Audiobook Review – All About Us

Title: All About Us

Author: Tom Ellen

Genre: Contemporary Fiction/ Romance

Goodreads Rating: 3.89

My Rating:

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Source: Audiobook

Synopsis:

A chance encounter leads to the journey of a lifetime in this powerful and emotional love story, perfect for fans of One Day, Me Before You and In Five Years.

If you could turn back the clock, would you choose a different life?

Ben’s always loved the month of December, but this year, with his relationship with Daphne on the rocks, it’s missing its usual magic. And then his old friend Alice gets back in touch. Ben’s always thought of Alice as the one that got away, and he can’t help but wonder: what if he’d done things differently all those years ago?

He never imagines he might get to find out… but when a stranger sells Ben a mysterious watch one freezing winter’s night, he’s astonished to wake up the next morning on 5th December 2005: the day he first kissed Daphne, leaving Alice behind.

Now Ben must make the biggest decision of his life, all over again. But this time around, will he finally find the courage to follow his heart?

All About Us is a captivating novel of heartbreak and loss, friendship and hope – and how the choices we make throughout our lives will shape our destiny.

My Review:

First of all lets just all agree that the cover on this one is so sweet and definitely gives off the Christmas vibes! I have to agree with the other reviews when they say this is a modern retelling of A Christmas Carol, with the added romance.

As Ben faces a crossroads in his life he starts to ponder that day old question, what if? We’ve all been there before and asked ourselves where our lives might of led had we chosen a different route, luckily for Ben he gets to relive these moments and see how his life would of played out.

After a chance encounter with a watch seller Ben finds himself back in his past meeting his now wife for the first time. He isn’t a bystander watching everything play out he is there as himself and living it all over again. I found how Ben adjusted to these different realities highly amusing and found myself giggling at the situations he found himself in.

Ultimately this is a love story of Ben and Daphne, how they met and the different bumps along the way. We see the highs and lows of their relationships as well as the moments that Ben himself had forgotten. Tom Ellen does a brilliant job of showing us just how much our memories can alter throughout time and how something so small can have a huge impact in our perspective.

Of course there were one or two tears whilst I read this, especially the conversations Ben had with his mum but I also felt a sense of hope as we went through. I wanted Ben and Daphne to find their way again, to realise that the details are in the small things we do for each other.

A beautiful read filled with Christmas comforts that explores moments of grief, weakness and truth.