I wanted to like Ten Years more than I did. I like the idea of the bucket list from their friend and watching as they move on after her death and try to complete the bucket list. The trope of the romance focusing on the dead best friend’s boyfriend isn’t one that I’m usually drawn to, and the chemistry between the characters in this story didn’t do enough to push me over the edge to liking it. The pacing is slower than I wanted it to be, but overall it was an easy book to read, even as it deals with heavy topics such as death of a loved one, grief, and moving on.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced digital copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Trigger Warnings
This book contains:
• Death of a loved one due to cancer (was also in their 20s)
• Divorce
• Difficult relationships with parents.
Characters
Becca is a hot-headed aspiring actress with a massive chip on her shoulder thanks to the relationship she has with her parents. Especially how she was given to her grandmother to raise when her parents separated.
Charlie on the other hand is a laid-back guy who tends to go with the flow and tries to keep the peace and not rock the boat. Ever. Just like Becca’s parents separation shaped her, Charlie’s parents separation shaped him.
Storyline
Becca’s best friend, and Charlie’s fiancé dies at the tender age of 26 due to cancer. After her death, both struggles to cope with their grief and how to move on.
Unbeknownst to them, Ally set up a series of challenges for them to remember her, process their grief and also support each other while they moved through it. Over the span of years, this book takes us through Becca and Charlie’s relationship, stages of grief and moving on with their lives.
Overall Thoughts
I think the best thing about this book is that we get snippets of each year from both character’s perspectives. While most chapters are about when the two characters meet up, either to commemorate Ally’s death, or some other friendship event – some are snippets of their own life.
While this structure of writing is probably unusual for most people to read, each “chapter” was a normal chapter’s length making it flow nicely. Once you get used to the sudden changes in where our characters are, what’s happened in their lives in the months between each “chapter” etc.
While I’m sure there will be some people who struggle with this, I really enjoyed it because it traversed such a long time you really got to see how the characters relationship changed and evolved over time. This made their growth and development so much more realistic while also allowing them to go through so much more than we normally get to see in books.
Overall, it made it super interesting to read without being an obvious romance book. In fact, I think for 70% or more it could more accurately be classes as a fiction book rather than a romance.

1.5 Stars. This book has an identity crisis. I doesn't know if it wants to a piece of literary fiction about grief or a rom-com filled with banter and because of this it fails at both. Neither Becca or Charlie were particularly likable, which fine, Sally Rooney's books are full of awful people but at least the stories are interesting, however Becca and Charlie had nothing compelling going on that had me invested in their story. All they did was insult each other and act like children. There was nothing believable about them falling for each other and it just felt forced. The writing style desperately wanted to be literary fiction filled with exposition, but the dialogue sounded like twelve year olds with an affinity for the f-word. On top of that the book was just boring. I skimmed sever of the chapters and did not miss a single thing. This book was just an overall miss for me.

I really loved this book. I enjoy ones that take place over an extended period of time with the main characters interacting sparingly, and this delivered on that nicely. Becca and Charlie had one thing in common: their love for Ally, their best friend and fiancée respectively. Sadly, Ally passes away from cancer and throws their lives into a tailspin. Luckily, Ally thought of a solution before she died: having them scatter her ashes in a sort of bucket list for the two to complete over a series of years. It all unfolds from there.

Thanks as always to NetGalley for the ARC.

3.5/5⭐️

When Ally (a 26-year-old young woman) passes from pancreatic cancer (1st chapter), she leaves behind a bucket list (5 items) where her fiancé Charlie and her best friend Becca (who incidentally hate each other) should spread her ashes. They decide once a year on Ally’s birthday to complete an item. As the years pass, they move forward somewhat emotionally but are stuck in other areas of their lives. As they meet each year, they are alternately combative and at peace with the other as they work through their troubles. I’ll stop here so I won’t spoil anything.

I really wanted to like this one more than I did. My issues were twofold. The book was entirely too long, and I actually began looking forward to the ending (not a good sign for me). And I actually didn’t like either Charlie or Becca for the majority of the story. They both felt too self-centered and/or passive and immature for most of the book, although I did see some maturity growth toward the end…it was long overdue.

While there were some funny and heart wrenching moments, and overall the story was good, in the end I was left feeling “meh”.

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK/One More Chapter for providing me the free early arc of Ten Years for review. The opinions are strictly my own.

Thank you @NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for the ARC of Ten Years in exchange for my honest review.

Wow! What a read!!! The thing I loved most about this book was that nothing was instant. The writing was fantastic. The plot was filled with emotion and realistic, raw feelings. There was some spice sprinkled in too! I would definitely say to check trigger warnings before reading. My only criticism is that Becca's reaction after playing golf with Valerie was a BIG reaction that I felt was a bit out of place, but then later it was explained through Becca and Charlie's conversation. I was blindsided a bit at first though.

This is a different read, not a typical rom-com, and so worth it! #pageturner

Tropes:
lost love
found friendship
found love
enemies to lovers
adventure
forced companionship

The death of Ally, the girl that was a best friend to one and fiance to another, is the only thing that Becca and Charlie seem to have in common, and they're even reluctant to admit that. But when Ally's post-dead bucket list forces them to see each other on the day of her death every year, they're forced to face who they truly are and who they hope to become as individuals and in their shared experiences.
An excellent example of how grief and grieving are and mean something very different for everyone, this is a masterclass in how to give characters room to grow within the story. I looked forward to seeing what each character had been up to and how their lives and personalities had changed from one year to the next and their clashing and support of each other never disappointed me. Seeing these two very different people who saw each other for their true selves beyond the image they showed the world interact in their darkest times and grow with each interaction made for wonderfully sentimental reading.

Very happy thanks to HarperCollins UK and One More Chapter for the phenomenally emotional read!

A beautiful story of grief and how people cope in different ways. Perfect if you enjoy books like ’One Day’ where you follow characters lives over a long period of time. A lovely read.


Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins for the ARC.