A delightful book about Evie, a librarian who is looking for her bio- mom and finding new love.  Good storytelling and a fun character made this a fun read.

Really enjoyable read. Good characters and a Good story. Well worth a read. Think others will enjoy.

This was the first Christie Barlow I ever read, since then I have read every other one and pre-order any new one as soon as I hear about it.
So, when you do not know this author yet, be prepared for a new addictive writer!

Once again Christie has written a delightful book, with amazing characters that are written into a local community. Christie describes Evie’s emotions and the process that she goes through in the search for her mother with empathy and compassion.

I have enjoyed all of Christie previous books but for me, this my favourite one yet. I thoroughly recommend it

Perfect read for lovers of all books! Especially as they feature a fair amount being that Evie is a librarian and her love of books is simply delightful. So much fun!

I absolutely loved everything about this story.
I regret not reading this sooner, that’s the trouble when you have a to be read pile as big as mine ! 

My favourite character was the main character Evie, she was so lovely, not how I expected her to be (given her past!) 

I loved reading about the book club, it reminded me of the book club I am in, the ladies in the story are so like the ladies in my book club.

I can't believe it has taken me most of a year to get around to reading this superbly addictive book.


It didn't take me long until I was completely hooked on the story, and had to see how the various threads would unravel.

Evie works in a library and I loved the dynamics between her and Clara her best friend, Adrian the new librarian and there other friends. 

There are some large issues dealt with in this book, and one of the biggest to do with Evie's birth mum, i unfortunately predicted very early on, but it turns out not for completely the correct reasonings. 

I loved all the characters in this book, and felt really at home reading this story and the setting of Becton. 

This is a great showcase for the recent direction Christie Barlow's writing has gone in, and is easily one of my favourite books by her - well written, a joy to read and made me have the "feels". Definitely felt emotions towards various aspects of this story.. I loved it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

I read a lot of dark crime fiction but every so often, my brain craves something that doesn't involve something to turn my stomach or wonder whodunnit.  That is the time I turn to the books of Christie Barlow.   They are light hearted reads, a bit of a palette cleanser when I spend most of my literary time knee deep in police investigations or having my head messed with.

Evie's Year of Taking Chances is quite an addictive read. I followed Evie on a journey of love, friendship, self discovery and heartbreak. Evie is a lovely character with an enviable job, working in a library!! Oh to be surrounded by books all day! 

I do enjoy Ms Barlow's writing.  It's got a light touch of intrigue and mystery interwoven with the insight into the main character's trials and tribulations.  Yet again Christie Barlow tugged at my heart strings and made me shed a tear or two! I've loved all of her books so far and I'm looking forward to catching on her latest book I haven't read.

I loved this story and read it in one day. It's a great summer holiday read. Our main character is Evie she is single and is a librarian. Evie has a foster mum, Irene, who features in her life immensely, however she still feels the need to find her real mum. We join Evie on a journey full of great friendship's and romance, with a sprinkle of heartbreak!

I absolutely adored this book, so much so unread it in one day. It's a fabulous feel good read with a few tears shed also.

Every character in this book was wonderful and the friendship between them all was great. I thought Evie was wonderful and Clara was such a good friend.

This book would be a perfect holiday read .

Massive 5 stars from me

I couldn't stop reading! A lovely story about Evie who works in the library.
She also goes to book club at Mim's Cafe. It all sounds perfect for a bookworm.
A story with many aspects of relationships and family. It gave me a whole host of emotions. 
I loved this book and definitely recommend it.

I have read all of Christie Barlows books and thoroughly enjoyed them all, this is about Evie discovering her mother and how Noah fits into it all...read and you will not be disappointed.

A great read. Lovely to read this instead of reading my normal crime/thrillers.

Thanks for the advanced copy

Brilliant book. Loved it from the start till the end.

Twenty-something Evie has a pretty good life; she loves her job as a librarian and she has some great people around her in the town of Becton, particularly her best friend and colleague Clara and her foster mother Irene. Yet, every single year on her birthday Evie can’t help but wonder whatever happened to her real mother; why was she unable to take care of her and where could she be now? One year, Evie decides it’s time to finally start searching for some answers to her questions so she tries to find her birth mother. At the same time, however, there is someone else who makes an unexpected reappearance in Evie’s life; eight months ago she developed a crush on author Noah, but never bumped into him again after that. Now he’s back in town and, most important of all, seems to be interested in her… Will Evie be able to make the best of this new year, full with chances, or will it all just be a bit too much in one go?

When I read my first Christie Barlow novel, ‘Kitty’s Countryside Dream’, I immediately developed a liking for the author’s writing style and loved the story she had come up with. However, the books I’ve read since then just didn’t quite manage to live up to that very first novel I picked up, in my opinion. However, I’m happy to say ‘Evie’s Year of Taking Chances’ did manage to capture that same feeling, and really was another captivating and warm-hearted chick lit read I thoroughly enjoyed from start to finish. The book has realistic characters at its core, and also ones that are easy to warm to and root for. I liked Evie from the start, and also thought there were some wonderful secondary characters that really added their own touch to the story as a whole (I especially liked Clara, Evie’s best friend and colleague).

I quite like it when the main storyline of a novel consists of several different aspects and different things are going on. This was also the case for this book and I was really curious to see how everything would work out, even ending up being a bit surprised by some of the events (don’t want to give anything away!). Christie Barlow’s writing style also fits the chick lit genre really well, so if you’re a chick lit fan and curious to check out one of her reads, don’t hesitate to start with this one. All in all, I’m really happy to say I was once again convinced by Christie Barlow’s writing with her latest release; ‘Evie’s Year of Taking Chance’ is a lovely and wonderful story filled with smiles, love and friendship; a thoroughly nice feel-good read!

5☆ Emotional Rollercoaster... Loved it

Perfect read for lovers of all books! Especially as they feature a fair amount being that Evie is a librarian and her love of books is simply delightful. So much fun! 

Evie is the main character in the book and as the title suggests it's all about taking chances and grabbing life by the horns.

Evie works in the local library. 

Life hasn't necessarily been great for her. Her childhood was spent in and out of foster care. 
Until she meets her perfect match..... Irene.... They just click.
Their relationship is heartwarming. A mother and daughter bond. So touching.

All though Evie now has a stable life, her dream job and very good friends, she feels it's now the right time to search for her birth mother with so many unanswered questions she begins her journey to find her Mother.

What a journey she faces.
 Full of emotional ups and downs.
I was fully absorbed taking the highs and lows alongside Evie. 
Willing Evie to find her answers she so desperately deserved!

A fully immersive read, this book has it all, humour, a rollercoaster of Emotions, touch of Romance, plenty of surprises, twists and guesses, heartwarming moments, an absorbing poignant read.

Beautifully written characters. 
Christie has touched on Evie's life in care with sensitivity and much research. 
Making Evie's character so likeable and believable.
I loved all the characters but Evie holds a special place in my heart! 

Would I recommend this book.... 100% YES!!

A Poignant Rom Com with all the right mix!

When Evie's birthday hits she decides it is time to search for her birth mother. Will she find out who her mother is?  Will her birth mother want to be a part of her life?  The search starts to open up Evie's life to taking risk.  She gets a roommate, she finally confines she has a crush on this handsome writer, 
and confides in her friend that she is adopted. 

I enjoyed reading this book.  It was emotional at times and it was fun to read.

great read and easy to follow story line. look forward to reading more from this author.

AMAZING, I loved this. A definite 5 stars that I strongly recommend to everyone. This author has become one of my favourite with just one book and I can't wait to read more. The plot was unique, original and inspiring with vital life lessons, lovely and beautiful characters and a flowing prose. I certainly hope for a sequel.
http://readdayandnight.blogspot.com/2017/04/evies-year-of-taking-chances-by.html

Evie can lose herself in the books she looks after in the local library. Until recently she shared this enjoyment with her mother, Irene who has now retired.

On her birthday, someone leaves a book on the desk for Evie, from one of her favourite authors, Evie is excited but also more intrigued with an inscription that has been left inside for her.

What starts is a year of Evie really finding out who she is and where she comes from. Irene is not in fact her real mother, but someone who came into her life and made everything all right. Evie thinks it may be time to find out who her real mother is and makes the first step towards this.

As Evie starts to discover more about her past, it seems that the people she has in her life are just as important and all have their roles to play. Aiden the new librarian and his sweet little boy Theo, Wilson the delivery man who the librarians see daily and Noah Jones, author.

Of course Clara, Evie's colleague and housemate is learning as much about Evie as Evie is about herself, but it is time for Evie to open her heart up to everyone not just the love she may have missed out on because of a troubled start in life.

If you are a fan of books, then this is the one with you, what could be more delightful than to spend your time with librarians, fans of books, book club members and authors. Maybe the ending was all a bit too convenient but it did not matter to me, it was a heartwarming read and I would love to have spent more time in the library with the Evie and her friends.