‘This Changes Everything’ by Helen McGinn is her debut fiction book as she has previously published non-fiction. After reading this story I shall be waiting for her next foray into fiction for sure.

Julia, a woman with a few marriages behind her decides to go to Rome and meet up with her first love. When her daughters Annie and Jess learn of this they are immediately worried. They know their mother hasn’t seen Patrick for thirty years and every bad scenario runs through their heads. They decide to follow her to Rome, just in case! As the story unfolds so does the heartbreaking tale of Julia’s and Patrick’s young love, one that was broken due to Julia’s mother and left them picking up the pieces of their broken hearts. While in Rome a secret is discovered that Julia has kept for the last thirty years. What impact will this have on Julia and Patrick’s future and both her daughters too?

A beautiful book with such gorgeous settings! I mean, who really can resist Cornwall and Rome? Especially in these gloomy lockdown days we find ourselves living in. Helen McGinn’s writing had me transported back to Cornwall, a place I adore, in the blink of an eye. Rome, somewhere I have never had the pleasure to visit, made me feel like I was in that beautiful country. The characters are all very real, I mean, two daughters worrying about a mum like that! That is exactly what any daughter would be like if their mum was doing that sort of thing! The very idea of it brought a smile to my face. Protective much?

A story of family, first and foremost. Then love and second chances, told in beautiful settings. What more can we want?

Thank you to Rachel’s Random Resources and Boldwood Books for the copy of the book and my place on the book tour.