Henry and Zoe have more in common than they realise. For a start, they both have pasts they'd rather leave behind.
After jilting his childhood sweetheart on the eve of their wedding, Henry makes a break for London. He has no friends, no job, no home, no plan.
Zoe has great friends, two jobs, a new house, and a big scary plan. After a traumatic, life-changing event, she plans to leave London and spend a year travelling. Alone.
If Henry and Zoe had met one year ago, things might have worked out differently. But that's not the way life works. They meet seven months after their worlds have been turned upside down. And four months before Zoe is due to climb on a plane...
What did I think?
After discovering Andy Jones when I read The Two Of Us, I've kept a keen eye out for further releases from him. He's one of those authors that can make you laugh and cry; in fact one of the things I always remark on when reading his books is the humour. Just like real life, there are ups and downs in Andy's books but one thing I can always count on is that there is sure to be a laugh right around the corner.
The book starts with stories of two separate lives, two people who haven't met each other yet: Henry and Zoe. Henry is having second thoughts about marrying his childhood sweetheart, April. Unable to sleep on the eve of his wedding, he makes the decision to run for the hills preferring to ruin April's day rather than her life. Meanwhile, Zoe is waking up next to her boyfriend, Alex, and wondering if he is the one for her. Zoe has noticed that Alex has been a bit off lately so she is surprised when he wants to treat her to breakfast in bed, he just has to pop out to the shops for a few provisions. Zoe's world is shattered when Alex doesn't return. As both Henry and Zoe pick up the pieces of their lives, the last thing either of them wants is to jump into another relationship...until fate brings them together.
The Trouble With Henry and Zoe is another fabulous book by Andy Jones. He has taken two completely separate devastating events and shown how people cope with love, loss and everything in between. The characters never failed to surprise me from Henry's love of old movies and secret hairdressing skills to Zoe's keen interest in photography and her bravery at planning a solo trip to Thailand. I read a lot of this book with a lump in my throat, especially when certain email transcripts made an appearance, but never more so than in Zoe's final act of love as she lets Alex go and says hello to the rest of her life.
I really can't recommend Andy Jones highly enough if you love a bit of humour in your books but want to read something that deals with real life events and tugs at your heartstrings. I may have only known them for a short time, as I couldn't help but race through this book, but the characters are so full of life that I felt so very bereft when I turned the final page and wished them well for the future as if they were old friends. All in all, a simply wonderful book. If you haven't read an Andy Jones book yet, what are you waiting for?
My rating:
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