📆 Publication Date: 29th January 2026
⭐️4/5 stars
📖 Length: 400 pages
📱 Format: ePUB
⏳ Read Time: 3 days
Synopsis
When Tilly Nightingale receives a call telling her there’s a birthday gift from her fiancé waiting for her at her local bookshop, it couldn’t come as more of a shock. Partly because she can’t remember the last time she read a book for pleasure. Mainly because Joe died five months ago . . .
The gift is simple – twelve carefully-chosen books from Joe, one for each month, to help her turn the page on her first year without him.
Tilly sets out on a series of reading-inspired adventures that take her around the world. But as she begins to vlog her journey, her story becomes more than her own. With help from Alfie, the bookshop owner, her budding new following and her friends and family, can Tilly’s year of books show her how to love again?
What I thought
The Book That Made Me Think of You is one of those gentle, comforting stories about grief, love, and the quiet ways books can help us survive the hardest moments of life.
We’ll set the scene: Tilly is sitting in a dentist’s chair when her local bookshop calls to say there’s an order ready for her. The problem? She didn’t order anything. The bigger problem? The books were ordered by her fiancé, Joe, who died five months earlier. He’d arranged it so that if he didn’t come back by a certain date, the bookseller would call Tilly and let her know the gift was waiting. What he left her is a year of carefully chosen books, one for each month, to help her navigate her first year without him. It’s quietly heartbreaking and beautiful all at once.
The story unfolds month by month, with each section inspired by a book Joe picked for Tilly, plus the shop’s own recommendations. I loved this structure. It gave the story a natural rhythm and made Tilly’s grief feel so real, something that shifts and softens over time instead of disappearing all at once. Watching her slowly re-engage with the world—first through reading, then small acts of bravery—felt completely genuine.
What struck me most was that Joe didn’t just leave Tilly books, he left her permission: permission to change, to travel, to leave a job that no longer fit, and eventually to imagine a future that looked different to the one they’d planned. One of the most moving moments comes when a letter from Joe hints that something awaits her at Shakespeare and Company in Paris. That quiet nudge to pack up and just go? Everything.
The bookshop setting is cosy in the best way, and yes, the romance is fairly obvious. But that’s part of the charm. This is a book where predictability is comforting. I didn’t need surprises with this one.
I needed warmth, reassurance, and emotional safety. And it delivered.
Some elements are idealised, and the plot sticks close to familiar territory, but The Book That Made Me Think of You is easy to read, emotionally satisfying, and genuinely soothing. Perfect for picking up between heavier reads. A warm, comforting story that left me with a renewed appreciation for the quiet, healing power of books.
You can pre-order your copy of This Book Made Me Think of You by Libby Page from trusted retailers:
On Amazon – here
Bookshop.Org – here
Thanks to NetGalley, Penguin Publishing House UK and the author for this ARC in return for an honest review.
Until next time… may your bookshelf always have a story waiting for you, and may those pages guide you gently through whatever life brings 📖🖤
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