This was a truly heartwarming story by an author that I hadn’t read anything from before. I am delighted to say that I will certainly be rectifying that as I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the way it dealt with the issues covered.

The main premise of the book for me seemed to be about friendship and how this changes and evolves as we grow as people and how life (and death) can have an impact on this. The book is about three friends who have recently lost the fourth to cancer and how they deal with this together and alone. There are some amazing quotes and really great advice given by the characters to each other that it felt like a huge hug in a book and a self help guide within the story.

Pia has died young and her friends and husband deal with this in their own ways. It highlights other issues in their lives and when they find a letter from Pia urging them to obey her “rule” and set off on a trip together. This they do and this is the start of a journey for them all.

The characters are really relatable and interesting to read about. They could be you, your child or your parent. The situations and worries they have are ones we all find ourselves in and we could only hope to have friends like these when our lives need to be rebuilt or reassessed.

A great read and lots of lovely funny moments too. Thanks to Netgalley, the author and publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I am usually a hard core crime aficionado but I do love to palate cleanse every so often with something a little lighter. I say lighter, it still has to have substance rather than being airy-fairy and I have found that Gi Fletcher's books hit that mark most admirably.
So... in this, her latest book, we follow three friends as they hit the treks in Peru. Mike is still suffering after losing his partner of many years Pia and best friends Vicky and Zaza are trying to help him through his grief. It helps that Pia left him a plan to try and help after she has gone. One of the things on the plan is to go treking in Peru. With Zaza just engaged and Vicky with a young family, it's a bit of an ask but it's what Pia wanted them to do... so.... a-trekking they must go...
I guess this book is based a lot on the author's own experiences of treking when she went for the breast cancer charity CoppaFeel and that side of things comes across as completely and utterly real feeling. Down to the injuries and incidents along the way which are described wonderfully, as well as the breathtaking scenery and ways of life. It was almost like I was with the trio as they trekked.
The characters were wonderful too, well described and easy to connect to / emote with. And there was quite a lot of emoting going on! It highlighted the power of friendship and love and, well, a whole host of other emotions. The whole gamut of a roller coaster ride! As well as Mike resolving some of his grief we also see Zaza and Vicky change as they go on their journeys but it's Mike's that really shines through and I actually honoured to have been a part of that, even just as a spectator to a character in a book.
It was such a great read that, once I had got into it, after the first few chapters, I really didn't want to put it down for anything that wasn't life threatening or at least urgent!
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Whenever I know that a book is about bereavement I'm always a bit nervous about starting it. But I needn't have worried with Walking on Sunshine. Although the narrative starts with the death of Pia, the wife of one of the main characters, it's not dwelled on. The story is about learning to live a new life, without Pia in it, whatever that may look like. I especially empathised with Vicky, who is dealing with the loss of her friend, but also her feelings about motherhood. This is written beautifully, in all it's ugly glory, without any clichés or easy get outs. This is one of the reasons that this book was so appealing.

⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️


Walking on Sunshine by Giovanna Fletcher is a beautiful story about life and friendship.

Before I go deeper into the review, thank you <NetGalley and Penguin Michael Joseph UK (publisher) for this ARC in exchange for an <b> independent and honest review.

This was my first book by Giovanna and I really enjoyed it. It was such a beautiful fairytale about some hard topics. In this book we deal with loss. Loss of a loved one, loss of the person you were, loss of confidence…but we also deal with a secret superpower, friendship. The story focused around three best friends Vicky, Zaza and Mike after their fourth friend, Pia, who was married to Mike passed away. However, Pia left them some instructions and that leads them all the way to Peru to treck and deal with the problems they have been trying to hide. This book is a journey of self discovery, of being honest with each other and to themselves, to admit the pain, the things that they want and the things that they don’t. The story is written beautifully and you can feel like you are another part of that amazing friendship. The book also reminds us that is so easy to fall into the banality of everyday life and how that can affect us in a negative way. The book reminds us that sometimes we need to take a step back or away and reset before carrying on and that doing that is ok.

If you have audible, the story is narrated by 3 voices and was easy to follow and add extra laughs with some of the performances.
If you are looking for:

⚜️a strong friendship that deals with loss
⚜️unexpected adventure that leads to self care
⚜️laughs and some tears with a little touch of Love Actually.
⚜️Easy to read story that will leave you with a sense of warmth in your heart

Then you will enjoy this book.


“The world keeps turning, life keeps going, deaths occur, babies are born, hearts are broken and mended again. Life happens and there’s nothing you can do to stop it rolling once it starts. In your whole lifetime it only stops once, when you reach the end. Until then you have to be prepared for the lows and highs, the struggle and joy, the hurt and love – whatever you land on, you will keep moving. You will keep going. Because that is the difference between life and death."

I only managed to get through 25% of this one before deciding to DNF. This is definitely more of a me thing though, I believe if you like books focused around motherhood you would probably enjoy this more. I couldnt really relate to any of the three viewpoints and found the characters really two dimensional and just found myself not wanting to pick this up and quite honestly life is too short to force myself to read something I am not loving! I would still give the author another try in the future though

An emotional and moving book.
A story of love and loss, friendship and hope. The death of a friend is dealt with sensitively and is full of compassion and self discovery.

Having not read anthing by Giovanna Fletcher before, I can say I was really pleased to have had the chance to read this lovely story of 3 friends reclaiming back their lives after losing their best friend and beating their own personal battles.
There were a couple of occasions that this book brought tears to my eyes. An emotional read but with moments that touched the heart.

Thank you to Penguin Michael Joseph UK and Netgalley for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Mike, Vicky and Zaza are a close group of three friends. They were a group of four, but sadly Pia, who was also married to Mike, died a few months before and they are all grieving in their own ways.
Pia, who was full of life and loved travelling, has left letters of death. They contain instructions, such as dealing with her possessions at a certain point after her passing. Whilst doing one of these tasks they find another letter. This leads them to book a trip to South America to go to Machu Picchu. Here they find that there are things that they have been bottling up whilst they have been dealing with their grief and that they have to conquer before they can carry on.
I loved this book and now want to do the trip!

I have loved all of Giovanna's books and this one didn't disappoint. What a beautiful, heart warming but also tear-jerking read, full of connections so personal to Gi. I loved every minute of it, even though it had me sobbing!

I presumed that, from the title, this would turn in to quite a happy, sun-shiney book.
It was actually a bit sad all the way through and in turn made me feel a bit down every time I picked it up to read it.
I've loved all of Giovanna's previous books that I have read but found this one slightly disappointing.
I read this with the a friend and it was really good to be able to discuss it with her. I'm pretty sure she liked or more than I did.

What an emotional journey. The outpouring of grief as 3 close friends grieve the death of their vivacious friend Pia. We are taken on the journey that all 3 now face individually and collectively as they strive to keep moving forwards and heal. Each a little lost in their current lives: Mike; ZaZa and Vicky, take on the challenge of an Inca Trail hike in memory of their beloved Pia, and facedown their own personal issues. When pushed to the brink they really learn to dig deep and believe in themselves and also to trust in the power of their friendship. A moving read, but also an empowering one. #walkingonsunshine #giovannafletcher # netgalley

A book of highs and lows. Friends who met and lived together whilst studying go their separate ways in life but remain friends. Mike loses his wife to cancer and Zaza and Vicky try and pull him back into the world which proves difficult as he is lost without Pia. Vicky is married with two children and is discontent with life finding motherhood difficult and her husband works hard and is away often. Zaza is living with Liam and wonders if he is truly the one and pushes him away often to see whether he comes back. Pia has left “orders” for Mike to follow after her death to make sure he comes back into the world. Mike, Zaza and Vicky have a meal together and due to Pia they decide they all need to get away to get their own lives on an even keel and book to go to Peru. Mike decides they would be the trial which is less inhabited to get to their destination. They meet a mix of people which make Mike think especially as there is a mom on the trip with two young boys who have lost their father and he feels he could perhaps help by discussing their feelings. Both the girls find the trail difficult especially Zaza who is never sure she is making the right decision in life. There are a few falling out disagreements between the girls particularly. They are both tired and stressed but it does clear the air and Mike is the peace maker. There friendship is all consuming and lovely to read about. I loved the characters as they re-evaluate their lives by talking out their issues they become even closer. Although they did the trip for Mike it so helped them all. When they get home their lives come together and they feel all drama was worth it. Lovely book and the characters were great

An emotion filled but easy read. This book is a heart warming pick me up and just the kind of book needed for a little escapism. Delightful

I have mixed emotions about this book: there were parts of it which I loved immensely and others which I couldn't relate to at all and felt off to me.
I almost gave up at a certain point, but I'm glad I didn't and I persevered because I was in love with the characters, with their flaws and struggles, and eventually the story does evolve to a nice middle and ending part.
All in all an enjoyable read with relatable characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a lovely read. It was light hearted and uplifting. It was well written, easy to follow and I was engaged straight away! It was perfect for a quick read after a really heavy book I read previously. I will definitely be reading more by Giovanna Fletcher as I loved her writing style and would definitely recommend this book! Thankyou for letting me read it :)

This was a hard book to read at times with the various topics covered but I'm glad I had a box of tissues to hand to mop up the tears!.
Pia, the close friend of Zaza and Vicky and wife of Mike, who is also close friends with the girls passes away after a long battle with cancer. In this time, and once she has realised that death is something she can't escape, she starts making plans for when she's not around. Mainly for her friends to follow "The Rules". This consists of various tasks to slowly move on with their lives and not be so sad.
This book was written with real insight into all the topics that came up as us women, and men, can suffer from. As I said previously, it really got to me!!. I was right there with all of the characters, feeling their pain and knowing that some events can tip you over the edge when you are already suffering but hanging in there.
This book will really get you thinking and talking about things that are generally kept quiet for fear of looking weak and out of control. I recommend that you read this book but make sure you have a huge box of tissues!!!. I used an awful lot!!!.
Many thanks to Netgalley for the free ARC book for an honest review.
#netgalley, #mrsgifletcher, #michaeljbooks.

Mixed emotions on this one. Liked some parts of it a lot, didn't like others so much but overall it's a quick and accessible read. Will link my Instagram review later with more details.

After his wife, Pia dies, their friends Vicky and Zaza try to help Mick pick up the pieces with a little help from the plan that Pia had drawn up.
The list sends them to Peru but its not just Mick its helping. Both the girls have problems within their lives.
But will Peru work its magic?

An 'up-lit' style novel from Fletcher celebrating a group of friends as they turn their shared grief into a chance to reconnect with themselves, the world and each other. I'd say this is the author's most polished and well-rounded novel to date, striking the delicate balance of humour with emotional heartstring pulls.

A lovely read.

Thank you to Netgalley for a copy of Walking on Sunshine by Giovanna Fletcher.
This was such a beautiful story. Based around the accounts of three best friends Vicky, Zaza and Mike after sadly losing their fourth friend Pia. Pia has instructed them to carry out rules for after she passed leading them to Peru to get back to basics and trek to Machu Picchu. With all three on their own journey of self discovery.

This is a beautifully written story and you really feel like you bond with the characters. It also makes you want to go and hug your friends close and remind them how important they are to you

Another wonderful read from Giovanna