A man consumed by a meaningless life is going to do something he’s never considered doing before. He’s going to enjoy the day… takes to put a crimp in his routine is one small annoyance. Someone has left a leather-bound day planner with the handwritten title Your Perfect Year in his spot on his mountain bike at his fitness course!
Determined to discover its owner, Jonathan opens the calendar to find that someone known only as “H.” has filled it in with suggestions, tasks, and affirmative actions for each day. The more he devotes himself to locating the elusive H., the deeper Jonathan is drawn into someone else’s rich and generous narrative—and into an attitude adjustment he desperately needs.
He may have ended up with a perfect year by accident, but it seems fate has set Jonathan on a path toward healing, feeling, and maybe even loving again…if only he can meet the stranger who’s changing his life one day at a time.
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6/6/21 – A great read from the perspective of two different people. It took a bit of time for me to figure out how their stories were intertwined, and even longer for it to materialize. Both stories were fantastic and had several plot twists and well developed characters. I enjoyed following along on their journeys.
Not my cup of tea
The book description and cover make this seem like a light chick lit read. But, it is not.
I loved the story concept, and initially thought this would be a warm and feel good type novel. But for the most part, it’s not.
The characters are battling lots of issues in this book. The aftermath of suicide, dementia, cancer and a failing business just to name a few.
Written from two alternating points of view, Hannah – who filled out the daily planner and John – the man who found it, the story builds around the events that led to the making of the planner and the journey taken to find it’s owner.
The story is slow paced with lots of detail. There may be a bit here and there that got lost in translation. But overall, it was very well written with interesting characters and quite a few good twists.
Even though this book was not what I initially expected, I found it to be a really good read.
I enjoyed the book, Your Perfect Year. A great read, well written, with a wonderful plot and engaging characters. All about change, life, happiness and mindfulness. I will be on the lookout for more from Charlotte Lucas.
Couldn’t put this down. Enjoyed how the author weaved 2 separate storylines and found ways to connect them finally. Sometimes got frustrated when the connection looked like it would happen but didn’t. Slick writing. Would make a fun movie.
The plot of this book takes you by surprise. It starts slow and sneaks up on you, snaking into your mind. There is loss in this book, sad coincidences, missed opportunities. The reader can see how the characters got in their own way. And how they got out.
Satisfying read for a long plane ride. This book will keep you occupied.
I go between thinking this is an excellent book to feeling there are just too many coincidences. The story is magically woven together. The love story between Hannah and Simon just breaks my heart. This book was originally written in German and the translator did an awesome job.
Okay, this book. This book took a bit to get into . . . or a lot to get into. It felt majorly slow (so very, very slow) getting to the main action of the book and I was constantly checking the percentage of the book that I was at, wondering whether or not the story would have enough time to finish without the plot feeling rushed. It was cool having the separate timelines and POVs at first, but the anticipation of when the timelines would come together got a bit much for me. It also took me a while to warm up to the main characters. By the end of the book, I liked them enough (more so Jonathan than Hannah), but they really bugged me at the beginning. I did really enjoy how the story progressed but the epilogue left much to be desired and felt rushed.
The concept of the storyline in YOUR PERFECT YEAR: A NOVEL by Charlotte Lucas is brilliant. And the well-timed near misses (so close, yet so far away) are beautifully woven throughout the vibrant tapestry of this well-told story.
When Someone Else Finds Your Diary
No Sex
No Violence
No harsh language
Okay for teens, but adults would probably enjoy it more.
4.5 rating because for the first 40% of the book I didn’t care much for the characters.
Setting: Nowadays
Jonathan: What a curmudgeon! Self-righteous? Ugh. This is the kind of guy who writes lengthy letters to the newspaper editor about people who don’t pick up dog-doo in the park.
He finds a diary filled with positive sayings and suggestions for things to do for each day of the next year. He only starts reading it in order to discover how to return it to its rightful owner. His first assessment is that the person who wrote it is intellectually inferior, but eventually he is drawn into following some of the suggestions.
Hannah: Likable character. Her not-yet-fiancé leaves her a disturbing letter and disappears. Fearing the worst, she sets out to find him or anyone who saw him on that last fateful day. There is nothing that she omits from contacting police, to newspaper ads, to putting up posters everywhere.
Each chapter is from one or the other character’s point of view. I don’t think the story could have been successful any other way.
I rarely choose to read books that are advertised as love stories, but this one’s high ratings as opposed to the other Kindle First options for the month of October 2019 made me choose it.
I’m glad I did. I found it enjoyable.