Kelly McFarland
Our Stop is Laura Jane Williams first fictional novel, after having success with two previous non-fiction titles, Becoming and Ice Cream for Breakfast.
“Nadia gets the 7.30 train every morning without fail. Well, except if she oversleeps or wakes up at her friend Emma’s after too much wine. Daniel really does get the 7.30 train every morning, which is easy because he hasn’t been able to sleep properly since his dad died. One morning, Nadia’s eye catches sight of a post in the daily paper: To the cute girl with the coffee stains on her dress. I’m the guy who’s always standing near the doors… Drink sometime? So begins a not-quite-romance of near-misses, true love, and the power of the written word.“
The premise of Our Stop sets the scene for a cute rom-com, essentially the millennial version of the classic You’ve Got Mail, including multiple references to it by Nadia. The story is quite slow to start with, full of setting the scene and getting to know characters. It isn’t needed. It slows the pace of the story down, sort of like being on the tube and getting stopped at a signal. It doesn’t add anything of merit to the really lovely story you can feel peeking out underneath all the wordiness.
Daniel is a really likeable character and one that is quite easy to connect with and champion throughout the story. Nadia not so much. There doesn’t seem to be much growth in her character throughout the story, we just didn’t find her to be all that likeable. It felt at times that every tiny thought she had or action she did was over-explained and didn’t leave much for the reader to imagine.
For her debut fictional novel Laura Jane William’s has created the perfect summer read, is it a story we will remember and read again? Probably not. But it’s a book we are sure many will be reading this summer. Our Stop is one of the books you read to pass the time on the tube, on the beach or relaxing by the pool. you read it and then you leave it by the pool for someone else. If you like books long drawn out slow-burn plots then this is a must-read. It would also suit fans of Beth O’Leary and Sophie Ranald.
You buy Our Stop, here.
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