Portobello Book Blog

It’s an absolute honour and pleasure to be taking part in the blogtour for Postcript by Cecelia Ahern, the sequel to the much loved PS I Love You. I am enormously grateful to Becca Bryant for sending me a copy of the book and asking me to share my review as part of the tour. Postscript is published by Harper Collins today in hardback, ebook and audiobook formats and will be available to buy or order from your usual book retailer. The paperback edition will follow next April.

Postscript sees us catch up with Holly again, seven years after the death of her husband Gerry. Holly feels she is still learning to be just ‘Holly’ after being part of ‘Holly and Gerry’ for so long. Just as life seems to be moving on for her, she takes part in an interview for a podcast called ‘Let’s Talk About Death’ where she talks to a group about just how important Gerry’s letters were to her as part of her moving on. There is an unintended consequence to this which hits her for six.

I was totally caught up in Holly’s world again and found this a completely absorbing read. Cecelia Ahern has all the emotions spot on as usual and knows grief can come at any time, for any reason or no reason. We are introduced to some wonderful characters in the PS I Love You Club and I think that most readers will recognise the experiences some of these characters go through. Ginika was one I felt for the most. She had been through so much in her life yet was determined to make sure her baby daughter had more opportunities than she had.

If you read this book and aren’t in pieces several times over the course of the novel, then you have a very hard heart indeed! The author is so skilled at describing the thoughts and emotions of her characters that I could not help but feel their joys and sorrows. And although there are most certainly many times of sorrow in this book which had me reaching for the tissues, there are also times of joy shining through.

If there is one thing to take from Postscript, it is that there is always one more thing to say and that thing is to say ‘I love you’. Say it to the people you love, your family and friends, not just in case it’s the last time you get the chance but because it’s important to tell people that you value them and treasure their place in your life. Everyone needs to know that they are loved and so you should tell them. I expect that some people will be cautious about reading a sequel to PS I Love You, feeling it was complete in itself, but I would say that Cecelia Ahern has written a wonderful continuation of Holly’s story. It is sensitively written, very moving, indeed heartbreaking at times, but it is an uplifting and hopeful look at life following loss.

From the back of the book

It’s been seven years since Holly Kennedy’s husband died – six since she read his final letter, urging Holly to find the courage to forge a new life.

She’s proud of all the ways in which she has grown and evolved. But when a group inspired by Gerry’s letters, calling themselves the PS, I Love You Club, approaches Holly asking for help, she finds herself drawn back into a world that she worked so hard to leave behind.

Reluctantly, Holly begins a relationship with the club, even as their friendship threatens to destroy the peace she believes she has achieved. As each of these people calls upon Holly to help them leave something meaningful behind for their loved ones, Holly will embark on a remarkable journey – one that will challenge her to ask whether embracing the future means betraying the past, and what it means to love someone forever…

About the author

Cecelia Ahern was born and grew up in Dublin. Her novels have been translated into thirty-five languages and have sold more than twenty-five million copies in over fifty countries. Two of her books have been adapted as films and she has created several TV series.

She and her books have won numerous awards, including the Irish Book Award for Popular Fiction for The Year I Met You. She lives in Dublin with her family.