Love Lives by Josie Lloyd

Love Lives Reviews

• 
  Helena Wildsmith

  This book just didn't really grab me, to be honest. The characters were good and the plot was exciting but somehow it just didn't draw me in.
• 
  Eva

  To be honest, I did not expect that I would like this book. I'm not the biggest fan of these kind of romance-books and at times I can get frustrated with switches between characters but with this one it wasn't so bad!
  
  You follow the story of Ned, Ellen, Jimmy and Verity and how their lives intertwine against the background of a burned down, but currently being restored, cottage and the mystery it brings.
  
  I found the story of Ned and Ellen very predictable and wasn't my taste, but I really liked Jimmy and Verity. The girl pissed me off at times, but overall their story was very sweet. I liked how every character got enough space in the book to be properly introduced so that connecting with them wasn't that hard to do.
• 
  Sarah

  This book was a great summer read! I couldn't put it down!
• 
  comethruchapters

  This book is a typical teenage love fantasy where your love life gets it right in the end as you wished for. It is rare for me to read this genre. The characters are well-defined and build with each side of the story.
  
  This book was somewhat predictable. The love story in the end involved clashes with the relationships as well as misunderstandings with a lack of trust. She has portrayed with a clarity to understand the meaning of life where each step counts for us which is sooner or later. I liked the twist of a young friendship between Jimmy and Scott, Jimmy unfolds the truth by the act of courteousness with a good nerve. He showcases different phases of teenage life those mixed with confusion, mixed feelings, and experimental time. He is a set example of how the teenage years go under stress to become an "adult". The time of life where each moment is to a life free and enjoy.
  
  A modern teenage story between Jimmy and Verity. Failing to understand each other without giving it proper time and attention while moving to next, leaving the other behind. In his eyes, she is the shine of the star who fails to acknowledge his feelings over time.
  
  We usually perceive the teenage love life in a confusion. Here, Adults are not sure about themselves given their priorities. Some tragedies do leave scars on humans which do not heal for a long period which indirectly reflects the choices and decisions in the current situations.
  
  My favorite character is Ned. The reason why I choose Ned is that i enjoy his character in the story. He is goofy and caring at the same time. Ned seemed to have planned everything for himself and his daughter. He was a lonely man who kept dwelling on certain things in a particular way that would no longer disrupt his decisions and lead himself ahead. It caught my eye suddenly as he was really strong and dominant towards his own life. One fine day, His life felt different suddenly that built confusion and monochromatic behavior. He finds the answers that make him happy as well as his daughter too. His life begins to find something that was missing, that a person would love to have. A partner.
  
  Ellen's character shows us how empowered we women are to archive our goals and be able to stand on her grounds. She challenges working in an unpopular and dense area which was unknown to her. A picture-perfect character-building sketch in the story. A role that leads and guides towards perfection to meet the goals. She is smart and a sweetheart who in the end finds herself a good home.
  
  Josie Lloyd has bought different lives into one story that plays an important role. Each person in this book tells us a different story that helps us to understand clearly.
• 
  Dark-Draco

  Oh, this started off so well!
  This isn't really my genre, but the blurb on the back made me think the restoration of the old house and the suicides might have given it an extra twist. But neither factored hugely in the book, other than to give a couple of twists at the end.
  
  However, I did enjoy the start of the book - the four characters and their problematic lives are set up nicely and, while some of teh supporting cast are more than a little stereotypical and one-dimensional, our four mains read ok.
  
  But about halfway through it was almost as if the authors had realised they were running out of time ... Ned's feelings for Ellen seem to come out of nowhere, and I did have to go back a few pages to make sure I hadn't skipped a chapter or two! It was sort of OK, in that you know everyone is going to live happily ever after, but I wasn't completely convinced by their story.
  
  The 'twists' at the end also made me roll my eyes. Without giving much away, Jimmy's secret just made me uncomfortable. It seems that the police in this place aren't that good if they couldn't work out what actually happened, and the authors seem to imply that this outcome was better than what they thought had happened. And Jimmy seems to completely revert to a 'normal', happy boy after his confession, when in reality he'd have a lot more to deal with afterwards.
  
  And the whole Caroline thing ... it would have been of more interest if the hole house restoration had actually been a feature of the story, but as it happens, it was a bit of a 'Meh' moment.
  
  So, overall, vaguely entertaining by leaving brain disengaged, but not a genre or author I would rush out to read again.
• 
  Bernd

  2 mannen met een verleden proberen hun geschiedenis te verwerken en worden daarin bijgestaan door hun liefde voor 2 vrouwen, die zelf hun plaats in de wereld zoeken. Het einde is vrij voorspelbaar en het verhaal soms nogal traag geschreven. Ook komt *spoiler* de relatie tussen Jimmy en Verity een beetje uit de lucht gevallen. Maar als je niet naar die kleine details kijkt is dit gewoon een enorm mooi en meeslepend boek. De personages zijn enorm goed opgebouwd en je wilt gewoon dat het goed komt met elk van hen. Maar vooral Ned en Ryan steken er boven uit, ook al weet je dat het met Ryan slecht is afloopt. En dit alles word vertelt langs de perspectieven van deze 4 mensen. Wil het zo graag een 5* geven. Maar kan het vanwege de kleine foutjes toch niet doen.
• 
  Katie Arrowsmith

  This isn’t normally the genre of book I go for but as I’m currently trying to make my way through my bookcase full of books to make space for new ones (I believe I got it free with a Cosmo mag years ago) I thought I’d give it a go and was pleasantly surprised.
  
  It took me a little while to get into it but the further I got through it the more I couldn’t put it down. I went through so many emotions with the characters from feeling empathy for some of them to getting annoyed with them and wanting to shake them and telling them to open their eyes and see what’s in front of them.
  
  A great read.
• 
  Helen

  I don't know if this book worked having two authors? It felt somehow disjointed. The first chapter was the least captivating chapter I've read in a while, and I considered not reading more. But once I settled into the writing style, I quite enjoyed the storyline. Very hygge.
• 
  Rachel Wilkinson

  Took a bit to start, was quite predictable but I enjoyed the story line 🤗 and was a nice read. 📖
• 
  Writerlibrarian

  La vie, l’amour est le quatrième roman du couple Josie Lloyd et Emlyn Rees, unit dans la vie et dans l’écriture. Typique de la littérature, dite féminine, ce roman écrit à quatre mains raconte la vie et les amours de Jimmy et Vérity, deux adolescents à l’aube de leur vie adulte. Le péril, l’aventure de l’amour non déclaré, le “thrill” de l’amour que l’on pense “parfait”. Jimmy aime Vérity de loin, décide finalement de faire le premier pas, jour même où Denny, plus âgé, déjà un succès dans cette petite ville balnéaire fait aussi le premier pas dans sa “conquête” de Vérity.
  
  
  
  Les amours adolescents ont leur miroir avec Ned et Ellen. Ellen, venue tourner un documentaire sur Lost Point, un des attraits touristiques de Shoresby avec sa légende de jeune fille désespérée s’étant lancée de la falaise au XIXe siècle et depuis les suicides et “accidents” se succèdent. Ned, architecte, rénove la demeure historique de Lost Point. Chacun des personnages possède ses rêves, ses blessures et deviendront peu à peu, après la “classique” rencontre où les étincelles sont visibles amoureux.
  
  
  
  La vie, l’amour essaie de plaire à trop de public à la fois. Les intrigues secondaires sont intéressantes et tous les fils sont reliés pour la conclusion du roman. Mais on sent à la lecture qu’il manque quelque chose. Un gouvernail, une direction. Un des périls d’écrire à quatre mains.
  
  Gentil, lisible mais pas un coup de coeur.
• 
  Verity

  This book was quite enjoyable and was really quick and easy but I had a lot of issues with it. The plot line had a lot of gaps and there was a lot of build up for a very anticlimactic end. The conclusion felt rushed and not put together all that well. I've only ever read two other books written by multiple people and Lloyd and Rees wrote perfectly together, the switch between each character was normal and not forced. The biggest annoyance with this book was the fact that they constantly referred to Scott as "the Australian".
• 
  Ilonita50

  i think it was good; hehe..funny when it occur to be going between Ellen and Ned; Real pain reading teenage longing for Danny and knowing there are such teenage girls everyday, like boys as Danny and there are situation games when as in story Verity and Danny.. Oh i really love the moment in the book after Jimmy gave Verity the CD, cos the way Verity's character response was absolutely clear for her he was "empty space"..hahaha..
• 
  Rachel Brand

  I think this was one of my favourite books as a teenager. I read my tattered copy several times before I finally gave it away when it lost its appeal when I got older. I remember getting rather annoyed at the actions of the teenage girl, but there must have been something that made me keep coming back to this book. It spoke to my fourteen-year-old self, even if I can't recall what it had to say.
• 
  Nathan

  I'm an unashamed fan of the work of these authors, but I'm afraid that this one ran perilously close to Mills&Boon level schmaltz. Not their best work. Enjoyable enough, but the plot was as transparent as a thin sheet of plastic wrap and there were a couple of "because it's in the script" moments. 2/5
  
• 
  Tanya (Girl Plus Books)

  Not my favorite by Lloyd/Rees but still a good, entertaining read. The story seemed to move a bit slowly and it took some time before I connected with the characters. A satisfying ending, though, and a good read overall.
• 
  Cláudia

  It took me a while to "enter" the book. I was finding it a bit boring, a lot of separate stories, and my head didn't want to make such a big effort :)
  But then the story grabbed me, as usual the caracters were very real and I started caring for them.
  
  Definitly an enjoyable read.
• 
  Alison

  Don't remember much of this book, I think it was decent, because I don't have an immediate repulsion when I glance at the cover.
• 
  Sandra

  OK but not very excitin, too predictable who ends up getting together...
• 
  Ashleigh

  Not the best book by these two authors but it gets the job done when you just need an easy read.
• 
  Louise

  I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
  
  http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/10529333
• 
  Nina

  An enjoyable Beach read.
• 
  Tina

  Once you got into the story and got used to the story being swapped from one couple to another, it ended up to be a good read.
• 
  Tatyana

  I liked it. Maybe it's because I was reading it on the beach at the seaside enjoying the sun and lovely weather. Or maybe I still believe in love...
• 
  Jacqueline

  Finished this yesterday, it was so so, the story between jimmy and verity saved it from being just another predictable chick lit. This book was sweet!
• 
  Eli

  The story didn't read as easily for me as the Jack & Amy stories, but I enjoyed it once I got into it.