When I open my eyes I see a small dark shape at the end of the pew under the window. A piece of cloth, a handkerchief perhaps? No, a woman’s headscarf. The blue is bright, Mediterranean.

I can’t for the life of me remember seeing it before. But all the same it seems familiar. More than familiar. As if I’ve held it in my hands before. As if it’s been next to Yvette’s skin.

James Acton has come to the village of Upton to begin again. As his grief over the death of his wife eases, he hopes to find new purpose as the vicar of this small, Hampshire parish, still emerging from the long shadow of the war.

James’s own war was in the Western Desert, where he first fell in love, first with the thrill of being a hurricane pilot and then with Yvette Haddad, the captivating, enigmatic young Alexandrian with a penchant for dangerous driving.

The past has a way of clinging on to us, and even as James embarks on new beginnings, finding friends – and even love – among the people of Upton, the secrets he has held on to so tightly for years threaten to break loose.

But Yvette had secrets too, and as James follows a trail that leads him back through the landscape of their marriage, what he discovers about both of them will change everything …

A wonderfully written book from Frances Liardet, I can't wait for more from this author.

I really loved this book and simply couldnt put it down. The writing is wonderful .The story examines the relationship between Yvette and James from their first meeting to their untimely separation. The varied settings are vividly brought to life and the terrifying bombing contrasts superbly with the staid almost stifling post war life in a vicarage.
The early scenes when Yvette and James meet in 1942 in Alexandria are so well written you can almost feel the emotion between the two of them. This emotion builds and continues throughout the book and I certainly had a tear of two in the final chapter.
Sometimes books written in several timeframes can be too challenging but this book is the complete opposite of that. The links between the periods are very clever and support you in understanding how the past events have shaped future ones.
An exploration of grief on several levels underpins the story brilliantly and the emotion is raw and so believable that you wish you could step in and support the characters.
A wonderful, compassionate read I highly recommend.

This was a lovely romantic novel that took a while to get into but really transports you elsewhere pulled in to a love story

Think of Me by Frances Liardet

James has come to the village of Upton to make a new start, 10 years after the death of his wife Yvette and now that his 20 year old son Tom is settled at university. Things don't always go according to plan and his past catches up with him in more ways than one.

I loved this book so much. I can't quite put my finger on it but I just loved the feeling I got as I read it - the characters, the settings (Alexandria and England) and the different time periods (WW2 and 1970s) all worked so well. The author dealt with some very sad issues really skilfully and I look forward to reading more books by her. Very VERY highly recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

A great and well written book. One that I didn't want to end. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review

Many thanks to the publishing team for my Digital copy for review.
I really enjoyed reading this book. It wasn't fast paced so you can really absorb and get to know the characters.
We get a few different timelines that also go through past and present that start to link together.
We get to feel so many emotions and touches on a few sensitive topics too such as resilience, loss , grief, love and relationships.
I really liked the diary element to the book too and how time apart the stories bridged that gap.

What a lovely story, one of getting over loss, feeling like youve lost everything and then how friendship cn brign you through the other side. Alove story, with all emothions, i was laughing, crying and smiling all the way to the end

This book took a bit of getting into buy once I did it was so addictive. I could not put it down. I would definitely recommend. It is very well written and the story behind the main characters is brilliant.

An extraordinary and touching novel that really gripped me.
Told in the voices of husband and wife James and Yvette Acton, it switches voice and time-frame, moving between Egypt in wartime and rural England during the 1970s.
The stories and secrets gradually unravel - I won’t spoil it by giving too much away.
The novel is so affecting as it is really emotionally intelligent and the characterisation is great.
I’m now looking forward to reading Liardet’s other novels.
Thoroughly recommended to those who like a clever, absorbing and touching novel.

I am a little late to the party, but what a beautiful novel Think of Me by Frances Liardet is. Gentle, touching, incredibly well researched, and simply exquisite. I spent a lovely day immersed in the life of James and Yvette Acton, from them meeting in Egypt during WW2 through to the 1970s in rural Hampshire where James is the local vicar. I was a child I the 70s and the descriptions took me right back. (I had forgotten the bread strike!)
The plot includes the sensitive issue of still birth, which is described and understood so beautifully that I was not surprised to read that the author had first hand experience of this devastating issue.
I really can’t recommend this wonderful story too much. I loved We Must be Brave and think this new book is just as good. Frances Llardet deserves to be read by a wide readership as she is so very talented. This is definitely one for book clubs - the discussions will be incredibly interesting. Don’t take my word for it - both novels by Frances Llardet are there to be discovered.

Oh this is such a lovely book it is a joyous tender story of a lasting love which will stay forever with me
I loved the way the story is told from the point of view iv both the main characters the man tells his story with the time varying and the past told in flashbacks ,the woman who has died tragically tells her own story in the form of diary entries
The book starts in war time in Egypt and continues to 1979s Britain .The initial setting giving a unique character of French colonialism to the story
The author deal with the story of a baby lost to still birth in such a sensitive fashion that I felt sure there must be some lived experience here .The description of the baby who has died some time before delivery was so shockingly brutal that only medical staff or someone who has gone through this personally would be able to write so well .This must hand been such a difficult thing to do
I loved lots of other little pieces o Fb this book like elderly lady only able to say Yes and the way the author deals with different characters religious beliefs
I will be strongly recommending this book if you liked The English patient or Still Life you will love this book

Not sure what I was expecting from this book but it was a real surprise. An excellent story, very well told, with wonderful characters. The tale itself was compelling, moving and poignant. Best book I have read in ages, highly recommended.

I absolutely loved this novel and highly recommend it. It is a quiet novel in many ways though there is much phycological angst in it and a very dramatic ending. No spoilers. As usual there is a wonderful gallery of characters including a vicar with a fascinating war time past. I loved the relationship with his son and the story of his marriage. All the characters grow and change throughout this story. I think I shall purchase the pb and I do intend re reading it is so moving and beautifully written. Top of my 2022 list.

An emotional and evocative story set between Egypt during World War two and England in the 70s. A bit of a slow start but soon behind to liven up. Interesting characters and an unusual story.

This follow up book to Liardet’s We Must Be Brave covers many of the same themes as her earlier book, but does not feel ’samey'. She introduces a whole new set of characters, and examines unflinchingly the effects of war and its emotional fall out on those who were affected by it. This is set against the backdrop of a heart-breaking love story. Highly recommended.

This book was not my typical read however I did find myself enjoying it, I did find it took me a while into but once I got into it I flew through the second half of the novel. I enjoyed the vivid setting and loved the romance between the two main characters.

I got very excited when I saw that this book was coming up. I’d read and loved We Must Be Brave, and I knew that I’d enjoy this too - I wasn’t disappointed.

It’s the story of James Acton and Yvette Haddad who meet during WW2 in Alexandria where Yvette lives. James is the best man for Yvette’s sisters husband-to-be, and they both fly Hurricanes in North Africa.

James is captured by the Germans when he is shot down, and spends the latter part of the war in a prison camp, and keeps in touch with Yvette throughout. After the war they marry, return to England, and James returns to his ministry as an Anglican priest.

They have a wonderful marriage, it seems to me, whilst James struggles with his memories of war, they both experience a personal loss - and their marriage changes.

This has a dual timeline, set during the war in Alexandria and in 1974. James lives as a widower whilst their son goes to University. It’s a big change for James, and so he decides to go one step further as he puts in for a transfer of parish. But this transfer brings a lot of memories back.

Frances Liardet writes a slow burning novel really well. She makes the ordinary extraordinary, and has written a novel that I became totally immersed in. I really didn’t want to put it down.

I truly loved how transportive and evocative this novel was. A fantastic and gripping work of historical fiction, brimming with humanity and pathos.

A vivid portrayal of the places the story takes you, and the periods in which it is set. We are transported from the war in North Africa to quaint English villages and the quirky characters which inhabit both. The story does flit between places and characters stories which can initially be hard to follow, but as you get into it and get to know the characters it is easier to follow. James' character was at times frustrating but generally a very likeable one. Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and author for my arc.

A beautifully written, poignant tender story of a vicar’s eventful life. Having had his wife die leaving a ten year old son to bring up, so when his son grows up and leaves home to go to university, he decides to leave all behind and start a new life in a new parish. However, events conspire against him. In his new church he finds a scarf, just like the one his wife had when he met her in Alexandria when he was stationed there during WWII as a RAF fighter pilot. When he was shot down, he was taken to a POW camp in Poland. This has left him with recurring nightmares of forced marches in winter often waking up to find fellow POW dead beside him having kept him warm to survive. Struggling to forget his dead wife and a still born daughter, which he buries deep away unable to think of or allow himself to mourn for them. How he finally comes to accept life as it happens and is able to think of her, retracing all the events of his life is a compelling story that stays with you.