Unexpectedly one of my top reads of 2021, I requested this book on Netgalley because I’ve also been writing a novel about a young woman obsessed with dying and I was keen to compare and learn. Of course, because Everyone in this Room will Someday be Dead (let’s ‘shorten’ this to EITRWSBD) starts in such a well written and attention grabbing way I instantly lost the will to write my own novel.

Meg Mason’s Sorrow and Bliss is not a book that has arrived quietly. Although Mason herself says she wrote it pretty much in secret, it has been received with enthusiasm from reviewers and fellow authors to the extent that, despite a self-imposed book buying ban and a general dislike for heavier, more expensive hardbacks, I was desperate to read it.

Ooooh this book! I’m going to be so careful how I review this because I really loved launching into this novel with a fairly limited idea of what to expect within the pages.

After the delight that was Beach Read earlier this year I’ve been waiting for another feel-good romance with a solid, engaging narrative. And, for the most part, I’ve got to say that The Summer Job absolutely delivered.