Joanna Glen is one of my favourite writers ever, and she certainly doesn't disappoint with this one. Maybe, Perhaps, Possibly follows Addie and Sol, two people who meet by chance and have no idea how to fall in love.

It's heartwarming, it's funny, and it's sometimes infuriating. You'll be rooting for Addie and Sol, whilst loving to hate the families they've both grown estranged from.

This is another great book from Joanna Glen - if you loved All My Mothers and The Other Half of Augusta Hope like I did, then this is a must-read! I can't wait for my physical pre-order to arrive to complete my collection.

The path to true love doesn't run smooth, as they say, and certainly not if your families are both really weird. But I love a good tale of people being really very strange, and as this one also involves puffins and an octopus, what's not to like?

Seriously though, I really enjoyed both of Joanna Glen's previous books and this is another deep dive into the quirks and foibles of others.
It's a dual narrative, and starts with Addie, who lives with her mother on a remote island where they offer a women-only retreat service, or rather Addie does most of the skivvying while her mother does the life coaching. Sol is mourning his mother and has come to find her in the 'thin places' - where the links between this life and the next are easier to find. He is staying on the next island, another retreat, this time with a monk, and of course you know that the two will find each other somehow. It's not the meeting, it's the staying - or the escaping. Both Addie and Sol are in need of rescue, her physically, him emotionally and both are bereaved and affected by family feuds. I won't go into it too much, but a book that combines talk of faith and hope with mermaids and someone having their jaw wired shut - I mean, there's a lot here.

It's just the kind of book I like, and Glen takes the time to establish characters and place. All the settings are distinctive and visual in their descriptions, and if the secondary characters are so much in the background, they're more like tertiary characters, well, that's ok here.

What a captivating story. There is so much I love about this book; particularly the occasional narratives which come across as insights into what may happen to our protagonists. I also loved the insights into ‘Eureka’ and the sacrifices her kind make for their love.
This is a book that I didn’t want to finish and yet also felt I wanted to peak at the end to see what happened (I didn’t) because I was at times sure I knew how it would end and then convinced it would all fall apart on me.
It really is a lovely read, totally enjoyable and unputdownable. I just had to know how it ended for them.
It’s written with real feeling and an obvious understanding of how not everyone finds relationships to be easy; in fact, she shows that it can be hard work.
As the book neared the end, I was also pleased to see that grammar and punctuation played their part too; and if you want to understand what I mean, you’ll have to read the book.

Maybe, Perhaps, Possibly by Joanna Glen

This is a 'will they, won't they' romance where the two protagonist want to fall in love but are entirely hopeless when it comes to thinking about how to do it, let alone putting it into words.

Addie lives on Rokesby a remote outpost of the Farne Islands and Sol comes to the adjacent island of Ora on a kind of religious retreat, or perhaps a pilgrimage, to find himself. Instead, he finds Addie and if they could only have a sensible conversation the book would end before page 50!

Of course, they don't, and a series of unfortunate circumstances split them apart, before a most unlikely coincidence brings them back together and, even then, they can't really manage it, so the book goes on for even more pages until the ending which a review should not give away.

It's not entirely their fault. The story goes into detail about their weird families and the damage they have done and they not the prime movers in the coincidences which roll the story along.

To the story's credit, Joanna Glen is an excellent writer. She writes crisp sentences, uses nicely observed description and apt metaphors and many readers will enjoy a well executed, long, slow read but I found myself frustrated with Addie and Sol's romantic incompetence and wearied at their inability to communicate what they wanted and needed to say.

The book follows Addie and Sol as they navigate adulthood following on from complex childhoods. They navigate attempting love when neither of them had good examples of this growing up! Both characters are very unique and awful at communication!! At times they were frustrating but I was rooting for them to figure everything out throughout the whole book.

The story was quite slow to develop but so beautifully written that it kept me hooked throughout.

Joanna Glen’s “All My Mothers” was a book I loved so I was so excited for more of her writing in “Maybe, Perhaps, Possibly”. Her writing did not disappoint. She brought places and birds to life so beautifully through her words. As someone who has spent a lot of life with family who love birds, this book had so many bird references and descriptions that I loved.

I really enjoyed this book and would recommend.

Addie lives on the small island of Rokesby, off the Northumberland coast, with her emotionally distant mother. Together they run The Retreat, a small boutique hotel and spa for women. Addie spends her days cooking, cleaning and swimming in the ocean with her only friend, Eureka who happens to be an octopus.

Sol arrives on a neighbouring island, escaping his grief over the death of his mother and his father’s betrayal. Seeking comfort in nature and religion he doesn’t expect much from his stay.

That is, until he spots Addie.

Unable to forget about one another, and drawn by their own loneliness and sheltered lives, Addie and Sol feel an undeniable spark from their very first meeting.

Joanna’s descriptive prose makes you feel you are walking through nature with Addie and Sol, understanding the comfort they seek from the natural world, when they find people overwhelming.

This is a slow paced, but beautifully executed story about two people trying to understand themselves and the possibility of love, having both come from families where the latter has been largely absent.

At times I found Addie a little frustrating, although Joanna beautifully explained Addie’s hesitance with Sol, and the story didn’t give me the joyous experience I had with All My Mothers (the only book from last year that made me cry!).

But Maybe, Perhaps, Possibly is still a beautiful book steeped in the wonders of the natural world, and how two strangers can seek solace, love and healing when given the chance.

An absolute delight of a book. The main characters are so endearing and the descriptions of the locations are just breathtaking. Highly recommended.

Maybe, Perhaps, Possibly is a touching story of misfits Addie and Sol. Addie lives on the island of Rokesby where she dreams of a bigger life whilst Sol is on a retreat on the adjoining island of Ora. Their love story is a bit “will they won’t they”and as such, it’s a bit slow at times. It’s a beautiful read so stick with it, I’m glad I did 🐙🚐

On the tiny fictional island of Rokesby near the Farne Islands, Addie helps her mother run a women's retreat. She dreams of a bigger life but is rooted by family obligation. Her only comfort is swimming in the surrounding ocean and Eureka her best friend who happens to be an octopus. 🐙

⛪ On the neighbouring island, joined to Rokesby by a bridge at low tide, Sol has sought refuge at a prayer house, grieving both his mother’s death and his father’s devastating betrayal. Lonely and anxious he finds comfort in birdwatching, books and the sounds of the sea.

With disordered pasts and cautious hearts, Sol and Addie are both drawn to nature far more than to people – until they catch sight of one another in the wilds of Northumberland.

My Bookish Thoughts 💬
Oh my goodness the story Sol and Addie stole my heart, tossed it around, dropped it and nursed it back to health in this beautifully written story.

Joanna's gorgeous writing brought the characters fully to life for me, I loved them, I was frustrated with them, I was routing for them, I wanted to mother them.

I resonated with so many aspects of Sol and Addie's pasts and young adulthoods that I had to slow down my pace of reading to simply absorb and reflect before diving back in.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for the gifted copy.

A story about two misfits who want to stay together. A slow and moving story that takes you on quite the journey. How hard it is to stay together in a long term relationship for example? Questions like this will get you thinking. It's a novel that makes you think ab0ut all matter of relationship issues. Poignant and insightful.

Maybe, Perhaps, Possibly is so beautifully written, so evocative, so simple and yet so complicated. I found Sol most relateable and Addie perhaps a little less so personally. Their relationship dilemma's were so frustrating but I'm really going to miss them both now that I've finished the book.

Simply beautiful. I loved this author’s previous books so was thrilled to receive this review copy. However, I nearly missed out as the slow build up made me question if this one was for me. But it was! The slow unravelling plot line, which echoed both main characters lives, the intricate characterisation and the beautiful writing, revealed another five ⭐️ book. Thankyou to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to review this lovely book.

Adie lives on a tiny island with her mum running a women's retreat but she dreams of escaping and exploring the world.
Sol is visiting a neighbouring island that is only accessible at certain times due to the tide - he is here to spend time reflecting on why his mother loved this place.
Sol and Adie meet and are instantly drawn to each other and then try to navigate whether they should be together.
Its a beautiful story that I did find quite slow to begin with but then I was soon invested in their lives and I loved the 'Puffin' analogy. Its a story of finding the right person and allowing them to be part of your life.

Maybe, Perhaps, Possibly is a slow moving, but deep story about two unique individuals; Addie and Sol.
Both have been sheltered from a lot of reality by their families. Both have very different, strange family dynamics, and it takes their courage to step away from the expectations piled upon them to find one another.
I don't quite know how to describe the story, but it takes a while, then digs deeper into your soul as you read, and become more and more immersed in the 'puffin-esque' (is that even a word!) of their developing relationship.
A beautiful story about two misfits, and how they end up fitting one another perfectly.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins for an ARC.

A lovely read - two misfits who meet one spring - both escaping their families and needing help. Addie is helped to escape from her mother on Rokesby by Sol but a series of events means that they then do not meet for another year during which they make decisions which complicate their future relationships. Sol is teaching in the Fair Isles and Addie sets up a wedding dress business in Norfolk.

A wedding dress brings them together again and they decide to start a ‘puffin’ relationship meeting in school holidays. Addie is not sure about love and letting herself draw near to anyone and Sol is still grieving the loss of his mother. Both learn from each other about relationships.

It is the third spring before they are in a place to make decisions about their future once both have found a way forward with their own families and their own insecurities.

A life affirming novel about finding love and allowing someone else into your life.

To be recommended.

A charming story of love, compromise and the joy of nature. Anyone who's been in a long-term relationship knows that you have to compromise to stay together. Sol and Addie discover that in this book. You also have to have mutual interests, as do Sol and Addie. In their case it's their love of nature, an integral part of this story. Addie feels she has to stay on the island of Rokesby to support her demanding mother. Sol visits a retreat on a nearby island in order to get away from his old life and remember his late mother, but feels the need to travel to more exotic places. Will they find a way to make a life together?

I was charmed by Addie very quickly in this one, and Sol too, though less so.
They both had complicated family lives, but I liked that they were drawn to each other, and then the situations that arose from that.
The middle part of the book could be a little frustrating, just wishing someone would do something... but in all its part of the charm.
Another lovely book from Joanna Glen.

Well I think the title probably sums up the book. I felt it was a bit slow paced and Addie and Sol's indecisiveness on how to make their relationship work was a bit frustrating. Having said that there were some interesting and colourful characters which added to the humour of the novel

Thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins for the opportunity to read this in exchange for my honest review.
I loved this book which explored family relationships, love and loss, fear and commitment through Addie and Sol’s story. Both protagonists feel like misfits in their worlds, but together they make sense, although struggle to make it work. They are such great characters that the reader inevitably is sympathetic and rooting for them as a couple. Their parents are infuriating (Sol’s dad, Addie’s mum and dad) mired in their selfish needs and desires although their relationships are complicated too. Perhaps the message of this book is that relationships aren’t as simple as puffins matching for life and that happiness can only be achieved if both parties will work for it.

A delightfully intense story of two good people who have loved and lost or never been loved by those who matter. Both now have to get through this damange and learn how to love each other fully. A book of longing and questioning and ultimately hope.