Life Before Us - Roisin Meaney

Author: Roisin Meaney

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Rating: 4.25 stars.

In a Nutshell: A really sweet story that is predictable in some ways and yet novel in many others. Memorable characters, a great underlying moral, perfect ending. Not a romance; please don’t pick it up if you are looking for a typical boy-meets-girl story.

Story Synopsis:

After Alice discovers that her steady boyfriend of the last few months is married, she is heartbroken. When her aunt Kate offers her a fresh start back in her hometown, Alice grabs at the opportunity. But with no job, no place to live, and no life companion, Alice knows that she needs to get her life back on track soon.

George has been single ever since his wife Claire left him eleven years ago with their newborn. Content with his now eleven-year-old daughter Suzi and with his job as a teacher at the local school, George is accustomed to his routine. But with Claire now engaged, is it time to move on and try to find someone new?

The story comes to us in the alternating third person limited perspectives of Alice and George.

When you read the blurb, you will come to the same conclusion I did: George and Alice are meant to be together. You aren’t exactly wrong. They are MEANT to be together. But take a quick look at the title. Go on! What do you see? “Life Before US”. Realise what that means? This is not the story of George and Alice. This is the story of George, and the story of Alice, BEFORE they become US. The cover might give you vibes of romance but understand clearly that this is contemporary drama, not romance.

Where the book worked for me:

😍 Just because George and Alice don’t meet for most of the story doesn’t mean that there’s no romance in the book. Au contraire! There are plenty of romantic connections (all clean, no steam - yay!) and each relationship falls in a distinct category of love. There are also plenty of friendships and family connections and even pet parenting. I loved the diversity of the relationships in this narrative.

😍 The author is the admin of the “Random Acts of Kindness Limerick” page on FB. This concept of ‘random acts of kindness’ is strongly present throughout the story. This creates such a feel-good vibe while reading.

😍 Can we please have a standing ovation for the realistic appearance and personality of the leading characters? George is shy, almost a pushover. He’s a happy teacher, not an investment banker or rich businessman. He is not handsome but average-looking. Alice is shorter than average, and wears glasses. It feels so refreshing to have such regular characters in a story, a welcome escape from all the hot bods that litter this genre.

😍 Many novels of this genre tend to have impactful female characters and one good leading male character. The other males are usually jerks. While there are a couple of jerks in this book too, there are many well-rounded male characters as well.

😍 The book makes great use of the small town aspect with there being multiple connections between many of the characters. Of course, Alice and George keep missing each other despite this proximity, but the author handles this quite convincingly.

😍 Just five days back, I had completed another book where a man and a woman keep missing each other and don’t meet until the end. This should have created a strong sense of déjà vu and boredom. But not once did I feel that the two plots were similar and this book still enraptured me from start to almost the end. That’s a massive plus in favour of the story as well as the storytelling.

Where the book could have worked better for me:

😑 There are too many characters to keep track of. Things become easier after a while, but it is still a struggle at times to remember who was who.

😑 Suzi is supposed to be twelve but her thinking is more like that of a 9-10 year old. She was adorable but I think her age and her behaviour didn’t blend well.

😑 There’s no clarification on why Suzi called George ‘George’ and not ‘Dad’, though she calls Claire ‘Mum’.

😑 Until the 80% mark, the book was a strong 4.5 stars for me. I don't know how I feel about the last 20%. It all rings true, it's fairly realistic, but it feels like the writing is trying too hard to fit in some twists before the foreseen finale. The ending is lovely but I am not very happy with some of the events in this final section.

Overall though, my complaints are teeny and my feelings are highly positive. This is meant to be a sweet and happy book, and it works for this purpose aptly. It doesn’t go deep, but sometimes, simple stories are the most impactful. My first Roisin Meaney book, and now I am wondering why I haven’t ever read her before!

My thanks to Hachette Books Ireland and NetGalley for the DRC of “Life Before Us”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book