I won a free copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway but was under no obligation to post a review.

Other product placement broke the flow, either because it didn’t ring true (Insta woman and After Eights) or because it was unnecessary (a list of six well-known relationship books, where one or two would make the point). I liked the first 4 core characters but the other characters introduced afterwards didn't do much for me.There aren’t even many markers of what’s happening in the outside world; Jude moves to a loft in SoHo as a young man, but we don’t see the neighborhood change from gritty artists’ enclave to glitzy tourist destination. She looped round at the top and was halfway back down the other side, walking along a less-used path, when she noticed a movement to her right. The references to famous people of the eighties Julian used to hang out with, his designer wardrobe and old LP collection, add plenty of colour and I loved the Fulham setting. Happy-go-lucky, live-for-the-moment Riley, an Australian gardener, who doesn’t understand the English with all their hangups. Monica was a control freak who has trouble letting go, the Australian Riley was meant to be cool, laid back and likeable and yet came across as clueless and stupid.

Leaving the notebook on a table in his friendly neighbourhood café, Julian never expects Monica, the owner, to track him down after finding it. Monica headed toward the north end of the cemetery, pausing only briefly, as she always did, at the grave of Emmeline Pankhurst, to give a silent nod of thanks.The book was recommended to my book club and I will be passing that information along to other book clubs. I disliked this ridiculous feel-good novel, stuffed with clichés and implausible caricatures of people, situations, and dialogue, and presumably sponsored by Apple *. They had deepness and layers beyond the initial exterior, which the different chapters from differing character perspectives really helped to accentuate.

Monica also leaves the notebook in a bar for someone else to find and continue what Julian has started. I'll see your marble slab with its fancy biblical quotation and raise you a life-size Jesus on the cross. All characters had their flaws and were unlikable, a while I appreciate how they weren't black and white, I also found them annoying. Things can't be all sunshine and puppies though so you know conflict and drama are coming to tear it all apart. Reading the book was like hanging out with a rowdy, affectionate bunch of friends where you don't want the party to stop.

Not only does this story show the reality of humanity, it shows the ripple effect that each person can have on each other. As she walked briskly past the graves of the fallen soldiers and the White Russian ŽmigrŽs, she could sense the sheltering wildlife--the gray squirrels, urban foxes, and the jet-black ravens--guarding the graves like the souls of the dead. Monica thought of Mary, exhausted after a long shift delivering other women's babies, wondering where her husband had gone.