It was while I was writing my review for Searching For Steven, that I discovered this novella even existed, and even happier to get a review copy from Netgalley and So Vain Books the next day. This is my honest review.

Callie, very clearly loves her job at the care home. Although they are not meant to have favourites she clearly has an affinity to a woman called Ruby. There are many conversations between Ruby and Callie, and Ruby offers advice on all sorts of topics, including men. She can't stop raving about her amazing grandson Rhys, although Callie has never seen any evidence that he exists,

Callie's relationship with boyfriend of 10 months, Tony isn't going so well. All he ever wants to do is stay in and have sex, and Callie wants more than that, but can't quite bring herself to end it.

Meanwhile, there is a new gardener at the care home, Mikey. He first meets Callie, when she is in a rather compromising position, and it takes a while for anything resembling a friendship to form.

This is a lovely story, with quite a few twists. I loved what a caring character Callie was, she clearly has great empathy for everyone. However she does seem to be picked on by her boss Denise (referred to as The She-Devil).

Mikey was a lovely man, and I was rather taken with him myself.

And then there is the elusive Rhys. When we get to meet him, I can understand exactly why Ruby was continually raving about him. He's fabulous.

This is a sweet romantic story about following your heart, and is an excellent debut novella from Jessica Redland. Having already read Searching For Stephen, I will just say some of these characters will recur in it, and so does the lovely location. Jessica Redland is definitely an author worth keeping an eye on.

At the bright young age of 21, Callie constantly finds herself getting involved with men that are old enough to be her father. Does that have anything to do with wanting to replace the father figure that she never really had in her life? Or is she drawn to their maturity and intelligent sense of the world? The latest man in her life [45 year-old Tony] takes advantage of their relationship and is basically only interested in one thing. He never takes her out in public and after ten months together and a heart-to-heart with her brother Nick, Callie begins to wonder what she wants out of a relationship.

Callie’s character was complex and well-developed and I admired her thoughts on caring for and about the older residents of the Bay View Care Home where she worked. You can’t go through life distancing yourself and not getting attached to others simply because they will eventually die. You have to appreciate them while they’re here and take advantage of the time you do have with them. One bit of the story was predicable [yet completely enjoyable], but some of it definitely caught me off guard and surprised me!

I connected with Callie’s generally bubbly personality and the idea that just because you’re always happy doesn’t mean that things can’t get you down sometimes. I also liked that when Callie had difficult things to deal with, she didn’t air her diary laundry on Facebook the way many people do nowadays. She was able to have real human interaction and communication to help her begin to think about what she wanted out of a relationship and life. I loved that the inclusion of social media made this novel feel fresh and relevant.

Another important theme in this story was learning to let go of the liars, cheaters and people that don’t appreciate and respect you. It never fails to amaze me that people can be such conniving, lying, two-faced scumbags, especially when it comes from the people you think you can trust most. Often times people are not always how they appear on the surface. Sometimes people have a tough exterior to protect themselves from the difficult things going on in their own personal lives. Knowing your own self worth and not accepting anything less than what you deserve is key to having successful and meaningful relationships. Everyone deserves to be treated with love and care, especially in a relationship. Raving About Rhys is an entertaining and thoughtful novella about life, love and learning to let go of the toxic people in your life.

Memorable Moments:

She repeatedly spoke of a grandson who was going to visit, yet somehow never materalised. Either he was fiction or he was completely unreliable. I wasn’t sure which idea I preferred.

What sort of a relationship did I want? I wanted one where I could rely on my boyfriend to be there for me when I really needed him. Like tonight. Surely that wasn’t too much to ask?

My Rating: 5/5 Stars