{Book} The Making of Us - Lisa Jewell. And a competition!

Just a week after I started writing this blog and right after I published my second book review I got an email from lovely Najma Finlay from Random House asking if I would be interested in reading and reviewing Lisa Jewell's new book, The making of us. To which I replied: "free books? yes, please!". I told her I was reading something already but would read it to review today. Last week's book was replaced by steel strings and sore fingers, but I decided to still read this for this week (sorry Isabel Allende!).

I have got to be honest and I say I had no idea what to expect. I had never read anything by Lisa before but synopsis sounded intriguing: "In a hospice in Bury St Edmunds, a man called Daniel is slowly fading away. His friend Maggie sits with him listening to the story of his life. He tells her about the children he has never met and never will, conceived with women he never even touched. Four of them: two boys, two girls. His legacy, he calls them.

Lydia, Robyn and Dean don’t know each other. Yet. They are all facing difficult challenges. Lydia wears the scars from her traumatic childhood and although she is wealthy and successful, her life is lonely and disjointed. Dean is a young man whose life is going nowhere. Robyn is training to be a doctor, just like her father – a man she’s never met. When she falls in love with a man who is like her in every way, she needs to be sure. It's time for her to open the envelope her mother gave her on her eighteenth birthday."

I read it with an open hear, but have to confess that after the last few books I read, I wasn't expecting it to be anything above lukewarm. How wrong was I! I loved it from the first chapter. I love that each chapter is told from a different person's point of view - but from not inside their head, like Small world. I love the way the story unfolds, a bit at a time, keeping bits of the puzzle out of the chapter and leaving you wondering - I like feeling curious, trying to guess what happens next. I like that you can feel the characters' pains, anxieties, fears, loves. And I love how beautiful the cover is too. How shallow am I? :)

I thought it was very well written, very well proofread - I don't think I picked up any spelling mistakes from this one, and that is something that always annoys me on books. Although some people might, I don't regard this as chick lit: too much conflict, too little cake. It took me two days to read, mostly because it's a page-turner rather than an easy read (not that it's particularly hard either). I guess even though this was my first Lisa Jewell book, it will probably not be the last.

So, today I tried to write a spoiler-less review because earlier this week Najma emailed me to ask if I got the book ok and I told her I liked it so much that I would like to give it away to one of my readers (if I hadn't liked it, it would probably only make it to the recycling bin). She said she would give me two copies to give to you - how cool is that?

Competition time!

Ok, so here is the deal: I have two copies of Lisa Jewell's new book "The making of us" to give to my readers out there. For a chance to win, leave a comment on this post with your full name and the name of the last good book you have read (I need recommendations for my next reads!).

There are only two rules: one comment per person and you have the have a UK address for me to send you the book.

To increase your chances of winning, you can:

1. Like the blog's facebook page and leave a message on our wall

2. Tweet the following: "Like reading? Head over to @anactaylor's blog for a chance of picking up one of 2 copies of Lisa Jewell's new book. www.2littlewomen.co.uk"

Closing date is next Tuesday, 8th May 23.59. Lily and I will pull two names out of a hat next Wednesday and publish them - hopefully - with my next book review.

** This book was sent to me for reviewing by Random House, however the opinions in this post are entirely my own. **