She even goes as far as to hold a manifestation ceremony for him - and when she receives a text from her ex five minutes later, she knows it's a sign. I can't remember the last time a book made me forget I had a phone. Pure escapist fiction!' Stacey Halls Read more Look Inside Details Williams builds the tension throughout both timelines until it reaches its climax at the end. Throughout both storylines, we get to watch Becca grow as a character, which makes us root for her even more! She has been thrust into a situation that she doesn’t understand but must confront nevertheless; I was so eager for her to make it out unscathed!

Lovestruck by Laura Jane Williams in this week Win a copy of Lovestruck by Laura Jane Williams in this week

Although initially confused about what was happening, once I got into the book I realised that it was operating on a ‘sliding door’s’ narrative arc. Sadly, the eventual outcome seemed so obvious that there was no real question in my mind and the characters were, for the most part, simply too two-dimensional for me to really get onboard with it. Welcome to 'The books that shaped me' - a Good Housekeeping series in which authors talk us through the reads that stand out for them. I’ll be honest, it did take me until halfway through the book to realise each chapter worked in this way but I’m not sure if that can be blamed on the author or my tired mind! I don’t remember being read to as a kid as much as I remember dad making up stories after Sunday lunch for us. He’d just riff and invent stuff on the spot, or retell Aesop’s Fables. I studied creative writing at university, and it wasn’t until the oral storytelling modules that I realised how rare that was – not a single other person in my class had experienced that growing up! I will make a point of doing that with my own family. You have to be quite confident to tell a story without a book in your hand, though. Kudos to dad for that!Laura Jane Williams (she/her) is known as the queen of the meet-cute. She is the author of six novels and a novella.

Lovestruck - Laura Jane Williams - Google Books Lovestruck - Laura Jane Williams - Google Books

I just couldn't get into it! The 'sliding doors' theme is something I LOVE and I'm always thinking about it in my own life, but even that didn't 'save' the book for me. I wasn't cheering for the protagonist, and i certainly wasn't cheering on the relationships - that felt very problematic at times. Margot Robbie stars as the eponymous fashion doll in this live-action adventure directed by Greta... I really enjoyed this one, there’s just something about this author that draws me in and makes me all cozy while I read their books. I loved reading through the two timelines for the different options she faces, does she choose her ex or start new? I couldn’t figure out who I should root for in this one for a while because both options seemed good for Becca. The banter was absolutely hilarious and I couldn’t help but absolutely adore Becca’s friends. By the end, I felt so invested in every single character as LJW made each of them feel so real. The way they interacted and the things they would say felt realistic and relatable.

This story is written across two timelines - one where Becca reunites with her ex where she decides to answer the text and the other where she doesn’t answer the text. If you haven't read a Laura Jane Williams book before - please don't start with this one - her others are so much better! I have given her previous books 5*, and this one just 2*.