The Lost Guide to Life and Love by Sharon Griffiths
| The Lost Guide to Life and Love by Sharon Griffiths | |
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| Category: Women's Fiction | |
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Reviewer: Jo Heffer
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| Summary: Tilly Flint finds herself alone in an isolated Pennine holiday cottage after she argues with her boyfriend Jake and he storms off. Always one for a challenge though, Tilly relishes the idea of exploring on her own and being able to trace her family history. She soon starts to feel quite at home with the locals, but when more exciting opportunities appear in the shape of gorgeous footballer, Clayton Silver, she is hardly likely to say 'no' - is she? | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: Not known | Date: September 2009 |
| Publisher: Avon | |
| ISBN: 978-1847560919 | |
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From the moment I picked up 'The Lost Guide to Life and Love' I was drawn to the immensely likeable main character, Tilly Flint, and to this wonderful story depicting a few momentous months in her life. This is only the second book written by Sharon Griffiths, but with her easy and very readable style, I really hope that there will be many more.
Tilly Flint is a food journalist living in London and hankering for a more glamorous life than the one she has. She has a taste of this when her boyfriend Jake takes her to an upmarket nightclub frequented by top footballers and models. Little does she know at the time but some of the people she only glimpses that night are about to become very important to her. Just after, she agrees to go on a working holiday with Jake and they book an isolated cottage in the Pennines. However, an almighty row leads to Jake storming out and Tilly being left on her own. Surprisingly though, it is relief rather than fear that she experiences, particularly when she realises that where she is staying has very strong links with her family's history and that everyone knows of her Great Granny Allen who's sayings Tilly's mother is so fond of quoting.
Tilly chooses to stay and it does not take long before she feels like one of the locals. It's a quiet comfortable life but all that changes when a couple of Premiership footballers call at the local pub seeking directions to their notorious chairman's country estate. Soon, Tilly is being wined and dined in amazing locations and getting a taste of the life that was once only a dream. However, is it too much for a down to earth girl like Tilly and can she really trust the likes of the handsome and successful Clayton Silver? At the same time could finding out about her past help her to make some decisions about her future?
I found myself caught up in this story from the outset, particularly as it is told from Tilly's point of view. I love a first person narrative when the reader truly feels as if they get to know the character which is what happens here. You really do feel as though you see inside Tilly's head which can be quite exasperating at times especially when she jumps to wrong conclusions. She is also surrounded by lots of other great characters who all contribute to making this book such a good read.
I enjoyed reading about everything that happened to Tilly. There was a good mixture of everyday events and those a little more exciting, and these all merged together well. We can all dream of being whisked off to lunch in a helicopter by a gorgeous footballer and the next best thing is to read about it happening to someone else! There might have been a danger of it all sounding a bit farfetched but it did not feel like that as I was reading. Also, the pace is slowed down at times by an entirely separate story occurring. This is the story of Granny Allen who perhaps experiences similar excitement and dilemmas as Tilly, only about a century earlier. At first I found this other story a bit annoying as I was very much caught up in Tilly's world, but as I continued to read I enjoyed it more and liked the way there were parallels between the two stories.
Overall this is a very enjoyable book telling a great story with lots going on. It is well paced and at times is quite dramatic, although there are some humorous moments as well. Oh, and if I forgot to mention it, there might just be a hint of romance too!
I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to The Bookbag.
If you like the sound of this book, you may well enjoy Love Letters by Katie Fforde.
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You can read more book reviews or buy The Lost Guide to Life and Love by Sharon Griffiths at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy The Lost Guide to Life and Love by Sharon Griffiths at Amazon.com.
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