Love Life is a somewhat endearing story about a woman who is struggling with negative thoughts about herself while navigating her residency and relationships. It is by no means a light read and touches on many subjects including: eating disorder, cheating, death of family member and family drama.

Some of the side characters in the book were quite endearing and I found them lovely. Mary, the hospice patient was a wonderful character who helped provide advice and being the characters of the story together.

The problem I had was how some of these things were tackled. It felt like Tess’s eating disorder, though important, was never tackled and almost normalized. Tess has many negative thoughts, and the eating disorder felt like it was just “thrown in”.

Another problem I had was that an old flame of Tess’s cheated on her and it was made a really big deal that it was with another man and there was even discussion about “turning him gay”. Though these are thoughts a person may have, this is a badly perpetuated stereotype that didn’t sit right with me. The boyfriend cheated, and that’s bad, but it didn’t matter who the person was.

The other thing I struggled with in the book was the two voices Tess had in her head, the game show host and Jane. These two voices, I felt, really took away from the story for me. They distracted me, and though the concept is interesting, they took me right out of the story.

That being said, I felt like the discussion with the inner monologue provided some insight into Tess’s mental health, and been done another way would have been a good way to explore the impact of inner monologue on mental health.

There were definitely sweet moments in this book, but just not enough to keep me engaged throughout.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley and the publisher for an open and honest review. All opinions are 100% mine.

When you see descriptions like “full of wry humour” and “uplifting,” you expect a funny novel, and while this did have humorous moments, it was heavier than I expected. The characters, Tess and Eddie, were likeable enough, but it wasn’t really my cup of tea.

Thank youNetGalley and One More Chapter for the chance to read and review this book.

I devoured this book! It was such an enjoyable read. I couldn’t sleep and decided to read for a little bit, then suddenly it was half 5 and I’d read 80% of this book. I couldn’t put it down and I would have continued reading if I wasn’t exhausted!

Love Life follows Tess, a Doctor working at a hospice. She doesn’t fully believe in romance as her Dad left when she was 5 years old and she found her last boyfriend in bed with another guy. The voices in her head are very deprecating and she does mention how she suffers with bulimia. If you would find that triggering then I wouldn’t recommend reading this book, as although it isn’t a constant presence, there is a recurring mention of it. Tess’ inner voices take the form of a TV show host and Jane Austen herself. I love that over the course of this book, she learns to love herself and combats her inner negative thoughts.

‘None of us wish to be in calm waters all our lives.’

Whilst this book was enjoyable, it wasn’t quite as lighthearted as I thought it might be. It deals with heavy themes and sometimes I found Tess’ inner monologue to be too much, or distracted me slightly from the story. I think the idea of the two voices was interesting, but I found myself skipping over them occasionally.

‘It does really make you think life is too short to be spending it doing something you don’t enjoy.’

This is an emotional romance book as the setting of the story is in a palliative care hospice. Tess meets her patient’s son, who she had previously met but he had no recollection of her. Edward Russell is struggling to come to terms with his mother suffering from cancer. He comes across as bit of a prat, but as Tess gets to know him more and spends time with him and his mother, she soon thinks differently. I loved their relationship and was constantly rooting for them to realise their feelings for each other. This was a fun read, and if you like romance books with a bit of a heavier theme, then this is the book for you!

An emotionally heavy tale that left me empty. The concept shows promise the execution lacked all I hoped for from Love Life. I don’t know if I couldn’t get into it or the story was the problem. It’s not terrible it’s not great.

Dr Tess Carter is sure of many things - she's an excellent doctor, her ex boyfriend is a cheater and there's no such thing as happy endings. So far, between her Dad leaving without so much as a goodbye and finding her last boyfriend in bed with another guy, nothing has come along to prove her wrong.

And she's usually giving herself a hard enough time with the constant monolouges running through her head without Edward Russell adding to the problem. The son of one of her new patients, he's a typical sucessful, wealthy guy who loves to hear the sound of his own voice. But Tess can't even drown out her own voice, let alone his - can she figure out how to really listen to herself so she can figure out what she wants?

Love Life was a somewhat charming story about a woman struggling with her own negative thoughts and learning to love herself - but the cover and blurb are a little misleading because while this is a romance story, it's also rather heavy in places dealing with issues such as eating disorders, cancer and cheating so it's not the light-hearted read I was expecting going in.

Tess has two voices in her head - one named Jane Austen and one a larger-than-life obnoxious talk show host who loves grilling her about every embarassing moment she's ever experienced. For a while I found these characterisations rather interesting but after a while they were definitely distracting and felt somewhat out of place, especially because we don't know if Tess is suffering from any conditions or using these to manifest her thoughts or if these are just added for comedic value. The concept of the story was really interesting, and I loved Tess' journey to learn more about herself and try to figure out romance again.

There were some definite sweet and funny moments throughout but I don't think it's going on the bookshelf for now.

If you’re up for romance at a hospice with a hero dealing with his mother’s illness and a heroine tormented by her inner self-critics who take the voices of either Jane Austen or a smarmy talk show host, you’ll enjoy this story.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.

3.5 stars. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an eARC of Love Life in exchange for my honest review.

Tess, a trainee doctor who at the beginning of the book is working in hospice/palliative care, is a likable main character. She encounters Eddie, who she had briefly met a few years prior and thought could be “the one”, when his mother becomes a patient under her care. The story unfolds from there in a fun and sometimes funny and at other times sad manner. Trigger warnings for an eating disorder and terminal illness/death.

I liked the plot and main characters (especially Tess and Mary, Eddie’s mom) but found the two voices in Tess’s head (a TV announcer similar to Jerry Springer and Jane Austen) to be a bit annoying, and their incessant chirping in her ear detracted from the book in my opinion. Otherwise, I would have given the book 4-4.5 stars. Nevertheless, I enjoyed this book and will seek out Nancy Peach’s next one.

This is a thoughtful and original take on 'girl meets boy', with a lot of emotional heft and obvious care taken to flesh out the main character, particularly through the use of internal monologue - her 'voices'. At times, the pace felt a little disjointed, but the aspect of this book I loved most was its authenticity in how it portrayed emotions and real-life situations.

Definitely recommended.

Love Life follows Tess Carter, a hospice doctor, and Edward Russell, the son of one of Tess’s patients. Tess and Eddie shared an unforgettable night five years ago, a night she never forgot. However, Eddie is very different now than he was when she first met him. He is colder and harsher, and he supposedly doesn’t remember their magical night together. Eddie, who hasn’t come to terms with his mother’s prognosis, questions Tess’s every decision. Will this pair have a second chance to be together?

Tess struggles to love herself and doesn’t think she needs or deserves her own happily-ever-after. Insecurity, rejection, betrayal, and more affect every aspect of her life, especially after Tess found her partner in bed with someone else. She gave up on love and a little on herself, as shown by the harsh and critical internal monologue that permeates the story.

Though I like the premise of the book, I did not enjoy Tess’s internal monologue. There are two different voices in her head, one that sounds much like a Jerry Springer talk show host and the other is Jane Austen, and I found both distracting. They took away from the story and felt overdone. That being said, the voices also create a well-developed and layered character. You really get to understand why Tess feels the way she does and why she acts inconsistently at times. I think many people can relate to that inner voice that says you’re not good enough.

I love the concepts of taking a chance on love, loving oneself, and starting over. However, the setting at a hospice wasn’t for me. It brings up too many painful memories. That being said, the author does a great job of creating a realistic and relatable setting and situation with sensitivity and authenticity. The hospice is also an interesting setting, as the end-of-life care contrasts with the new and budding relationship between Eddie and Tess. It’s an interesting juxtaposition.

I think I expected this to be a bit lighter than it is, and though it might appeal to readers who enjoy women’s fiction with darker/sadder themes, including death, grieving, eating disorders, and mental health, it just wasn’t for me. Thanks so much to the author, NetGalley, and One More Chapter for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

(I will post link closer to pub. date)

Working in a hospice, there were so many accurate details about that which really pleased me until the scene in the garden room!!!! I loved parts of this book and was riveted by it. There were harder parts like the two voices in Tess’s head. I like the concept and creation but it just happened too much and for too long at times.
A great read with accurate details - the oncologist joke cracked me up!

*DNF at 20%* I didn’t enjoy this book. It never really hooked me, and I never felt interested in going to read this. The characters were extremely boring, and I didn’t like the weird thing with the characters in her head. The writing also didn’t sit well with me. I don’t usually DNF books, but unfortunately I just couldn’t get through this…

2.5/5 stars

This book was okay, not great, not terrible. The characters were largely uninteresting but the plot was somewhat interesting. I enjoyed the "they've met before" aspect of the encounter, I found that rather interesting. Overall, give it a read if it sounds like your cup of tea but don't expect any high quality characters.

I didn't love the 'Scott turned out to be gay plot', it felt very 2005 and not in a good way. Not only did it imply that he was automatically gay (and not bi) because he was cheating with a man, but it implied that Alice 'turned him gay' on multiple occasions. Overall, I found it tacky and the book lost a half star because of it.

Love Life by Nancy Peach is about Tess, an end of life care doctor, and Eddie a big shot lawyer, Tess is his mother’s doctor and Eddie has a major problem with her caretaking.
I liked Tess and Eddie together and I was rooting for them throughout the book. Tess wasn’t my favorite character and I thought she was very immature and unprofessional when working with Eddie’s mother. I thought the pacing was a little odd and some of the writing was stiff, so the characters sometimes seemed uncharacteristically formal. Tess also had some extremely serious mental health problems and they were kind of glossed over like they didn’t horribly affect her by life. I liked Eddie as a character. I thought he handled everything well and had good intentions toward Tess.
Overall, I think it was a good debut novel and people will enjoy it!

Das Buch hörte sich nicht nur aufgrund der Anspielungen auf Jane Austen für mich gut an, auch der Rest des Klappentextes erzeugte bei mir Lust auf mehr, daher habe ich zugegriffen. Eine Leseprobe konnte ich übrigens erst einige Wochen, nachdem ich das Buch gelesen hatte, finden.

Das Buch spielt in Großbritannien und dementsprechend werden auch ein paar Wörter und Redewendungen benutzt, die man aus US-amerikanischen Büchern so nicht kennt. Normalerweise ist das für mich kein Problem, dieses Mal musste ich aber so einige Wörter nachschlagen, da sie mir gänzlich unbekannt waren. Das hat dazu geführt, dass ich nie in einen richtig guten Lesefluss gekommen bin.

Insgesamt fühlte sich der Schreibstil der Autorin etwas holprig an, das gleiche trifft auch auf die Geschichte zu. Dabei war eigentlich alles enthalten, um mein Interesse zu wecken und zu halten, aber das passierte leider nicht. Auch wirkten die Charaktere auf mich nicht echt genug und ich fand den männlichen Hauptcharakter phasenweise eher unsympathisch.

Alles im Buch wirkte auf mich so, als würde ich das Treiben durch einen dichten Nebel hindurch betrachten und dadurch wesentliche Dinge nicht mitbekommen. Daher hat das Buch für mich leider nicht so gut funktioniert wie erwartet. Passt der Schreibstil für einen besser, sollte man auch mit dem Roman mehr Spaß haben. 🖤🖤

Für wen?

Schaut vor dem Kauf unbedingt in eine Leseprobe rein. Passt der Schreibstil für euch und mögt ihr britische Liebesromane, könnte das Buch gut für euch funktionieren.

Love Life tells the story of Tess, a doctor, who 5 years previously met a man that she had an incredible night with but never saw again. In present day, she meets the man again when his mother is one of Tess’s patients.

I adored Mary and thought she was incredibly kind - she was probably my favorite thing about this book.

While I loved the premise of this story, I found Tess’s internal dialogue to be incredibly annoying. It was just *too* much.
Additionally, there were multiple storylines that I felt like were overlooked or glossed over. And this book felt long to me, so I felt like there was plenty of time to address this stuff.

Thank you for providing this ARC.

Tess and Eddie shared an unforgettable night together years ago. Now they meet again, Tess is the doctor caring for Edward’s mother in a hospice. With complications and drama unfolding. It is a story of loss and second chances.

I did enjoy this story, however, I couldn’t get behind the inner monologues and voices of the TV host and Jane Austin. So I did tend to skip over those parts quite often.

This was my first book by this author and won’t be my last for sure it’s a very easy read and so down to earth and true to life and the characters are very well portrayed. Plenty about romance and heartache and needing to gain in confidence in yourself and you never know what not happen.
Alice is a dr but has recently found her husband in bed with another man so really doesn’t believe romance is for her any more especially when she gets voices in her head saying she’s not good enough and when a patients family start questioning her she really does think she’s no good. But when Edward looses his mother and starts being a gentleman and she starts to think he’s not what she thought he was and she has to learn to listen to the right voice in her head and who will she choose and will love be for her again or not.
Worth more than five stars and a very realistic read.

Love Life is pitched as an hilarious and charming new novel. I really struggled to enjoy this story. I wanted to love it but there's a lot going on. It could have been a sweet story about a doctor who struggle with self love finding love. However, the author made her have two voices in her head. This was very confusing and took away from the story. I can't figure out why this was added. It made the story feel heavy and hard to read. Unfortunately, this one was a miss for me.

Beautifully crafted book with an unusual premise, location and style. The writing is strong, can't quite believe that it's a debut. The parts set in the hospice and depicting Eddie's grief are as true to life as you can get (I've worked in hospice care). There's not much humour here, what there is, is via Tess's Jane Austen and Talk Show host earworms, which had me laugh out loud. A light relief from some very strong themes.
Tess and Eddie's characters are hotch potch emotional messes, drawn together over the imminent death of Eddie's mother. Having said all that I see no literary comparison between the works of Beth O'Leary (I've read all her books) and Mhairi McFarland ( I recently read 'Last Night'). Peach is a much darker writer dealing with conplex and often harrowing themes. I loved it.

This was a heartwarming tale, that I unfortunately didn’t connect with.
I see lots of people mentioning the multiple voices and I couldn’t get into them.

I’m sorry to say I was bored and skimmed the majority of this.