Superb! I liked saving Missy, but I love em and me. The characters are amazing and I love them all.

The writing of this book is brilliant, as a reader I felt immediately pulled into the emotions of Delphine and was taken on a rollercoaster ride as she starts to make changes in her life.

I adored the character of Letty, and all that she taught Delphine. I felt like I was right there in Paris with them. I also loved the character of Dylan who was so relatable.

All the characters were so vivid and brilliant, they jumped off the page and were all so easy to imagine in real life.

The story teaches us about ourselves, what is possible and what can happen when we allow ourselves to take a few risks and try new things.

This book is about the choices we make. Delphine juggles with her waitressing job and looking after her daughter Em. She struggles with making ends meet and was a very young mum. I felt the characters were boring but the story line was promising but it did on. Not for me sadly.

A wonderful book about choices and second chances, with the question "Can you be rich and poor at the same time?" at its heart.
Delphine Jones is juggling and struggling her job as a waitress, with the care of both her daughter and her grief stricken father, with the memories of her dead mother hovering around them. The three of them share a small two bedroom flat and life is not easy.

I loved the relationship between Delphine and her daughter Em. The love and protection Delphine offers is heartening from a person with so much on her plate. Em is gifted and as Delphine does everything she can to help and encourage her, she begins to remember her own schooling and what she missed out on by having Em so young.

This book is a riot of colour and music, education and love; chock full with a rich cast of characters. A real uplifting and hopeful novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and to HarperCollins for the opportunity to read this early copy.

Em & Me.
Delphine gave birth at the young age of 17. This novel let's you explore her feelings around the time of her birth and before. As it was a time of life and loss in a teenagers mind.

Delphine begins to remember what it's like to have more, she wants to rediscover her singing voice with the help of some friends. 

The novel is mainly about love, grief and second chances, which I liked however the story dragged for me and some of the characters were stilted and one sided.

Em & Me is a debut novel and in my opinion it shows. Its characters lack depth and at times and I don't think it's that uplifting. Sorry

A life-affirming novel which I wanted to race through but also longed to savour, Em & Me is a story of motherhood, self care and second chances.
Delphine Jones hasn’t always had the easiest life, but is surrounded by love. Caring for her dad who’s been lost in grief since her beloved maman passed away when Delphine was just a young teenager, and her 11 year old daughter Emily, has left her stuck in the same routine - work at the cafe, cook dinner, look after her family, and start again the next day.
Sensitive and intelligent Emily is thriving at school and Delphine is wondering what she might have missed out on when she dropped out of school early as a teen mum.

This encouraging book teaches us that it’s never too late to make a change, life is rarely a straight line, and not only is it ok to ask for help, it’s usually welcomed with open arms. It reminded me to frequently take stock and not to let the important things get lost in our busy routines. You can always make time to do what you love.

There are so many brilliant characters in this story, with all their lifelike quirks and flaws.
Apart from Em, I particularly loved elderly Letty, a lonely pensioner with a very colourful past, who Delphine visits once a week to speak French together, and I also adored the lovely warm couple Selassie and Abrihet who run Merhaba cafe.

This read felt like a warm hug!

I really loved this book. Who knows what can happen when you make that one decision that sends your life down a particular path. What a wonderful relationship Delphine and Em have, they are wonderful characters, you can't help laugh and cry along with them, feel the frustration, pain and joy. All signs of a good book.

When the story begins, Delphine’s life is difficult. It hasn’t turned out the way she wants, but she still has hopes and dreams for the future. The people that enter her life help her to realise that she can have the life she dreamed of.

I loved the relationship between Delphine and her daughter. Sometimes it was difficult to work out who was the adult and who was the child, as Delphine was learning so much from her daughter as she opened up to new possibilities.

Every character put their best foot forward to try and change the things in their lives that make them unhappy. And their are some glorious characters in it - from Letty, the French speaking, feisty old woman to Em’s inspiring teacher.

I’m a firm believer that if one door closes, it makes room for another to open and this book encapsulated that belief. This book is so uplifting. It makes you realise that whatever dire situation you may be in, things can change - it will pass.

A really heart warming and life affirming read that shows magic really exists among the people you meet.

A huge thank you to @netgalley and @harpercollinsuk for gifting me this review copy

A really lovely story going through a difficult time for Delphine and refinding herself amongst it all. Loved this and all the characters!

A book about books, resilience, mothers and daughters and about finding belief in yourself whatever gets thrown at you along the way. Joyful and uplifting. I loved it.

What a wonderfully uplifting story.

Delphine is a single mum and a carer to her father. Right away I adored this woman. Strong, courageous, a real role model for her daughter.

This novel highlight the struggles that many families face as well as the determination and bravery that can be shown when presented with such difficult circumstances.

I admired not just Delphine, but her entire family. The choices made weren't always easy but they were what seemed right for them.

It definitely got me thinking about my own path in life and the decisions I've made along the way.

Joyous is how I'd describe Em & Me.

Simmering with hope, this is a story to make you think, to make you feel. One that will leave you smiling.

Hooray for Beth Morrey.

I was eagerly awaiting this new novel from Beth Morrey and it didn't disappoint. Totally believable and likeable characters that you really champion right from the start. A wonderful read and one I didn't want to end.

Delphine Jones is in her late twenties. Currently working as a waitress in a cafe she is struggling to make ends meet. Delphine shares a two bedroom basement flat with her 12 year old daughter, Em, and her father who seemed to stop living when his wife died tragically fifteen years previously. As we meet Delphine her life revolves around ensuring her daughter and her father are as comfortable as possible. Delphine has no consideration for herself, however fate has other things planned.

Delphine is a marvelous character, she's intelligent, beautiful, caring and hardworking. She's also pragmatic, resolute and lacks self-confidence. Life has dealt her a poor hand - her mother died when she was thirteen and her father simply gave up on life. At the age of sixteen, with the prospect of studying English Literature at Oxbridge, she fell pregnant to her boyfriend who then disappeared from her life. For twelve years Delphine accepted the hand that fate had dealt her.

Thanks to a host of wonderful characters we see Delphine evolve. She begins to accept that life has more to offer and she has plenty to offer life. The key question through this beautiful novel is "can you be rich and poor at the same time?" and as we grow to know Delphine and Em we see that although money may be a struggle they are rich is friends, kindness and love.

As with Morrey's first novel, Saving Missy, this is a tale of how a community works together to save each other. Lives intertwined, accepting and encouraging, offering support without questioning. This really is a life affirming story.

This is also a book about books and a thanks to teachers who encourage and inspire young people every day.