To The Moon And Back [Paperback]

Ellie Kendall lost it all when her beloved husband, Jamie, died in a car accident. She lost the love of her life; all the memories and plans and growing old together vanished in a heartbeat. Her co-workers, friends and family started treating her differently, walking on eggshells and constantly apologizing for her heartbreak. Ellie may have even lost her sanity - because occasionally she still talks to Jamie (and sometimes he talks back). But all that is going to change now. It has been a year and a half since Jamie passed away, and Ellie needs a change.

She quits her job and moves into a sweet little apartment in Primrose Hill, courtesy of her father-in-law and movie star, Tony Weston. Ellie befriends her next-door-neighbour and ex-celebrity, `Daisy Deeva' aka `Roo'. And Ellie reconnects with her Jamie's old friend, Todd. And finally, through luck, chance and Roo, Ellie scores a job as assistant to entrepreneur Zack McLaren. Zack may be drool-worthy, but he has a girlfriend and Ellie isn't quite ready to jump back on that bandwagon . . . unfortunately for Zack.

`To the Moon and Back' is the new novel from contemporary romance author, Jill Mansell.

I have a confession to make, one I am quite ashamed of . . . this is my first Jill Mansell book. I know, I know! It's atrocious. She is one author who has been recommended to me again and again but I've never got around to reading her, until now. And I've got to say - she was worth the wait.

Jill Mansell is the literary equivalent of Richard Curtis. She writes quaint little British romances that appear quite sweet and innocent, but pack an emotional punch and leave you with a swirl of emotions - from outright giggles to pathetic blubbering.

`To the Moon and Back' is a novel about losing love, and the myriad of ways that people cope with the fallout. Mansell writes an interesting cast of characters, all of whom have a trail leading back to Ellie Kendall.

There's Roo, Ellie's hopeless next-door-neighbour and new friend. Roo has started seeing the perfect guy - handsome, funny and good in bed. Except he's married, a fact which won't stop Roo from falling in love with him.

Tony Weston is Ellie's father-in-law. He also happens to be a movie star; one of the few ex-pat Poms's to have made it big in Hollywood. Ellie and Tony are keeping each other afloat since Jamie's sudden death - they're a tight unit bought together by their love for Jamie and caught asunder by their grief. Just as Ellie starts moving on with her life, Tony meets someone new, and he has never felt such an instant connection. Fifty-five is never too late to find true love.

Zack McLaren is a prominent London businessman who employs Ellie as his new PA. It's thoroughly inappropriate and he feels awful; but Zack has the biggest crush on Ellie, from the moment he lays eyes on her. But Zack has a girlfriend. And inter-office relations are really quite inappropriate . . . especially when he can't figure out of Ellie is dating the movie star Tony Weston and living in his Primrose Hill love nest?

And finally, Ellie Kendall has a hole in heart where Jamie should be. They were soul-mates, and they didn't have enough time together. I loved Ellie best of all - she's coping terribly with the loss of her husband, but she soldiers on with wry wit and the dogged determination that tomorrow will be better, easier. But in the meantime, Ellie has conversations with imaginary Jamie. . . she knows it's crazy and deluded, but she misses him and she can't stop conjuring him. Through these exchanges we can see how well Ellie and Jamie fit together. Their banter (even if it is all in Ellie's head) is funny and ingrained with years of `in-jokes' that reveal that these two were best friends as well as lovers.

Fair warning - you will cry. Ellie's story is sad and tragic, made all the worse by the fact that she can't see the good thing that's right around the corner. Zack pines for Ellie while she goes out on bungled dates and tries to get on with her life and love life (much to Zack's chagrin).

I loved Ellie and Zack. Mansell has all the perfect romantic ingredients - unrequited love, pining and tragedy, and always with that dry British wit to carry these two characters through their struggles.

`To the Moon and Back' is a sweet contemporary romance, and Mansell's writing is reverently tender as she explores these flawed characters. She writes complicated and messy people that live in the gray areas. She explores adultery from many different angles and perspectives; sometimes the cheating is reprehensible and unforgiveable, but in other situations the faithlessness has an explanation. She also explores the inability of people to move on, and all the various triggers and prompts that people need in order to put the past to rest and break free.

Jill Mansell's `To the Moon and Back' is superb. It's a book of high emotion - you will cry, and laugh and you will be torn in two by the various moral conundrums these characters face. But at the end of the day this is a feel-good slice of British humour wonderfully coloured by Mansell's tender romance about moving on and finding love after heartbreak.

To The Moon And Back is a sweet romantic contemporary about love, loss, and second chances. Ms. Mansell's dry wit, comical romantic entanglements, and crazy characters are back in force as we are once again transported to the other side of the pond and become entangled in the crazy escapades of Marsell's mad, mad Brits. The biggest draw of Ms. Mansell for me is her characters. She infuses a sense of realism into their personalities and situations; allowing you to connect intimately with them. They make bad decisions, say dumb things, and act inappropriately at times. Just like all of us. Your never really sure what these engaging people are going do or where they will end up till the end.

Ellie, our protagonist, tugs at your heart strings as she tries to rebuild her life after her husband dies. You can feel her pain as she often visualizes and talks to Jamie, her deceased husband. While you don't see Ellie and Jamie while they are married, you see their time together through Ellie's eyes and heart in her conversations with him. I enjoyed watching her slowly piece her life back together, gloriously clueless to the man beside her who is in love with her.

Zach McLaren saw Ellie for a brief moment in traffic and felt as though he had come home. Fate let her disappear from his life until she applies for a position with him as has PA. Zach has a firm rule that you don't mix business with pleasure and figures it's just his luck that the woman of his dreams wants to work for him. Zach stands back and watches as Ellie dates, always lingering on the edges of her life waiting for the impossible. I liked Zach. His inner monologues cracked me up. It was quite funny watching him lament on the sidelines, always a day late and dollar short when it came to Ellie. He grows to care for her deeply but fears rejection so he works up little situations for them to be together.

The secondary characters add depth, humor, and continuity to the storyline that leads back to Ellie. Tony Weston, Ellie's father in law, finds himself head over heels in love again at the age of 55. Unfortunately, the object of his affections is embroiled in a delicate situation that creates much sadness on both sides. Roo, Ellie's friend, has also found love, but in the arms of a married man. When she finds him cheating on her with someone else, Roo decides that her life needs a make over and channels her inner Mother Theresa. She does go a tad bit over board but that is her character. With Tony and Roo Ms. Mansell probes the ramifications of adultery and the circumstances of why someone might betray their spouses. She also uses it to show how going on after the death of a spouse can feel like adultery.

While I overall enjoyed the story, I didn't get the same feeling from this one as I usually do. I found myself more of an observer then a participant and that made it hard for me to connect with everyone. The main conflicts and over all plot line aren't very exciting and I didn't see any of the over the top antics that we usually find in Ms. Mansell's books. I would have liked to have seen more of Ellie and Jamie's relationship while he was alive so that her transition back into life without him would have made more of an impact with me. There were also some misunderstanding scenes with Zach that read flat to me. I didn't understand Ellie's reasons for some things she did. Roo was annoying in her quest to redeem herself and I found it took to long for her to finally accept and forgive herself.

The ending is sweet and fulfilling as Ms. Mansell uses her trademark light hearted comedy to wrap up the loose ties and gives everyone what they need rather then what they wanted.

I've been in a dump for a long while when it came to books. Every time I bought a book it would disappoint in one way or another, and I wouldn't enjoy it in the least and have to force myself to finish it.

This book however, my first for the author, turned all of that around. I could not put it down, literally!! And I missed that, I missed enjoying a story so much that I honestly cannot put the book down because I always wanted to know what would happen next! And Ms. Mansell gave me that, she kept me on my toes the whole time, and staying up late reading this was SO worth it.

The characters are very well rounded, they're endearing, realistic, and their sense of humor is simply put, hilarious. The romance that built up from the beginning between Zack and Ellie electrified me, it was so intense. The way it burst into flames at the end was perfect, and I was cheering right along with all the other characters in the book.

There's so much to commend this story, and I could go on forever saying how much I enjoyed reading it, but I'd rather leave the reader to make his/her own decisions. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good, light, fun, and definitely romantic read.

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