“Cleverly-plotted and stunningly written, Julie Cohen’s Together is a page-turner with real emotional punch.”

 

NO MAJOR SPOILERS

Centred around a couple, Robbie and Emily, who share a secret. A secret as to why they should not be together. The book moves between the past and present revealing their life together. Pieces of information are slowly revealed like a crime or mystery novel to finally expose what the secret is in their relationship.

Thankfully I thought the reason, revealed at the end, was a strong enough one to warrant all the mystery otherwise it would have undermined the whole book.

I liked the way it moved between past and present although when years were given at the start of some of the chapters I couldn’t remember if it meant I was reading something from the present or in the past and at what point in the past, however, a few sentences in made it clear.

The writer worked at either side of the story until bringing the reader into the middle for the big reveal. The start was also the end and I liked how this tied everything together. I thought this technique of revealing their story slowly and then having a big reveal at the end was well executed. I didn’t guess what the secret was going to be until around the chapter it was revealed so while I didn’t find it shocking when I actually read it, I didn’t guess it for most of the book.

I can see why this technique was used but I think it would have been better to share the secret early on because it would have caused more tension and made the scenes more significant. With the authors way the reader almost wants to read it again to fully comprehend the effect this had on the relationship.

Some of the story detailing how they met was a bit squeamish as the couple were over the top with their feelings but the rest of the book was so good this could be forgiven.

The main characters are likeable and multi-dimensional, including, a smattering of other realistic characters. Robbie’s younger self was not as appealing as his older self which was a little disappointing. It was only because you knew their future that you could overlook it otherwise I would not be rooting for him as a love interest.

The book is well written and well-paced. I thoroughly enjoyed it and will be keeping an eye out for other books by Julie.

 

Reviewed by:

Rebecca Boyle

Added 6th February 2019