I’m thrilled to welcome you today to my stop on the blog tour for the gorgeous Preloved by Lauren Bravo. Thank you to Anne Cater and Simon & Schuster for giving me the opportunity to read and review this wonderful book.
About the book:
Gwen’s life has stalled. She’s in her mid-thirties, perpetually single, her friends are busy procreating in
the country and conversations with her parents seem to revolve entirely around herbaceous borders and
the council’s wheelie-bin timetable. Above all she’s lonely. But then, isn’t everyone?
When Gwen’s made redundant from a job she drifted into a decade ago and never left, she realises it’s
time to make a change. Over what might be the best – and most solitary – meal she’s ever eaten, Gwen
vows to find something meaningful to do with her life, reconnect with her family and friends – and
finally book herself a dentist appointment.
Her search for meaning soon leads her to volunteer in a local charity shop where she both literally and
metaphorically unloads her emotional baggage. With the help of the weird and wonderful people she
meets in the shop and the donated items bursting with untold stories that pass through its doors, Gwen
must finally address the events and choices that led her to this point and find a way to move forward
with bravery, humanity and more regular dental care.
Brimming with life, love and the stories bound up in even the most everyday items, Preloved is a
tale about friendship, loss, being true to oneself no matter the expectations – and the enduring
power and joy of charity shops.
About the author:
Lauren Bravo is a freelance journalist who writes about fashion, popular culture, food, travel and feminism, for publications including Grazia, Refinery29 UK, Cosmopolitan, Stylist, easyJet Traveller, Time Out, Delicious, the Telegraph and the Guardian. She is the author of two non-fiction books, What Would the Spice Girls Do? (2018) and How To Break Up With Fast Fashion (2020). Lauren lives in East London, and Preloved is her debut novel.
Find out more on her website http://www.laurenbravo.co.uk.
My Review:
Preloved by Lauren Bravo is an extraordinary debut novel that will stay with me for a long time to come. A thought provoking and poignant story, it is a beautiful tale of love, loss, friendship and of always remaining true to yourself no matter what.
Gwen’s life has come to a sudden standstill. Unexpectedly made redundant from her job of ten years, she realises it’s time to make a change. Over what is quite probably the best but most lonely meal she’s ever eaten, Gwen, now in her mid thirties and single, vows to find something meaningful to do with her life.
Deciding to volunteer in a local charity shop, Gwen soon finds herself facing up to the demons of her past as she tries to find a way to move forward with her life. With the help of the weird and wonderful people she meets in the shop and the preloved items filled to the brim with untold stories that pass through its doors, Gwen finally begins to come to terms with the events and choices in her life that have led her to this point.
I adored this book from the very first page. I’ve always had a fascination with charity shops and the history behind the items found in them, so Preloved spoke to me on a personal level, touching my heart and making me feel so many different emotions as I lost myself within its pages.
With a rich and varied cast of characters and stories that will tug at your heartstrings, Preloved is a pure delight from beginning to end. It will make you laugh and it will make you cry. It will at times break your heart, but it will also make it soar higher than the sky. Lauren Bravo’s writing is beautiful as it takes you on a simply unforgettable journey that will stay with you long after the final page has been turned. A very real and human story, with larger than life characters who you can’t help but fall in love with, I honestly felt bereft as I turned the final page.
Preloved isn’t an easy book to review as it’s one of those stories that you really need to experience for yourself. Beautifully written by Lauren Bravo, it is a debut novel to be proud of and I loved every single word of it!
Highly recommended.
Preloved by Lauren Bravo is available to purchase now:
Cal Turner Reviews 
Thanks for the blog tour support x
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