e-ALC, 10:26:10
Narrated by: Zadeiah Campbell-Davies
Release Date: February 3, 2026
Published by: Books on Tape
Read from: February 5-6, 2026
Stand-alone
Source: PRH Audio (I received this ALC free from the publisher and their app. I also received an ARC through a giveaway which I used to read in tandem with the audio. This did nothing to influence my review!)
Content Warning: Grief, Cancer, Death, Terminal Illness, Death of a Parent, Cursing, Medical Content
For Readers Interested In: Adult, ARC, Audio, Contemporary, Epistolary, Sparkly Cover, Most Anticipated, Realistic Fiction, Romance, Set Outside the USA, Tear Jerkers, Mental Health (Grief)Twelve stories. Twelve months. Once chance to heal her heart…
When Tilly Nightingale receives a call telling her there’s a birthday gift from her fiancé waiting for her at her local bookshop, it couldn’t come as more of a shock. Partly because she can’t remember the last time she read a book for pleasure. Mainly because Joe died five months ago…
The gift is simple – twelve carefully-chosen books from Joe, one for each month, to help her turn the page on her first year without him.
Tilly sets out on a series of reading-inspired adventures that take her around the world. But as she begins to vlog her journey, her story becomes more than her own. With help from Alfie, the bookshop owner, her budding new following and her friends and family, can Tilly’s year of books show her how to love again?
*MY THOUGHTS*
It took me a long time to get to this book because I was terrified of the crying it was sure the induce lol When I went to the Berkley influencer thing back in the fall, this was one of the books I was given. They told me it would put me through the ringer. And let me tell you, it did lol
Ok so one way I judge a book is how much it makes me feel. And this book, whew! I knew I was going to cry, but I didn’t know when or how much. I thought I was going to be boo-hooing from beginning to end, but I got teary at the beginning, but at the end? I was boo-hooing! I’m talking tears streaming down my face. And it was like only a few words that made me feel like that. I want to explain more, but I don’t want to give off any spoilers. It was just incredibly sweet and I legit melted right through the floor. And it was then that I knew I loved the book.
I didn’t love the characters. Grief is something no one should play about. And literally everyone in this book was being extra and acting like this woman didn’t just lose the love of her life. Her sister was a hot mess and I would have smacked her lol She was well within her right to ignore her over that. However, I was happy with the way she handled the rest of the things her sister did. It made everything that she did feel real. Because I can say without a doubt I would have handled it the same.
But I think my very favorite thing about this book was the way it portrayed grief in so many different ways and showed all the different ways to mourn something. For instance, there was the loss and mourning of a relationship (from a husband/wife, boyfriend/girlfriend), there was the loss of a parent, and so much more. And it covered all of this in such a way that felt real and authentic. And I never felt like it was making fun of or mocking grief in any way.
As far as the books, I LOVED that he gave her so many different ones and for so many different reasons. He knew his wife and he knew what she was going to do. And to know all of what happened at the end as well. Ugh I’m crying again thinking of it. This book gives a whole new meaning to me when I say “giving book recs is my love language.”
This book was so sad, but it also was so extremely sweet. I need everyone to pick this up while I go off and make my own list of books for someone just because this book inspired me. This book is going to wreck you, but in the best way. I hope y’all love it as much as me and go make your own list of books!
Overall, I give this
