What the hell was that ending?

I am so glad I stumbled across this book!

I went in to it with no expectations and finished it being sincerely happy that I found it.

Didn't realize this was a romance novel. Not really my thing.

This book had pacing issues-I kept having to flip back thinking I missed a few pages but I never did. Good story, but lacking some editing.

I received this book for free through a Goodreads First Reads giveaway.

I really enjoyed this book. It's solidly in the "Chick Lit" genre, but with a little more depth than your average book in the genre.

The story follows Holly as she learns to love again after the death of her husband. It starts a little rough (and really the only reason for 4 instead of 5 stars) as you learn the back story of how her husband dies. Luckily, the rough patch only lasts about 20 pages, then the author is off and running. It really only took me 3 days to read the book because I couldn't put it down.

If you're a fan of a good modern day romance, this is an excellent choice. The characters are likeable and well written - I really felt for them as I read the book. I like that Holly wasn't a push over or a weak female character, she had conviction. The cast of supporting characters was also done well, you got a good sense of who they were without the author going into so much detail that you lost sight of the story. All in all, it was thoroughly enjoyable. It looks like the first book from this author, I'm excited to see more!

Perfectly, predictable, beach read. Such a fun, fluff book. Loved it.

Easy read. Had some interesting details in the story that made for potential, but it was written superficially. Not a lot of detail is given about the characters. They do things just because. Plot points just pop up to add suspense or action, but they aren't very meaningful and feel pretty random.

So far, the book is engaging. Generally, I like books that start out with a trauma and then wind around to a realistic (possibly happy) ending. This books seems like it's shaping up to be that, so far. None of the characters seem flat or annoying, and Holly is a sympathetic character to me.

In this romance, a young widow learns to start enjoying life again two years after the tragic death of her husband, when she falls in love with the handsome man who unexpectedly swoops into her life. And it doesn't hurt that he has oodles of money, lives in a mansion, and drives a flashy sports car.

To be fair, Holly is emphatically not interested in Ciaran when he first appears, and she is so not impressed by his millions or by his allegedly playboyish love life. Holly just wants to live a quiet life in the unfinished cottage she and the late Charlie had moved into, where she can be left alone with her troubled dreams of her lost husband and with a big slobbery dog for company. But when Holly's bakery (deliciously named Cake) is commissioned to make and deliver a specialty item to Ciaran's father (a loud, often drunk man prone to inappropriate displays of what's beneath his kilt), she meets and then can't stop running into lovely Ciaran -- and Ciaran is smitten enough to woo Holly despite her rather rude attempts to make him go away.

Since You've Been Gone doesn't hold much in the way of surprises, but for a straight-forward romance, it veers just enough from the expected formula to keep it interesting. Holly herself is a well-drawn character, clearly suffering when we meet her and not ready to let go of her loss and grief. Yes, the money angle is a little obnoxious and obvious, but Holly makes clear that she falls for Ciaran despite the status and glamour, not because of it.

I enjoyed the emphasis on the natural settings, Holly's love of nature and the outdoors, and the tenderness Ciaran displays in honoring Charlie's memory. There are some stock characters, to be sure, including the gold-digging personal assistant who is icy-beautiful and constantly needles and undermines Holly -- but the rest of the supporting cast, including the lonely older woman next door and Holly's hugely pregnant and over-involved sister, are off-beat enough to keep the story lively.

Yes, in some respects this is a by-the-numbers romance novel, and anyone who's not a fan of the genre might want to steer clear. I'm not much of a romance reader ordinarily, but I was drawn to Since You've Been Gone by the adorable cover as well as by the synopsis, which made it sound not very run-of-the-mill -- and I'm pleased that I gave it a try.

Since You've Been Gone is a fast, light read, with some nice emotional moments (and some super-steamy sex) to keep things moving along. It's an enjoyable book about finding love again, and is a perfectly entertaining way to spend a summer day.

Review copy courtesy of the publisher and Netgalley. Also reviewed at Bookshelf Fantasies.

I'm really not sure between two and three stars. I started reading it and really didn't want to keep going, but I pushed on. There was nothing wrong about the book, I think that it was decent writing and the grief was portrayed well. Holly just didn't quite resonate with me, I guess.

I liked Fergal and Cora. Nothing else really resonated with me. The book was well written and a more real romance than most widowed romances but it just wasn't for me.