Only You: Lift up Your Spirits with This Compelling Love Story

Such a beautiful novel! Romantic, but not soppy - if you know what I mean - and definitely not a story easily forgotten. Letty and Alf both join a class in Rome to help them be fluent in the Italian language; both in the city for differing reasons, they are the only two English people there. Seemingly poles apart they feel a connection when they dance together, waltzing around the Piazza Navona - and from that moment on, things between them begin to change. It fairly obvious that both of them have secrets and throughout the book we get to know them better; but do they have what it takes to make a future together? I've been very lucky recently - and during the world-wide lockdown - to read several books set in dream locations and now feel very Italian since finishing this one (even had spaghetti carbonara this evening). The setting is idyllic, and Kate Eberlen does full justice to this wonderful city, showing off it's sights and sounds throughout her novel. The characters will touch your soul, for several reasons, and I cannot think of anyone who won't be rooting for them to make it together. This is a marvellous story with a well-crafted array of characters, each clearly described and easy to imagine. With a clever storyline, it's very appealing from beginning to end and the kind of book which makes you sigh with satisfaction as you reach the end. A stunningly romantic read, one I'm very happy to recommend and give 4.5 shining stars.

I struggled with this book, in all honesty I am struggling with reading in general at the moment and it has to be something exceptional to really grab and hold my interest. Unfortunately this just didn't do that until Part Two rolled around and then it all faded away from me again. Normally, I would have trusted my judgement and given this a lower rating than I have. However, because I am aware that I am struggling with my attention span I have bumped this to 3 Stars. We start off meeting Letty and Alf at an Italian language class in Rome on their first day. The wider cast of characters in the class is briefly introduced but they are very much minor characters - most of them little more than a name or a brief description. This means you are intensely focused on these two and if you happen not to take a shine to them then the enjoyment of the book is going to be a real problem. Letty is very much like Marmite and I found myself vacillating between wanting to slap her and being really bored with her bits and then starting to actually quite like her. Alf I took to straight away, then again I'm a Northern Lass and my heart belongs to Blackpool so that could explain it. the real problem with both characters is that they are both kind of "simpering" and don't seem to experience strong emotional reactions, everything is so understated to the point of blandness. Part One of the novel deals with the burgeoning friendship between Letty and Alf and it all becomes very repetitive very quickly - Italian Class, casual meet up, bit of sightseeing, tram home and lots of meaningful eye contact. I genuinely started getting really bored as it was Groundhog Day with amended scenery. Fortunately, Part Two rescues the book. This mainly deals with Letty and Alf's respective pasts and familial relationships. Safe to say they both made ridiculous mistakes as teenagers and only Letty's rings even halfway plausible. Although I did question her Oxford years somewhat (if you read it you will know EXACTLY what my bone of contention is but to spell it out here would ruin one of the pivotal set pieces). The only downside is the proliferation of a character, Stuart, that becomes relevant to both Letty and Alf and he is so ridiculously overblown and stereotyped I can't even begin to dissect everything about him that annoyed me without giving much of the plot away. Part Three settles in to severe Romantic Comedy pastures and became as "samey" and "boring" as Part One. Generally none of the characters are particularly believable and some of the situations are ridiculously unlikely. It passes the time in a generally unoffensive manner but it didn't grab me at all. THIS IS AN HONEST AND UNBIASED REVIEW OF A FREE COPY OF THE NOVEL SUPPLIED BY READERS FIRST.

This is such a romantic and lovely novel, I loved every part of the story. The writing and pacing is really good and keeps you intrigued throughout the whole story. I really loved the main characters, Alfie and Letty, they were instantly likable. This book really surprised me and was so much more than I expected. There were some unexpected plot twists that I thought were amazing and made the novel so interesting and exciting to read. It deals with some topics that may be triggering for some like eating disorders, thoughts of self-harm and there is a rape scene. Overall, I loved this story and would highly recommend for anyone who wants to read an excellent romance novel!