Cover Image: Ten Years

Ten Years

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Member Reviews

Loved this one! I felt so connected to the main characters and the writing was super immersive. I'm so glad I read it!

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Ten Years is a slow building romance and it could only be this way to make for a reasonable transition from mourning a best friend to falling in love with her boyfriend, For a tough premise, it's well thought out, it makes sense that they come together, despite their mutual hatred for each other) through fulfilling the dead girlfriend's bucket list, and it feels more like fate this way. It was a touching story,

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A huge thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC!
*Note: this is an HONEST SPOILER FREE REVIEW*

one thing about me is that i love sad books. give me something that will make me feel. i so badly wanted this book to be one of those gut wrenching stories for me. i tried hard to enjoy the story and characters, but they never fully captured my interest. maybe i'll give this book another chance in the future though.

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I just couldn't get into this book! Had it not been a copy from the publisher, I would have DNF'd it.
The blurb of the book was really good, but the follow-through wasn't there. It was really slow. The book was mostly hard feelings and arguing. Very little joy in this romance!

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When Ally dies of cancer, her fiancé Charlie and best friend Becca are devastated. The pair have never got on, and intend to spend as little time together as possible. But Ally had other ideas, even as she’s dying, and sets the two a series of annual challenges. Will they manage to become friends by the time they’ve completed the tasks?

Ten Years is an interesting concept, matchmaking from beyond the grave. In reality, I did find it slightly unbelievable, that two people would actually undertake to spend time together, on the whims of a dead friend, but who knows. As a story, it was good fun and enjoyable to read.

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I loved the premise of this book but it just fell flat. I wanted to love it so much more but too slow going for me

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I was honoured to read this as part of a blogger readalong, Ten years over ten days.

Well I was not expecting this to start with a funeral or to care about the characters so quickly.

You see you often find that people who come across as hard, bitter and angry are those that actually have the most tender and fragile of hearts. That is how I feel about Becca. My love for her was instant, she was difficult, stubborn, feisty, interesting and a chaotic mess of a woman. She was Ally’s best friend.

Charlie was Ally’s fiancé and he is also Becca’s sworn nemesis. Now Ally has gone they are tasked with completing Ally’s bucket list and spreading her ashes. Can they put aside their loathing for each other one day a year, one task at a time and come together, united in their love for Ally, to do this simple thing?

Full of escapades and snide remarks this was both funny and sad at the same time. Valerie, Ally’s mum, must of wanted to bang their heads together at each annual visit. I know I did! Every time you see a chink in Becca’s armour, Charlie does or says something that makes things ten times worse. But oh how I was rooting for them both to be happy.

This is not your typical enemies to lovers or will they won’t they romance. It is a beautifully crafted story of grief, friendship, vulnerability and the importance of being true to yourself.

My decision to read this was the best decision in the history of all decisions.

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I didn't like this book as much as I thought I would.

Couldn't connect to the MCs. Both felt very much like grumpy teenagers who love to hold onto a grudge. I did not feel the chemistry between them.

Although I liked the writing style of the book, I thought it was dragging on in the middle. Not much happens other than the years dragging on. The last 20-ish % were good, though.

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This book was everything I wanted it to be and more!! Loved the uniqueness of the plot, and how it stands out from other books of the same genre.

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Trigger Warnings
This book contains:
• Death of a loved one due to cancer (was also in their 20s)
• Divorce
• Difficult relationships with parents.
Characters
Becca is a hot-headed aspiring actress with a massive chip on her shoulder thanks to the relationship she has with her parents. Especially how she was given to her grandmother to raise when her parents separated.
Charlie on the other hand is a laid-back guy who tends to go with the flow and tries to keep the peace and not rock the boat. Ever. Just like Becca’s parents separation shaped her, Charlie’s parents separation shaped him.
Storyline
Becca’s best friend, and Charlie’s fiancé dies at the tender age of 26 due to cancer. After her death, both struggles to cope with their grief and how to move on.
Unbeknownst to them, Ally set up a series of challenges for them to remember her, process their grief and also support each other while they moved through it. Over the span of years, this book takes us through Becca and Charlie’s relationship, stages of grief and moving on with their lives.
Overall Thoughts
I think the best thing about this book is that we get snippets of each year from both character’s perspectives. While most chapters are about when the two characters meet up, either to commemorate Ally’s death, or some other friendship event – some are snippets of their own life.
While this structure of writing is probably unusual for most people to read, each “chapter” was a normal chapter’s length making it flow nicely. Once you get used to the sudden changes in where our characters are, what’s happened in their lives in the months between each “chapter” etc.
While I’m sure there will be some people who struggle with this, I really enjoyed it because it traversed such a long time you really got to see how the characters relationship changed and evolved over time. This made their growth and development so much more realistic while also allowing them to go through so much more than we normally get to see in books.
Overall, it made it super interesting to read without being an obvious romance book. In fact, I think for 70% or more it could more accurately be classes as a fiction book rather than a romance.

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My review: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

What happens when your best friend from university dies, and leaves you and her husband some tasks to do to mourn her.  Of course you're going to do them, even if you don't get on with her now widower.

This is a heart breaking and joyful story that tugged on my heartstrings. I found it hard to read at certain points as our characters go through all of the emotions, but ultimately it was a lovely story!

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Harper Collins.

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Such a lovely story and well handled off the back of a tragic situation. The story is lovely but at times I did find it a little heavy and needed a moment.

Not a book you would read in and afternoon, it is a book I will carry with me for a long time!

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A positive story transpiring from such a tragic and sad situation. This was enjoyable read. Loved the enemies to lovers trope.

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I enjoyed this one!
Enemies to lovers tropes are done pretty frequently, so there needs to be more of an unusual one to stick in my mind. This book certainly does that!
There is grief and pain that unites the 2 characters and this was compelling and traumatic at the same time.
I enjoyed the audio, both narrators were excellent, and I would look forward to listening to it. It was a good book, although not a brilliant one.

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A true journey of a book, I thoroughly enjoyed this love story and the years we go through with these characters. I found myself rooting for them throughout and I found their story to be entertaining and touching all at the same time.

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I never thought I would enjoy a book about two people who hated each other, but Pernille Hughes' "Ten Years" had me hooked from the start. Becca and Charlie have been at odds since their university days, but when their friend Ally passes away, they find themselves thrown together to complete her bucket list. What ensues is a heartwarming journey of grief, love, and self-discovery.

What I loved about this book is that it takes place over a period of ten years. We see Becca and Charlie's paths cross multiple times as they deal with the aftermath of Ally's death. The way Hughes weaves their lives together is brilliant and kept me guessing until the very end. I found myself rooting for them even though they weren't exactly likable characters at the beginning of the story.

One thing I appreciated about "Ten Years" was the way it handled grief. Losing a loved one is never easy, and Hughes portrays it realistically. Becca and Charlie both struggle in different ways and seeing how they come to terms with their loss is a powerful aspect of the book.

But the real heart of "Ten Years" is the love story between Becca and Charlie. It's a slow burn romance that's not without its ups and downs, but it's one that's worth rooting for. Hughes shows that sometimes the people who bring out the worst in us can also bring out the best.

Overall, I would highly recommend "Ten Years" to anyone looking for a heartwarming love story with a side of grief and self-discovery. It's a beautifully written book that will leave you feeling uplifted and hopeful.

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Second chance romance, conflict. I liked the portrayal of grief and that it is both funny and heart wrenching at the same time. So many twists and it keeps
You guessing in a great way.

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I enjoyed reading about Becca and Charlie. While there were some great moments and I mostly enjoyed the story overall, it just didn't quite do it for me. There was way too much bickering between the two of them and Becca is way too pigheaded for her own good. She just needs to let some things go. Without spoiling anything, when she finds out about "Allie's plan," I thought her reaction was way too over-the-top. I felt like most of the time Becca was just being ridiculously stubborn and most people would have let some of those things go a long time ago.
There also just wasn't enough of the relationship for me either. They spent most of the book hating each other and it took forever for them to get together, which really didn't happen until the end. I love a good "enemies" to lovers ( I would call this haters to lovers as there is really no reason for them to be enemies), but there wasn't enough angst and wanting each other early enough for me personally.
There were definitely elements of the story I enjoyed. I liked reading about their bucket list adventures, and both of the characters showed a lot of growth throughout the book. I loved when they ran into each other in Cannes, and the moments when they really connected and weren't arguing. I also liked the timeline, how it jumped from one year to the next. It definitely made it feel like you weren't missing a bunch of their lives, but there wasn't a ton of filler either.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes haters to lovers (and doesn't mind that they don't get together until almost the end), long timelines without a lot of filler, good character growth, and stories about struggling actresses.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

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This was just an ok read for me. I wasn't a fan of the writing style but managed to persevere until the end. It did drag on a bit though and I was ready for the end a lot longer than it was.

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I probably should have read the blurb a little more closely before requesting this one, because the "dead best friend's fiancee" trope (is that a trope?) isn't something I think I like. This story of completing your dead bestie's bucket list with her ex fiance had a lot to like, but ultimately the slow pacing, slow burn, and heavy emotional tone was hard for me to get through. For readers of In Five Years by Rebecca Serle, Float Plan by Trish Doller, and One Day by David Nicholls, this is an emotional romance with a literary fiction bent. Would definitely recommend if you're in the mood for something a little heavier and slower than the average romance book!

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