Book Review: Our Stop by Laura Jane Williams

A lovely hello to Laura Jane Williams and the blog tour for her debut novel, Our Stop. 

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.

Daniel knew there was something about Nadia from the moment he saw her talking to her boss. He couldn’t believe it when he then saw her on the commute to work.

Deciding to put an advert in the paper, Daniel is hoping that it won’t be long until he can talk to Nadia. He is delighted when she replies. Soon, they are writing back to each other through the paper, not realising that fate has its own plan.

I read this book in a day, desperate to know what happened between these two characters. How does Nadia respond to Daniel’s advert, do they meet and what happens next?

Nadia is a strong female character who, although has moments of doubt, knows who she is and that she deserves to be happy. It was good to see a main character act in this way.

Daniel is a lovely compliment to Nadia’s character and is the perfect love interest. He has a Mr Darcy vibe going on (without being the prat Darcy is at the beginning.)

The supporting characters were also wonderful. I especially liked Romeo. I thought he was a nice change in how male friends are portrayed in some novels.

Having the point of view go between Nadia and Daniel gave it such an interesting perspective. It was good to see the relationship unfold from both sides and to see the emotions and thoughts of both.

This book is a feel good love story. In my opinion, it came to a satisfying end and very much appealed to my love of romantic comedies. I could see this as a film actually.

I felt that the characters were well-developed and the plot rolled along nicely. I did find the near misses frustrating but only because I wanted the novel to have a happy ending. Whether this happens is something you will have to find out for yourself.

The cover is great and makes me smile, the story was so lovely and overall, this was a witty, fun, heartwarming read that will be perfect for the months ahead or that summer holiday.

If you’re a fan of Ali McNamara and Beth O’ Leary, or just love to fall in love, you’ll like this book.

A great debut from Laura (great name,) Jane Williams.

Our Stop was released electronically by Avon on 13th June 2019 with a paperback release due in August. Click to view on Amazon UK.

About Laura Jane Williams: 

by

Laura

I’m Laura. I started Novel Kicks in 2009. I wanted a place to post my writing as well as give other writers like me the opportunity to do the same. There is also a monthly book club, a writing room which features writing prompts, book reviews, competitions, author interviews and guest posts.

I grew up by the sea (my favourite place in the world) and I currently live in Hampshire. I am married to Chris, have a cat named Buddy and I would love to be a writer. I’m trying to write the novel I’ve talked so much about writing if only I could stop pressing delete. I’ve loved writing since creative writing classes in primary school. I have always wanted to see my teacher Miss Sayers again and thank her for the encouragement. When not trying to write the novel or writing snippets of stories on anything I can get my hands on, I love reading, dancing like a loon and singing to myself very badly. My current obsession is Once Upon a Time and I would be happy to live with magic in the enchanted forest surrounded by all those wonderful stories provided that world also included Harry Potter. I love reading chick lit. contemporary fiction and novels with mystery.