Book Review: This Could Change Everything by Jill Mansell

I don't usually read what I like to call 'fluffy' books - light, romantic fiction books, but occasionally, if one gets recommended to me or it has a good blurb then I may go for it. This is one of those and I enjoyed it so much I would even consider reading another!

This Could Change Everything starts with Essie, who is in her mid-twenties. Essie is playing grown-ups having just moved in with her boyfriend Paul. One night over a bottle of wine she and her friend write a joke version of a holiday card which states in much detail, how much she dislikes Paul's mother. It was never meant to be sent, just a bit of a vent, but she wakes up to the email having been sent to her entire contacts list - including Paul and his mother. The sender turns out to be Lucas - a friend of her brother's who had come home drunk in the middle of the night. Suffice to say Essie does not like Lucas.

Suddenly finding herself on her own Essie is at a loss with what to do. In a stroke of luck she chances across an 83 year old, well-dressed lady called Zillah who decides that Essie is just the right person to rent out her fancy flat upstairs. Zillah moonlights as a wish-granter for elderly folks near the end of their lives, along with another young man, Conor. Through this, along with a new job at a pub where the manager is no other than email-sending Lucas, Essie begins to change her perspective on life, and love.

The characters are all well developed and relatable, each has a beautiful voice that draws you into their thoughts. I deeply cared about the outcome of a couple of relationships, as well as the outcome of an incident involving Zillah.

It was funny, it made me want to keep reading and it got me invested. All marks of a good book and so this one gets a tick from me. I'm glad I ventured out of my dystopian/crime thriller zone for this latest read. I will definitely keep Jill Mansell in mind for when I next need a fluffy read!

Thanks to Hachette for the review copy of this book. Out now at the usual retailers.