This book was absolutely lovely and I enjoyed it immensely. 

Not only was Ollie very likable and relatable, the side characters were just as fun to read about and they all contribute really well to the story. 

Ollie’s progress was very fun to read about; how she fails but gets back up again, how she gets in some really stupid situations. At some parts I laughed out loud! Nesbit (the dog) was so cute!!

I also really related to her because of her job. She works for an organisation that helps illiterate adults to learn to read, and as a speech therapist myself that was very interesting!! The organisation is also based on a real one, so it’s definitely good that it gets some attention this way! 

But not everything was as happy. The book definitely tackles some harder topics as well, like poverty, drug/alcohol addiction, … Leanne and Joan’s storyline was often really heartbreaking and made me tear up a couple of times. I’m so happy they found Ollie and I’m so happy Ollie found them. 

And then of course there is Sam, the love-interest. It’s definitely a slow burn, and usually I don’t really like those, but there’s so much going on in this book, the romance doesn’t take the spotlight, which I really liked. 

There are some more side characters that I really loved, like Irene (the Library Lady) and Ebenezer and all of Ollie’s clients. 

The writing style was really fluent. We only read from Ollie’s first-person perspective. The pacing was variable. At times, it was really fast and I couldn’t put the book down, at other times, especially the more emotional parts, were medium-paced. 

What did struck out to me, Ollie definitely didn’t read like she was almost 30-year old. Often she came across as someone in her early 20’s, but maybe that’s because of her moving out only now? I did relate to her though, so I didn’t mind that. 

to summarise 

This was a super-enjoyable feel-good book that tackles some harder topics as well. It reads very fluent and I really liked all the characters and the plot!