It's six months since Tilly's husband Joe died. She's still taking each day at a time, coping with her grief. 

Out of the blue she takes a phone call from her local bookshop and is told that there's a book waiting for her. Picking it up she's told that her husband, before he died, drew up a list of 12 books which would be put aside for her to collect each month for the next year. With each book is a letter explaining his choice. 

It's a lovely idea for a story which is beautifully executed. There are some broken relationships, opportunities for healing, romance, new friendships and adventures, and hope for the future.

While this isn't an entirely original idea of having messages left for a bereaved partner, or books being a theme for a story, this was done well, and I enjoyed it tremendously.

The 12 books are a great mix - cookery, travel, poetry as well as some fiction. I won't spoil it by telling you the titles and they're quietly dropped into the text (so, no titles as chapter headings and not even a list of all 12 at the end of the book). There are short themed lists at the beginning of each month of the story - books to inspire you to take up a new hobby, books to cope when life feels a mess, books about Paris, London and New York. So there are some more treats in store after finishing Tilly's story.

And the bookshop where Tilly collects her books is vital to the tale, as its owner.

A very lovely read.