Portobello Book Blog

I have a confession to make: rather shockingly, I only seem to have read one Jill Mansell book before! That was The One You Really Want way before I was blogging so I don’t have any review to share for that one. I’m delighted to finally have ‘re-discovered’ Jill’s lovely writing and definitely won’t leave it so long before I read another of her books.

About the book

One minute Lou is happily employed, with a perfect flat. The next, her home and job have gone. Suddenly she has to start over.

The last thing Lou wants is to move to a tiny Cotswolds village. She certainly doesn’t intend to work for curmudgeonly eighty-year-old Edgar Allsopp. But Edgar is about to make her the kind of promise nobody could ignore. In return, she secretly vows to help him fall in love with life again.

Foxwell is also home to Remy, whose charm and charisma are proving hard to ignore. But Lou hasn’t recovered from the last time she fell for a charmer. She needs a distraction – and luckily one’s about to turn up.

Secrets never stay hidden for long in Foxwell, nor are promises always kept. And no one could guess what lies ahead…

My Thoughts

I thoroughly enjoyed Promise Me. One thing I kept hearing from other readers was how fantastic Jill Mansell is at creating characters and they are absolutely right. The characters in this book are brilliant. You can’t help but like kind hearted Lou with her sunny disposition and generally positive outlook on life. She has such a sweet, caring nature although at times this leads her to be taken in by some people.

Grumpy Edgar is someone that you really don’t like initially but as Lou works her magic on him, he soften up and becomes a lot more likeable. I felt a little sorry for him as he clearly just wanted love in his life yet some people seemed determined to take advantage of him. He does get love from rescue dog Captain Oates, another star of the book. He may have been just a little chihuahua but he had a big attitude! A bit like Edgar, he seems rather bad tempered and irritable but he and Edgar are just what each other needs.

Another favourite character was would-be musician Sammy. Sammy has been trying to make it as singer for years but just never seems to get that lucky break. His hopes seems to be dashed every time. He always seems to be overshadowed by his brother Remy both in life and in love. Will a chance meeting be the opportunity he needs or should he be more careful what he wishes for? There are some villains of the piece too, people who are only out for what they can get and with little thought beyond their own needs.

I realise I have focussed on the characters here without saying much about the plot and that’s because they really are what make the book so enjoyable. The way Jill Mansell blends them all together makes for a wonderfully entertaining story. Promise Me really is a joyful and heart-warming read.

My thanks to Anne from Random Things Tours for the opportunity to take part in the blogtour and to the publishers for an early copy of the book for review. Promise me is out now in hardback and ebook from Headline with the paperback to follow in May. It will be available from all good bookshops

About the Author

Jill Mansell’s books are full of love, life and friendship and have been bringing joy to readers for twenty-five years. She started writing fiction while working in the NHS, after joining a local creative writing class. She has since written over twenty Sunday Times bestsellers, including MAYBE THIS TIME, THIS COULD CHANGE EVERYTHING and YOU AND ME, ALWAYS, and her books have sold over 11 million copies around the world.

Jill’s hobbies include buying stationery, particularly magical new colours of ink for the fountain pen she uses to write all her books – Jill is one of the few authors who still write their books by hand. Jill also loves people-watching and finding new characters to put in her novels. So when you’re out, make sure to always be on your best behaviour. And beware of beady-eyed authors carrying notebooks . .