I read a lot of historical fiction and fancied a change. This hit the mark. Great storyline with a twist. Good to have an older woman as the main character.

Hooked from the start, an easy read, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

This book isn't particularly original, and I thought 'the central line' would play a bigger role - it very loosely brings the characters together but because of the title I wanted a bit more!

I enjoyed this book not so much for the plot - as I say, i've read similar before - but the characters were very likeable, and it was the characters that kept me reading.

The book was a cute chick-lit, but it's not one that will stay with me, or one that I will particularly remember.

After the death of her College Sweetheart, Cora reenters the dating world, and by chance meets Jacob. We watch her navigate unfamiliar territory with Jacob and her two adult children Fran and Luke.

This was a very sweet, cosy, read in one sitting, rainy day perfect book. Literally, about 70% sweet and 30/35% drama. It was a romance, but the focal point was really the relationships between Cora, Fran and Luke, as well as the kids' individual arcs. We also watch the family deal with grief, guilt, moving on, huge life changes and leaning on each other for support! 💗

Thanks for the advanced copy. Perfect summer read, light-hearted with some great characters. Not my usual genre but I enjoyed the twists and turns of the story

This book tells the story of a mother and daughter, Cora and Fran, who are navigating life after the loss of their beloved husband/father. Their relationship is volatile, and Fran in particular comes across as quite spoilt. She’s 23 years old, living at home with no job or income, and her attitude towards her family and friends is quite poor. She seems much more concerned with herself than with anything or anyone else, and almost acts as if she is more the age of about 16.

Enter Jacob, a thirty something single man who captures the eye of both Cora and Fran. Reading Fran’s attempts at getting Jacob to notice her had me cringing at times. I honestly just wanted to shake her at times. To me it was very clear that Jacob was only interested in Cora and never even looked that way at Fran. Fran herself was clearly oblivious though, and very used to getting who she wants. I enjoyed reading about their family dynamic but I did feel that the Jacob situation became a bit repetitive throughout the book. And I also felt like Cora and Jacob’s relationship was very immature, and almost teenage like! For the most part, I felt like screaming at everyone - just talk to each other!!!!! But I appreciate that it’s representative of lots of mother-daughter relationships, although I’m not sure that Cora and Jacob’s relationship was that relatable.

I liked Zac and how he brought out a different side to Fran…a much nicer side! I think she just desperately needed someone in her life who she felt understood her in the same way that her Dad did when he was alive. This book showed the impact of grief well, and explored the different ways that people deal with it.

Overall, this was an interesting family drama, with splashes of romance thrown in. I’d recommend it if anyone wanted an easy read that isn’t too heavy.

The book has so much potential. I really enjoyed the story but I wish it was more focused on Fran, Luke and Cora as a family and less on Cora’s relationship with Jacob. Ok maybe not less about Jacob but the book would’ve been so much better if we knew more about Fran’s and Luke’s story. I know that we touch on both a little but somehow I felt like their story deserved to be told in more detail. I would’ve loved to maybe get one or two chapters deom Luke’s point of view about his time and the university and his struggles internally. Also I feel like after getting such a build up about Fran’s story I wish we’d get more in the end of her love story..how they rekindled and all that. Like I said the story itself is beautiful, I just wish it did focus more on the family and their relationship with each other and their individual stories and not have the main focus be just Cora and Jacob. Other than that it was still an amazing and quick read.

Ok, so this is another book that didn't end up being what the description suggested, and not in a fun plot-twist kind of way. Although it did align with the description in a very broad sense, this is not the light-hearted feel-good romance I expected. I couldn't get into it and struggled to keep reading. I especially struggled with the love triangle and the turn it took towards some very heavy topics.

Thank you to the publisher for kindly providing me with an ARC via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This wasn’t the light hearted romance that I’d assumed it to be but I did enjoy the story. I liked hearing events from different points of view and exploring the relationship between mother and daughter. There was just enough drama and emotion without being too over the top.

Just re read the Blurb for this and it leaves a lot, A LOT, out…..but then to say much would spoil it so I get it BUT got to say this is more, much more than 2 people meeting and falling in love….The big theme is the Central Line and the Underground as a whole but then a whole array of mini stories and themes come off from this, not confusing as so well done and all are important and linked to the main story, some are refreshing and some very different topics than what I had expected 😎
Loved London being described in the book and part of it taking place on my street was great but tbh the story is so strong where it happens is a bonus not a must
The characters are instantly likeable although one tests this and they are so so honest and open and as non 1 dimensional as you could possibly get
A real treat of a read and think given a chance most readers of lovers of all genres would fall for this, unexpectedly maybe but you kinda have no choice….

10/10
5 Stars

The Central Line follows the journey of Cora and her relationships with her family and the people she meets. Initially the storyline of the book dealt with both mother and daughter being attracted to the same man, Joseph, which made me as the reader feel awkward. Cora’s daughter Fran was very self centred and Saskia explores how Fran becomes more open as she meets different people. From what starts as a book focused on the central line as the title suggests, it does move away and ends in a totally different setting. I liked how the book switched between viewpoints to give different angles to the story,

A great story with believable characters which had me gripped throughout. I look forward to reading more

A stranger comes to help and there's a love triangle between mother and daughter. A twisty read. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book.

I really enjoyed this story. I loved all the characters and how they were weaved throughout the storyline. I thought it was such a lovely feel good romantic read. Loved it.

This a perfect summer read, loved every bit of it. Love the aspect of all the intertwine of the main characters. Well written and would definitely recommend it.

I would like to thank the author, the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this book. It was not at all what I expected but I did enjoy it and would definitely recommend this book.

Beyond thrilled at the opportunity to read this gorgeous book! Full review to follow both here and on the blog. A bit delayed due to some current health issues, but will be coming very soon upon completion of the book. I love missed connections and meant to be connections and ai am so excited to see how these characters intertwine and come together throughout the book. This is my favorite type of genre to read. I highly recommend this for a gorgeous summer read and look forward to sharing many more thought soon.