[REVIEW] LONDON, WITH LOVE - SARRA MANNING (ENGLISH REVIEW)

All reviews here are purely personal opinions and do not intend to degrade or glorify the work of others. Everyone has their own reading tastes. Thank you.

source: goodreads

Title: London, with Love

Author: Sarra Manning

Publication date: 5 May 2022

Pages: 432 pages

ISBN: 9781529336603

Language: English

BLURB

London. Nine million people. Two hundred and seventy tube stations. Every day, thousands of chance encounters, first dates, goodbyes and happy ever afters.

And for twenty years it's been where one man and one woman can never get their timing right.

Jennifer and Nick meet as teenagers and over the next two decades, they fall in and out of love with each other. Sometimes they start kissing. Sometimes they're just friends. Sometimes they stop speaking, but they always find their way back to each other.

But after all this time, are they destined to be together or have they finally reached the end of the line?

ALSO READ: [REVIEW] THE REBOUND - CATHERINE WALSH (ENGLISH REVIEW)


REVIEW

Thank you for NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the ARC!

I picked this book because so many reviews said that this book has a great romantic story. That is why I have high expectation for this one.

I was surprised that this book really tells the story from the beginning of Jen's life, from school to adulthood. In every life we will indeed see the figure of Nick in various statuses, ranging from friends, strangers, friends, FWB and many other statuses. I honestly thought that Nick was Jen's lover and they would be in an On and Off relationship but they weren't, their relationship was much more complex.

When she was in school, I felt Jen was a person with a unique personality, which made her friendship with Nick even more unique. And yes, Jen liked Nick when they were in school but after their big "fight", made Nick and Jen no longer a friend and Jen no longer liked Nick. This is where their complicated relationship begins.

Indeed, there are many times skips here, so Jen and Nick who could not communicate for 4 years suddenly meet again. This has happened several times. I feel like I'm following the romantic story of two unstable humans who can't be honest with each other's feelings. Their situation is not easy, especially when they meet sometimes, they already have their respective partners. I, as an honest reader, am frustrated with their attitude. Claiming to be friends but acting like a couple, lots of miscommunication and a long time when they don't communicate.

I can't say whether they're in a toxic friendship or not, but both Jen and Nick themselves aren't easy characters for me to like. Jen here is too fickle, when she has established herself away from Nick but is still easy to be attracted to Nick again, when Nick is honest, she is the one making things difficult. I'm confused because Nick himself is not an easy character. Here he looks like a playboy and unknowingly hurts Jen repeatedly. I don’t think I like these two characters.

But life happens fast and sometimes things, and people, get lost in the slipstream 

The plot is slow because it tells the story from the very beginning, but for me this is too detailed. There are so many things that I don't think are very important either for the development of the story, nor the development of the characters. Too many fillers that make me bored and tend to skip some parts that I think are unrelated.

I give this book 3/5 rating. This book not for me, but still has a good story. For people who like angst maybe this book is for you!

ALSO READ: [REVIEW] LOVEBOAT, REUNION - ABIGAIL HING WEN (ENGLISH REVIEW)

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2 Comments

  1. Mau bilang apa mereka ini TTM, tapi masih ada berantemnya juga. Kalo TTM kan cendrung cuma mau mesra2 doang 😄.

    Biasanya aku suka buku dengan detailed yang komplit. Mau diceritain dari kecil Ampe dewasa juga hayuk aja, asalkan memang ga bosenin aja cara penulisannya. Blm bisa bilang buku ini, Krn blm baca sendiri. So far buku yg aku sukaaa bgt Krn diceritain dari kecil hingga tua, itu master of the game nya Sidney Sheldon dan gone with the wind nya Margaret Mitchell. Tapi halamannya juga sampe seribuan lebih saking komplit. Cuma ga bosenin sih, aku malah suka banget. Ntah kenapa buku2 yang begitu, bikin aku jadi kebawa masuk dalam cerita 😄

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    1. Bener Mba, hubungan mereka itu sulit banget untuk dijelaskan.

      Kalo aku juga suka detil yang komplit asalkan memang itu digunakan untuk membangun dunianya atau si karakter tapi kalo cuma sebagai pengisi doang dan gak ada keliatan jelas apa tujuannya aku sih cenderung bikin bosen untuk baca

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