Jacob's life is uncluttered, while Cora's is full of complications. And as events begin to divide them, they start to wonder:
Are they meant to be together, or were they never meant to meet? The character depth was amazing! Loved it!

Cora is a widow living in Shepherds Bush, West London with her teenage son, Luke, and grown up daughter Fran. She’s thrown herself into work, Luke’s immersed in his A’Level preparations and Fran has lost sight of what she wants to do in life.

One night Cora travels home on the tube and notices Jacob reading in her carriage on a Central Line tube. Their paths cross later when when Jacob assists Fran home one night to make sure she gets home safely. Jacob enters their lives and everything changes.

It’s essentially a love story, and as Shakespeare put it: ‘The course of true love never did run smooth’.

I loved the way in which the Central Line linked the characters, with Cora and her family in Shepherds Bush and Jacob in Bethnal Green. All of the characters are making their own journey of discovery / acceptance, which I thought fitted in nicely with the Central Line title.

I really enjoyed this book and would have loved to read it in one sitting, but I had to go to work! I really loved the characters, the fact an older woman could find love again - no-one is ever too old for second chances of happiness. I also felt a connection to the book as I used to live in Shepherds Bush and would travel on the Central Line into town.

Huge thanks to Netgalley and the publisher, Little, Brown Book Group UK, , for making this ARC available to me for a fair and honest review.

A heartwarmingly beautiful journey following the lives of mother and daughter, Cora and Fran as they navigate life on the central line.

Losing her husband six years ago in an accident, Cora is still finding her feet after relocating to London with her two children. Her best friends nagging at her that she needs to get back out there she attempts the murky world of online dating – which turns out to be a bust. However, the same night she comes face to face with a handsome good samaritan who brings a very drunk Fran home after she fell asleep on the central line.

Fran feels like her life is freefalling and has been ever since her father’s death. Always closer to her dad than her mum she finds it difficult to get on with her at times. Not that she makes it easy to get on with herself either. She is trying hard to make it as an actress, her love life is complicated and she is drinking far too much. Hitting rock bottom time and time again she is broken and unsure of how to put the pieces back together.

The two ladies navigate tricky love lives with a crossed connection, feelings of guilt and low self-worth. It will pull on your heartstrings as it covers losing a loved one, postnatal depression and long-held guilt. Tissues at the ready.

A Five-star read that gets there in the end. This story was a real journey, I will be honest, I picked this up started it and got a couple of chapters in, and I just couldn’t get to grips, I wasn’t a fan of Cora, she just rubbed me the wrong way. I then read another story and went back to this, and I am so glad I did as once I got past the first couple of chapters I was hooked, I got to grips with everyone and started to really enjoy the story. This isn’t all happiness between the pages, but that made it better, there was balance, much like the line it is named after.

I was intrigued to read this one purely on the title as I live in West London and a frequent user of the Central Line.

Cora mum of two strikes up a friendship with Jacob but someone else already has their eyes on Jacob.

A light fluffy read that I really found enjoyable and would recommend.

Ealing Broadway used to be my local station and I worked at White City so was intrigued by the title of this book - especially as I've never been to the eastern end of the Central Line! Even more intrigued when the love interest in the book turned out to live on a narrowboat - I've also lived on a narrowboat. This book definitely floated my boat. There were no real surprises - I won't be re-reading it or adding the author to my list of favourite authors - but it was an entertaining read that kept me hooked until the end.

The Central Line by Saskia Sarginson

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group and I am leaving this review voluntarily

What if you've already crossed paths with the love of your life?

Cora and Jacob live in London's vast metropolis; he at one end of the Central Line, she at the other. Their paths have crossed a thousand times without them knowing. When a chance encounter on the underground brings them together, it seems they're destined to fall in love.

The title of this really appealed to me, I am not sure why but it just spoke to me. This is a light-hearted and enjoyable read. The characters grow on you, but I enjoyed the way that Saskia had used two strong female characters from different generations to tell the story. Definitely an enjoyable read that I read in two sittings - it would have been one but unfortunately my lunch break ended.

Rating 4/5

I fell in love with this book almosy instantly - I loved the writing style (2 main female characters of different generations) and characters who I initially strongly disliked at the beginning but you learn to love as the book progresses.

I found this a fantastically written book, I read it in one sitting as I wanted to know what happens with the characters.

Well done Saskia, I'll definitely be looking out for future books by you.

A great read.

Cora and Jacob meet because of the Central Line, but life is complicated for both of them, so will they be able to give each other a chance?