Little Big Love
By: Katy Regan
Published Year: 2019
Publisher: Berkley
Pages: 384
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This in no way shape or form influenced my opinion of this book.
Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Liam Jones was the love of Juliet's life. He was her brother's best friend, then her best friend, then the father of her little boy. In those shining weeks after Zac was born, she had never been happier and neither had Liam.
And then one night, Liam disappeared without a trace.
Ten-year-old Zac Hutchinson collects facts: octopuses have three hearts, Usain Bolt is the fastest man on earth. But no one will tell him what happened to his father and where he went.
When Juliet, inadvertently admits that his father is the only man she's ever loved, Zac decides he is going to find him and deliver his mom the happily ever after she deserves.
But Liam left for a reason, and as Zac searches for clues of his father, Juliet begins to rebuild what shattered so many years ago.
An unforgettable, heart-stopping story of the secrets we keep and of love in all of its many forms.
First Impressions
A few years ago I read Regan’s book, How We Met and really enjoyed it. When an opportunity to review another one of her novels came my way, I couldn’t turn it down. I also originally saw the British cover, which I love much more than the US version.
What I thought
I’m trying to think of how to review this book without being mean.
Zac is turning 11 and wants to find his father. Juliet has told Zac that his father left them shortly before he was born, but she and her father Mick know the true story.
I started reading this book in January. I was enjoying it, but not loving it. Interested enough to keep going, but I didn’t feel bad or feel a pull to it when I had to put it down to read a few other review books. When I finally caught up and was able to pick it back up again, I just felt dragged down. Zac irritated me, I had no sympathy for Juliet, and Mick was kind of a dick.
After trying to get back into the book so that I could finish it, I gave up. I decided to skip forward to the end to see how the story resolved and ultimately was glad that I did. I think if I had continued with the story I ultimately would’ve been frustrated with the ending and angry that I wasted my time.
The dichotomy of a story switching between the perspective of a 10 year old boy and his mother didn’t work for me at all. I couldn’t connect with a child’s perspective trying to tell an adult story. He got on my nerves and I just didn’t like his chapters. Juliet also had a very woe-is-me attitude that got irritating quickly.
Without going on too much, this book just didn’t work for me. It moved too slowly, had too much going on, and characters I couldn’t connect with. I think, unfortunately, this book has made me question whether or not I would pick up anything else by Regan. While the beginning of the book wasn’t horrible, I think the fact that I put it down for months without ever feeling a need to pick it back up again pretty much says it all.