin Group) for providing me with a copy of this book.