Life Before Us

Loved it!!! It's hard not to love Roisin Meaney's books. She is one of my favorite authors. The stories are always heartwarming with wonderful characters and beautifully written. I fall in love each time and feel like I'm part of the story. This book was no different. I loved getting to know each of the characters and see myself becoming friend with all of them. Alice and George had so many interactions with each other but never really met until the end of the book. So happy when George finally stood up to Claire about his time with Suzi. He finally realized they were never going to happen and that always manipulated him into getting her way. Loved Jack. He was the perfect friend for George and great with Suzi. Jack did all the gardening and made dinner and he brought Oscar to live with them after his owner died. Poor Oscar everyone blamed all the kitty treats for making him fat. Alice didn't make the best choices in men. She should have blocked Chris's number from the start. She knew what type of man he was, but I don't think she wanted to believe it. Then there was William. He wasn't a bad guy, but they had no chemistry together. William was just so blah and didn't even support Alice's ideas. I definitely need to visit Tenerife. This book was so magical. I couldn't put the book down, but was so sad when it was over. I wanted to keep reading about George and Alice and all their friends and family.

Definitely recommend the book. It's full of love, family relationships, loss, forgiveness and so much more. Look forward to reading more books by the author.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Hachette Books Ireland through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

A sweet story that is a perfect escape. A bit slow to start, the story gains momentum as the characters get fully developed. A story of hope and coming back to life in a manner of speaking. From a derelict garden, a neglected cat, and a couple of people who have been terribly treated in love, to a charming and happy ending. I was enchanted by most of the characters, especially George and Jack. A good story full of promise, kindness, and love. Easy to recommend to most ages as no graphic sex or language. My first of this author, I will look out for more. Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this advance copy.

Fantastic read, loved all the characters in this novel. Starts with two main characters George and Alice, their lives are intertwined in numerous ways but they have still yet to meet.
This is a great book and I finished it one sitting.
Highly recommended

In this charismatic story George and Alice are made for each other, but they have not knowingly met each other yet. There have been a few near misses, like the time George was at a friend’s birthday party and Alice delivered the birthday cake to his crowded table. Then there was the time they had been in the same room at the gym. Every time Alice delivers eggs to George’s house each Saturday morning, either his house mate Jack or his daughter opens the door because George has just left the house. They have even emailed each other on business matters several times and once he saved her from tripping over a fallen toy at the airport. But they do not know each other yet.
George is a single dad whose ex-wife Claire only allows him access to his daughter every other week, unless she needs a babysitter that is. He is a wonderful father and his daughter Suzi loves to visit him and her grandmother Evelyn. Claire is living with her daughter and boyfriend John in his family home. George is a year six teacher who is loved by all his pupils. He arranges little competitions for them and has a mocked up tree in his classroom with leaves that can be attached when news of any of his class members have been kind. He also arranges book swaps to encourage the children with reading. He’s a really great teacher and a fine role model for his pupils. He has not had a relationship with anyone in all the years he has been separated. He’s one of the good guys.
Alice has moved from Dublin back to her home town after her long-time boyfriend’s wife has phoned her to put her into the picture – Chris is a cheat and he is married to her. She is devastated and full of rage with her ex, so she makes the decision to leave on the spur of moment. She still loves Chris, but feels foolish, furious and flattened by the news. Her aunt Kate offers her an outhouse in her home that is private yet will be near enough to support her niece. She is a restaurateur and has offered Alice some shifts at her restaurant to keep her going until she finds a new job. When one of her friends comes to visit Kate, she also offers a part time job working from home as a reporter for the local newspaper. The job entails reporting acts of kindness, hope and caring and she is given a weekly column which will be attributed to her. Things are looking up at last and now all that needs to happen is for these two lonely people to get together.
This is a cracker of a warm story, poignant, full of joy, hope and love. The storytelling is tender, robust, authentic and exceptionally good, setting the scene and introducing eclectic and lovely well-crafted characters that you come to really care about. I drank it all in enthusiastically, turning the pages so that I could read and know everything about George and Alice. I loved the finale and thought this novel was very good indeed. I loved the suspense and the almost teasing ‘Will they, won’t they’ aspect of the story. I even warmed to the grumpy cat Oscar the rescue cat that Suzi socialised and who adored her.
I would like to thank NetGalley and publisher Hachette Books Ireland for my copy of this novel, sent to me in return for an honest review. It is a lovely read, perfect for the times we are living through. It’s perfect escapism, upbeat and an uplifting read. It is about friendship, integrity, loyalty and love. I have no hesitation at all in awarding it my 4.5* recommendation.

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

Rosin’s books are beautifully written.

I loved reading this book, the story picked up speed as the characters developed.

Each character was lovely, and one’s you could be friends with. Both Alice and George, they communicated so many times with each other, without physically meeting, that is until the story was nearing the end. George realised that he and Claire weren’t going to be together, as well as how she used him to get things done her war, and decides to speak up about spending more time with Suzi.

Alice, after a relationship ended, still kept communication open for Chris, even after knowing what he’d done was wrong, still wanting it to be untrue.

It’s a story of hope and what being kind can do.

Highly recommend this book.

I loved this beautiful Irish story. Both Alice and George are ready to find their “person” in life. It is sooo well written, completely gripping so make sure you set aside many hours so that you can greedily devour it in one swoop. With an eye for precise detail balanced by a sweeping imagination, this beautifully constructed book is built on deep foundations. Read it at least twice….

Anyone who knows me well knows how much I love Roisin Meaney's books. I've read and loved them all and this one is most definately my favourite so far (I say so far because I have no doubt there are more on the way)

I absolutely ADORED this book, full of endearing characters who developed with the story. It was beautifully plotted with so much attention to detail. Suspense was built by alternating each chapter's focus between George and Alice. It was alot of fun to read how their lives intertwined without them actually meeting. It really made me think about fate......and wonder if I have perhaps met my husband before I met him (does that make sense?? If not, read this book)

Although there was some sorrow along the way, including a very unexpected event that brought a tear to my eye, the book was full of so much joy, hope, warmth and kindness.

Overall this book is a joyous uplifting treat. It reminds us to celebrate the little moments in every day, they're just as important as the big ones. Also that magical things come from being kind. So grab yourself a cuppa, curl up and enjoy this gorgeous story, I promise you, you'll have a spring in your step when you're finished.

Thanks to @netgalley and @hachetteireland for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. And congratulations to @roisin.meaney on publication day. My own preordered copy will arrive in the post today and I'll be treasuring it, this is one i'll be rereading for years to come 💕

Alice and George are perfect for each other. Life and the universe have it that they’ve never met.

Alice was taken in by the ‘too good to be true’ Chris, her supposed boyfriend. When a single phone call shatters that happy and romantic illusion. Turns out Chris is married, the scoundrel. When driving back to her home town or running away from Chris and her problems some might say. She goes to live with her aunt, she needs to make a new life for herself. With no work and no home of her own, should she have stuck it out in Dublin?

George is Dad to Suzi. Although he doesn’t see her half as much as he wants to. She lives mostly with her Mam and the new boyfriend. This stings for George, it wasn’t his decision to break up their relationship. When his mother leaves him in the family home alone, he decides to advertise for a lodger. Is Jack the answer to all of George’s problems? Even the ones George doesn’t know he has!

Told from the alternating perspectives of Annie and George. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and devoured it from cover to cover. I loved the premise however as an impatient reader, I found myself shouting at the characters at times for how close they came to meeting each other. So close, yet so far! (That’s the whole point of the book, I know it’s a flaw of mine! 🤣)

At the start of the book in the media comments, somebody (insert news outlet here) called it a cracking yarn. I have to agree and I loved that analogy. A must read to fully immerse yourself in the world of Annie and George.

I’ve yet to read one of Meaney’s books that I haven’t loved. Life Before Us is no exception. A truly wonderful story that I loved.

This was my first Roisin Meaney read - heavily influenced by other Irish bookstagram fans of hers! I can safely say I am also a fan after reading this book. It’s just a great read- compelling characters I genuinely cared about and a pace that kept me interested from start to finish. I laughed and I cried - which is pretty much almost all I want from a book! I’ll definitely be picking up more of her books from now on and will be recommending this one to friends and family alike.

George and Alice have yet to meet. Lots of near misses, but will they eventually find each other. A great read. I like how it is told from both points of view.

A wonderful story of hope, second chances and romance that will warm your heart. Roisin Meaney has a brilliant style of writing, a simple way that allows the reader to really get to know each character, their life and become their friend for a little while. I thoroughly enjoyed Life Before Us, where we meet Alice, who is heartbroken to discover that her boyfriend is really a married man. Feeling desolate she leaves Dublin and heads back to her home city of Galway to her aunt Kate where she can stay in her apartment and work in her family restaurant until she sorts herself out. Alice needs a second chance. George is raising his daughter Suzi since breaking up with her mother and he is also looking for a second chance at happiness. I loved how their paths and lives entwined but yet they didn't meet. The will they won't they leaves you in suspense. A brilliant warm book that will have you rooting for the main characters, another great book by Roisin Meaney.

When Alice finds out her boyfriend is a married man, it leaves her thoroughly heartbroken. She heads home to Galway where her auntie Kate has provided refuge.

In Galway, single dad, George, has finally decided to open his heart and look for love.

This is a beautifully written story where the main characters lives are gently woven together through near misses and it's not until the end of the book when they finally meet. This is unlike any book I have read before. It's truly delightful