The Trouble with Henry and Zoe – by Andy Jones

Original Cover

My own cover

The blurb:

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 in the small town where they both grew up, Henry runs away to London, planning to reinvent himself and start afresh.

Zoe has her own healing to do and so she plans to leave London, travel the world, and figure out just what it is she wants out of life. She doesn't know where she's going, but she is determined to go there alone.

If Henry and Zoe had met one year ago, perhaps things could have worked out differently. But that's not the way it 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...

My Opinion:

*Book provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review*

When Henry and Zoe meet it seems like they finally deserve some happiness again, but let me start at the beginning.

Henry left his fiancée at the altar and the time they had together sounds complicated and intense. He decides to move to London and start again, as a hairdresser, amongst other things.

Zoe has a boyfriend, two great jobs and a fab life in London, but is it enough for her?! Well, a life changing event occurs and her life is turned upside down. She decides to go traveling. Exactly four months before she is bound to leave, she meets Henry.

They get along really well and soon they have some kind of relationship, of course without telling the other about their past. All Henry knows is that Zoe leaves for her travels soon, but how does that leave the two of them?!

I have to be honest here, I kind of liked the beginning of the book, with Zoe and Henry talking about their past, but when they met I didn’t feel anything between them. For me there was no spark, they just somehow hit it off. I also struggled with the way their relationship developed, the storyline didn’t flow evenly for me. Sometimes things moved on pretty fast and it was hard to grab for me. It’s a pity, because I really like the idea behind the book and actually also the way it all turned out to be. Certain scenes or moments seemed not properly lined out for me and so I found it difficult to dive into the story. Other moments were very catchy and exciting.

I still really enjoyed this story, the characters are very unique and I actually liked following them around. Certain things made me smile, especially the ending and I still think Andy has a great and clever way with words. Andy also writes from both character’s perspectives, male and female, and that in a unique way. It was also very clear what they felt and I liked knowing this from both characters, it made the story more interesting.

Rating:

My possible cast:

Zoe: Daisy Ridley

Henry: Matt Damon

Andy on Twitter: @andyjonesauthor

Website: http://andyjonesauthor.com

Goodreads - Amazon UK - Amazon US

Why I Read Chick-Lit

If you have read my blog for a while or just know me, you know that my favourite book genre is chick-lit/women’s fiction/romance.

Now, the reason I’m actually writing this post is the opinion certain people have about chick-lit. Especially in the beginning I had to listen to that constantly. People think that chick-lit is not serious, not deep and just fun. You also often hear that chick-lit destroys serious literature and that it only deals with typical clichés and stereotypes and portrays them in a overly exaggerated and dramatic way.

I can assure you that is not the case. Of course everyone is entitled to have their own opinion, but that also means to accept what the people around you think. We are all different and have different tastes, which is actually great, because otherwise life would be boring.

Well anyway, lets get back to the actual topic. Women’s fiction talks about individual women/characters and tells their story, that doesn’t always have to be in a fun way. I love a good romance or love story and I really enjoy reading them. I have discovered some wonderful authors over the years /Paige Toon, Holly Martin, Aven Ellis, Jane Costello, Rosie Blake, Lucy Robinson, Linsdey Kelk etc.) and they all give chick-lit their own special spark and also include deeper, emotional and touching elements. It’s all about women dealing with various issues like family, love, health, job, fears etc. They all have a positive as well as a negative side and I actually love the mixture. It makes the books more exciting. Some books might include more fun and romantic bits, others are deeper and include a lot of emotions. This is exactly what I look for in a book. It’s important to me to relate to the characters and in women’s fiction that’s just so easy.

Romance/Chick-Lit doesn’t mean that you don’t talk about deeper topics like family issues or illnesses, they are all included in the stories. I don’t agree with people saying that chick-lit doesn’t deal with real issues and only covers clichés in an exaggerated way. Some books can be like that, but I could list so many books, who deal with all these topics. There is family/friend/sibling rivalry, body issues, loss, mental health and much more. You can take your pick. I actually really adore this wide range, because there’s something of everything and the variety is big, that changes up my reading pile.

Chick-Lit allows me to escape into another world, forget everything around me and follow around the characters. I love being on an emotional journey with the characters, they feel so close and I would say it just makes me happy. And seriously, what’s bad about a light-hearted, romantic read?! I mean t would be the same, if you’re watching a romantic comedy and no one complains about that!

I agree that some chick-lit books can be over the top, but I just don’t read those. In the end it’s your choice and that’s different for each and everyone of us.