⭐⭐⭐ (3/5)

TW: death, grief

I read this book as an E-ARC via NetGalley.

When Chloe meets Jack, she knows what she wants in life. She is in her 30s and ready to find the person she wants to build a life with. After a few months, the pair are happy and living together when tragedy strikes. Jack is killed in a road accident, leaving Chloe grieving and trying to process what happens next as well as what she and Jack were and could have been.

I was drawn to this novel by the premise of it, and that is really what stayed in my head as I was reading. I felt for Chloe and understood her confusion and frustration at her situation and how other people were reacting to it. Other characters looked at a 5 month relationship as not yet too serious, but for Chloe, this was the one that was meant to last and she doesn’t know how to deal with that (I don’t know that anyone would).

Doyle’s exploration of Chloe’s grief was definitely interesting. What Chloe feels she needs is some kind of answer or explanation, at least just to know how Jack felt about her, but that is hard to know or find without Jack. As I read, I wondered how she would find whatever it was that she needed so that she could process what had happened and continue with her life.

Although the premise drew me to this novel, I struggled to be gripped by this book to begin with. I felt for Chloe, but I was unsure whether this was a book for me, especially as Chloe was (understandably) not in a good place and I didn’t particularly like any of the other characters during the first half.

By the end, this wasn’t a book that I loved, but it was a good read and I am glad that I stuck with it. Personally I preferred the second half of the novel, and this is where I began to get into it. I liked the characters that we meet and get to know in the second half, and I felt more attached to Chloe and wanted to find out what happened to her.

Overall, I’m still not sure this book was entirely for me. However, this novel has an interesting premise that gave me something to think about and I began to become more attached to Chloe and wanted to see a good ending for her.

Love, Almost will be released on 7th January.