Lottie Wentworth has never been more pleased to hear Big Ben ring in the new year and wave goodbye to The Year of Saying Yes!
When a long-term relationship ended, her best friend’s scheme to get Lottie back in the swing of things seemed like a good idea. She’s kept her promise to Jess to see it through but, as a lover of the quiet life, Lottie couldn’t be happier to say hello to a brand new … happier to say hello to a brand new year – The Year of Saying No!
Unfortunately, the one thing she still seems unable to say no to is the crush she has on her best client and now friend, Army veteran, Seb Marshall. But she’s working on it, and with rescue dog Humphrey at her side, she knows that she’ll manage just fine.
Lottie’s decision to stop trying to please everyone has brought a sense of relief beyond what she had expected. Her actions and determination have also begun to send ripples throughout her life and those closest to her, bringing about changes none of them could have expected.
But will all those changes be for the good?
What readers are saying about My Year of Saying No:
‘I honestly fell head over heels in love with this book.’
‘A warm and funny read with the biggest of hearts. It felt like a giant hug.’
‘Modern, fresh, and unputdownable.’ Rachel Dove
‘I cannot stress enough how much I think you should read this novel.’
‘Bloody brilliant!!! I adored this book and everything it made me feel!
‘Pure fun escapism.’
‘Funny, witty, romantic, uplifting, fabulously fun’
‘Fast, fun, fantastic book from Maxine. She is fast becoming a favourite of mine. Keep them coming Maxine!’
I absolutely adored this book!’
‘Maxine Morrey has become a must-read for me.’
‘I couldn’t put this one down’
‘Wow oh wow!!’
‘What an absolutely gorgeous read, with utterly amazing characters. I have loved this book so much. It has been an absolute joy to read.’
‘This is highly deserving of five million stars. It is a fantastic read!!’
Praise for Maxine Morrey:
‘A lovely story that kept me turning the pages’ Jules Wake
‘A stunning, perfect novel – it literally took my breath away.’ The Writing Garnet, 5 stars
‘A warm hug of a book.’ Rachel’s Random Reads, 5 stars
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I will forever shout from the rooftops about how brilliant and incredible Maxine is at writing leading men. There is always something so charming, kind and true about her characters that I can’t help falling in love with them the minute I meet them. Seb Marshall was no expectation. He was warm, kind, interesting and so thoughtful. He was an army Veteran and after getting injured he set up a charity to help other Veterans. I loved how he strived to always lift others up and be there for them. I also really enjoyed this element of the book because we get to learn of Seb’s struggles and insecurities with his injury and I think it’s so important for us to be more aware of these things, of how we can be more knowledgeable and understanding of those who have fought, in order to make them feel seen, valued and heard.
I loved Lottie. I liked how she was funny and sweet and always wanted to help others, though she tended to run herself ragged doing so. She likes to please people and because of this had spent the past year saying ‘yes’ to every crazy idea her best friend had. We meet her at the beginning of her year of saying ‘no’, which she decided on herself. This was one of those things that I was really interested in seeing unfold in this book. I think Lottie was a great role model because she wasn’t mean when it came to saying no, it’s like because she had given herself this permission/challenge to say no, that she had more confidence in doing so. She let herself say ‘no’ without feeling guilty and simply moving on. I think most of us will be able to connect with that or feel inspired by it.
I loved how Seb and Lottie’s relationship blossomed and built in this story. You could really feel the warmth in their relationship and how comfortable they had gotten with each other being friends over the years through their work. It was a lovely progression in finding out if there was something more for them both. I thoroughly enjoyed them getting to know each other deeper, spending time together and immersing themselves into each others lives. It was so wonderful and felt completely natural, I was rooting for them the whole way and their dates/days out were super cute, in addition to them meeting each other’s family. You just felt like you were in the house with everyone, watching it unfold, as Maxine made it so very warm and inviting.
Speaking of family, both Lottie’s family and Seb’s family were wonderful and gorgeous and made me smile. As was Lottie’s best friend. She added that extra touch of fun and with her fiancé added some lovely swoon worthy moments to this story too. I loved the dynamic of their friendship but also how close Lottie was with her best friend’s fiancé, you couldn’t help but grin and feel that heart-warming glow.
After a year in which she committed to say ‘yes’ to every opportunity that came her way, Lottie is fed up and just wants a quiet life. So this year, she’s giving herself permission to stop worrying about what other people want. If she doesn’t want to do something, she’s just going to say No. Starting with the drunk jerk who just propositioned her outside the pub…
Working as a virtual PA, Lottie’s biggest client is Seb, who runs a veterans’ support charity. Since they started working together, Seb’s become one of her closest friends, but Lottie works very hard not to let Seb know she has a giant-sized crush on him. Only, after finally meeting him in person, it’s getting more and more difficult!
I’m just going to note here that it’s really nice to read a romance with a disabled protagonist. Seb’s an army veteran who lost most of his leg to an IED in Afghanistan and wears a prosthesis, and he has a few hangups and issues around it, but it never affects how Lottie sees him at all. There’s a nice subplot regarding Seb’s family and some messy relationships where they haven’t really dealt with the emotional fallout of his injury which felt very realistic.
There’s a few misunderstandings which are clearly in service of the plot, but I actually bought into them pretty well because most of them were based in a tenet Lottie was trying hard to stick by; don’t mix work and pleasure. She didn’t want to risk losing her biggest client and one of her best friends by trying to add romance into the mix, and she actually behaved very professionally in turning Seb down when he asked. Of course, it wasn’t going to work because she was already head over heels for him even if she couldn’t acknowledge it to herself, but she was trying.
This is actually the first ‘rom-com’ I’ve read in a while which deserves the label. No, it wasn’t laugh-a-minute funny, but it was charming, amusing and very definitely a romance from early on as we met Seb in the first few pages. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I’d definitely read more books by this author. Five stars!
Disclaimer: I received a review copy of this title via NetGalley.