Billy and Me By Giovanna Fletcher

[amazon_link id=”1405909951″ target=”_blank” ][/amazon_link]’Billy and Me’ is Giovanna Fletcher’s first novel.

Sophie May has a secret, a secret that she has kept hidden for most of her life. Having this secret meant that she had to give up ideas of university, travelling and instead works in a little teashop and lives with her mum. But then she meets gorgeous Billy Buskins, an actor who has ambitions to make it to the top. And when they fall in love, Sophie is whisked away from her comfortable life into Billy’s glamorous but ruthless world. Their relationship throws Sophie into the spotlight after many years of shying away from attention. Can she handle the constant attention that comes with being with Billy? And most of all, is she ready for her secret heartbreak to be exposed and shared with the nation?

May I say that I simply adored ‘Billy and Me’ this book had my full attention for twenty hours and I couldn’t put it down until I had the book finally finished. And then when when I came to the end, even though it left me with a warm fuzzy feeling of happiness, I also felt a wave of sadness wash over me, as I closed the final page of my Billy and Sophie adventure. What a splendidly adorable couple, their relationship oozed of love, fun and friendship, that it was impossible not to fall in love with the young lovers.

Sophie, the young protagonist of the story is such a sweet character, warmhearted and caring. She radiates warmth in her lead role in the book, working in the teashop. With her best friend and owner Molly, a elderly kind hearted woman who enjoys a good gossip, she takes Sophie under her wing and through their blossoming friendship, she gives the young woman the much needed confidence boost that makes her desirable to Billy, the young heart throb. I loved Sophie, I thoroughly enjoyed following the adventure through her eyes, as she left her quiet, reclusive life behind, came out of her shell and turned into a independent young woman. Having spent most of her life shackled with guilt, she finally leaves her past to rest, she lets go of her inhibitions and begins to fully appreciate the world around the her, with the aid of Billy and Molly.

It’s hard not to fall in love with Billy, a typical cheeky choppy with a heart of gold and a romantic side, their first date in particular made for quite envious reading, if I’m honest!

With the addition of more serious scenes where Sophie, regularly feels threatened by the interest of the media and paparazzi and the fact that so many women lust over her boyfriend, it gives an interesting insight into the world of celebrities and just the amount of pressure and scrutiny that they are under. This also gives the story a bit of an autobiographical element to it, as Giovanna is the wife of Tom Fletcher from McFly.

Beautifully written, the story is gloriously romantic and also wonderfully innocent, a story of love and friendship, we join the young couple as they embark on their big adventure together where they experience the ups and downs of a high profile relationship. An absolute triumph of a debut, ‘Billy and Me’ is a delight to read, heartwarming with wonderful characters, a picturesque setting of a small quaint village, packed with sweet delights, this book is definately one of my favourites of 2013.

You can buy [amazon_link id=”1405909951″ target=”_blank” ]Billy and Me on Amazon [/amazon_link]and is available to buy from good bookshops.