The Blurb

Six years ago, Jessica’s dad made a split-second decision that changed her life forever …

Now, twenty-something Jessica has a successful career, loving boyfriend, Nick, and a keen eye on her dream home.

But in a parallel world, Jessica’s dad made another choice and everything turned out differently …

Now, twenty-something Jessie is stuck in a job with no prospects, with an unreliable boyfriend, Chris; her dreams never fulfilled.

Can Jessie gain the confidence to get her life back on track? And will Jessica lose everything she cares about because of one stupid mistake?

Whichever decision Jessica’s dad makes, the same people are destined to come into her life, sometimes in delightfully different ways. And before they can look forward to the future, they will all have to deal with the mistakes of the past.

Another page turner from the No.1 bestselling author of Doesn’t Everyone Have a Secret?

My Thoughts

Love Them and Leave Them is the second novel from Sue Shepherd and I confess it has been sitting waiting to be read for quite some time (apologies Sue!). I have to start by saying that, for me, the title of this book gives the impression that it is about something entirely different. Part of the delay in me getting around to reading this book may be down to the title. Being terrible at reading and remembering blurbs, I had the impression that this was a book about someone’s love life – a love life in which a person finds it difficult to commit. I was so wrong and there is so much more to Love Them and Leave Them than the title initially suggests.

Jessica/Jessie’s dad makes a split-second decision that changes his life and the life of his family members forever. The result of this decision is what provides the story for Love Them and Leave Them as we simultaneously follow Jessica/Jessie at the point that her father makes this decision. The two very different paths that Jessica/Jessie’s life takes shows how one seemingly innocuous decision can alter the life course of so many people and I adored this. It really had me thinking about the decisions I had made throughout the course of my life and wonder ‘what if?’ We all have those moments when we reflect on our lives and Shepherd has captured this wonderfully.

The two different storylines mean that Love Them and Leave Them could easily become confusing but Shepherd manages to pull it off without the use of separate chapter headings. There were moments when I picked the book up after a break and I would be confused however I was quickly able to establish which thread I was following and that for someone with a memory as appalling as mine is saying something! I have huge admiration for Shepherd for her ability to manage the two threads and ensure the story flowed and that both gelled together despite being different storylines. I imagine she must have had a copious amount of notes while writing this book.

Love Them and Leave Them is funny at times, sad at times but always heart-warming and the characters ensure that you want to keep on reading to discover what will happen to them. I became fully invested in the lives of Jessica/Jessie and her family and friends during the time it took me to read this book.

On finishing the book I now get that the title refers to Jessica/Jessie’s dad and the different outcomes of that initial split decision and it seems apt. I just hope it doesn’t put people off reading it due to assumptions that it refers to something entirely different as within the pages of Love Them and Leave Them is a wonderfully constructed tale about life, fate and consequences.

Love Them and Leave Them was published on 27 September 2016 by Corazon Books.

A huge thank you to Sue Shepherd for the copy in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.