Walking on Sunshine by Giovanna Fletcher a five-star read that everyone who has ever felt loss or wants to know what it truly feels like needs to read this story. I don’t want to go into detail about the story as you need to look upon it wish fresh eyes, but what I will say is that this is one of those stories that will stay with you. If you already understand loss then you will get this story so deeply, the way all of the characters deal and develop will just keep you hooked.

Did I love it? No. Am I glad I read it? Yes.

I’ve followed Giovanna Fletcher on social media for many years and remember her posting about the book she lost when her computer died. This is that book.

I found it a slow starter and didn’t actually grip me until the trek commenced. Once we got there, it was very enjoyable.

"Walking on Sunshine" is the first book I have read by Giovanna Fletcher and it was a bit of an emotional roller coaster. The premise of instructions from the dead is not a new one so it's the characters who make the story special. Mike (the widower),Vicki and Zaza have been friends for years and all loved Pia (who died of cancer) in their own ways. Essentially the novel explores the friends recovery after Pia's death.

Well written and enjoyable.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publishers for the opportunity to review this book.

Where to start with this wonderful emotive book. 3 friends struggling to cope with the death of Pia, wife to Mike and best friend to Vicky and Zaza. Consumed with grief they begin to question other parts of their lives. For Vicky this is her struggles being a stay at home Mum and for Zaza her engagement to Liam. Following Pias ‘ rules of death’ they book a trek in Peru. This book makes you laugh and cry but also feel heard and understood. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and didn’t want it to end.

Also loved that Gi still manages to sneak Billy in - look out for mentions of him! A bit like where’s Wally!!

Oh wow! This book broke my heart, made me cry, made me feel warm and smile until my cheeks hurt! What a brilliant heartwarming story that is so carefully told and so beautifully written and told by a very talented author.

I have read all of this author’s books, but this one is by far my favourite. It is a wonderful story about friendship and how friends really are the best medicine.

I would recommend to any fan of Giovanna Fletcher but also to anyone who needs a good cry.

This was lovely, a feel good read. It hit home and made me think about my friendship group and how lucky we've been. To lose such a close friend at a young age is unthinkable. The relationships were real, and I thought it was good how Vicky might have been feeling distant from Nick, and in many books when he worked away in the USA he might have strayed, but here we saw real relationships. Partnerships, families, marriages, parents, a good reflection of many issues. Of friendship, of death and grieving, mental health and many other parts of life dealt with sensitively and entertainingly. A wonderful read. #netgalley #walkingonsunshine

I love this author and this book was fantastic. A beautiful novel about the heartache of grief. A tale of friendship through the toughest of times. Be prepared to cry but also be uplifted. Having recently been bereaved I related immensely and thought tue author got it perfect. One to read.

What a wonderful, wonderful read this was! A heartbreaking start, but definitely bittersweet by the end. In all of Giovanna’s books, the characters are always so lovely and excellently developed. All of the characters possess something that all of us nowadays can relate to, whether that’s grief or losing someone close to us, motherhood and the challenges it brings or simply the challenges of modern day relationships. I gave this book a five stars, I loved it just as much as all the others!

I have adored Giovanna's books for years and Walking on Sunshine is no exception.
This was a spiritual journey I didn't know I needed.
So many feelings were invoked that my heart had a hard time keeping up.

But the best thing about this book was the true friendship between Mike, Vicky and Zaza. Their friendship overcame so much throughout the story and only got stronger from it.
I like reading books where romantic love takes a backseat and other types of love gets to shine and this book did not disappoint on that point. Giovanna captures the true essence of friendship in this book.

You could tell that Giovanna was writing parts of this book from personal experience. The chaotic life of a mother, trekking and adventure. Her descriptions and details rooted from her own experiences and it gave a new kind of life to the story and more depth.

Certain parts had me choking up, especially the ending so I advise you keep tissues nearby whilst reading.

I cannot wait to see what Giovanna brings us next.

A warm hearted story of grief and friendship. The first Giovanna Fletcher book I’ve read and I was definitely pleasantly surprised by how well written and engaging it was!

This was the first book I have read by Giovanna Fletcher although I have read the Eve books that she has written with husband Tom, so I wasn’t really sure what to expect. The blurb says that it is about three friends learning to live with the death of a fourth friend, Pia from cancer. Pia has left them a list of instructions of things to do that will help them move forwards in their lives. It sounds as though the story will be about the friends getting over their loss, and for a large part of the story it is. However, it is also about so much more.
Pia’s husband Mike does have to overcome his grief and learn to live without his wife but their friends Zara and Vicky have other problems to cope with. Zara is newly engaged but feeling very ambivalent about her relationship with her fiancé and Vicky is struggling with being a full time and not coping well.
The three of them decide to go on a trek to Peru and this trek helps each of them to realise what the real issues are in their lives. I liked all of the characters and found that they were easy to relate to. None of them were perfect and the spats between Zara and Vicky were especially believable. The trek in Peru was brilliantly described and the chapters from each of the three main characters show how they gradually change over the course of the week.
I really enjoyed reading this and actually read it in one sitting as I really wanted to find out how everything turned out. I would definitely recommend it and am grateful to Net Galley and the publishers for providing me with an advance copy in exchange for this review.

This is the first ever Giovanna Fletcher book I have read, and it won't be the last. Courtesy of Netgalley, I had the honour of reading this book early, so I could review it.

The book starts with the death of Pia, wife of Mike and best friend to Vicky and Zaza.

The story in the book is from the perspective of the three main characters, how they deal with their grief and the issues going on in their lives which have been magnified by the death of their friend/wife.

Pia leaves instructions for them to follow in the early days, this includes an instruction for Mike to take a trip, as he finds this instruction in the presence of Vicky and Zaza, they all decide to go to Peru together and participate in a trek.

The story then joins them on the trek, and it explores the issues that they re having in their personal life, and how this trek enlightens their understanding and gives them power to deal with their issues instead of burying their heads in the sand, as they had been doing.

I couldn't put this book down, and really felt I was on the trip with them, it maid me cry, laugh and feel genuine compassion for what they had been through.

I would highly recommend this book for anyone to read, especially if you have dealt with a loss

Another wonderful heart warming book from Giovanna Fletcher. which I thoroughly enjoyed. Written from the perspective of three friends, Vicky (struggling with motherhood), Zaza (somewhat self centred but lacking commitment) and Mike who is struggling with the death of his wife Pia who was friends with them all. They decide to go on a life affirming trip to do the Lares trek in Peru where each deals with their issues and the collective one. A strong set of characters which are very easy to identify with as they tackle real life problems we all come up against but dealt with sensitively and with empathy.

Walking on Sunshine is a heartbreakingly beautiful story about hardship and friendship - full of sadness and loss but brimming with hope and light at the same time. Our three friends have their own grief, their own anxieties but rather than the story magically curing them, we go on a journey as they learn to live with their sadness and own it rather than run away.

The characters were so relatable and easy to love - each of them with questions that I'm sure any reader has asked themselves at one point. Jumping between the perspectives of Mike, Vicky and Zaza we learn about each of them slowly as they grow and they become self-aware, fully rounded characters who are a pleasure to read.

I've read some of Giovanna's work before, mostly in the sci-fi and fantasy genre so I was very interested to see how this turned out - and I'm very happy I did.

Heart-wrenching and tender, but compassionate and funny - I can't wait to see where Giovanna goes next.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. What a lovely feel good read must be honest not the sort of book I would normally chose but I really enjoyed the storyline and the characters.

The book is about three friends learning how to cope when a loved one has passed. Well written, descriptive, the author vividly describes the conflicting emotions that they go through. Although exploring an extremely sad topic, there is also humour in the story, and characters seem realistic.
Matt is in the depths of despair, having lost his young wife Pia. Vicky and Zaza, her two best friends, are trying to get on with life, giving support to Matt. Both lead busy lives, Zaza with her demanding job in the city, and Vicky trying to cope with her two demanding young children. She finds three year old Chloe throwing tantrums particularly exasperating, and occasionally feels the need to escape.
Told from three perspectives, Matt, Vicky and Zaza, following Pia’s plan the three set off on a journey to Peru, experiencing hardships along the way and learning more about themselves. The journey is arduous testing everyone to their limits, but giving them a chance to reflect on their lives.
The book is filled with love, friendships, compassion and humour. Well researched and skilfully written, I found this to be a sensitive, absorbing read.

I enjoyed the exploration of grief and I liked how the characters didn’t learn to simply ‘overcome’ grief - instead they learnt to live with themselves as people who have lost a loved one.

The sense of friendship was extremely warm, and I enjoyed how there were many turns that the story could take but GF stuck to the most soul satisfying conclusions.

I would have liked if the characters dialogues were more distinctive as being THEIR voice, as sometimes I found they sounded the same. Although the monologue was distinct I felt this was only due to the different lifestyles rather than attributes.

I absolutely loved this book! It’s the first book I have read from Giovanna, I have to admit the first time I ever really became aware of her as a person was when I saw her on I’m a Celebrity and from then I thought she was a great person. I have had a number of her books on my wishlist for a long time now and so when I got the chance to read this new book I was elated.

Thank you to @netgalley and @PenguinMichaelJosephUK for giving me the chance to read a copy of this book for review before publication!
I loved the whole concept of this story, I actually felt so drawn into it, I felt like I was with them on their trek in Peru! I thought the friendship between the 3 main characters was lovely, we experienced the highs and the lows and everything in between! It was a very heartwarming and emotional read. It even made me laugh out loud in places! Very uplifting! Lovely story and I am looking forward to reading much more by this author. I want the second instalment already!Thank you Giovanna!

I was pleasantly surprised at how good this was. I’ve never read by by her before and wasn’t sure how it was going to be. I’ve already recommended to my book club. Well done!

This wasn't my first Giovanna book and probably won't be my last. I do feel a reoccurring issue with me is I get a little bored during her books at times.
This was no exception. Although I did enjoy this. I feel towards ⅔ of the way through I became a little bored. But I do think the ending wrapped things up nicely. Seeing how the characters grew.

Seeing three friends go on this journey of grief together. Doing something out of their comfort zone but learning so much along the way.

I also liked that this tackled things others than grief. Like motherhood and just relationships and taking the next step in a relationship.

But each friend making realisations by the end of the book.
Vicky on changes she needs to make in her life but overcoming the mum guilt she feels.
Zaza on her feelings for Liam and taking the next step with him.
Mike letting go of Pia but knowing the love and memories stay.

Overall this was a heartwarming book that felt realistic.