After You (Me Before You #2) by JoJo Moyes

3 not enough growth stars!

I was so excited to see what became of Lou after what happens to her in Me Before You.  If you haven’t read Me Before You yet you might not want to read this review as it will probably be a spoiler review then. I wasn’t sure how this book was going to play out since Will was no longer in it.

Lou seems to have lost direction in her life in the beginning, lets be honest she’s in mourning.  Will asked her to step out of her comfort zone and she did for a bit but it all felt hollow.  She’s kind of just floating through life… then a plot twist happens.  This plot twist I found was annoying as hell. Yup Lily’s character was unlikable the whole way through.  I see she made some really  crappy choices but honestly she never stood up for herself.  I’m getting off track here.  Lou is going through some rough times and is trying to navigate that situation.  While navigating this solution she finds herself seriously injured.  Her rescuer turns out to be her literal rescuer… I loved ambulance Sam.  I felt bad that she kept leading him on 😦 Halfway through this book I just wanted to smack her and say get it together.  I know her family seems harsh but the phone call she has with her sister where she tells her to knock it off and move on was what she needed. To bad she didn’t listen!  Her need to stay in a rut really made the book not so good for me. I needed to see some serious character growth for Lou and I found it seriously lacking.

Lily’s character was wholly unlikable throughout the whole book.  Even towards the end when she starts to change… nope didn’t like her one bit. I think her and the lack of character growth in Lou really just killed most of the book for me.

The shining star was ambulance Sam, while I could see the plot twist on who Lou thought he was versus who he actually was I still enjoyed him.  He was so down to earth and real.  He just wanted to love Lou with everything he had.  He was so patient and kind.

I was just expecting more from this book. More growth… I really felt like Lou the whole way through was never going to change.  Honestly I’m not even sure she did change.  She could go back to her old ways any second. Will I read more by JoJo Moyes oh yes definitely. I love her writing style and ideas.  I was just not happy with this one book.

bookblurb..

Kindle Edition, 384 pages

Published September 29th 2015 by Pamela Dorman Books (first published September 23rd 2015)

Original Title After You

ASIN B00TY3ZKG8

“You’re going to feel uncomfortable in your new world for a bit. But I hope you feel a bit exhilarated too. Live boldly. Push yourself. Don’t settle. Just live well. Just live. Love, Will.”

How do you move on after losing the person you loved? How do you build a life worth living?

Louisa Clark is no longer just an ordinary girl living an ordinary life. After the transformative six months spent with Will Traynor, she is struggling without him. When an extraordinary accident forces Lou to return home to her family, she can’t help but feel she’s right back where she started.

Her body heals, but Lou herself knows that she needs to be kick-started back to life. Which is how she ends up in a church basement with the members of the Moving On support group, who share insights, laughter, frustrations, and terrible cookies. They will also lead her to the strong, capable Sam Fielding—the paramedic, whose business is life and death, and the one man who might be able to understand her. Then a figure from Will’s past appears and hijacks all her plans, propelling her into a very different future. . . .

For Lou Clark, life after Will Traynor means learning to fall in love again, with all the risks that brings. But here Jojo Moyes gives us two families, as real as our own, whose joys and sorrows will touch you deeply, and where both changes and surprises await.