Still Me

Louisa Clark is back, in this third book in Jojo Moyes series Me Before You we are reunited with the girl with the bumblebee tights as she journey's off to New York to live the life of adventure she promised Will Traynor she would have following his death. This series is one that is not without its critics, many people struggled with the central themes of book 1 whilst others fell in love with the story but we found that in Book 2 it was difficult to move on from the heartbreak of Me Before You and to follow the journey of Louisa without her love and friend Will beside her. I know I was left feeling a little lackluster after book 2 and was therefore surprised when Book 3 was announced.

Despite my reservations about After You I still needed to return and find out what Louisa was going to get up to in Book 3 and to find out if she had as yet reached the potential, her true love believed her capable of. And so the book begins with Louisa jetting off to begin a new job in New York, as assistant to the wife of a wealthy American millionaire. All is not as it seems though and she finds her new boss, Agnes, to be fragile and struggling with replacing the first wife of her husband who still holds great sway in the social circles in which she now has to mingle. Agnes is holding back many secrets and Louisa whilst trying to be a good employee and friend finds her new job more difficult than she could have imagined.

I loved that Louisa is off on her own in this book, forging her way in a new world. She has learned much from her time with Will but is now ready to apply it all, along with her quirky fashion sense and sense of friendship to her new role. Whilst much of the initial part of the book focuses on this I found as the book progressed I fell more in love as we began exploring all the other characters she meets in New York. The tetchy neighbour Mrs. De Witt and her yappy pug dog who seems desperate to take a bite out of Louisa whenever they meet. The enigmatic doorman of the building where she lives and his wonderful wife who are fighting to save their local library and the mysterious Josh who she meets at a society event who seems interested in more than just friendship.

It's a difficult book because we know Louisa's heart belongs back in England with her family and her boyfriend Sam but she is forging a new future in a world she loves and this is bound to cause difficulty and Jojo Moyes explores that beautifully in this book. She takes Louisa on the next stage of her journey in this book and we see her become independent and capable of all Will told her she was before his death.

I liked this book so very much, I loved it much more than After You because in this book Louisa's grief has passed the raw stage and we find her discovering her new normal and getting back to planning a future and I liked that we got to share her journey and in such a way that she stays true to her self in all situations. I would recommend this highly.

This is the Louisa I was waiting after Will's death.. discovering herself.. using her full “potential” as Will said.. This is the book which you just can not put away.. you have to find what happens next. It shows how Lou has evolved since last we saw her in After You. That Lou was mourning over Will's death and not doing anything else. When there is an entry of Josh and details about how he looked same like Will, I was skeptical. William Traynor has left his “stamp” on Lou and no one could replace him. There are some point in this book where Lou's stint at Gopniks have stretched far too much. Though it supported the real plot, but I think if we could have got some of her struggles with new business then her success was more enjoyable than reading letters. Will's letters made me sad though.. Something about it makes me want to read Me before you again..
To be honest, this is the better version of Louisa than After you! Loved it!