It's out in the world, friends! This is a truly lovely book, I absolutely bawled, and it stood alone perfectly--I still have yet to read PS.

(Well. UK and Croatian friends. The rest shall follow.) ( )

Okay, so I entered this one at a disadvantage. I had not read the original book (and still haven't...yet) prior to reading this and while I ADORED the film, I can't help but think the book may have been dramatically different, at least in the case of our leading lady, Holly. She seemed much more despondent than I imagined her to be after everything that transpired. I mean, I wasn't expecting her to jump for joy over all the little things in life, but she seemed so un-Holly that I had a hard to connecting with her. What is being asked of her by those in the P.S. I Love You group, going through similar things like her dearly departed, would be understandably hard...but, and perhaps it's my outsider perspective as observer versus participant, I would have thought she could more easily see the beauty, the assist, the heavy heart help that she was providing. Not that it was her job, not that she had to flay her heart open again, these seven years later, for essentially strangers, but they weren't really strangers now, were they? They were connected by something that those of us living our every day lives don't even consider on the regular...the countdown to the end of their time. So, for me, the story was good, and I enjoyed things far more when she really got started, but until that point, it was a hard climb. Perhaps if you've read the first, or when I backtrack and do so, the character and her reactions will make more sense.


**ARC received for review; opinions are my own ( )

Ich habe mich mit diesem Hörbuch von Anfang an schwer getan. "PS, ich liebe dich" mochte ich sehr. Aber jetzt sieben Jahre nach Gerrys Tod das ganze Geschehen nochmal aufzuwärmen, gefällt mir nicht. Die Idee mit dem Club finde ich seltsam und kann gut verstehen, dass Holly anfangs nicht einsteigen möchte. Mir hätte es besser gefallen, wenn Holly ihr Leben in die Hand nehmen würde ohne auch noch in der letzten Szene Gerrys Segen zu erhalten. Die Botschaft in "PS, ich liebe dich" war für mich: "Ja, es gibt eine große Liebe und das ist wunderbar. Gerry und Holly waren gemeinsam jung und alles war neu. Das wird so nicht mehr möglich sein. Aber man kann auch mit dem Ende einer solchen Liebe weitermachen und glücklich werden." Jetzt ist die Botschaft: "Egal was passiert, der tote Gerry wird immer einen Platz haben (wie überhaupt alle lieben Verstorbenen in unserem Leben)". Das ist auch richtig, aber mir war es in diesem Buch zu viel. Das Leben besteht auch noch aus neuem Leben und nicht nur aus dem Schicksal, einmal einen Mann geliebt zu haben, der viel zu jung gestorben ist. Das fände ich auch für Holly wichtig. ( )

I had forgotten what it was like to read a work by Cecelia Ahern. I had forgotten Gerry and Holly and what PS I Love You meant.
Pushed it aside to a corner of my soul. Forgotten but, still I carried it with me, in moments when I needed it. In moments when confronted by an abyss of unending pain.
Postscript, brought it all back to the forefront.
Thank you for a good cry Cecilia, haven't had that in a while! ( )

It is said that the first book in the series is always the best. But now I see that the second book can be just as wonderful as the first one. I adore how Cecilia Ahern makes such topics as death and loss seem not so disastrous. I was laughing often while I was reading the book and I was crying even more times. But by the end, I was feeling peaceful and delighted. I am very happy to finish this year with such a great read! ( )