Tom EllenBesprekingen

''I read somewhere once that grief is like weather. As in: constantly changing, impossible to predict. You might be expecting clear skies but instead you get storm clouds. That seems about right. But I'm not sure how much longer I can go on, never knowing exactly when I'm going to get caught in the pouring rain.''

Will and Annie have found themselves at a crossroads. Which way are they going to follow?

Will wanted to become a rock star. That’s all gone now. Now, he works in a shop that is barely functional and volunteers at a crisis line where he gives hope to those who need it most. If only he could see it…Instead, he has chosen to live in the past, fighting the same terrible demons day in, day out. Annie works in a job that doesn’t meet her wishes and talents and has to put up with an insufferable boyfriend as she struggles to overcome her grief for her father’s death and her anger towards her family. One day, Annie decides to call Green Shoots. And everything will change as two strangers open themselves to each other in the blink of an eye?

But are they strangers?

Without further ado, this book is perfect. The writing is impeccable. Modern but not cliched, vivid but not cringe-inducing as most contemporary novels have become. The characters of Will and Annie are outstanding. Tangible, sincere, acting as actual human beings would act when hopelessness, exhaustion and apathy take over. Their concerns and fears can be found in every single one of us and their voices are distinct, kind and memorable. Tom Ellen manages to turn London and Paris into characters and the descriptions of each city are so lively that you feel yourself walking (and recognizing) the streets, the alleys, the parks, the buildings.

Excellent characters aside, the real strength of the novel lies within the use of its main themes. Loss, disappointment, grief, misunderstandings. How do we cope with the loss of the most important person in our life? How do we manage to get up and walk when we feel that this bereavement came to be through the inertia of others? How do we forgive? And how do we forgive ourselves when we feel that we are the cause of our pain?

Tom Ellen’s novel is a breath of fresh air. It is a contemporary masterpiece. Some have mentioned that it is the British You’ve Got Mail. As much as I love this film, The Lifeline is a gazillion times better.

Many thanks to HQ and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com/

2.5 Stars

A time travelling, romantic Christmas story. Tom and Daphne have been together since their university days but they seem to be drifting apart. Tom is given a curious watch by a mysterious man in a pub and he‘s whisked back to the past to learn a few lessons.

I enjoyed this book. It does have a message for the reader - don’t take things for granted, be thankful for what you have and that the grass always looks greener on the other side of the fence but rarely is. There’s a definite nod to Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol as the reader is taken on a journey not just to the past but also to the present and what could be the future if the main character doesn’t pull his socks up! In hindsight wouldn’t we all like to travel back to the past to visit those we have lost and perhaps to learn from the error of our ways?

The entire cast of characters are well written and believable and the storyline is engaging. It’s just a lovely, charming and delightful read with a hint of magic.

This is the story that changes you.
There is no other way to explain it.

All About Us is one of those books I was excited about as soon as I heard about it. A time-travelling love story? Count me in! Set in December, it is a suitable festive read but it can easily be read at any time of the year.

Ben's relationship with his wife, Daphne, is on the rocks. Somewhere along the line he's lost sight of what he loved so much about her over the years. A combination of loss, apathy, drifting, and taking everything for granted has left them struggling and who knows what the future brings for them. The reappearance of the one who got away, Alice, compounds everything Ben is feeling and makes him wonder if he ended up with the wrong person.

Haven't we all wondered what would have happened if we had taken a different path to the one we chose? Ben gets to find out by travelling to different Decembers in his life, experiencing the same things but seeing them from a new perspective. In doing so he learns some cold hard truths about himself.

Even though the author admits he borrowed from A Christmas Carol when writing this book, I thought it was quite an original and contemporary idea and I really enjoyed following Ben on his time-travel adventures. Although a fairly light read it does deal with some serious emotions and it did tug on my heartstrings a few times.

All About Us is an engaging romance with a premise that I really enjoyed. I thought Tom Ellen's writing was sensitive when it came to Ben's marriage, his mum and his best friend, Harvey, but it also had a humorous edge to it and some sharp characterisations. It's a delightful story, one that is ultimately feel-good and charming.

This really was a delightful story! I decided to read this book simply because I liked the sound of it. Who hasn't wondered if the choices that they have made in life were the right ones and where different choices would have led. I was ready to go on this journey with Ben and it turned out to be even better than I could have hoped. I really liked this original and romantic retelling of A Christmas Carol.

Ben and Daphne have been married for a while and at the start of the book, we see that their marriage has hit a very rough spot. Ben goes out for a drink with his best friend and meets a strange man that gives him a watch stuck at 11:59. This begins an eye-opening journey through Ben's past, present, and future that will help Ben see what is really important.

I loved Ben and really enjoyed seeing some of the important events in his life. It was great seeing how his different relationships grew and changed over time and the impact they all had on his life. It was great seeing those early days with Daphne and I like seeing Ben remember how things used to be between them. The moments with Ben's Mom were very touching and some of the most powerful in the book for me. The glimpse of the future that Ben thought that he might have wanted to be made everything completely clear.

I would recommend this book to others. I thought that this was a wonderful story filled with great characters and the perfect amount of romance. I wouldn't hesitate to read more of Tom Ellen's work in the future.

I received an advanced review copy of this book from HarperCollins Publishers - HQ.

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

After fifteen years together, and four years of marriage, she doesn't really know me at all. If she did, then surely she wouldn't still be here.

All About Us is a Dickens' A Christmas Carol inspired story told in first person point-of-view from a drowning in life Ben. He's thirty-four and contemplating having an affair with a woman from his past that he can't help thinking what could have been if they'd gotten together. He's been with his wife Daphne for fifteen years, married for four, and while she has a successful career, Ben's writing has never taken off. When reader's come into the story, Daphne's getting ready to go to her work Christmas party and they're clearly tired of one another as they bicker and snip. Ben decides to call his friend Harv to get a pint at the pub and while he's sitting there wishing he had a deeper friendship with Harv where he could discuss his marital problems an older man comes up and tries to sell him a watch. Ben tries to refuse but the man just gives the watch to him and walks away, Ben then notices the watch doesn't even work as it is stuck one minute to midnight. When Ben gets home and passes out, he gets the surprise of his life when instead of waking up in his flat in 2020, he wakes up in his old dorm room in 2005.

As this story plot is pretty well known, the reader is aware of the journey Ben is about to go on, it's more about the discovery of why Ben feels the way he does in 2020. Ben is obsessed with the idea that if he'd only ended up with Alice, a girl from college that he was good friends and the one he is contemplating the affair with, instead of Daphne, his life would be different in a better way and that even Daphne's life would be better. When he gets to revisit and relive certain moments in his past, he discovers he didn't always remember them correctly and that his self-absorbed and self-pity ways kept him from missing important details and connecting with people, especially Daphne.

Ben's father left when he was young, leaving his mother to take care of him and this made the biggest impact in his life; Ben wanting to be a writer like his dad and his self-pitying tied into thinking he'll never be good enough. It's a bit wallowing at times, especially in contrast to his wife Daphne and how she gave all the emotional support in their relationship but part of the reason Ben is going on this Christmas Carol journey is for him to see and realize this.

The writing and the pace flows steady but there were times I missed more depth to characters, this is very much Ben's story and his alone. He's not necessarily a character you root for, his midlife crisis and how much Daphne gives in the relationship compared to him, make that difficult. I also thought the future Ben gets to see made everything a bit too easy for him for when he goes back to his present. However, it's a good story to remind others to not fall into the traps Ben does and try to live life in less self-absorbed and more honest ways.

This was A LOT of fun!

FROM PUBLISHER: Boy meets girl and both are enchanted but don't get the information to actually connect.

Another chance meeting brings them together, only to have a misunderstanding drive them apart. Madcap mishaps, raunchy hilarity, and deep romance follow these two wherever they go. For two people so clearly destined for each other, they sure have a hell of a lot of trouble even getting together.

Freshmen is the story of two young adults from the same high school that find their lives entangled during their freshman year of college. Phoebe is the smart, pretty, but usually lost in the masses girl that's set out to be a new version of herself. She'll be fun, she'll party, she won't have a curfew, and everything will be great, especially since her longtime crush is there too. In just one week Luke breaks up with his girlfriend, makes just one true new friend, and lands himself a spot on the soccer team. He's a bit lonely, but things are looking up when he starts hooking up with Phoebe. The Wall of Shame changes all that though, leaving Luke trying to fix things and Phoebe seeking answers to what might truly make her happy.

Freshmen is a classic NA college novel, the pages filled with partying, hook ups, and an occasional class. Tom Ellen and Lucy Ivison take the fun a step farther by exploring loneliness, homesickness, and shameful events that can make or break the college experience. I really connected with both Phoebe and Luke, their experiences similar to my own four year adventure. It was a fun-to-read novel, the sort that gets you out of reality, but doesn't challenge you too much. I laughed quite a bit, appreciated the focus on events beyond drinking and one night stands, and ultimately found this book to be a really great, positive new adult read. It was a very authentic portrayal of college that took me back in time.

Though Freshmen is labeled as a YA novel, I'd put in more in NA adult territory. There is a lot of drinking, time spent between the sheets and literally everywhere else, and a serious, thought provoking question of appropriateness and questioning what everyone else is doing. I really appreciated the secondary characters, but they seemed more well rounded than Phoebe and Luke at times, their voices more mature and adult than that of the narrators. Additionally, the end left me feeling like it was unfinished, like maybe there must be more to the story, a happier ending. I wish there had been an epilogue that revealed all is well for the characters after a dramatic freshman year.

Freshmen is a must read for young adult and new adult fans, I mean, I want to hand it out to freshmen on college campuses right now. It was so accurate, funny, and had a very smart message to it.

ARC provided.

FRESHMAN is a hilarious take on what its like your first year in college. There’s what you think it’s going to e like, and then what it’s actually going to be. They very rarely are the same.

I’m always a fan of a first year college story, as it was such a special time for my personally. I met the first love, I drank for the first time, I did some thing I ultimately wasn’t very proud of. Just like in real life, FRESHMAN goes from funny, to serious, to a little cringe worthy as the characters navigate their first year.

I enjoyed the book, though perhaps not as much as books such as FANGIRL or I HATE EVERYONE BUT YOU which hit me a little closer to home.

Phoebe and Luke meet and connect on their first night of university as freshmen in this teen romance. Phoebe’s nerdy fantasies come to life--- she’s had a crush on soccer star Luke since high school. Luke just broke up with his long distance girlfriend and is looking for a fresh start. Told in their alternating perspectives, they start hooking up as rumors swirl about the soccer team’s Wall of Shame, a secret text chain of inappropriate photos of girls on campus. Luke and Phoebe find themselves dealing with the fall-out of all the freshmen drama and wonder if their relationship can last. All in all, this book is a quick summer read balanced with humor and drama for YA romance fans. It does deal with sex, drinking, and partying. Recommended for teens grade 10 and up.

Two teenagers, Phoebe and Luke, navigating their first term at a university in the north of England.

I like reading about characters going off to university. Characters making drunken (or drug-influenced) decisions and making mistakes of their relationships in consequence is really not so much my cup of tea.

Nevertheless, I think it’s super important that there are stories about this sort of experience. There’s been discussion in the media lately about residential colleges -- the problems of hazing practices and a drinking culture, and the relationship between these and sexual assault. It’s something which needs to be talked about more -- preferably before young people are confronted with it -- and fiction is one way of doing that.

When Freshers wasn’t making me uncomfortable, it was easy to read and often funny. I was delighted by how wholly British it is, right down its vocabulary and idiomatic grammar. I liked the bits about Phoebe and Luke studying English lit, and how so much of the story was about their friendships; I liked that they had friends who didn’t drink and this was accepted.

“Still,” he carried on, “at least I’ll get a decent job after uni. Unlike you, who’ll be stuck in a skip, writing poems.”
“That’s the dream,” I sighed. “Although you don’t walk straight into a gig like that. I’d probably have to intern in the skip for a few months.”

This book had its highs and lows, but I read it in less than a day so overall, I'd say it's a win. A book about college for young adults? Awesome. We need more post-high school books. And while I didn't drink or party in college because I was a Mormon nerd, so much of this book still managed to hit me in the college feels. It's such a weird time, going from basically having everything structured and controlled for you to.....I make my own choices? What? How? When did this happen? Which, hello, circles back to we need more post-high school books! Finally, I loved the character development and the relationships that developed between everyone. And the humor--I laughed out loud more than once, which I'm sure my husband really enjoyed listening to. My only real complaint is that the story felt choppy at times. It wasn't terrible by any means, but some of the major moments ended up a little jarring because there wasn't much build up or development toward them. Smoothing out the flow of the story would have made it five-star read, for sure.

I hesitated to review this earlier as I truly did not enjoy it...it is after all a bit awkward. It is well written, but I felt uncomfortable listening to the audio book. Perhaps I was too prudish and could not enjoy it fully. I am sure it would please others. I donated my copy to the public library and they were quite happy to receive it.

A couple of months ago, I started hearing a lot about Lobsters in the Dutch book blogger's world. I got really curious about it, but - as always - very careful as well, because hyped books aren't always my cup of tea. When I heard that the authors of this book would be coming to YALfest in April next year, I decided I was going to try it out, so at least I'll finally know what the hype is about.

Lobsters is about Hannah and Sam, who are determined to find their 'lobster' (aka lose their virginity) before they go to university - because who goes to uni without losing their virginity? that's right, losers. They meet each other for the first time at Stella's house, and have an instant connection. Then, a lot of stuff happens that makes this story super awkward. This story follows them as they have several almosts (almost having sex at a party, almost having sex with an older American girl, almost almost almost).

As you may have realised - by reading my little summary above - this book is just mainly about two kids trying to get laid before going to university, and honestly I didn't really care about that at all. I'm not one of those people that is desperate to lose their virginity, so I couldn't relate myself to these characters at all. I honestly found it a bit annoying that they were so determined on doing it before university.

As an asexual, I felt rather uncomfortable with the amount of (talk about) sex in this book. It wasn't as detailed as in that one adult book I once read (no it's not fifty shades of grey), but still it was super awkward to be reading about that stuff. I mainly just skimmed through it until it went back to 'normal'. The rest of the story was interesting though, and I really would have rather read about the (straining) friendship between Stella and Hannah instead of the latter wanting to have sex with Freddie or 'toilet boy'.

Like I said, I couldn't relate to any of the characters, and I didn't really like any of them more than the other. I thought Robbie was a bit annoying which his determination to prove he wasn't a fan of Harry Potter (why is that so embarrassing jfc) and yeah, I don't know - I just didn't like any of them that much. My favourite part probably was the scene where Hannah and Sam met, where they had a conversation in the toilet.

The writing was really nice, and though it was written by two authors, I couldn't really detect any difference in writing style, which means that they did a good job. I'm not sure if they'll continue as a duo, or if they will write more books separately, but maybe they have other books that can interest me more.

So yeah, I guess Lobsters just wasn't the book for me. I enjoyed it, but I didn't love it as much as the majority of the book world did. I am still looking forward to meeting the authors, but I'll probably be more excited for other authors more. If you really love contemporary books such as Anna and the French Kiss and Paper Towns, but you want it to have a bit more of a new adult vibe - you should try out this book!

My opinion on this book in one gif:

Some funny moments in the story. It has a strong emphasis on losing one's virginity, which is probably fairly accurate at that age. The shallowness of this preoccupation is contrasted with experiencing sex with someone you truly want to be with. The swearing, sexual encounters, drugs and alcohol all make this a story for the older teen. After reading other reviews, sounds like the audio version is not the way to go.

I got this audiobook through the Early Giveaway. A more accurate title for it would be “A Painfully Shallow Love Story” or “How I Spent My Summer Vacation: Trying To Lose My Virginity”. The characters have just finished high school and are headed to university in the fall. Their one obsession for the summer is to lose their virginity.

I read a lot of YA and juvenile fiction, and I expected a lot more from this book. The story switches off its perspective, with passages from Hannah’s viewpoint and Sam’s viewpoint. I did like having that shift, but overall, the story is just irritating. If I wasn’t reviewing this audiobook, I would never have made it past disc one. I kept turning it off while trying to listen to it. The anecdotes include tales of a bikini wax, premature ejaculation, getting caught trying to have sex at work and getting drunk and high at a house party.

It starts when Hannah and Sam meet at that drunken party, discover they like each other, then screw it up and don’t end up together at the end of the party. Their meeting scene in the bathroom is probably the highlight of the book.

The story bounces from one misunderstanding to the next where Sam or Hannah and their friends are in the wrong place at the wrong time or say the wrong thing. It could be a good farce, but it’s just not.

Throughout the story, Hannah sticks with her group of three friends: Stella, Tillie and Grace. Stella seems to be from the school of “no one abuses my friends but me”. Tillie and Grace don’t really make that much of an impression, and they’re almost interchangeable. Stella is mean and rude to Hannah throughout the story, and I can’t understand why Hannah would consider her to be her best friend. The one time Hannah stands up for herself to Stella, she ends up apologizing for it later.

Sam and his friends are just as obsessed with losing their virginity as the girls are, but somehow, they’re less irritating—probably because there’s no equivalent to Stella in the group.

Hannah and Sam are both full to the brim with self-doubt and angst about the opposite sex and about exam results. Neither has a point of confidence—a sport or a skill—that would lift them out of this state. Actually, almost no one in this story seems to have other interests outside of finding someone to pull. The only person who seems to have any perspective is Hannah’s friend Casper.

The audiobook’s voice actors did a great job, but they couldn’t fix the source material.

A funny coming of age story about the ebbs and flows of friendship, finding true love and growing up. It's told in alternating pov's between the two main protagonists: Hannah aka Ribena Girl, and Sam aka Toilet Boy. British teens Hannah and Sam are each others "lobster" but bad timing, meddling friends and petty misunderstandings get in the way.

The narrators did a great job bringing the characters and story to life. I especially liked Avita Jay's narration, she's able to change her voice depending on the character, from sounding like a teen girl to sounding like a grandma. There are some amusing scenes in the story, I especially found hilarious the part where Sam was buying booze. Plus, I enjoyed the Harry Potter references, being a Potterhead myself.

However, I found the characters' fixation on losing their virginity off-putting. I'm going to sound like your mom, 'cause hey I'm a mom too, but losing one's virginity isn't something you should just get over with for the sake of doing it, it should be a beautiful moment. Hannah irritated me at times because she's so insecure and doesn't stand up for herself. There's also a lot of f-bombs, drinking and smoking weed in the story. I was unsatisfied with the ending, there were too many issues left unresolved, especially between Hannah and Stella. And that final scene between Hannah and Sam is terribly unromantic.

FYI: This book isn't recommended for readers under 18 due to language and sexual content.

Thank you to Library Thing and Recorded Books for sending me an audiobook copy of this story.

After thirty-six hours of listening to The Passage, A Totally Awkward Love Story was quite a break in comparison, in length as well as tone. That is by no means to say that A Totally Awkward Love Story was not a good book, just totally different.

Hannah intends to lose her virginity to Freddie at Stella’s party that evening, but he’s late. While she’s loitering in the bathroom, Sam knocks on the door, but as Hannah’s about to leave they fall into a conversation and hit it off. She becomes “Ribena Girl” because of their shared love for hot Ribena and he becomes “Toilet Boy.” It’s love at first sight.

A summer of misadventure follows, with awkward situations and misunderstandings, culminating in an equally awkward resolution.

A Totally Awkward Love Story is a British young adult novel by two writers, Tom Ellen and Lucy Ivison who were former high school lovers. Each chapter is told from either Hannah’s point-of-view or Sam’s. True to reality, Hannah is already more mature than Sam, but she’s insecure because she’s been best friends with the visually beautiful Stella since they were small. Stella loves being the center of attention and tries to control any and all situations, which has begun to irritate Hannah and also leads to their falling out several times.

Sam and his friends remind me of the boys on the British show, The Inbetweeners, with an exception being that Sam and Chris are attractive and probably don’t fall into as embarrassing situations, but their focus seems to be the same. Sam and Robin and the other boys provide much of the comic relief in the novel through their exploits, whether it’s smoking pot in “Harry Potter’s bedroom” (a closet under the stairs at Stella’s house) or trying to be cool with pretty girls.

I must admit that a good way through the novel, I wished that Hannah would fall for someone else as Sam’s immaturity grated, however, he does redeem himself.

There are sexual encounters, frank sexual discussion, and raunchy language so use your discretion if obtaining for a younger person.

I found it to be a funny, light read with a good plotting and good characterizations.

The narrators did a very good job with the story, with Lee Maxwell Simpsom’s sections perhaps a tad better at diversifying voices than Avita Jay’s, still, very listenable.

I won a copy of the recorded book from Recorded Books and LibraryThing and am providing an honest review in exchange.

I received the Audio Book for free from librarything.com for my honest review. This book is totally awkward - in a good way. It explores all the things a person thinks while they are trying to figure out who they are when when they are young and who they will become. What defines a person? Who they hang out with? Getting into that choice university? Who they love?
The story of Hannah and Sam, and all their friends, is funny, fresh, and, let's face it, very awkward. The audio book is well done and I couldn't get enough of it. However, a warning - this book has extremely vulgar language and explicit sexual descriptions. I suppose it exists to punctuate the characters' personalities and their conflicts. I would not recommend this book for anyone under 18.

As much as I enjoyed reading this story on paper, hearing it was a completely different thing. A Totally Awkward Love Story was exactly that as an audiobook: awkward. I didn't hate the acting, it was more like I didn't like how I felt when I listened to it. When reading the book, I felt all this cute emotions one gets at eighteen. Everything felt adorable and... right.
However, the audiobook somehow missed the cute and adorable feeling and made it an embarassing and awkward one.
Recommendation: listen to the audiobook if completely necesary. If you can get your hands on a physical copy or an ebook version of the book, you may enjoy it more.

listened on audio thru early review.
The mean girl crap and the no boy will every like me crap is craptastic.
maybe I shouldnt listen to this kind of stuff as an adult... perhaps pre-teens find this kind of stuff interesting.½

I don't know if it was the voice actors for the audio version, the plot/characters, the writing, or just where I am in life right now, but I didn't enjoy this much at all. So little, in fact, that when my audio player went on the fritz, I didn't try to find another source to listen to the last CDs. Because I didn't finish it, I'm not rating it.

This book was sent by LibraryThing, but I think it was a mistake, because I don't recall requesting it.

Tags: audio, don-t-want-to-rate, early-review-librarything, not-my-usual-read, not-to-my-taste, read, read-for-review

I found this to not just be an awkward love story, but very awkward to listen too. Perhaps easier to follow in print. I just couldn't care about the characters or the plot. In fact it just seemed a waste of time.