When Anna meets Adam she’s on her “honeymoon” with her best friend Nell having just broken up with her fiance in the weeks before the wedding. Romance or love are the last things on her mind and she’s happy to spend some time in the sun having a few drinks and making the most of the hotel catering. When her friend hooks up with Adam’s friend Josh they are thrown together and they soon discover that it is more than a holiday romance.
The story isn’t linear and the timeline jumps around. The book opens with Anna reminiscing about how she met Adam and the bittersweet memories that it evokes. This is a story of life and circumstance getting in the way of what should have been a perfect partnership. Its a heart rending tale of loss and what might have been and the struggle that some people have to endure to try to become parents. Once again – it’s happened a lot lately – I found myself wide awake in the middle of night with silent tears streaming down my cheeks as I immersed myself in their story.
The Life We Almost Had is the first story she’s written as Amelia Henley but she also writes psychological thrillers under her real name, Louise Jensen. As Louise Jensen she has sold over a million copies of her global number one bestsellers. Her stories have been translated into twenty-five languages and optioned for TV as well as featuring on the USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestsellers list. Louise’s books have been nominated for multiple awards. I can appreciate why this hasn’t come out under Louise’s name as it is very different to her usual thrillers but a good writer does have breadth and the capacity to write in different styles and genres.
In many ways the cute girly cover is a little misleading as this book goes beyond the fluff and romance and touches on some quite deep subjects. Its a real conversation starter – perfect for book groups – and poses some quite deep questions about sacrifice and the nature of love.
Supplied by Net Galley and HQ in exchange for an honest review.
UK Publication Date: July 23 2020. 338 pages.
#TheLifeWeAlmostHad #NetGalley
Categories: 4 Stars Book Review
angelnet69
Prolific reader, enthusiastic theatre and movie-goer and ex-Olivier Awards judge who spent twenty years working in the music industry in London. Sharing my house with a gorgeous cockapoo called Harry who has taken over completely.
I love sharing my favourite books with friends - nearly always spoiler-free as I hate reading a synopsis of the whole book in other reviews.
#BookAdvocatesUnite
angelnetreviews.com 
Leave a Reply