What an absolute delight to read, with plenty of laugh out loud moments. David Nicholls is just so good at helping you immerse yourself fully in the characters and really understand them. Marnie and Michael meet on a walking holiday, arranged by a mutual friend. It was fairly easy to see how the story was going to end, but the journey was almost as good as the ending. Thoroughly recommended.

Absolutely loved the new @davidnichollswriter 💙
A story about second chances.
Marnie and Michael, both joining a walking trip organised by a mutual friend from different reasons, but they discover they enjoy each other companies.
A beautiful story to read

I love this book, which is what I would expect from a David Nicholls book. Great romance and I loved the characters.

Loved it! The story of Michael and Marnie, who meet at a walk planned by mutual friend Cleo.


I say planned, hijacked is probably more accurate. Michael and his wife have separated following some challenging times and Michael has retreated into himself, choosing solitude and his beloved walking as a substitute for building relationships.

Marnie works from home as a copy-editor and keeps herself to herself, preferring her own company. Her dear friend Cleo really wants Marnie to get out more… so persuades her to join Cleo, her son (Cleo’s godson) and some other people on the walk of Michael’s that she’s gatecrashed.

Michael is doing the coast to coast walk, across the width of Britain, starting on the Cumbrian coast and ending over on the Yorkshire coast.

The walk follows Wainright’s route across the Lakes and Pennines, with only a couple of inventions from Nicholls, so it’s really enjoyable to read about real places.

Once Michael gets used to not being alone, he slowly begins to enjoy Marnie’s company - and who wouldn’t? She’s hilarious. Witty, intelligent and once she gets into the idea, absolutely game for giving the wall a few more days than planned.

A brief flirtation with another walker keeps her entertained until she starts to see past Michael’s gruff exterior and begins to get to know the man underneath the beard.

This is a lovely, warm, witty, engaging tale of two people who slowly allow themselves to open up and engage a little more with people around them.

I enjoyed it from the first sentence to the last and it’s joyful to read.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for an early copy.

This has all the hallmarks of a David Nicholls book. The humorous observations of the minutiae of life, the heartfelt emotion and a death! Taking a journey and allowing it to develop alongside a relationship seems such a simple idea, however in the hands of a lesser writer it could become clunky and strained, here though the lightness of touch and pace are perfectly judged. The characters are well rounded and believable, to the point you may start to think of them as friends. As with the best books the end leaves you wanting more.

Well this was just gorgeous. Made me laugh out loud and root for the characters. It didn’t make me want to go walking in the Lakes, but I did enjoy the description. A proper grown-up romance.

This is a lovely, but quite predicable, love story. Nicholls writes so well about human nature and sees deep into his characters, their flaws and strengths.
From early on you know where this one going but the journey is one you enjoy taking with the characters.

https://lynns-books.com/2024/05/06/you-are-here-by-david-nicholls/
4 of 5 stars
My Five Word TL:DR Review : Michael and Marnie go Walking

You Are Here by David Nicholls is a step away from my usual reading. I read One Day a long time ago by this author and it always stayed with me so on a whim I decided to request this one and to be honest, it didn’t disappoint.

This is a story about two individuals that seem to be living in the shadow of life. Time is passing by and both feel like their chances have come and gone. However, one very persistent friend, is absolutely determined to work her magic and throw a few of her friends together and see what happens.

So Marnie and Michael meet on a walk. From the start things seem to go wrong. The weather is unkind. One of the friends doesn’t turn up and Marnie is attracted to someone who also dashes off in a hurry.

A bit of background. Michael is a teacher with a love for geography. He and his wife were struggling in their relationship and have now separated and Michael is struggling to come to terms with this often taking himself off on long solitary walks.

Marnie rushed into a marriage that always seemed a little ill fated only for her husband to leave her for another woman. She now spends most of her time working from home, editing books and living a fairly quiet existence. Neither of them want to be cajoled into socialising so being thrown together on a rather challenging walk definitely leads to some funny situations.

To be fair there isn’t too much I can tell you about this. It does exactly as you would expect. It’s a charming and well told story of second chances and finding love in places you’d least expect. The writing is enjoyable and there’s a consistent pacing as we travel from place to place, climbing peaks, suffering sore feet, being drenched by torrential rainfall and gradually spending some time unwinding together at the end of a day having achieved a rather strenuous hike.

I liked Marnie and Michael. They’re both a little grumpy at first – well, Marnie makes an attempt at a little dressing up and light flirting but when this goes wrong she is absolutely determined to prove that she can do this challenging walk. She has a good sense of humour that I enjoyed and the banter between the two is good fun. Michael is curmudgeonly and ill kempt at first appearance, he likes to wax lyrical about rocks and really doesn’t put too much effort into anything, but to be honest, he’s simply got used to keeping his own company and not really having to try and please others. He simply wants to walk – by himself. Is it really too much to ask?

Overall this is a lovely read. Light and amusing. If you’re looking for that perfect beach read I highly recommend this. It’s a heartwarming read with characters that have become hurt by life and have shied away only to find out that love is still a possibility – which isn’t to say everything goes swimmingly of course – you’ve been warned.

I received a copy through Netgalley. courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.

What a Cracker!

I so enjoyed You are Here by David Nicholls. A book full of humour, humility and romance. The characters jumped out of the page and I was totally emersed in their life. A grown-up book, beautifully written and a joy to read.
Thank you Net Galley for giving me the opportunity of reading it.

A beautiful, gentle, normal story about two ordinary people who’ve been hurt and are vulnerable because of it.
This story is so normal, I can’t believe how unputdownable it was. It’s charming, quirky, awkward, sad, embarrassing and lovely.
Watching Michael and Marnie slowly fall in love is like curling up on the sofa with your favourite beverage and a cosy blanket.
It’s easy to lose yourself in this story, and to lose track of time. Who’d have thought a book about walking would be so enchanting.
Five stars from me, with thanks to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the chance to read an ARC.

This gentle novel was heartfelt and reflective. Despite its introspective focus, it was never boring. This was thanks to the witty writing style – I literally laughed out loud a number of times – and the goal-orientated plot propelling everything along. The story’s insight into love, loneliness and connection was piercing, sometimes painfully so, yet nothing ever seemed bleak due to the sense of hope threaded through.

The author crafted his characters so well that it felt like I was walking right alongside them. I really liked both Marnie and Michael. They were initially brought together by their mutual friend Cleo. Even though she planned to partner them up with different people, the admirably steadfast Cleo may have actually been the MVP of the novel. Outwardly, Marnie and Michael had their differences, what with Marnie being more outgoing and Michael being more reserved, but their personal circumstances overlapped in significant ways. They had both become quite isolated and had convinced themselves they were okay living that way. However, after spending time in each other’s company, it dawned on them just what they were missing.

Owing to the challenges of the coast-to-coast walk, and the fact that they only had each other, Marnie and Michael quickly developed a genuine friendship. Even though they technically only knew each other for a few days, this connection was believable. Their own brands of humour fell into step and they effortlessly bantered back and forth. They turned what could’ve been a dull slog through the countryside into a transformative journey. Marnie and Michael got to know each other without feeling the need to put up a facade. In doing so, they explored their individual vulnerabilities and some of the most awful parts of their past. It was wonderful to watch two such deserving people find connection and love in each other.

OVERALL: Led by two effortlessly endearing main characters, this was an insightful and heartfelt novel. Its gentle pace didn’t make it any less captivating, as I loved tagging along on their transformative journey.

The first book I read by David Nicholls and it won't surely be the last as I loved this poignant story that made me think about some classic British author and enjoyed the relationship and the changes in the life of the main characters
The setting, the mood and the weather all of them plays a role in this well plotted story.
Loved it
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Marnie and Michael will they make it?
Quite a lot of hype about this title.
Marnie and Michael are both battling their own demons, both involved in unpleasant divorce proceedings.
Cleo a friend of both protagonists, invites them on a walk in the Lake District
They were not intended for one another but both feel a somewhat annoying attraction.
I have to say that both people had a lot of baggage (no pun intended) which did not make them particularly sympathetic characters. The charts between them were disjointed and somewhat difficult to follow.
Thank you NetGalley and David for this ARC.

Oh, David Nicholls. What a gorgeous book! I fell in love with Marnie and Michael straight away; they’re loveable and incredibly real characters who step right off the page. Told from both characters’ perspectives, I laughed out loud with Marnie several times (despite her incredible awkwardness - Nicholls is perfect at writing characters who make me hide behind my hands!) and just absolutely adored their dialogue and ‘watching’ them fall in love in what felt like real time.

A complicated love story set against the backdrop of a coast-to-coast walk in the UK, David Nicholls’ latest novel is a delight to read, as always, and a new favourite for me.

My huge thanks to the publishers for allowing me to read and review You Are Here!

Thanks to the publisher Sceptre/Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
It was an absolute pleasure to read this novel by David Nicholls, an author whose work I have always admired and enjoyed. In terms of subject matter, it was of great interest to me the blossoming of a connection between two people on a long-distance walk, in this case the Coast to Coast footpath.

The story had resonances for me not least in the age demographic of the experiences of early middle age but as someone who is interested in long distance walking. My partner and I have also walked the width of the country but for us it was the Hadrian’s Wall path a few years ago.

A touching tale of falling in love, loneliness and wistfulness. I would recommend this to anyone interested in contemporary fiction.

Oh my goodness, this book took a little time to get going, but once the characters started to shine, it was like magic! I was completely swept up in the story and totally rooting for Marnie and Michael the whole way through.

The plot has so many layers, and the descriptions of the setting are absolutely dreamy. I just adored every single part of it. This book is seriously brilliant—a definite must-read for anyone who loves a captivating and heartwarming story!

They say loneliness is the new epidemic and it is a constant theme running through David Nicholls’ latest book, You Are Here.
The two central characters, Marnie and Michael, both live lonely lives. Since her divorce Marnie has hidden away in her London flat, her world shrinking as a result. Also struggling to come to terms with the end of his marriage, Michael has withdrawn from friendships and is in danger of becoming a recluse.
Their choice to live isolated lives is blown out of the water when a mutual friend invites them on a coast-to-coast walking holiday.
Thrown together, they tentatively start to become friends. But can it turn into something more?
Along the way there are beautiful descriptions of the countryside and gently humorous observations on the human condition.
One of my favourite (of many) lines in the book was Marnie observing that ‘if you wanted to get a man to talk with real emotion, you should ask him about his father’. So true.
Nicholls is as master at writing characters you can’t help but root for, and as I raced through this book I was hoping for a fairytale ending for our protagonists.
And did they get their happy ending? No spoilers here, I’m afraid. You’ll have to read the book yourself!

How does David Nicholls do it?! He manages to avoid the cheesy, overdramatic writing that I tend to dislike in books which focus on love stories, and not just that, but he creates the most engaging, likeable, brilliant characters. And he's absolutely done it again in You Are Here - a warm, witty, entertaining novel which follows Marnie and Michael, two very different (single) people on a hiking trip...

I loved the characters. They've got flaws, of course, but they're likeable, well-rounded and interesting. I found myself smiling, laughing and a bit emotional at times too! I'm not also one for wanting beautiful descriptions of scenery in books, but in this novel I loved the atmospheric setting, and reading about the characters finding their way together amongst breathtaking views. The plot, of course, was hugely entertaining - though we kind of assume we know what will happen, the journey to get there is heart-achingly funny and entertaining, though there's a moment when I wanted to scream at one of the characters (that's all I'll say here!).

I didn't want this novel to end. You Are Here is satisfyingly brilliant, and I'm thrilled that it's as great to read as his other novels.

Absolutely love David Nicholls work but I couldn't warm to this book, nor to the characters. The writing, particularly in relation to the natural world is extremely accomplished but for some reason I failed to gel with the story as a reader.

After being a huge fan of One Day, by David Nicholls - which I read eons ago, I decided to try You Are Here out.

Lovely story of Michael and Marnie, walking cost to coast across the north of England. Have done a little walking in the Lake District, reading this brought a warm feeling of familiarity (you could almost feel the rain)

The book follows their journey from the west coast to the east coast and the relationship dynamics that follow.

An enjoyable book, and a satisfying read.

Thanks to #NetGalley, the author and publisher for an ARC of this book. #YouAreHere