The story moves between now with Edie 35 and in the past, 17 years ago, during a summer that changed Edie's life.

On her 35th birthday edie receives an email from her 18 year old self and this email and the others that arrive afterwards make edie re-evaluate her life and her choices, and lots of adventures follow.

Highlights:
- very likeable main character Edie
- Edie's touching relationship with her father
- grief
- romance
- miscommunication trope
- second chances at love & life
- regret
- re-connecting with old friends
- new friends
- absolutely brilliant narration

5 Word Review: Friendship, love, family, history, summer.

I love a second chance romance, and Note to Self is the perfect one for reading this summer. It also has the sunniest cover ever.

I listened to the audiobook, and I thought that Eilidh Beaton gave a marvellous performance narrating it, bringing the characters to life through Edie. I loved her inflection, and she is definitely a narrator I will seek out, a real joy to listen to.

I loved the whole idea behind this book - although I can't imagine what 17-year-old me would have send in an email to my future self. Probably lots of drama! Edie though? She had her head on right even at that age, and offers her future self some surprisingly sage advice. And some excellent challenges. She knew herself even then, although she didn't know it her self.

The story takes a deep dive into friendships and memories and second chances, and I loved seeing everyone Edie surrounded herself with. She's so well adjusted and confident, and as the story progresses this only increases.

But Joel? Well some wires were crossed between them way back when and I loved the drama that ensued! It's not massive drama, just the quiet and subtle heartbreak of a crush that is seemingly not returned. But when they meet again there are real sparks.

This audiobook is perfect for a stroll along the sea front, or pick up the book itself as a beach read. It's a perfect summer second chance romance and will fill your heart with joy.

When Edie turns 35 she soon starts to receive emails from her 18-year-old self, giving her motivation and a time to reflect before the loss of her mother.

Soon these emails will help Edie find the person she was, allow her to be braver, take risks and find a lost love.

This author is a go-to for me and again they do not disappoint.
The concept of this narrative is very cleverly thought through and explores the theme of grief.

I loved the narrative and the way I was shouting at Edie to 'just say it,' and 'tell him now;' this shows us how Bell impacts their readers. The comparison between then and now with the main character was well written seeing the obvious differences, and then how the character developed as the novel continues.

Each character brings an individual voice to the novel bringing depth to the narrative, this is a great novel that I can easily recommend.

I will be looking out for this author again.

I REALLY liked the concept of sending yourself emails to be delivered on a particular date in the future - so much so that I actually Googled whether this is possible: And it really is a thing if you didn't know! You can also email family after death - I may even try it myself (although hopefully I'm not gonna die any time soon!). I am beyond excited about this new discovery!

Apart from this 'new-to-me' concept, I did enjoy reading the book - although the miscommunication romance trope is so VERY frustrating to read. Worse is that the miscommunication begins in the past timeline, but also carries on in the current timeline - these Characters just can't get communication right at all! Rather than mentioning their issue, they pull assumptions out of nowhere, when the whole thing really could’ve been solved with a single conversation! I much prefer romances with meet-cutes and witty banter for sure.

Many thanks to NetGallery and HarperCollins UK Audio for allowing me to get a copy of the book.

I loved the concept of this book i.e. e-mails sent from the the past, as a consequence the character growth for the main character Edie was excellent.

The romance itself was sweet if a little predictable, and the overall feel of the book was light and fun with an excellent group of supporting characters who the author did a great job of giving individual voices to.

However what really excelled was the author's exploration of grief how it can affect your life for years after. This aspect of the story most definitely provided some much needed emotional punch to a story that would have felt a little pedestrian otherwise.

A solid second chance (for both romance and life) story

(I will mention that I read this as an audio book, and unfortunately I wasn't a fan of the narrator. For a lot of the dialogue, especially the side characters, they used a nudge-nudge-wink-wink jovial style tone that didn't work for me. )

A nice, light enjoyable read with a really lovely ending. I enjoyed the theme of the “notes to self” although at times I did find the pace of this book a bit slow which made me loose a bit of focus.

After Anna Bell decided to break my heart with The Man I Didn't Marry, I had high hopes going into this and I was not left disappointed. An absolutely refreshing and delightful summer read, full of relatable wit and humour and that sparkling feel-good charm.

As Edie reconnects with old friends, with past versions of herself, we're prompted to wonder if we'd really want to go back to the times we remember fondly or if the past should stay in the past. The story flows so easily, relationships falling back into rhythms, time and distance falling away with the pages. Full of deep nostalgia, Bells writing transports us to vivid summers and cool summer nights with ease.

This story reaches into the heart of loss and longing, and anyone who feels like they're not a main character in their own story - and shines light on the dark, heart-breaking parts of life in a sensitive, hopeful way that left me laughing through more than a few tears.

Beaton was an amazing narrator, I've listened to several audiobooks they've narrated and they always manage to really capture and perform a story and keep me interested.

This is a lovely, feel good, summer holiday read, which I really enjoyed.

Edie and Joel met seventeen years ago in a holiday park, and they felt a strong connection with one another, although they were only friends. Years later, they are pushed back together when a friend has a reunion. They are both with other partners, so they are not able to do anything about their feelings. As time goes on, their feelings for each other become stronger every time they see each other. Will they be able to move forwards together finally, or will they be stuck in limbo?

I really liked this book, especially the parts about the emails that Edie sent to her future self when she was eighteen years old.

I thought the narrator of the book was fantastic, and she did a great job. Highly recommended!

Many thanks to the author, narrator, publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book.

I really enjoyed this book and I experienced so many emotions as I followed Edie’s journey. And the narration by Elidh Beaton was first rate as usual. I have bought books on the fact that Elidh was narrating them, a good narrator makes such a huge difference. I haven’t experienced any of Anna Bell’s books before but I now intend to devour them, she’s such a great writer.

Where do I start…. ‘Note to self’ is possibly my fave Anna Bell book so far (I’m a big fan of Anna’s books). I couldn’t stop listening to this one as was desperate to hear how Edie’s journey ended. The characters in this book were all likeable but due to Edie’s relatability I really bought into her story and wanted a happy ending for her and Joel. The book took me through every emotion Edie had felt over the years and I must say as well as being entertaining was quite thought provoking too. I loved the idea of sending notes to your future self and also thought the idea of a virtual memory jar for new mothers was fab.

Eilidh Beaton narrated the book beautifully, I’m always delighted to see her name as narrator… I’ve been purchased books due to this fact alone as I think good narration can make or break a good book.

I would’ve highly recommend a read at this one - was only sorry I didn’t have it in time for my hols as it would have been a great companion on my lounger whiling away a few hours on the beach.

Thanks to NetGalley, Harper Collins UK Audio and the Author for an advance copy of this audio book.