The Distance by Zoe Folbigg follows three main people - Hector, Cecile, and Kate. Hector and Cecile meet in an online chat room and instantly have a strong connection to each other. Meanwhile, Kate is having issues in her life - she can't seem to keep her weight to where she would like it, dealing with the fundraisers for her kids' school, oh and she thinks her husband is having an affair. The reader watches as Hector lives his life in Mexico and marrying Pilar, whilst Cecile just continues barely living her life in Norway despite working three jobs.

The concept of this novel really drew me because it reminded me of how I met my fiancé (will be my husband in August 2018 ☺). Granted, we were not half a world apart, but he was still in California, USA and I am in Alberta, Canada.

Personally, I didn't care for Kate's chapters - to me they seemed unnecessary and felt just like "filler". I kept reading her chapters as fast as I could to get to Hector or Cecile's chapters. Also, Hector being with Pilar drove me batty! She was so clearly wrong for him!

Despite the beautiful love story of Hector and Cecile, I didn't like how much the chapters bounced around from past to present. There was even one point in the story where I'm quite sure the author even mixed up her timeline. The novel mentions it was a Sunday morning, then the next chapter was supposed to take place on a Saturday afternoon as mentioned previously in the book, but it was the following day? I was quite confused and had to flip back and forth between the chapters to try to understand what day it really was.

The ending, of course, made me very happy and I wished it came much sooner in the story. I would have liked to see how things turned out more than just a few pages in the epilogue. Lastly, I understand that Hector's and Cecile's first language was not English, however, I also didn't like the random times they would say words or phrases in their native language - I don't know what they were saying!

Even though the fact that the novel was a fairly easy read despite my issues above, I wasn't crazy about this novel and therefore can only rate it 3/5 stars.

Having absolutely loved Zoe Folbigg’s debut novel, The Note, I was really looking forward to reading her second novel, The Distance, and once again I was not disappointed. A wonderfully romantic, uplifting and compelling love story about finding love in the most unexpected of places, The Distance is a quirky page-turner you are simply going to adore.

Finding love online is an absolute minefield, so when Cecile Wiig visits the fan forum of her favourite band, the last thing she is expecting is to find the man who is absolutely perfect for her. All Cecile wants is to talk about her favourite band with like-minded individuals – she certainly never expected to find herself talking to a man who was going to turn her entire life upside down: Hector Herrera. Hector seems to have the same hobbies, likes and dislikes and feels passionate about the same things she is crazy about. Soon, they realize that they are not just kindred spirits with a passion for music, but so much more than that. However, there is a catch: Cecile lives in Norway while Hector lives in Mexico. And he is about to get married. To somebody else.

Fate brought the two of them together in the most unlikely of circumstances, but will it lead the two of them to the happy ending which they are so desperate for? Cecile knows it is crazy to throw caution to the wind and tether her heart to somebody she has never met in the flash, but she knows that she cannot let this chance of happiness slip through her fingers. She does not want to get to her dotage and regret that she never gave this relationship a chance, however, she is still troubled by the fact that she’s fallen for a man she has never clapped eyes on. Is Hector truly who he says he is? Or is he a man with secrets and demons of his own?

Hector is a man with a past he would much rather forget. Having led a life of excess and hedonism, he is desperate to break from from the shackles of his old life. Cecile coming into his old life so unexpectedly has opened up his heart and soul, but he cannot help but wonder whether theirs is a relationship that stands a chance of surviving as he is due to marry somebody else…

Will Cecile and Hector find their way to one another? Or is the distance between them too vast for them to ever cross?

A lovely read that made me smile, The Distance is a terrific story that touches the heart and tickles the funny bone. Heartwarming, tender, feel-good and emotional, The Distance is a tale of old ghosts, past secrets, healing and having faith and courage to trust your own heart.

Zoe Folbigg creates wonderful characters you cannot help but fall in love with and I absolutely adored Cecile and Hector and was swept away by their poignant, uplifting and powerful romantic story.

A fabulous read that is far too good to miss, The Distance is one of the summer’s must-read books!

Bouncing between the past and the present, Zoë Folbigg writes an engrossing story of love across distance and time, of lives meant to be together but held back by circumstances and an ocean’s expanse. This is an engaging story, characters are extremely well written and defined and the story works very well throughout the pages.

Cecilie meets Hector in a chat room dedicated to their favorite band. The bond is instant, and it doesn't take long for both of them to realize they are each other's soul mates. There are just two problems: they live 9000 km apart and, most importantly, Hector is about to get married to another woman.

As Cecilie cuts all ties and desperately tries to move on with her life in Norway, Hector is leading an unhappy life with his new wife in Mexico. With both of them being miserable, can either one find the courage to contact the other one again? Is it even a wise decision to do that? And, with the distance between them, can it actually happen?

The Distance is a bittersweet, cute love story of two people who have found their soul mate in each other's face. Although there is a great distance and a lot of circumstances between them, they are drawn to each other no matter how much time passes, and you can't help but cheer for them to find a way to be together.

This was an interesting story. The plot was amusing, and it is an ideal quick read. Recommended for fans of romantic fiction.

The Blurb :
Under the midnight sun of Arctic Norway, Cecilie Wiig goes online and stumbles across Hector Herrera in a band fan forum. They start chatting and soon realise they might be more than kindred spirits. But there are two big problems: Hector lives 8,909km away in Mexico. And he's about to get married.
Can Cecilie, who's anchored to two jobs she loves in the library and a cafe full of colourful characters in the town in which she grew up, overcome the hurdles of having fallen for someone she's never met? Will Hector escape his turbulent past and the temptations of his hectic hedonistic life and make a leap of faith to change the path he's on?

My Thoughts :
Cecilie and Hector meet on a music forum room, which is dedicated the the band Depeche Mode. They realise they have lots in common but the distance proves difficult as Hector lives in Mexico and Cecile lives in Norway. Soon Hector tells Cecile that he is getting married and their friendship drifts apart leaving Cecile with a broken heart.
It did take me a little whille to get into the story as there is a lot going on and you need to be focused to remember what is what and who is who. I did enjoy delving into the lives of the charactors and learning more about them. Personally I didnt see the point in Kate’s story being part of this book but it does make more sence at the end.
Looking forward to Zoe Folbigg’s next release.

The writing style and setting for this story show originality, and even though the trope is popular, the story's quirky content sets it apart.

It took me a while to get into the story and warm to the characters, I have to confess I like Kate better than the two main protagonists, probably because her personality and circumstances are more familiar to me and more comfortable to empathise.

The plot is dynamic, chronologically and geographically and this demands concentration on the reader's part. It's not something you can dip into, you need to keep reading, or you'll forget salient plot points. Kate's role in the story is not immediately apparent, although she is pivotal to the ending.

This book is my first by this author, not having read her first bestseller and in many ways, this is probably useful to make an objective assessment of the story.

Overall I like the story; it's one for the Chick-lit fans.

I received a copy of this book from Aria via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Good story but felt a little too thrown together for me. The storyline was well written though and I liked the characters. Just needs tightening I think

This book follows the story of Hector and Cecilie, two Depeche Mode fans who despite living on oppostite sides of the world, meet in an online fan forum and become internet buddies. The story spans several years and even includes a sub story on Hector's first love.

While I tried to like this book, it really wasn't for me. The author jumps around the different characters and even various timelines which I found really hard to keep up with. The story itself is pure chick lit and if it weren't for the constant time jumps it would have been an easy holiday read.

I did find the start confusing, it flicks back to different countries and time lines.... which at the beginning of a book can be a bit distracting if it happens too often in my opinion. But then I found that I picked up the separate stories and loved it.

I loved the reference to 'Heather Shimmer' it rang a bell for me that at first I couldn't place, but when I did - I had a flood of teenage memories come back to me.

A really good story that is well told and intriguing, even towards the end I couldn't tell how it was going to end... which was the best part for me,

I enjoyed this book but it did some time for me to get into the story , it was funny in parts., and had likable lead characters

This story was pretty good but there were some problems in execution. I'm still wondering why a Depeche Mode superfan would be listening to Taylor Swift...

Cecilie meets Hector in a Depeche Mode/music chat room and they start chatting. The only thing is that Cecilie lives in the arctic circle and Hector lives in Mexico. They find themselves drawn to each other but their lives do not intertwine outside of their computers and phones. When Hector announces to Cecilie that he is getting married the two drift apart a bit with Cecilie nursing her wounds.

For some reason the author tried to work in a secondary story about Hector's teenage love interest and her current husband. For me that whole story was very out of place in the book and even when the author tried to tie the two together it was a bit messy.

I also felt it was weird that Cecilie's friends and family called Hector "The Mexican" throughout the book. Surely she has told them his name, and if not why not just say her penpal or friend? We get it, Hector is Mexican.

Even with it's flaws I found this to be a decent read.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

Solid chick lit…doesn’t take itself too seriously! You’ll laugh, cry, and say “Oh! No!” Definitely a fun weekend read :c)