Always with love by Giovanna Fletcher was a sequel to Billy & me. Billy and me is one of my favourite books so I had high hopes for Always with Love, I was not disappointed. It was great from the first page, and I was gripped the whole way through and all aspects of it were sweet, sincere and heart warming.
It is quite a light hearted book based around two main characters, Billy and Sophie. Billy is an incredibly famous actor and everywhere they go he has the paparazzi following him. Sophie is an introvert and owns a cafe in her small village, the cafe was given to her (in Billy and me) by an old friend who died. Billy likes films, sophie likes books, billy likes parties, sophie likes nights in, But Billy loves Sophie, Sophie loves him. They have completely different lifestyles, but some how, they work together.
However, in the beginning of the book Billy is taking a break from acting, and is living in Sophie's quiet village with her and helping her in her cafe. But, soon they both go to LA to meet Billy's family and they are drawn back into the world of fame and Billy's acting courier.
Throughout the book, they are apart from each other for long stretches of time and they both question their relationship.
However, not only is the book about Billy and Sophie. Both their families are a big part of the book and you understand different life styles and each others opinions on their parents and family in law, and learning to live a completely different life style to their own. Sophie has a very strong relationship with her mum, and the book is based a lot around her and her life, you learn more about her character than the first book and you meet Billy's family, which is new to this book too.
The book has a perfect amount of description to make sure you imagine everything in your head. It uses imagery that is so clever and you find yourself smiling to yourself in the ideas which the author is describing. In the book, Billy and Sophie go through a phase of writing letters to each other when Billy is in LA and Sophie is back in her quiet little village in England, and you read these letters first hand.
The book is written from Sophie's perspective (like Billy & me) which is really clever as you see how she copes with the fame world and what she thinks, honestly, of it. You also see Billy's opinion on Sophie's life through the letters and the conversations that they have.
All the characters in the book had gone through such different lives and they had their own problems and joys, which I think was really clever as you learnt that everyone, however confident and happy they look, has had their fair share of bad times thrown at them, but also happy. I also think the book taught me that you can not plan life, and you have to just live it how you want it to be lived and know that things will happen that you do not expect.
It was a book full of wise words, and romance. If you like a thriller or a horror, then this isn't that book, however although it is light hearted, it has so much meaning and depth in it and shows you the importance of love. It genuinely made me cry ( I never really cry in books) of both happiness and sadness, and it made me laugh and gasp. It was a book packed with emotion and it was incredibly gripping. If you want to read it, definitely read Billy & me first so as they are both joys to read and you will know more about the characters in Always with Love. (It will make you love them even more!)
It is not specifically in the category of YA fiction as it is an adult fiction book but it is definitely suitable for teenagers.
Buy it:
https://www.waterstones.com/book/always-with-love/giovanna-fletcher/9781405919180
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Always-Love-Giovanna-Fletcher/dp/1405919183/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1498469493&sr=8-1&keywords=always+with+love
