I’m delighted to welcome you today to my stop on the blog tour for the heartwarming and moving Life, Slightly by Nigel Jay Cooper. Thank you to Anne Cater and the author for giving me the opportunity to read and review this beautifully written book.
About the book:
When Gavin meets Jackie on a bench in the local park, he thinks she’s a stranger. She knows better. She’s connected to him in ways he can’t yet imagine. She swore she wouldn’t do this again but it’s real this time. So real, she might do something reckless and tell him everything. He’ll understand. It wasn’t her fault, not really. Perhaps he’ll forgive her, even if she can never forgive herself.
About the author:
Author, father, cat and dog owner. More than a list of things. Probably.
Nigel’s debut, Beat The Rain, was a semi-finalist for Best Debut Author in the Goodreads Choice Awards 2016. His second novel The Pursuit of Ordinary was a finalist for The People’s Book Prize for Fiction 2019 and was longlisted for The Guardian’s Not The Booker Prize.
Nigel’s third novel Life, Slightly is out now!
My Review:
Life, Slightly by Nigel Jay Cooper is the heartwarming and moving story of two people who meet on a bench at the local park. Gavin thinks Jackie is a stranger, but she knows that they are connected in ways he could never imagine.
The perfect book to escape with this autumn, Life, Slightly is a tale of friendship, family, sexuality and the choices people make. Beautifully written, I couldn’t help but fall in love with Gavin and Jackie, both flawed human beings who are trying to make sense of an often confusing world.
As they sit, Jackie encourages Gavin to talk about his life and so we begin to learn about his past, beginning with how he met the love of his life. I loved the character of Steve, who appears intermittently throughout the story and is the one person who probably understands Gavin better than any other. Even as flawed as Gavin is, I couldn’t help but feel great empathy for him and the sometimes questionable choices he made in his life. His actions had such a huge impact on the people around him, but his intentions always came from a good place, which is one of the things I loved most about him. And then there’s Gavin’s wife, Imogen, who wasn’t an easy character to like, but who I grew to appreciate more as the story of Gavin’s life unfolds.
Jackie’s life has been very different to Gavin’s. Growing up with an overbearing mother, her life has been anything but easy, but now she is hiding a secret. One that connects her to Gavin in some unknown way. But what exactly is it? And how will Gavin react if he ever finds out the truth?
Nigel Jay Cooper has written an authentic, heartwarming and moving story that captivated me from beginning to end. With flawed but memorable characters who stole my heart, Life, Slightly is a gently told, insightful tale that took me through a whole gamut of emotions and is one that I won’t easily forget.
A stunning read that I would highly recommend.
Life, Slightly by Nigel Jay Cooper is available to purchase now:
Cal Turner Reviews 