Mike Gayle - A Song of Me and You
5⭐
Genre: Romance, Contemporary Fiction, Contemporary Romance, Fiction
Pages: 350
Format: Digital (Kindle) Netgalley
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Date Published: 6th July 2023
Book Blurb:
Twenty years later, mother-of-two-teenagers Helen is still in Manchester, a part-time primary teacher, stunned by the behaviour of her love-rat husband. In an old T-shirt and scruffy jeans, she feels at the lowest point in her life.
And suddenly, impossibly, Ben is standing on her doorstep. Tired maybe, lonely even, but clearly still the world-famous, LA-based multi-millionaire rockstar he has become.
Can you ever go back?
For Helen and Ben, so much has happened in the years between. But just to sit in the kitchen for a while and talk - that would be nice.
Before the world comes crashing in.
Friendship, love, heartache and hope collide in this unforgettable emotional journey, from the author of Half A World Away.
My Review:
Mike Gayle did it again! Another
amazing read! This book played with my heartstrings so much, but at the same
time, I adored every word that I read. Such beautiful writing, an excellent
storyline, and an ending that I didn’t see coming…
The book follows Helen who is a
teacher living in Manchester. She has two kids and a crumbling down marriage.
Ben on the other hand is a famous musician, who is struggling with his fame and
wants to get away from it. Ben and Helen also share some history, they dated
almost 20 years ago just as Ben slowly rose to fame. However, they haven’t seen
each other in 20 years, not until Ben knocks on Helen's door one day…Will they
help each other to find the answers they both are searching for?
Loved how three-dimensional all
of the characters in this book are. I adored Helen, as she is so nice and caring,
but sadly whole life that she built for herself and her family, is crumbling
down. She deserved better. Ben is a lost soul and he realises that he doesn’t have
anyone to help him but Helen, as Helen believed in him and was there for him
from the very start. I loved how the author portrayed Ben not as a rich and
stuck-up musician, but as a real human with flaws and surrounded by loneliness
despite the great fame he is living in.
Nothing in this book was sugar-coated.
It is raw, full of harsh realities of life, and heartbreak, but it also has
brilliant and heart-warming moments of love, support and care. All of this made
me feel like I am reading about real people and their real lives.
The ending! OMG! I was not
prepared for it…It shocked me as I wasn’t expecting it at all, but at the same
time I wanted more closure, and the last chapter to be just a tad longer.
Overall: Another sad, heart-wrenching,
and emotional story from Mike Gayle that also has so much warmth and love. I
loved it so much and will be recommending this to everyone! Can’t wait to read
more from Mike Gayle (hopefully) soon!
This review was first published on NetGalley:
https://www.netgalley.co.uk/book/283507/review/959200
About the Author:
Mike Gayle was born and raised in Birmingham. After graduating from Salford University with a degree in Sociology Mike moved to London with ambitions of becoming a music journalist. This didn't happen however and following a slight detour in his five-year plan he ended up as an agony uncle for teenage girls' magazine Bliss before becoming Features Editor on the now much-missed Just Seventeen. Since those early days, Mike has written for a variety of publications including The Sunday Times, The Guardian and Cosmopolitan.
Mike became a full-time novelist in 1997 following the publication of his Sunday Times top ten bestseller My Legendary Girlfriend, which was hailed by The Independent as 'Full of belly laughs and painfully acute observations,' and by The Times as 'A funny, frank account of a hopeless romantic.'
To date, Mike is the author of twelve novels including Mr Commitment, Turning Thirty and Wish You Were Here. His books have been translated into over thirty languages.
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