Helen McGinn is an author I have found over the last 18 months. Beginning with her debut novel I have always found her settings so enticing. They make me feel like I am there. This is us manages to whisk us to Italy and Scotland as well as bring a tale of strength through adversity.

Stella has everything she ever wanted. A husband,Simon, who she adores and has been married to for ten years. Three beautiful kids and her own business, all is well in her life. Then Simon leaves, just here one day and gone the next, for no apparent reason. Stella is broken and so confused as to what went wrong.

This is us is a book that ripped my heart out and stamped on it before putting it back where it came from. I was as devastated as Stella, I felt everything as I turned the pages to find out how she was going to deal with this life changing event. Her struggles to deal with herself and her children at this point were so real, and the wondering of why he did this to them the biggest question of her life.

As the story unfolds, Stella finds out more and more about Simon and the more she discovers it seems the stronger she becomes. She is just so relatable to me. I can say I have been in a situation, not the same but similar and I was the same. I was so positive when I realised I was strong enough. Stella finds her way back with the help of her amazing friends and her family too. Such a great way of saying it doesn't always need to be romance that makes a woman happy. We can do it without men too!

Another skilfully written and realistic tale that had me punching the air and at times almost crying with Stella. Helen McGinn's definitely on my go-to list of authors after this.

Thanks to NetGalley and Rachel's Random Resources.

The first book by Mcginn for me and definitely not my last.

I think I went through every possible emotion with Stella and I really felt for her. Her character was real, relatable and by the end of the book felt like a close friend.

This is Us is a fantastic story of friends, family and a journey of self discovery.

An enjoyable, engaging read and a delight to read.

Many thanks to Rachel's Random Resources for my tour spot.

Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I loved this one from Helen McGinn. The friendship and support Stella received from her friends and family was just wonderful. For a story with such a sad beginning, it had a really uplifting feel and I loved seeing Stella regroup and move on with her family. The trip to Florence was beautifully described - the city was the perfect place for Stella to stop and recharge and again the support of her friends was invaluable. A beautiful read.

A beautifully written book packed with gorgeous characters who just come to life with their vivid description. Stella is a wonderful character and I couldn’t put the book down, wanting everything to be OK for her. A refreshing change from the usual storyline of 'she finds happiness in a new love' and shows the importance of loving family and friends to bring you through difficult times. I just want to carry on following Stella and her friends!

Stella and Simon have been happily married for a number of years and are parents to a son, Max, 10 and twin daughters, Millie and Isla, ages 8. Stella is a busy mom keeping up with her children, the house, cooking, their dog, and her job.

Stella has been working hard on a company that she created and as it is doing so well, Simon left his job and joined her company.

One day, Simon tells Stella that he can no longer do this and just walks out the door. She doesn’t know where or why he went. She is unable to get in touch with him. Dealing with her shock and hurt, she is struggling to keep the house, children, and her company going.

Stella’s sister, Caroline, and her good friends from her book club become great supports to her as she deals with her pain. After some time has passed, her friends take her for a long weekend to Florence Italy where they all enjoy the sights and delicious food. This helps to energize Stella somewhat. But she soon learns something that Simon has done for which she can never forgive him. Now, she is on a mission to find out more about who this man really is.

This author perfectly described the pain that Stella feels at Simon's desertion. In addition, her descriptions of Florence were completely fabulous. What a lot of research and work she must have put into that. I liked seeing how Stella grew from her hurt to become a very strong woman. A really good book with lots of great twists that I’m sure readers will enjoy. Don’t miss this one.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Stella is a good wife to Simon and mother to Max and twins Millie and Isla. Stella was not ready to be a wife or mother when she met Simon, but Simon was sure that they should marry and have children. So after a few months of dating Stella moved into the house where Simon lived. Shortly after Simon proposed and suggested a small wedding by themselves. Two months later Stella is pregnant. 18 months after Max is born the twins are delivered. Stella is busy and tired but feeling happy in her marriage and motherhood. When the children are old enough Stella starts her own business and Simon jumps at the chance to be a part of it. Fast forward and everything is going to plan but Stella has a strange thought one day as she is getting the children ready for school. Simon is acting strange and she is unsure what she has done to make him act this way. Then Simon comes home and states that he is leaving and he does not feel for Stella anymore. Stella is crushed and she needs answers as to why Simon left and when will he return. This was a well written book and the way the story went was unexpected. I felt proud of Stella for being strong and following through with how she felt she should . Stella stayed true to herself and protected her children. The ending was just right for Stella and her family. This is a story that many would like.

Emotionally charged, heartfelt story. From beginning to end it was a page turner. I couldn’t put it down. Cant wait for her next book.

Thank you NetGalley, Helen McGinn and Boldwood Books for the copy of This is Us. This is my personal review.
The only way to start this review is with a huge WOW!! Stella is a woman that so many other women want to have as a friend in their life. A strong courageous mother of three who has her world tipped upside down when her husband one day disappears. There is no one that knows why or where Simon has gone.
Stella knows she has to carry on with her life for her children as well as herself.
This is a book you can pick up feel the emotion in Stella’s life and how her friends help her on the journey of putting her life back together.

Blindsided by her husband’s sudden and inexplicable disappearance, Stella struggles to understand why Simon has gone without a word, or seemingly a care for their three children. When she finally learns more about his true nature, Stella must choose to put her family first and does so with the support of family and friends. There is a lovely little section in the book where Stella and her friends travel to Florence for a weekend, and the foursome experience the art, culture and food of that city, helping Stella to regain a sense of well-being.

This is a beautiful, heartfelt story that I absolutely loved! The author’s writing style is great and I enjoyed this
book from beginning to end.

A lovely read, that I couldn't put down, every page had me wanting to read it quick and also slowly to savour the book. The descriptions of the wine, food and Florence were divine, I felt I was revisiting Florence with them. Stella is a lucky lady with a good bunch of friends and close family to help her navigate her way and steer her in the right direction when dealing with her business and marriage, she becomes stronger as the book progresses and is able to make decisions that help her and her family, will we see another chapter of her life ion print?

The story
Stella is a wife and mom of three children. When her kids were young she started a business making baby food. The business grew and is now successful. But when her husband Simon reveals that he’s not happy, and packs and leaves suddenly, her whole world is turned upside down. Acceptance is hard to gain without closure, but Stella takes things one day at a time until she is able to look back and see how far she has come.

My thoughts
This is the second book of Helen McGinn’s I have read and they have both been so, so, good. Emotional and real, written with strong characters dealing with adversity. Stella is inspirational, and I love how this story focuses on her somewhat bumpy path to regaining her life. Her book club friends are extremely supportive and I loved their trip to Florence which brought back great memories for me. The one aspect I really enjoyed about this story is how there are small flashes into the POV of other characters.

I’d like to thank Boldwood Books and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘This Is Us’ written by Helen McGinn in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Stella and Simon have three children, Max 10, and 8-year-old twins Millie and Isla, and run a successful business with a home in London. Then at the end of a normal working day Simon tells Stella he’s leaving, saying he doesn’t feel the same about her anymore. He won’t answer his phone or read her text messages so Stella has no choice but to keep going with the help of her sister Caroline and friends Bridget, Sarah and Lucy.

‘This Is Us’ is a heart-warming novel about Stella, her marriage, family and friends, and how she finds an inner strength to start again when her husband walks away. There are no big surprises, it’s just an involving story of an ordinary woman who has a group of wonderful friends that help her get through the stresses she encounters as a single parent. The characters are nicely described and the story has had me gripped from page one. It’s a thoroughly enjoyable book that’s so easy to read I finished it in a day.

Wow this is brilliant!!! Really enjoyed reading this latest book from Helen McGinn!
Stella has a seemingly perfect life, with her gorgeous husband of ten years, 3 children and a dog, her own business, great friends and family. Although Stella has been loyal to Simon, he suddenly ups and leaves with no explanation, which is just devastating and so hard to fathom.
A tale of how life can completely collapse until we have the strength to rebuild and recover. The comfort of good friends and family, standing by and supporting through adversity. Women at their best, heart warming and shows how wonderful girl power is!
Along with wonderful trips to Italy and the Scottish Isles and great tips on wine (which I have noted of course) the story is a fabulous journey!!!
Huge thanks to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for the early read I absolutely loved it!!

This Is Us by Helen McGinn is a women’s fiction book about a woman recovering from a divorce and how she picks up the pieces and find a way to move forward and love herself again. Although this is not the typical, woman gets dumped story, there is a bit of mystery and a lot of emotion in this story.

After a decade of marriage, Stella loves her life. She met and married the love of her life, Simon, and now has three children. Stella and Simon run a business together, and it’s thriving as they work to expand the business. One day, Simon tells her he doesn’t love her anymore, packs a bag, and literally disappears from her life, and worse, their children’s life. For weeks, she didn’t hear a thing from him, no indication of where he went or why.

I like that this was just a bit different than the usual book about a family falling apart. There were a lot of questions about Simon’s disappearance that needed to be answered and that kept me reading until late at night so I could find out. I liked Stella very much, I don’t think she missed any cues that her marriage was not good, I honestly believe that Stella believed her marriage was a good one. Simon is a true coward and is good at deceiving Stella and all their friends.

I liked the way Stella changed from being hurt and bewildered to angry and strong. She became that fearless mother bear, trying to protect her children from their father’s callous desertion. I enjoyed the way she courageously worked to find her ex-husband, and also made some good decisions in order to preserve the love her kids have for their father.

The book was well paced, and as I said that bit of mystery kept me turning pages to find out why Simon left, and how he could leave those beautiful children. I thought the ending was good, and I always like a book where a woman is able to overcome such a

I recommend This is Us by Helen McGinn to anyone who enjoys women’s fiction. I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This is a captivating story.
After ten years, Stella's life imploded. She has to figure out how to put herself together while protecting her three children.
This emotionally charged story kept me turning pages until the end.

Sometimes listening to your friends and family might just be a good idea especially when starting a hot and fast romance😊. After years Stella finds yourself alone and with three children and wondering why and what happened. After learning about the man she married she ends up learning more about yourself also. Families can be messy but in this uplifting emotional story which I enjoyed they also had Stella in their thoughts.
I enjoyed this story and I think you will also.

This was a really well written novel whose characters really jumped out of the pages. The stories for all of Stella’s friends would make great reads themselves. Really enjoyed this story of friendship and family. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for giving me access to a review copy of this novel.

Hmm...finished the book not knowing for sure what I supposed to be feeling. The book went by well, the pace is great and I wasn't bored. I loved the relationship of the female main character with her friends, her kids and sister. Loved all the support she received. But I finished the book not knowing what I read or why...

Now, the story has this guy who, since the beginning, doesn't give a good vibe. Proof you need to listen to your friends and family. Those fast relationships where the guy is taking most of the biggest decisions while being supportive at the same time, red flags! But well, after a decade he just leaves Stella with their kids. She starts a journey into discovering why and what happened. During that journey she discovered herself, her new relationship with her sister and how amazing her friends are. Her split was hard but everything felt too perfect somehow and there was my biggest problem with it. I like realism and this book has a bit of a lack of it. I couldn't feel connected to the story as I wish I were because of the lack of realism. Your husband disappeared for weeks, over a month and you basically do nothing? You find out things he did and you do nothing? I don't know.... there's some things missing there. I think that in the effort to show an independent woman the author left aside the fact that not for being an independent woman you just let people play you like that. But okay, the rest of the story is good, it was a fast read!!!! And I'll say it, I appreciate that Stella didn't just found a dude to save her haha which it's usually in this kind of books so I'm thankful for it not happening in this book.

Thank you to Netgalley, Boldwood and the author for the book!!!

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

Stella fell in love with Simon and then moved in with him, after five months. Simon wanted to start a family and convinced Stella to start trying, even though she wanted to wait, now they have three children. Simon looked after the financial side of the business that she started.

Life for them was going really well, sue had a business, was a mother and a good wife. But when Simon made a decision that didn’t turn out to be a good one, everything changed.

We see Stella doing what she can for her children, as well as her friends and the business and making decisions.

Finding stuff out about Simon, she realises that it’s time to get a divorce. As we read on, Stella is adamant to do what she needs to as she knows waiting will harm the relationship the children have with their father

She has her sister and friends supporting her, Stella realised that life wasn’t what she thought it was.

I recommend this book.