Retro Review - Vince & Joy by Lisa Jewell

I love re-reading books and find it comforting revisiting characters and stories I already know. A bit like watching Clueless 10,000 times (or is that just me?)

I have been re-reading books from my bookcase and next up was Vince & Joy by Lisa Jewell:

Vince and Joy are both looking for something...

In their teens, in family holidays and bathroom mirrors.

In their twenties, in messy London flats and messy London relationships.

In their thirties, in marriages that appear stable - and feel anything but.

Seventeen years ago Vince and Joy met, parted and never said goodbye. And soon they are going to have to ask themselves: could it be that they actually found what they've both been looking for, back in the mid-eighties, in a holiday park by the sea?


Vince and Joy first meet as teenagers and fall in love after a brief but intense relationship. An event at the caravan park puts an end to their relationship and both Vince and Joy assumes they will never see their first love again.

But fate and destiny have other ideas.

As Vince and Joy lead separate, not always happy, lives, they are brought together again and again. But will they take note of their destiny or choose a different path?

I have read Vince & Joy once before, when it was released in 2005, but although little bits were still familiar and I knew how it was going to end, it was still a brilliant, gripping read. Re-reading Vince & Joy reminded me why I love Lisa Jewell so much and why she is one of my favourite authors. Her stories come to life without being bogged down with unnecessary descriptions, which makes them effortless to read and allows you to enjoy the story and characters.

Vince & Joy is an I'll-feed-my-kids-after-one-more-chapter kind of read, the kind where I'm mole-eyed and one-more-chaptering at 2am (but I promise the kids have been fed by this point). I'm glad I dusted off my copy and was taken in by Vince and Joy once more.