REVIEW: Ten Years - Pernille Hughes

Genre: Romance | Contemporary Fiction

Release Date: Expected 31st August 2022

Publisher: Harper Collins UK

"Love at first sight was also a theoretical myth. Love at first sight only really became so if it lasted."

Becca and Charlie only have one thing in common - Ally.

Ally decided Becca was her best friend when they were ten, and was there through her childhood, through her parents divorce and neglect, and her constant failed auditions and bad jobs. So when Ally started dating Charlie at university, they got along for her sake.

But when they lose her, she leaves something behind for them to find - a bucket list of sorts for them to finish for her. So as much as they were ready to say goodbye for good, they're going to be together for years to come because they'd do anything for Ally.

But who knows what's really at the end of the path if they just let themselves go down it together?

"We're entitled to mourn as we need to and rebuild ourselves."

Ten Years is a story of loss, of love and of learning - set over the course of a decade after Ally dies. The book read like a fever dream, little passages of life - marking the moments they thought would matter and the ones that really did.

Becca and Charlie had a vivid, emotive relationship - the venom between them made me physically cringe at times, their intense hatred for each other glaringly obvious. At times their behaviour throughout was unbearable to read, and I found their fights infuriating, but at the same time, love, greif and anger can make people act in the most irrational of ways. Despite their selfishness and juvenile behaviour, I did love how naturally their relationship grew and the peaks and valleys that happen as we grow older and grow as a person.

However, their intense feelings of loss, and the countless different ways people greave were written perfectly, with sensitivity and insight - and was handled with refreshing honesty and authenticity.

Of course, I saw where we were going - but the journey there was all the fun. With some utterly hilarious moments, a lot of heartbreak and the painfully relatable tale of two young people who have no idea what they want in life, this is a book with a lot of heart.

"A heart makes room. It isn't a one-in-one-out deal."

⭐⭐⭐

I was gifted an advanced reviewers copy of this title in return for an honest review.

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