The Life We Almost Had written by Amelia Hanley (aka Louise Jensen) is not a usual romance story. 

Anna after discovering that her fiancé was cheating on her, decided to call off the wedding and go on what should have been her honeymoon with her good friend Nell. She wasn’t looking for love, and wasn’t interested in a holiday romance, but then Adam came crushing into her life swiping her off her feet. 
But life isn’t always easy, and fate sometimes has other plans in store, but can love actually be eternal? Will love always find a way? 

I have to admit that writing this review isn’t easy for me, cause I really can’t and find impossible to put into words how much I loved this book. 
Firstly I want to praise Louise writing style, I think it’s not easy to dive into romance once you are so used to write thrillers, but yet she has done it wonderfully. She even used her writing style to create suspense in the right chapters and it just made it impossible for me to sleep throughout the night cause my mind was still wondering what could be happening next. I found myself utterly  immersed in the characters feelings and I cried, I laughed, I felt love and so many more feelings with them. 

Secondly, but not least important, I admired the author personal strings with the book, I won’t and I can’t go to much into the details as I might spoil it for you all in case you are planning to read it, but it just made everything so much real. 

This is my favourite read of 2021 so far and I won’t be able to forget about this story for a long time! 

I highly recommend this book if you have read An Unfinished Story by Boo Walker

I enjoyed the first part of this book but then it seemed to get a little far fetched.  I did read it until the end but didn't change my mind about it.  The far fetched bits really put me off and just didn't resonate with me.

It was definitely different to what I imagined it to be.

It`s an amazing book that will warm your heart and break it many times... It has everything... love, loss and friendship and most important is so easy to relate to the story. Also, a completely unexpected twist. Highly recommended!!

This is not your typical love story, an unusual twist of love and loss.  Such  a beautiful story with an unexpected twist.

This is a truly magical, romantic read that will leave you longing to meet the characters. 
You can see the sparks fly when Adam and Anna first meet. They are perfect for each other. The story takes the reader on the bumpy road of a real relationship. 
This story will have you reaching for the tissues and your heart breaking. 
Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.

On the books you definitely need to read! This was fun, serious and just had the perfect balance. Must be added to your tbr if it isn’t already!!

I was expecting this book to be a feel good romp based on the cover and I could t have been more wrong! I think I would have enjoyed the book more if I was expecting it to be dark, which unfortunately reflects my rating. There is a twist that’s somewhat unexpected. You need to be in the right frame of mind for this read!

Found it hard to connect with this book, as I had been expecting a love story and something 'different' if not light based on the cover with its swirly font and bubblegum colors. Did not anticipate the darker turn this book took, which is really not my cup of tea, and had I known, I would not have requested this book for review

Whinge whinge bicker bicker.  Bicker bicker, whinge whinge.  Unfortunately I found this book a real slog and a really odd, totally far-fetched story.  It started out as the usual girl meets boy plot, but the main character Anna is a completely selfish whinging, whining person that it was no surprise that the relationship started to suffer  What followed was just plain odd.  3% chance of survival – how many times did this have to be repeated?  We got the message!  2 years, 12 years, 20 years – how many times did this have to be repeated?  We got the message!  I’m afraid it got really tiresome and quite ridiculous after the accident, with such a totally unbelievable ending that was quite absurd.

It's fair to say that Anna is in a complete funk when she goes on holiday. Dumped and feeling unwanted - a pity party is the way to go. What she doesn't expect is to meet the love of her life quite unexpectedly.

Adam and Anna are a match made in heaven until Anna and her 'plans' start to destroy their solid foundation. Her obsession comes between them, but it's something else entirely that leaves their relationship in tatters.

There's a part of the book about halfway through. I can't go into details because of spoilers, which is a shame because it is an incredibly interesting idea. Personally I felt as if Anna was absolutely crossing boundaries and it was all about her, however the world it explores is futuristic and opens plenty of doors.

Henley gives readers the perfection the majority hopes for when it comes to relationships and romance, whilst simultaneously giving us the more realistic aspect of the same. Love is never perfect. Lives are never lived the way we quite expect.

It's a story that has a magical and inexplicable element to it and it's also one of hope. A tale of loss, being able to forgive oneself and understanding that sometimes life can be fulfilling even when it doesn't turn out the way you planned it. Enjoy the moments you have instead of longing for what could have been.

Thank you for gifting me this! The Life We Almost Had is such a great book, not what I first expected but I did really enjoy the book. I loved the love story. 

Definitely pick this up.

Excuse me whilst i try and write this through the tears in my eyes because i am currently a broken mess. The life we almost had is both heart-breaking, endearing and so much more. Its a real rollercoaster and not for the faint hearted but mostly, it is simply beautiful.

Anna was not looking for love, in fact she was fleeing heartbreak after been ditched two weeks before the wedding. A holiday romance is what her best friend reckons she needs but she has already sworn of men. Yet when she meets Adam on her should be honeymoon, fate has other plans and a holiday romance soon becomes more.

Years down the line though, the cracks of the relationship are beginning to show, faced with their own battles and lack of communication neither of the pair are handling it well. Adam takes action and they head off to try and fix themselves, but fate that brought them together has cruel plans this time around. All Anna wants to be with Adam, and this could have life changing consequences for them both.

Beautifully written with such in depth emotions, relationships and subjects. Some of it was hard to read but all was handled in a way that was dealt with such diginity and grace. The emotions throughout the whole book were so raw and honestly i felt a broken woman in parts, but i also felt so much warmth and happiness too.

I honestly thought this was such a stunning book and if you can handle your love stories filled with second chance love, raw and real emotions, grief but also total joy then this is the one for you.

My review is unbiased and honest, thankyou for the review copy.

What an amazing book written under the pseudonym Amelia Henley; very different to the usual thrillers but I absolutely loved it.

In some ways it was similar to Me Before You with the love story and the emotions I felt at the end. I hope there are more books to come from Amelia as I really enjoyed seeing Adam and Anna's romance blossom from a holiday romance and couldn't help but feel emotionally invested.

Three and a half star rating.
Anna and Adam meet on holiday after her broken engagement and fall in love, hoping for a happy ever after.  I really loved this book until it took a completely unexpected turn which I wasn’t at all keen on and some of the rest of it was also a bit over the top which lost it the five star rating.  Completely realistic descriptions of medical issues and feelings were brilliant.  Anna was a bit of a whinger who wanted her own way too much and Adam let her get away with it.  A perfect story for anyone who likes having their heartstrings tugged!

This story was not what I was expecting at all from the blurb. It starts off as a boy-meets-girl love story, but then took an unexpected twist that I am still not completely sure about!
Definitely a thinker!

Thank you for gifting me this! The Life We Almost Had is such a great book, not what I first expected but I did really enjoy the book. I loved the love story. 

Definitely pick this up.

I expected this to be a typical chick lit love story but it was so much more. 
It was very very sad and moving, but also a lovely storyline which really makes you think about your own relationships .
I echo another review where I really thought it was going to turn into a sci-fi book and ruin it for me, but it wasn't at all.
My advice to anyone reading this is, don't forget the tissues as I feel you may need them!

The beginning of Anna and Adam’s relationship is one of the most romantic ever – they meet on holiday, with the sun shining, blue skies and sparkling water - there is simply this lovely chemistry between them. But fast forward a few years and you can see the cracks in this relationship, cracks that could be too strong for them, too difficult to overcome. Will they manage to stay together? Do they want to stay together? Is fate going to interfere?

Now, don’t get me wrong, pretty please. It was a great book, nevertheless I still feel a bit torn about it. I can’t put my finger on what went wrong for me but I couldn’t completely get into it. I was probably expecting something fluffy, based on the lovely pink cover, but the story turned out to be very emotionally packed, tackling many heavy issues and I think you have to be in a suitable mood to enjoy it. I’d go so far and say that yes, it did feel a bit depressing, a bit heavy and the sadness was overwhelming. It also felt a little chopped, with the narration jumping a lot forwards in time – I guess it couldn’t be written differently, that it was intended yet there were moments that I felt a little confused with the sudden changes.

I couldn’t completely warm to Anna and it is probably why I didn’t get into the book so completely, why it didn’t make me feel with her. There were moments that I thought that she really doesn’t deserve Adam’s pure love – always unhappy, always trying to blame the others, not giving Adam a chance. Adam, on the other hand, was a great character, not too perfect but truly realistic and real, trying to come to terms with his wife’s frustration that was so unfair. Yes, later on I learn to feel empathy for both of them, however it was Adam that was the much more likeable and relatable character for me.
The background characters however, especially Nell and Josh, were the ones that truly made the story great for me.

It didn’t make me cry fort he characters, to be honest, yet I appreciated how emotionally powerful the story was. The author has really well captured the feelings of the characters, their desperation, hope and love. I didn’t find all the answers and I also didn’t get it completely with Harry, as for me there was a heavy suggestion that he might have been one of the characters’ child.

The beginning was a little misleading, to be honest – it was quite light – hearted, optimistic and hopelessly romantic, with you keeping everything crossed for Anna and Adam, a match made in heaven. But then it starts to get darker and darker, much more serious in tone and sad. In the end the story turned out to be a tale about unconditional love, love so strong that will allow you to let the other person go, about grief, loss and infertility. It was a very realistic, bitter – sweet portrait of a marriage with its ups and downs, highs and lows.

There is really so much palpable tension in the writing and the story, you really don’t know what’s going to happen and you are waiting for something really, really bad to happen, and it took me by surprise but well, the author is also a well – known psychological thrillers’ writer, so actually it’s not a wonder that she has slipped some of the tense elements into her story. And I think it’s great, as it made the reading quicker and even more thrilling. There was a part in this book that started to feel a bit sci – fi for me to be honest, however I persevered because it also made me incredibly curious and wonder – the idea of having this little bit of time more with the loved one, wow, this was something that had me glued to the pages. I’m not sure if I liked the execution of it very much, I think I would love a clear answer, yes or no, but still, it was interesting and different and so thought – provoking. But until then, well, let’s simply cherish the time that we have with our loved ones that we so often take for granted – and this is the most important message in this poignant, emotional tale.

READ that sentence above again!

Because WOW it is true – The life we almost had by Amelia Henley won’t be the book you are expecting. It is not a typical romantic comedy. Far, far from it.

But I was a little bit in two minds about it. I loved the writing, I loved the gorgeous holiday setting – I for one could use a lovely sunny holiday drinking cocktails next to the pool about now, who couldn’t!?!?!

I just found some of it tough reading. The book doesn’t shy away from fertility issues and tragedy and has some scientific aspects which were interesting, but not fully explored. I felt it was a book of 2 halves, I loved the beginning but I found myself questioning a few things further on. Sorry for being cryptic but – SPOILERS!

Have a read of the book blurb for yourself…

It seems to be a book that has touched a lot of hearts.

I received a copy of The life we almost had by Amelia Henley from the publisher, which was all arranged by the blog tour organiser – Thank you!

What a beautifully warm but heartbreaking book Amelia Henley has delivered for her debut! I knew she could write (I’m a huge fan of the books she writes under her own name of Louise Jensen) and that she has a talent for drawing emotions out of her readers with her realistic characters and breathtaking twists but it was wonderful to discover a different side to her creativity. The Life We Almost Had has a surprising storyline that is unlike anything else I’ve read recently. This is a love story with a difference…

When Anna and Adam meet, it’s actually Anna’s wedding day. Whilst her ex-fiancé posts photos on Facebook of his new girlfriend, Anna and her best friend Nell have decided to go on the honeymoon she should have been on. It’s there that she meets Adam and begins a relationship she would never have expected to happen. But when tragedy strikes, she takes a very unexpected path! This was the part of the book that was also unexpected for me! I don’t want to spoil it for others so I won’t say anymore than that!

This is a beautifully written love story about second chances, family and the sacrifices we make for those we love. It had an intriguing storyline that surprised and broke me in equal measure as I became completely immersed in the relationship between Anna and Adam. Written with a passion that rises off the page with every single word, The Life We Almost Had was an absolute joy to read. And I absolutely did not cry…much!

Highly recommended by me.