This is a cracker of a story. I loved Walsh’s debut novel and had high hopes for this one.

I am so happy to say I wasn’t disappointed.

This is the story of Leo and Emma and what happens when Leo discovers Emma isn’t exactly who she says she is. Her history isn’t what he believed it to be and now he’s questioning everything he knows about the love of his life.

Full of characters written with such love and understanding that we care deeply about them from
the start. The story in itself could have been desperately bleak, dealing with some deeply upsetting themes such as miscarriage, mental illness and death. However Walsh’s deftness of touch and refusal to allow her characters any mawkish self-pity keeps the reader engaged throughout and her characters’ lives are peppered with love and joy and witty little asides.

I was enthralled and truly couldn’t put it down - is it too soon to say I can’t wait for her next book?

I picked this book up as it kept getting recommended to me. I’m so glad I did. This book was so engrossing and engaging.

I loved Emma and Leo’s story. It never seemed forced nor contrived. They battled through and true love won. I adore Charlie and would love to see a book from his viewpoint! There was enough darkness, sadness and heartbreak to make sure this wasn’t a fluffy romance tale. Can’t wait to see what Rosie Walsh comes up with next.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I loved the man who didn't call and so I was so excited to be able to read this. I couldn't put it down and read it in one sitting. Gripping from the very first page. I loved it.

Thoroughly enjoyed every page of this novel - totally gripping. It had me waking in the night to read a couple more chapters.

Powerful, with three dimensional characters, this is utter perfection.

Rosie Walsh captures the terror of living with cancer diagnosis. All the more poignant when it happens to a mother with a young child. I liked that the characters and situation are all credible and loved her compassionate writing style. Rather a sad story about a difficult subject. 5 stars because it is very well done, but unfortunately because of the subject matter not one of my favourite reads this year.

So I had huge hopes for this one but found it quite slow to start with and found myself struggling to get into it but slowly and surely it did improve and I did find it really intriguing.

The characters were developed slowly throughout the book and I did enjoy the mystery behind Emma.

I liked the fact I didn't always see what was coming and enjoyed the suspense of finding out the truth.

Overall quite a good story and I would recommend it.

I read Rosie Walsh’s The Man Who Didn’t Call and loved it, so I was delighted when I received an arc of her new book, The Love Of My Life.
It didn’t disappoint. It tells the story of Emma, Leo and their daughter Ruby. However nothing is quite as it seems. Leo and Emma have been happily married with a beautiful daughter and a crazy dog. One day Leo discovers secrets about his wife, and so the story unfolds. The plot deals with mental illness, romance and adoption, to name but a few. Many mysteries are eventually unravelled. I really enjoyed this book, easy to read and enough secrets to hold my attention. Thank you to NetGalley, Rosie Walsh and the publishers for the opportunity to read this book.

I was absolutely hooked by this book! The mystery kept me reading, along with being really invested in each of the characters and their unravelling relationship. Even better than 'The Man Who Didn't Call'. Thank you so much for this Arc!

Wow!!!! What a story from #rosiewalsh . The story of Leo and Emma , a married couple who, like all married couples , think they know all about their partner but when Leo goes to write about Emma....he discovers that he actually know too much about his wife at all. Secrets galore. What a page turner!!!!
I loved this book.... absolutely fantastic read

As other reviewers have alluded to, this was a very original and captivating novel. It is beautifully and sensitively presented with a scenario that is pure genius.

Having read this authors previous book I was intrigued to read this one. It was told from dual view points of the main characters Leo and emma with the other characters and their parts in the story interleaving between. it was a book full of twists and turns and shocks and also of love and loss and keeping secrets and how the truth always comes out in the end. It also deals with forgiveness between Emma and Leo as they learnt to be reborn again and come to terms with the events and the secrets of the past to gain the strength and courage to work through things and start again.

It also covers a lot of
Sensitive health issues which are dealt with in a compassionate way

I read and loved Rosie Walsh’s previous novel so was keen to get my hands on this one and I really enjoyed it. This book follows Emma who loves and adores her husband Leo and their daughter but everything she has ever told them is a lie. It also follows Leo, an obituary writer, who when Emma is taken seriously ill he starts looking at her life just in case he has to write hers, and this leads him to learn some things about his wife. I found this book engrossing and was so keen to keep turning the pages to find out who Emma really is and why she lied for all those years. I also wanted to know if Leo was going to find everything out and if their marriage would survive. This is a really good read with lots of twists and turns to keep you gripped. I recommend it!

An astonishing book which sends you down one path and then another until you realise the terrible truths of a beautifully tender and suspenseful story. Brilliant.

This isnt my usual read however the description of this book intrigued me so I decided to give it a go and I'm glad I did.
I found it interesting, I found myself trying to guess where the book was going. There's no denying the book discusses topics that some readers may find difficult to read about, adoption and mental health after pregnancy being the main 2 topics, however these topics are dealt with sensitively and in a way that really engages you with the characters and makes you aware of the situation the characters find themselves in. I'm loathe to use the word understand because I don't think you could ever understand how someone would feel in these situations unless you've been in them yourself but certainly it makes you aware of how someone in that situation might feel.

I'm not sure how I feel about the ending, on the one hand, I would have loved to see Emma get a letter of apology from Janice or have a conversation with her but would this have taken away from the actual ending? I'm not sure.

Overall a good interesting book.

If this isn't the best book you have read this year already, then I don't what is. It has me gripped vice like.
Yes, it is almost annoying because you have this reference to another person all the time, and you've guessed it or tried guessing which way it'll go.
But anyway I enjoyed the Emma and Leo relationship.. the dry wit and suspense.
Go pick up a copy!

Wow this book had me hooked in from the word go and I could not stop thinking about it as I was listening! Sometimes you have mega high expectations for a book or an author and those expectations are not met, you hype it up too much for yourself and you’ve only yourself to blame. I had high expectations going into this since Rosie Walsh is one of my favourite authors of all time and those expectations were not only met but exceeded. This is, without a doubt, one of my all time favourite books of the year!

I loved getting to meet Emma and Leo and even though this book is about Emma and who she actually is, we get to discover an equal amount about both characters. If you love a character driven novel then you will love this one. Emma is so complex, we know she has a hidden past and we know that we may discover some things about her we might not like but you find yourself really getting behind her and empathising with her all the way. At the same time we have Leo who is suddenly prying into his wife’s past and going through her things, we should hate this invasion of privacy and this breaking of trust and yet you find yourself totally backing him and his decisions too because he is helping us as readers find out about who Emma is too-such a surprise!

But it is the writing and the crafting of this book that really blew me away. This is a book that leaves you with more questions than answers at the end of every chapter. You jump around in time and you jump around between Leo and Emma’s story and so you’re always waiting and wanting to find out more. To drip feed information so painfully slowly to your reader is such an awesome skill and one that I am in total awe of. I listened to the audiobook and it was great aside from the way the narrator pronounced the station Leuchars which unfortunately Emma goes to quite a bit in this novel. It bothered me but it definitely didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the writing.

This was the kind of audiobook that I stayed longer in my car to keep listening to, that I had to keep playing once I arrived somewhere just to see the fall out from a revelation that just happened. I loved every minute of it and although it wasn’t always a pain-free read in terms of the content, it was all worth it. I just loved the intricacies of these two characters and I adored the way this book was crafted and the story woven oh so carefully. I highly recommend it!

This is honestly one of the most heart wrenching, gut turning, absolutely devastating books I've ever read.
Honestly, the thickening in your throat and the constant dry gulps to try clear it only make trying not to allow the feelings of those words on the pages of TLOML drip down your face.

As a parent, a partner, a daughter, a friend and foe of some; this is a traumatic and life altering dive. You are every single character involved in this story of life. EVERY. SINGLE. ONE! It's absolutely wondrous. A book of total surprise. Like TOTAL SURPRISE though.

I'll tell you straight at 85% in it didn't matter the outcome. It could have gone either way in numerous situations. It would not have mattered. It would not take away the height and depth and utter insight this book has given already. There is no taking away from that. It could only build. I obviously carried on and finished it of course. I couldn't not have. I still needed to know everything. I still needed the words to drink as if it water and I was absolutely dehydrated.

RW has hit such a fantastic high standard with this. I know it's going to be one that will be in my favourites forever more.

Truly one for all to read. One you must read in fact. Emotional, compelling, utter brilliance.
5/5

Just when you think you've got the story pegged and realise you have another 20% to go.

Absolutely fantastic read, I honestly struggled to out it down. Read it in two sittings. Loved both Emma and Leo's povs, plus the back and forth between then and now. Emma was a very complex character, and whilst I can see why things played out the way they did, it was very interesting to see how Janice wove her story too, and how it affected Emma.

I did guess the connection fairly on, but had no idea of how it would all come together. Very well written, and I'm sure it's one I'll continue to think about for a while.

I'm not sure I can put into words how much I've liked this book!
It's my first Rosie Walsh, but I've had The Man Who Didn't Call on my radar for a while and I'm going to buy it as soon as I finish this review.
The Love Of My Life is just the perfect mix of features that makes for a great read: it's gripping and compelling, it's a page turner, there's mystery and secrets, it's emotional, moving and thought provoking.
I also listened to the audiobook version and I must say that I found it even more tears-jerking, I loved the narrators!

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