First time Clare Swatman reader and I wasn’t disappointed. A poignant story of love and loss. Will and Fran were best friends from age seven, tragedy and life happens and they meet again late in life. Given a second chance they realize how much more they have in life together. Twists and turns along the way, they find love and also have to deal with loss.
TW: This book covers some deep topics such as adoption and cancer.
Thanks NetGalley for the advanced copy.

Before We Grow Old by Clare Swatman is a simply beautiful dual timeline novel that you definitely need to have the tissues nearby.
This is a love story. It is a life story. And it is a loss story. This story is about loving and living well, and about grieving.
Life is for living. At seventeen years old the two lead characters wrote a bucket list for before they were forty. Twenty five years later they decide now is the time to work through their bucket list. Their life is joyous and their joy is infectious.
The novel alternates between the past from 1982 to present day 2018. It is a very beautiful novel as we see love, friendship and family.
Secrets have been kept. Choices have been made. Is now the time to face the consequences? Or bury deeper underground?
Before We Grow Old is an absolutely beautiful book. It will make you cry whilst simultaneously filling your heart with love.
I received a free copy from Rachel’s Random Resources and Boldwood via Net Galley. A favourable review was not required. All opinions are my own.

Life-affirming, gorgeous and full of heart.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me access an advance copy of this book in exchange for my feedback.

The story
Fran and Will were best friends and neighbours as children. But after Will’s mom died and his family moved to Australia when he was 18, they lost contact. Twenty-five years later, they meet up again. Fran is a single mom to teen Kieran and Will is separated from his wife Amy but co-parenting their daughter Elodie. But when the reason why he has contacted her comes out, it’s time to face the reality of their pasts.

My thoughts
Nothing in this book’s description prepared me for the heavy topics that are covered in this story. The cover hints at fluff and romance and while there is that, I was not prepared for the emotional journey that this story led me to. This is an excellent read, but I do believe that some warning on the content (terminal cancer and adoption are the main, very prominent themes) would have been appropriate.

At first glance at the cover and description, I was thinking I was going to get a nice second chance love story. Instead, I got something I avoid - an emotional rollercoaster book that made me cry more than once. If I hadn't agreed to review this book, I would have stopped reading it as soon as I had the feeling that things weren't going to be going in the direction I expected, but I had agreed to review so I forged ahead. I have to say that the writing was excellent. I had a hard time putting it down once I got going. I liked how the author interspersed joy amidst the difficult times the characters were experiencing. Yes, this is a love story, but I wouldn't classify it as a romance. I prefer a traditional happy ending, which this story does not have. I think there will be many people who will love this book and I will recommend it to them. I can't say I'm sorry I read it, but I will be avoiding sad books again for the foreseeable future. Solid 4 stars.

My sincere thanks to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book and give my unbiased opinion of it.

Thanks to NetGalley for my gifted copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Before We Grow Old is the story of William and Fran. Friends since childhood in a relationship that grew into love but was then torn apart by life circumstances.
This book wasn’t great but it wasn’t terrible. It was overall meh. The first 50% was decent and then the last just dragged on for me. I’m sure others will enjoy it but I was sad but I was not emotional invested enough to feel bad about what happened to one of the main characters. Solid 3 stars and it isn’t for everyone.

The tears will have dried up by the time I finish this review.

What a beautiful story! Although I initially dove into this book expecting friends to lovers to strangers to lovers again style romance, this was so much more than that. When they got back together in the first quarter of the book, I thought the story ended and I was shocked at the turn it took immediately thereafter.

It's a bittersweet tale filled with charming characters and you can't help but feel every emotion they go through. There were moments I wanted to hug almost every character and say words of comfort to ease their pain.

Although I struggled to engage with the story at first, this managed to get a hold of my heart and break it from within as I got closer to the end.

So grateful to Netgalley and Boldwood Books for this heart wrenching masterpiece. Clare Swatman, I can't wait to read more of your books!

A tale of missed opportunities and the importance of forgiveness as we follow Fran and Will's relationship and break up as teenagers. There is a lot of dramatic irony and events which lead to sad consequences. The ending will leave you with mixed emotions and possibly tears. An emotional read about family and love.

I feel so awful saying this just wasn’t for me. I found it hard to connect to the characters and felt very much on the edges of this book unable to sink myself in.

Read and reviewed in exchange for a free copy from NetGalley. 'Before We Grow Old' was enchanting, beautifully written, I cared about Fran and Will's love story and was invested in the plot. Swatman wrote well about difficult topics, and the final pages were heartbreaking yet uplifting (and made me cry). Definitely keen to read more books by this author.

I think this was going to be a quick and easy read, and although I read it very quickly and found it gripping, it was much more emotive than I thought it would be. I found the story to be heart wrenching and I was tearing up on several occassions. A very enjoyable but sad read.

A very emotional story of heartbreak and love. It’s definitely not short on heart wrenching moments. I always enjoy a book that makes you feel and sympathize with the characters.

Before We Grow Old 💕

A heartbreaking & heartwarming story of two childhood friends turned sweethearts, their lives in between and 25 years on. The topics covered in this book are pretty vast and very emotive, I went into this book thinking it was going to be an easy going and simple romance book, safe to say it surpassed my expectations. There was a good balance of sorrow, love, humour, and hope. It’s made me want to start a bucket list! My only peeve and why it was not 5* for me is that I felt some of the reactions from the characters to be a unbelievable and it had me saying out loud “as if!” personally, I think the book had one too many ‘secrets’. Overall, this was a enjoyable read and I think that this will be very popular once it is released.

Thank you @NetGalley and Rachel’s Random Resources for this ARC in exchange for my review.

#blogtour

This was just a cute little story. It keeps you engaged thruout the book. It’s been 25 years since they have spoken to each other and they find each other in a cafe. They rekindle their friendship and all the secrets they kept from each other. Fast little read that I enjoyed.

This is an emotional roller coaster full of wonderful, realistic characters. You will smile as your heart fills with warmth and you will sob uncontrollably. The author created a beautiful cast of characters with Fran being the centre of the story. She grew up next door to a boy her age and they fast became best friends. As they became teenagers they realized how much they loved each other, as more than best friends. Vowing to never leave each other as many teens do, they had their lives ripped apart, never to see or speak to each other for 25 years.

The book goes from past to present as Fran rethinks everything that has happened in her life. I won’t go any further as it will ruin the story for you. Just know it is a breathtaking story of true love and you won’t want to put it down. This hit so close to home as I am personally battling the same thing as one of the characters.

You don’t want to miss out on this book. It will leave you with a new outlook on life. Many thanks to Boldwood Books for the invitation to read this ARC. What a love story.

A quick and easy read that I found myself picking up after a long day to unwind. The characters are beautifully written and I came to love them within the first few pages and was rooting for them all the way to the end. At times I wanted to stop reading because I just wanted the experience to go on for longer.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The story follows Will and Fran who are friends since they were seven, they start dating in high school but one day Will has to leave the country. It has been 25 years since they have met/spoken to each other.

One day Will finds Fran in a café and they rekindle their friendship. As many things were left unsaid between them, there are a lot of small and major secrets they kept from each other.

I've racked my brain trying to come up with a way to convey my thoughts on this wonderful book. Clare Swatman has created another emotional story. This is a beautiful, poignant and inspiring tale of true love. The fact that it is such a sad novel had me a little shocked because that cover and blurb had me believing it was a romance through and through...and it is but it is also so much more than that.

Heart-achingly emotive and beautiful story, Clare Swatman has surpassed herself with this total gem of a book. Gut-wrenching, tear-jerking, poignant and worth every tissue I went through. Ms. Swatman beautifully manages to balance sorrow, love, humour, hope, hopelessness - oh so many elements - and has crafted a book that made me feel all the things. The journey was heartbreaking, but I was smiling as I read the last few words..Read this and lose a bit of your heart to Fran and Will's story.

The first 25% of this book? Not the greatest, not the worst. I was really confused about where the story was going since it seemed like everything had already happened. Fran and Will bump into each other one day in a coffee shop after not having seen each other in a quarter of a century. They were once one another’s true love and had always thought they’d marry each other, but then Will’s mom died and he moved across the world. There’s no question of whether they will rekindle the romance or not, they dive right into a relationship again immediately. I was left wondering where to go from here? Surely we can wrap the story up and call it a day? Right? Right? WRONG!

HOLY SMOKES the rest of the book is a giant whirlwind of emotions. This is the first book to get me to tear up in a WHILE! Every chapter feels like a rush, but in a good way. There’s so much left to do and say, and who knows how much time left? So many JUICY secrets and events were happening. I just had to know what was coming next, but at the same time I didn’t want to reach the inevitable ending. I knew it would come anytime, clearly Clare Swatman has no regard to my emotions. She’s proved this many times throughout this book.

I give this 4.5 stars, just under 5 for the slow start. This is such a moving and powerful book. I loved every character by the end of it. Highly recommended!

A really sweet, warm romance, perfect for winter nights reading by the fireside. Recommended to anyone who enjoys this genre. Lovely chracters, great pace.