‘A gorgeously romantic love story full of heart and poignancy’ Alex Brown
‘A wonderful, totally absorbing coming of age love story…I couldn’t have put it down if I tried’ Jules Wake
A moving and heartwarming love story perfect for fans of This Time Next Year, In Five Years and One Day in December.
‘Beautifully written, cunningly constructed and emotionally deep. Ella Allbright is an exciting … December.
‘Beautifully written, cunningly constructed and emotionally deep. Ella Allbright is an exciting voice in fiction!’ Sue Moorcroft, Sunday Times-bestselling author of Let it Snow
Leila’s charm bracelet tells a story of love, a story of loss, a story of hope.
This is the story of her… and the story of Jake.
When Leila Jones loses her precious charm bracelet and a stranger finds it, she has to tell the story of how she got the charms to prove she’s the owner. Each and every one is a precious memory of her life with Jake.
So Leila starts at the beginning, recounting the charms and experiences that have led her to the present. A present she never could have expected when she met Jake nearly twenty years ago…
Readers are LOVING The Last Charm:
‘A wonderful escape into a heartwarming & poignant love story’ Holly Martin, bestselling author of Sunrise Over Sapphire Bay
‘A charming, tender love story & one-sitting read that was just lovely’ Carmel Harrington, bestselling author of My Pear-Shaped Life
‘Honest, raw and achingly romantic – a beautifully told story of loss, love and life,’ Sandy Barker, author of A Sunset in Sydney
‘I loved this beautifully written story of love, loss and hope… The characters will capture your heart and have you rooting for them every step of the way.’ Leah Mercer, RNA award-nominated author of The Puzzle of You
‘A beautifully told, heartwarming yet heartwrenching epic love story that took me on a rollercoaster of emotions! I’m in love with Jake as much as Leila is, if not a little more!’ Kim Nash, author of Amazing Grace
‘Bound to charm you…a tale bookmarking the moments that make us all fall in love’ Catherine Miller, author of 99 Days With You
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I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started reading The Last Charm by Ella Allbright. The synopsis of the story left some pretty big shoes to fill when it states that the story is perfect for fans of Me Before You by Jojo Moyes, which happens to be one of my favorite movies (shh! I have not read the book yet!). I would like to expand on this a bit further because not only is it reminiscent of Me Before You, but it also takes aspects of The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks (That kiss scene..sighs!) and Suzanne’s Diary for Nicholas by James Patterson.
I do read a lot of books, but there is always that one book that stands out from the crowd. The Last Charm is one of those books. Sometimes a book just hits you in all of the feels, can make you laugh, cry and give you hope. It is a story that will stay with you long after the last page is read. Some books are just really special and are meant to be read over and over again like this one. Seriously, can this book be made into a movie because I would be in the theater every weekend it is out (much like I did for The Notebook!) I am such a sad sap! LOL
There are so many passages in this story that totally blew me away such as the letter accompanied by the rainbow charm. It just totally made me cry! Jake, the hero of this story, has such a way with words that is both tender and emotional and just sucks you right in. I just want to wrap him up and put him in my pocket forever! He is the ultimate book boyfriend!
The charm bracelet represents each journey Leila, our heroine in this story, has taken from the time she is a little girl to the present. Each charm is a symbol of her accomplishments as well as events that have taken place in her life both good and bad. Each charm tells a story and these stories are the ones she tells to a stranger who finds her charm bracelet. Here is where our journey, as readers, begins as we are taken back to the past when Jake and Leila first meet.
If you are a sad sap like me and enjoy emotional, heartwarming stories that give you hope then you definitely do not want to miss out on reading The Last Charm by Ella Allbright. There are definitely not enough stars to express just how much this story has meant to me. A definite five star read and one of my top reads of 2020.
“‘The only constant in life is change.”
While I’m not completely happy with bits of this book, this put me through the ringer. Any book that can gives me an absolute emotional rollercoaster deserves 5 stars. It has a similar vibe to Me Before You minus the bumblebee tights. This is in no way a criticism. I love JoJo Moyes and Ella deserves to be on that pedestal.
Leila has extreme abandonment issues. Her mother leaves on her 11th birthday, leaving a note and charm bracelet. Her only tie to her mother is the little charms that randomly show up to celebrate or commiserate events over the span of several years. She has moments -albeit decreasingly – where she is angry, petulant, and rash. Her blind eye to those who love her is probably the most frustrating. But I think her reactions and fear are realistic and plausible.
Jake is magic. He overcomes an ugly childhood to be constant and true. His love for Leila shines through in all of their interactions. He’s so lovely.
I knew going into this book, it would be sad. Once I settled into the inevitability of the ending and braced myself, I loved the story. It’s heartbreakingly beautiful.
As soon as I read the blurb, I knew this book would be sad. And I hate sad books. Why would I want to read a book that makes me sad? I read books to be happy! But one of my bookclubs was reading this one, and the FOMO was real, and it was only 99 cents on Amazon, so here we are.
Right off the bat, you’re like, “Oh sh–, this is going to end badly.” It’s just the vibe the whole book. You know you’re being set up for this epic love story only for it to end incredibly tragically. And that’s difficult to wrap your head around. How can you root for a couple just knowing there’s not going to be a HEA? It’s near impossible. Who sets themselves up to be heartbroken?
This book made it even more difficult by making our female protagonist, Leila, a complete @$$. No, really. She was one of the most childish, self-absorbed, oblivious, main characters I’ve ever encountered. She seriously goes like 13 years not realizing a guy is in love with her, TREATING HIM LIKE COMPLETE CRAP, and living in a little bubble. And part of this is because her family coddles her (i.e. lies to her) and the male lead, Jake, LETS her treat him like trap but continues to circle back to her–so everyone enables her poor behavior. So it’s not entirely her fault. But the male lead is such a saint, you’ve got to wonder what he even sees in her. It’s hard to root for them to be together and not say, “Hey Jake, I’m sure she’s hot and all, and I know you met her as a kid when you were in a dark place, but you can do better.” Really, Jake. You can.
As much as I was continuously annoyed by the characters doing the same irritating things over and over again (Jake does something sweet. Leila yells at him. Jake apologizes. Leila never apologies. Loop.), the book did give me all the #feels and I like the storytelling style, dividing the chapters by charms on Leila’s charm bracelet, and giving us snapshots in time almost like a diary. It’s well-written and creative. I just wish Leila would have grown up a little faster, and, you know, the book weren’t so incredibly sad. But if that’s your thing–tragic romances–then I’d bet you’d like it.
4 stars – 6/10
When Leila is eleven, her mum runs out on her family, leaving only a charm bracelet and a single charm behind. Forced to leave her childhood home with her dad, she sullenly looks on as another family moves in, one with it’s own pains and secrets. And a boy a couple of years older named Jake. They form a strange, fragile friendship during the few days before Leila and her dad move away. There’s little contact and communication between them during their adolescence, but, over the next 15 years, their friendship changes and evolves, all of it told through the charms that start to populate Leila’s bracelet.
Jewelry isn’t my favorite thing in the world, but I do adore charm bracelets and the stories they tell. If I could keep one of my wrist, I’d wear one. But I can’t, so I’ll settle for reading about one. That’s why I wanted to read this book. I wanted to know about Leila’s charm bracelet and what it had to say about her life. There were parts that felt agonizing to me, parts that made my cry, and definitely parts where I wanted to scream at Leila and slap some sense into her. It was a crazy roller coaster. Best of all, though, I think this book broke me.
The Characters: Full of Love and Pain
The characters are real and flawed. They keep secrets and hurt each other. But the love they hold for each other always shines through. Leila and Jake have incredible love around them even though they’re both broken.
At the start of the story, Leila is eleven, and Jake two years older than her, and her mum has just abandoned her and her dad. For the next 15 years, we get to know both Leila and Jake, get to see them grow and mature and find themselves. I loved getting to see them turn into teenagers and then mature out of it, though the teen years really annoyed me. Leila annoyed me because she came across as so angry, self-centered, and incredibly spoiled. She made herself out to be a victim because her mum ran off and made it seem like it was okay to take it out on everyone else. It’s for those very reasons that I can’t bring myself to read YA, all those difficult adolescent emotions that seemed to skip right over me so I can never relate. But I knew this book covers 15 years, so I just patiently waited and read on. Her early twenties weren’t much better, but then she has an epiphany scene and becomes so much more bearable and my heart just softened and I fell in love with her.
Then there’s Jake. I think a part of me fell in love with him. He’s amazing and wonderful, too patient and caring. He’s strong, quiet, and supportive, always there for Leila even when she wants to hurt him. He endured so much from her, but really, truly loved her. I sometimes wondered if he only loved her because, in her own way, she saved him when they were kids, but, reading about him and how he felt about her the entire time, I like to think she was just his match in every way, a solid support that she needed while she added color and whimsy to his life. I’m amazed at just how steadfast he was, though he clearly had his own feelings that led to their push and pull relationship. Still, I sometimes wondered what, exactly, he saw in her.
Every other character was wonderful and interesting in their own ways, but Leila and Jake were the stars. I liked getting to know the minor characters as they added to Leila and Jake and helped the reader get to know them better. Almost all of them were supportive, which could have come across as boring, but really highlighted the close relationships. My only problem was that, at the end, characters started popping up that had had some role in the past, but hadn’t been seen until that moment. It was kind of like something just flying by, waving hello, and then disappearing into the ether. Kind of weird.
The Setting: In an Around England
This book mostly takes place around England. The southern shore was mentioned, so I guess it’s set in southern England. But I don’t think it was really necessary to know what part of England it was. The story was really focused on Leila and Jake and their relationship, so I often lost track of where in England it was set. There were, though, a lot of sea-related locations. Both of them had an affinity to the sea, so it was nice to see that theme run through the book.
Mostly, I think the setting was set by how the characters spoke and behaved and how the story was written. It felt quintessentially British, matching many stereotypes I recognize from other books and movies, like the openness about having sex and the drinking that seems heavy at early ages and then tapers off into something a bit more refined. In general, it was just impossible to think of this book being set anywhere but the UK. I was, being American, a little perplexed by some of the words and phrases, but I like to think it didn’t impact my enjoyment of the book.
The Plot: A Story in Charms
This is the story of Leila telling someone named Caitlin about how she received every charm on her bracelet. See, prior to the start of the novel, Leila had lost her bracelet and it was found by someone named Caitlin who wanted to know the story about the charms to be persuaded the bracelet was actually Leila’s. So, Leila starts writing back and tells the entire story of how she received every charm, which twined around her relationship with Jake.
I have to admit that, at first, I didn’t find this story to be terribly exciting. It skipped ahead through time to the points when Leila received each charm with mentioning here and there what had happened during the intervening time. Jake and Leila’s childhoods seemed to be on fast forward, so it was difficult to really get to know either of them. But, by the last third, I was hooked and fully invested in their relationship.
This may be the story about a charm bracelet, but it’s also a love story. It’s full of animosity, misunderstanding, and omission of information. There’s a lot of hurt and there’s a lot of love. It took getting past the adolescent years for me to see this, to really form my own opinion about them and see the book for what it is even though I knew about it going in. I had a hard time with Leila, which really impacted my enjoyment of the book, but, by the time she was an adult and starting to mature, she began to steal my heart almost as much as Jake had already done so.
This is beautiful book. Yes, the beginning was annoying to me, but it grew on me. I began to fall in love with Leila and Jake and really wanted to see how the story would end for them. I had a feeling it would end like it did, but really hoped I was going to be wrong. The end shattered me. I don’t cry often when I read, but the tears weren’t something I could stop, and I tried. Overall, this book chugged along at a good pace, all of it leading up to the tear-worthy end.
Overall: Beautiful
There was so much packed into this book, from the uneasy beginning of their friendship to the love they discover over 15 years. Like I said earlier, this book broke me. It made me annoyed and frustrated. It made me fall for Jake and want to slap Leila. It made my heart hurt for both of them. It made me sad when they couldn’t find ways to communicate. It made me happy when they held hands. After that kind of roller coaster, one that made me so emotionally entangled in the lives of two fictional people, I couldn’t do anything but feel broken in half. It’s beautiful.
P.S. The end of the book occurs in March 2020. Would have been fun if COVID-19 had been thrown in as the fictional time is startling at odds with reality, but I suppose this book was written and set for publication well before. Still, might have been interesting!
Thank you to Netgalley and One More Chapter for a free e-copy. All opinions expressed are my own.
The Last Charm by Ella Allbright is an excellent contemporary romance that had me hooked from beginning to end.
I loved the concept of the plot in Leila describing each charm on her bracelet to Caitlin in order for her to identify that the lost jewelry was hers. In describing each charm, we are taken back to the beginning of Leila’s childhood and her life with and without her other half, Jake. We get to see a wonderful life unfold before our very eyes from Leila’s perspective, along with Jake’s. This concept is so creative. The story moved along flawlessly, and I finished the book before I even knew it.
I went through the full gambit of emotions: laughter, heartwarming moments, heartbreak (no that was not a tear…its allergy season I swear), and fulfillment. I truly loved the ending.
Ms. Allbright truly has a gift.
5/5 stars
Thank you NetGalley and HC OneMoreChapter for this ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.
The Last Charm by Ella Allbright is the most beautiful contemporary story about friendship, love and family. It is a novel that will swell your heart with love whilst having you reaching for the tissues.
Within the novel are two young people whose fortunes we follow over fifteen years. Both are from fractured homes – one feels abandoned; the other needs love and kindness. The reader’s heart breaks for them both in different ways. They both recognise the needs of the other.
There are grown-ups who see the hurt and do their best to plug the gaps and bring love and care.
The reader celebrates the highs and mourns the lows as we witness the birth of a friendship, showing kindness, compassion and care. There are some huge hearts within the novel.
The chapters alternate between two points of view. One is written in the first person and one in the third. The love radiates from the pages, wrapping the reader in a ‘hug’. It was a totally enchanting read. I loved the characters who lodged in my heart. The book is over and I ‘feel’ lost. I wanted much more – but the love, the hope and the beauty remain.
Thank you Ella Allbright for a beautiful tale of love.
Keep looking for rainbows and look up to the stars.
I received this book for free. A favourable review was not required and all views expressed are my own.
The Charm Bracelet by Ella Albright a harming five-star read. I finished this weeks ago, but I haven’t been able to put the words together to put this review together without crying or pondering everything for so long my screen goes to sleep. There was something so special about the friendship bonds in this story, they will just make you smile and make you wonder. But all that glitters is not gold and there is joy, but there is also sadness and gut-wrenching pain. I haven’t read this author before, but I will be adding them to my must-read list as there is just something so special about the writing that will captivate you.
I absolutely loved the way this story was told and how it unfolded!
It is the journey of Leila. She is angry and fearful of relationships.
It is not easy to trust when someone you love suddenly leaves you and you are only eleven or even when you are older!
However, Leila has her “Charm Bracelet”. This is the connection that will always make her feel as though “someone” cares and is watching over her.
When her bracelet is lost, the need to identify and hopefully find this “dear” piece, is told as this novel!
It is a beautiful, heartbreaking, love story of friendship, family, heart and trust.
There is no doubt that tissue’s are needed many times throughout the pages!
I truly adored this book! Well done!
Emotional whirlwind, poignant and tear-inducing page-turner
What a fantastic read. I loved it and hated it but a book that brings out this much emotion is a great story. Young Jake is so broken yet he perseveres in his efforts to bring some joy and light into the life of Leila, the fairy lookalike girl whose family life he envies.
Jake was, for me, the heart and soul of their story, the reason I had to keep reading. Time and again Leila acts out and rejects him, yet he never turns on her. Author Ella Allbright has created a couple who dance and parry and flutter in and out of each other’s lives; seasons turn and years pass and significant events are marked by new charms for Leila’s treasure charm bracelet. Personally, I found Leila self-centered and unable to admit and constructively deal with her feelings for way too long. Her attitude and actions make Jake’s constancy all the more poignant. The tragic turn towards the story’s end made their history of wasted opportunities all the sadder.
This was a compelling, page-turner with a message — life is constantly on the move, the future is never certain so cherish each day and the people who stand by you while you can. So many if only moments and no chance for a re-do. Just a really sad, lovely romance that I won’t easily forget.
Thanks to publisher Harper Collins/One More Chapter and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest review.
The Last Charm drew me in and kept me wanting to find out how the relationship would finally end up! Very emotional!
When I saw this on Bookbub, I liked the cover and the premise. I had no idea that it would pull me in so quickly. I finished it in 2 days, but I’m not “finished” with it. This story will stay with me for a long time.
The Last Charm has a unique timeline as it moves through the story with special dates and charms on a charm bracelet. This is not just a love story, but also a story of friendship, family, and personal growth through life experiences and hardships. There are some sad elements like abandonment, abuse, and grief in TLC. I’m not usually a fan of emotional/sad books. I prefer funny romcoms. I didn’t like the ending of this book, but overall, I enjoyed discussing it with the book club.
Jake is a sweetheart who never gives up on being a true friend to Leila. From the beginning and especially as he matured, it was obvious that Jake is a good man. Leila, on the other hand, is very immature. This is a direct quote from the book that explains their love story in a nutshell- “He loves her but she needs to grow up.” Although Leila was frustrating, I think reading about a broken heroine causes us to take time to empathize with a character who has experienced realistic pain. There are some beautiful lines that highlight our human flaws and the results of being hurt. There are stark difference in how the main characters choose to move forward and what they believe of themselves as a result of their painful experiences.