The Year I Met You By Cecelia Ahern

[amazon_link id=”0007501765″ target=”_blank” ][/amazon_link]’The Year I Met You’ is the latest book by Cecelia Ahern.

Jasmine loves two things: her sister and her work. And when her work is taken away she has no idea who she is. Matt loves two things: his family and the booze. Without them, he hits rock bottom.

One New Year’s Eve, two people’s paths collide. Both have time on their hands; both are at a crossroads. But as the year unfolds, through moonlit nights and suburban days, an unlikely friendship slowly starts to blossom. Sometimes you have to stop still in order to move on.

Cecelia is back with another charming treat of a story that you can easily absorb in one sitting. With a frank and outspoken leading lady and obnoxious man, the story was entertaining from the very beginning as we joined Jasmine on her gardening leave. A strong driven and passionate woman, Jasmine helps set up successful businesses before selling them on, but it all falls apart one day when she is headhunted from a rival company thus resulting in her losing her job. Jobless and unable to go back into the world of employment for a year, she is left at a loose end, having nothing to do but spy on her neighbour.

The story is narrated by Jasmine and whilst off work, she forms an unlikely friendship with Matt. A obnoxious and alcoholic radio presenter who like Jasmine finds himself without a job, after a particularly wild radio show. He repels Jasmine with his ways, causing a ruckus in the street, fighting and generally being disrespectful, she tries to stay away from him but finds herself drawn to him, feeling sympathy for his broken marriage and broken heart. Together they form an unlikely bond, being there for each other especially when Matt’s wife leaves him, leaving him with a letter that he can’t bear to read so he asks her to hold onto it. As time passes, Jasmine finds herself feeling an unexpected feelings of affection and protection for the loud and funny character. The scenes with Matt and Jasmine are particularly amusing, they are both outspoken and rarely hold back. The story is filled with lovely characters especially Heather, who is Jasmine’s older sister who has Down Syndrome. Gentle with a beautiful spirit, Heather is a sweetheart, always busy and looking out for her, Jasmine is so protective of her trying to shield her from the world.

With one of the prettiest covers of 2014 and written in Cecelia’s lighthearted trademark style with an injection of her Irish humour, the book is tender and dark in places and filled with engaging characters. Captivating and mysterious from the start and filled with gardening tips from the ‘The Year I Met You’ is a heartwarming story about starting over and new friendships.

You can buy [amazon_link id=”0007501765″ target=”_blank” ]The Year I Met You from Amazon [/amazon_link] and is available to buy from good bookshops.