Lou thought her life was going well after building up her life after an abusive marriage ended in tragedy. Het was lang geleden dat ik een feelgood had gelezen en wat heb ik ervan genoten om het wel te doen! But as they begin to grow on each other it's not just Edgar who begins to evolve and change but Lou too. When he offers Lou the job she explains that she already is caring for a woman in the town she lives in.

Natuurlijk kan een beetje romantiek niet ontbreken, maar juist door de rest van hun leven ook zo'n duidelijke plaats te geven, raak ik ook invested in die romances, leef ik met ze mee en gun ik ze de duidelijke liefde van hun leven!Hierdoor blijft het verhaal afwisselend, wordt het geen moment saai en worden de verschillende perspectieven mooi met elkaar verbonden, al had ik over enkele elementen en achtergronden graag nog uitgebreider willen lezen. Lou is een personage om wie je meteen gaat geven: ze heeft een groot hart, tomeloze energie en een positieve instelling, ze is zorgzaam en altijd op zoek naar manieren om andere mensen gelukkig te maken, al laat ze daardoor ook wel eens over zich heen lopen en is ze redelijk naïef, ondanks alles wat ze heeft meegemaakt.

Sometimes you just need a simple and quick light-hearted read like Promise Me that doesn't have you ponder the meaning of life or think about the cheating love scandals that muddle up your life. Edgar gets in touch with a lost love and hopes for happy endings all round seem on the horizon and Lou’s own romantic life may also be set to change or will history repeat itself…? De interactie tussen Lou en Edgar verwarmde mijn hart en ik betrapte mezelf erop dat ik dit boek met een glimlach op mijn gezicht aan het lezen was. As always though, a story may have the JM stamp upon it, but it still stands tall as a unique, warm, touching, witty and captivating story. It did have me in tears at certain parts of the book, but there was still plenty of fun, love and laughter throughout.Not forgetting an equally grumpy chihuahua to give Edgar a run for his money, and her best friend who may finally be about to get a break from an unlikely source. Lou is needing to start over, her husband (although not a very nice one) has died, she has just lost her job and been turfed out of her home. Een prachtige balans tussen feelgood en af en toe wat tragiek of dingen die niet lopen hoe je verwacht en/of gehoopt had, maken het boek realistisch en wel optimistisch. Lou is a good person at heart and is determined that she will make Edgar begin to enjoy life, and slowly, she does begin to make changes, although Edgar is still rude, still grumpy and still hard to please.

It was the special relationship that develops between Edgar and Lou that made this book such an enjoyable read. Lou was such a lovely character and her relationship with cantankerous Edgar was heartwarming and took me back to my days as a care worker. I didn't have much to complain about Jill Mansell's prose - the pacing was fluid, the shift between character POV's was very well-handled - the cast themselves, were such a whimsical and playful and colorful lot, that as you bounced from each of their lives - it is how they inevitably were connected with one another is what made it such a delightful read. Remy was lovely and I soon realised why Lou had fell for his charms so easily the first-time round – I just hoped she trod more carefully this time!It is evident that he needs help to maintain his home and she soon learns that he has gone through a series of caregivers. Lou is hesitant to take him up on his offer due to his grumpiness but he is persistent and makes her an offer she just can't turn down. Simply an endearing and light read that makes you want to move to the countryside when all else fails, much like, Lou, our heroine did. This was a lovely heart-warming story that sang with all the delights of a typical cozy Hallmark film, complete with the cozy British feel-good warm fuzzy feelings of a large and loud colorful cast of characters that charm their way into your heart with their frantic antics and lovable moments. And along the way, you re-discover the meaning of friendship, re-kindle first crushes, and genuinely learn that despite the first impressions someone makes on you, everyone is capable of change and no matter how unsavory their behavior may be, deserves a little bit of kindness and happiness.

Jill Mansell has been writing Sunday Times bestsellers for over twenty years, most recently Should I Tell You? De verschillende perspectieven, de verschillende levens en dus de verschillende verhaallijnen, maken ook dit verhaal weer intrigerend en vlot leesbaar. A witty, heartwarming story of love, life and second chances set in the idyllic Cotswolds, from the glorious Jill Mansell. Sometimes you just need to sit back and relax and travel to a small rural Foxwell Town and take care of a grumpy old man and move into his lavish home, with the promise that once he passes away, he'd leave his entire inheritance to you.Lou staat daar niet echt voor open, maar als ze haar baan en haar huis verliest en Edgar een wel heel bijzondere regeling voorstelt, besluit ze het toch een kans te geven. En ondanks de voorspelbaarheid van het genre, weet Jill je in dit verhaal toch weer te verrassen met wat leuke en spannende twists in het verhaal. However, needs must and when he makes an offer that she can’t refuse, she decides to give it a go and becomes Edgar’s live-in carer. Thank you to Anne Cater, Random Things Tours, for my gifted copy and for having me on the blog tour for this book.