BLOG TOUR REVIEW


'The Everyday And Far Away' discusses some topics that may upset some readers or may not be suitable for others. I like to point this out ahead of time in my reviews so you can judge if this book is for you or not. In this book Jacqueline discusses Bereavement, Mental Health, Dementia and the loss of a child.

Be still my beating heart!!! Well done and Thank You to Jacqueline Jones for a hugely successful, emotive and stunning read!! This book is very smoothly written with vivid descriptions which really help you see what's going on around you as well as the storyline. The blurb and the cover compliment the novel perfectly. The illustrations on the paperback cover are beautiful.


OMG!!!!! I absolutely LOVE, LOVE, LOVED this absolutely addictive and truly unique book!!! Honestly this book has just hit my top 3 books and considering how many books I have read that is an epic success!!! Instead of wasting your time reading this just grab your copy and get lost in this great storyline now. I can promise you won't regret it!! Where on Earth have you been all my life Jacqueline??? I cannot believe that I had never read any of your books before this and am just so pleased that I have rectified that now!! I cannot wait to get stuck in to your previous and future books! Jacqueline's amazing and evocative writing skills really has brought everything to life all throughout this fantastic book dropping you straight into the storyline where you will see, feel and hear everything that the characters are thinking, feeling, seeing and hearing including these absolutely amazing characters that I will not be forgetting for a very long time, if I ever do!!! This book really has been one of the best books I have ever read!!! In this one of a kind book Jacqueline transports her readers into the lives Ernie and his 17 year old Granddaughter Nina. Ernie is suffering with dementia, not that he knows it, and throughout his story he delves out of 'The Everyday' and back in to the 'Far Away'. We discover Ernie's life growing up in Liverpool with his parents, the loss of his Dad and baby sister, the introduction of the man who will call him is son Alf, his first meeting with his future wife Phyllis, his love of his Norton Dominator, working in the army and on the fruit and vegetable stall and later shop and about his family life with his two children Sue and Stephen from the year 1944. Nina is his 17 year old Granddaughter who has ADHD, is struggling with life, has been excluded from college, helps her Mum Sue at their greengrocers and feels like she is failing at life. Nina adores her Grandad and when she discovers how far he is going is determined to find a way to make him happy. What she discovers will also change her life. I am not going to go into any more details about this absolutely gorgeous one of a kind book as it truly is a book you just have to read yourself. I can absolutely GUARANTEE that you will not regret reading this beauty and you can thank me later. I can also promise that by the end of it you will also be crying a river just like I was!! This is most definitely NOT an easy feat, unless it involves animals, but by the end of this book I was absolutely sobbing my heart out!!! It truly is such an emotive rollercoaster ride of emotions!!! With a absolutely stunning storyline ram packed with family, mental health, loss, strength, determination, self discovery, heartache, love and so very much more what on Earth are you waiting for? Grab your copy of this book and fall in love with Ernie and Nina today. i can tell you one thing, this book and characters are going to be living in my mind for an extremely long time, if not for the rest of my life!!! Writing about dementia and mental health is not easy to do but Jacqueline manages it beautifully, with sensitivity and also openly. i lost my Nan and Grandad to dementia and it was exactly like it was in this book from explaining the same things over and over, with the death of a loved one having to be repeated over and over and watching the heartbreak over and over, to seeing them go from the strong grand/parents you once knew into strangers who do not recognise you and need to be looked after as they looked after you as a child. One thing I have never been able to stand is people speaking to somebody with dementia as if they are a child. I mean my Dad even thanked me for not speaking to my Nan like a child when at the end of the day nobody should have to thank you for treating an adult like an adult, regardless of their mental health!! My heart went out to not only Ernie but also Phyliss who was watching her strong husband "disappear" as well as Nina who was struggling with her ADHD and nobody seemed to be able to understand her or help. Jacqueline really has created a truly stunning multi generational story with both multiple protagonist perspectives as well as multiple timelines while also including difficult topics of dementia, ADHD, mental health and loss and weaved it all together into an absolutely incredible, beautiful and just stunning must read!!! My heart aches for anyone who cares and loves someone with Dementia as it really is so cruel watching them struggle with so much and losing themselves. Jacqueline has done an absolutely amazing job of putting these emotions in to words that are so difficult to explain. This book truly is an emotional rollercoaster ride of happiness, loneliness, love, heart ache, sadness, joy, hope and more!! It is such a down to Earth and realistic everyday storyline but one filled with emotions that I could see it all play out in front of my eyes. Jacqueline covers a number of sensitive topics such as dementia, loneliness, bereavement, divorce and weaves it all into a beautiful storyline covering each of the topics sensitively whilst also highlighting the difficulties people struggle with each. She also does an amazing job of creating such realistic characters so we see and feel what they are feeling and doing throughout the storyline while also living their lives along with them. Every single one of the characters are realistic, well developed and strong and I loved them all. Jacqueline covers a range of relationships from parent and child, grandparents and grandchildren and more. The fact that she genuinely cares about her characters absolutely shines through the book as does the fact that he has done plenty of research or has experience about a variety of topics. It is a pet hate when an author does little or no research into their chosen topics as it then runs the risk of their books being littered with mistakes and spoiling what could otherwise be a very good story but Jacqueline has completely avoided this by doing plenty of research! I genuinely love how she covers such everyday topics portraying family life, caring, social life, friendship and more and creates this intriguing, captivating page turner that I was completely hooked on! When it came to the characters I felt a wide range of emotions and I loved and sympathised with each and every single one of them as they were all going through their own emotional turmoil's while trying to support each other. My heart was breaking for the majority of them. I found myself smiling, shouting, sad and laughing at different moments in this brilliant storyline. There was no way I could finish just one chapter as even though I kept telling myself I would and then go to bed, each chapter ended in a way where I just HAD to know what happened next and before I knew it I had devoured the whole book in one sitting in a few hours!!! The storyline was realistic which I always prefer as it makes it more enjoyable to read when you can see that it is something that could happen, even if it left me soaked in tears! This book is well constructed and was absolutely ram packed with so much going on that you will just fly through the pages!!! It is multi layered with all the fantastic characters backgrounds and personalities coming out and each and every character has their own personalities. It was a very compelling and addictive read!!! I genuinely could not praise this book enough as words just will not give it justice so grab your copy today, you won't regret it!!!! The storyline is absolutely unique having never come across anything like it before and I doubt I will again so a MASSIVE CONGRATULATIONS to Jacqueline for this. I have read hundreds and hundreds of books so it is getting so difficult to find a book with a unique storyline but Jacqueline absolutely managed not only that but a storyline I truly believe will stay with me for life!

Clear your schedules, grab the tissues and get ready to get completely sucked into a gorgeous, emotive and beautiful page turner. This book is such a unique and emotional rollercoaster ride of emotions!!

Congratulations Jacqueline on an absolutely stunning successful book, an absolutely brilliant, unique, emotive and thought provoking must read and I cannot wait to get stuck into more of your amazing books!! Welcome to my favourite authors club and here is to your next guaranteed success 🥂!!!!

Overall an absolutely gorgeous, unique page turner filled with emotions and with memorable characters!!!

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EXCERPT: The questions went on for hours and hours, it felt like. Where did I live? Who was in my family? What time was it? What month was it? What day of the week was it? I mean! Who cares? They're all the same, aren't they, without a working week to be done. It got worse.
The doctor took a handful of coins out of his pocket and showed me them in his palm and asked me how much? My neck got hot and I wiped my fingers around my collar. He pointed at some things on the wall, a picture, alight a round thing with numbers on it, for me to tell him what they were. He took my temperature, and held my wrist for a bit at one time, and I was pleased to put my hand back in Phyl's after. By the time he closed his pad and stood up, I felt a bit upset, like I'd got something wrong, but I didn't know what.

ABOUT 'THE EVERYDAY AND FAR AWAY': Ernie has had three grand passions in his long his dear wife Phyllis, a vintage Norton Dominator motorcycle, and his mini-me son, Stephen. Now, as dementia overwhelms Ernie and takes away everything he can remember about the everyday, memories of those far away times remain crystalline and cherished.

His granddaughter Nina, seventeen, is equally at odds with the everyday. Excluded from college for her lack of concentration, it seems a job in her mother’s greengrocers is the best life can ever offer. Endless time stretches bleakly ahead, yet Nina feels she can barely make it to the end of each day.

Until, that is, Nina stumbles upon a surprise which, it turns out, can save both Ernie and herself…

MY THOUGHTS: I loved this short and poignant read. It squeezed my heart, put a lump in my throat, and sent tears silently down my cheeks. I don't think I will ever forget Alf, Ernie, Phyl or Nina. I just want to wrap my arms around them, hold them and never let go.

Dementia is a difficult subject to handle sensitively, but Jacqueline Jones does so with aplomb. She is equally as sensitive with Nina's ADHD - I have come away from this read with a far better understanding of this condition than I have ever had before.

The author writes in a clear and easy manner- a bit like having a conversation with a close friend - and I was immediately drawn into the world of these four generations of family. Jones turns the spotlight on the unique and special bond between grandparent and grandchild - the love, the understanding that exists as one transitions towards adulthood and the other prepares to leave it. I also loved the bond that exists throughout between Ernie and his wife Phyllis. I don't know if it was something to do with the era in which they grew up, but there was a similar bond between my grandparents.

And the ending . . . although I knew (as will every reader) what was coming, the way Jones handled it was superb. It is touching and emotional and I grieved Ernie's along with the family while also cheering Nina and the way she has taken control of her life.

The Everday and Far Away is a heartwarming and emotional read about love, loss, family and understanding. High in my top ten books list for 2025, and I will be looking for more from this author. An outstanding debut novel written from the heart with beautiful and very relevant cover art!

#TheEverydayandFarAway #NetGalley

MEET THE AUTHOR: Sorry, I can find no information on this author . . . but watch this space. I don't give up that easily!

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Oneworld Publications, Magpie Books, for providing an e-ARC of The Everyday and Far Away by Jacqueline Jones for review. All opinions expressed in this review are my own personal opinion.

What an amazing book. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect going in, but this was a remarkable take on writing about the effects of dementia, especially when it’s from the point of view of the sufferer. It was very cleverly written, Ernie’s thoughts and feelings, he had no idea he was forgetting things and getting times within his life mixed up, he was just himself thinking and feeling. All this while we get jumps back in time to see Ernie’s life right from him being a very young boy during the war.

The story really touched me, I felt connected to Ernie as an old man, he had a calm and solid presence, he connected with so many people throughout his life, we meet various characters through out the book that have known him for decades. His granddaughter Nina was an interesting character and I really felt for her, she longed for someone to see her, to accept her and help her help herself, I get the feeling Ernie suffered a bit like Nina throughout his life, but ADHD wasn’t diagnosed in the 50s and 60s and he just had to ‘keep calm and carry on’. When Nina managed to get someone to help her, he took such great care to nurture her mind and help her and I felt such joy and pride for her when she managed to put Ernie’s bike back together. She found her niche and her tribe.

The ending was incredibly moving, from the bike club driving by the care home and Ernie getting to hear Josie one last time to Alf waiting for him on Liberty and then riding off together. Then add in the letter Nina finds which explains the journeys that Ernie took Stephen on, simply moving.

Some very difficult situations dealt with very sensitively and with a unique perspective which really got you thinking about dementia from a whole new point of view. I will certainly recommend this book to everyone.

oh i was completely not ok with this book!in all the good ways though. because it was such a beautiful and heart rendering book i felt myself falling apart but at the same time falling together. i definitely fell head first into this book. it was such a tender and sensitive telling of some really rather raw topics.
anyone who has been alongside someone with dementia knows. i dont mean others are ignorant to it. but there is only the level of knowing you get from actually living with it. its indescribable and to try to do so would encompass anywhere near of what any one person could manage. just today i heard someone asking why a certain person with dementia didnt have a phone to call for help if they needed it. people were shocked, almost outraged on the persons behalf. and it made me have that deep gnawing, the "knowing" because i new exactly why perhaps this person didnt have a phone anymore. this book too held me in its arms as i felt understood and nodded my head at many a moments. because this book felt real. yet as it descried Ernie it did so with him in mind. and to be gentle with this often heartbreaking condition is a true talent.
i love how we learnt on Ernie from both his past and present. it meant he was still a whole person. he was neither before nor after his diagnosis. but both were important parts of him. both STILL him.
we also have the story of Nina his grand daughter. she is also struggling to find where she fits in. shes also struggling with things beyond her control that makes her life look and feel different. she also needs a way to navigate life others might not understand or need to do.
this book hit me hard. but it felt like such a comfort. and i found that i was so appreciative of it for not making it harrowing and too close to home but more a comfort and close to home.

Ah yes, the isolation of feeling weird or a failure. Personally, I don't think you need to have a diagnose of ADHD (or ME in my case) to think you're not living up to the current standards of the demanding society we live in. So let me add this book to my shelf on Goodreads about being-good-enough.

Apparently, you can be a three-year old girl bouncing up and down at every opportunity, but not a seventeen-year old young woman who feels like she is fizzing inside.
I enjoyed Nina as a character – struggling and picking herself up, even if that meant to ask for help (not that easy, even for adults). Don't we all need an Alf or a John in life from time to time, someone to have our back?

That is a truly great book. It has a very sensitive main topic (dementia) that is treated with lots of empathy. There is a dual timeline in the story, the "everyday" shows Ernie's slow decline and the loving care of his family. The "far away" parts are about Ernie's memories of a sometimes painful, but good life.
I loved the main characters, first of all Ernie who is a warm hearted, good man. The ending of the story made me cry, it was really moving, but also hopeful for Ernie's "misfit" granddaughter who in the end found her place, something that makes her happy.
I must also mention the author's style that also added to an enjoyable read.
I'm really happy to have found this book. Thank you.

What a gorgeous book. As someone that has a be the effects dementia can have on a person and what it can take away this story is a beautiful look into that world and I love how it brings both young and old together. Dementia can take away a lot of things but never love.