To the Moon and Back by Jill Mansell

4 Star

When Ellie Kendall tragically loses her husband she feels her life is over. But eventually she's ready for a new start - at work, that is. She doesn't need a new man when she has a certain secret visitor to keep her company...

Moving to North London, Ellie meets neighbour Roo who has a secret of her own. Can the girls sort out their lives? Guilt is a powerful emotion, but a lot can happen in a year in Primrose Hill...

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Kathryn - 4 Star

I have to admit that this one isn’t going to blow your socks off with sudden plot twists and airs of mystery.  The plot is definitely predictable though I was pleasantly surprised that despite foreseeing the end from the beginning, I was really attracted to Ellie and really felt her warmth and personality from the get-go.  Ellie’s life has changed entirely from what she was expecting it to be and despite the conflict she’s constantly feeling Mansell doesn’t let this emotion bring down her character or the positive hopefulness of the novel.  Ellie’s new friend Roo does a lot to keep the story upbeat and spontaneous and I loved Roo’s quirky habits, her own sense of conviction and her downright stubbornness when she wanted to turn over a new leaf.

I also really loved the unusual interference of Ellie’s father in law in her life and he had an interesting sub plot going on with a woman he falls in love with- the fact that he’s a lovely man and clearly cares about Ellie is apparent and I appreciated his presence throughout the book immensely. Oddly , towards the end of the novel I noticed that there was absolutely no mention of Ellie’s own family (it’s possible I missed something at the beginning?) and that was a bit bizarre to me considering the emotional start of the story- you would think someone would have turned up to support her?  But that’s my only real complaint about To the Moon and Back so I’m going to assume I missed something.

Another hit for me from Jill Mansell- at one point I was getting a bit disappointed as her novels weren’t gripping me the way that they used to but I think this one and the last one were more my thing and I’m pleased to say that I’m back to being a fan.

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