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. ( )